Less room on rinks

On-the-ground reports from the Ice Sports Forum, not a certain Hillsborough County newsroom, say that today's informal skating session featured these new faces: Victor Hedman, the team's No 1 pick in the 2009 Draft, Ryan Malone, Mike Smith and Ryan Craig.

Steven Stamkos and Matt Walker were also listed as fresh faces, but they were there last week.

I'm also hearing that Vinny Lecavalier is due back in town on Thursday. I say we have a nice welcoming party for the Bolts' captain.

With any luck, too, Hound Central 5.0 will get a report or two out of South Florida and Toronto in the days ahead.

Smooth transition

If you're familiar with Hound Central 4.0, you'll know that Mondays mean another plug for our summer hobby, Baseball Mondays:

~ Did you know Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria follows the same pregame routine on the road (or at least Rogers Centre in Toronto) as he does at home in the Trop?

~ Despite not winning a gas-sipping scooter, the feeling was mutual at the Dunedin Blue Jays' fan appreciation night.

Yeah, I'm bragging

Want to know what's better than scoring a dozen autographs before the Lightning's training camp even opens? Colin scoring five goals and two assists in two rec league games earlier today.

He finished his nine-game season with 14 goals and four assists. Not bad, if you ask me, for his first season of play.

Momma did a fine job, too, taking these pictures. I was at work today.

Adding depth

We've reached a point in our collection for Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos where we can begin to diversify. For the past year, pucks have been our primary platform. This season, though, we'll turn our attention to cards and photos.

As you can see, we added a couple of cards this morning. Stamkos signed these after another informal workout with a handful of teammates at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon.

I was hoping that more players would have skated this morning, but it was the same crew as Wednesday. Besides Stamkos, only Adam Hall, Andrej Meszaros, Antero Niittymaki, Mattias Ohlund and Matt Walker hit the ice.

I hear, though, that the rink will get a bit more crowded next week, as more Tampa Bay players will start attending these informal workouts.

Why, yes, he does sign

Matt Walker, one of the Lightning's free-agent signees this summer, seemed aloof to requests for autographs on Wednesday. He wasn't that way earlier today, though, signing a 8x10 from a one-sided fight with Phoenix's Ed Jovanovski.

Then again, maybe it was the spill he took during drills -- eliciting laughter from teammates and onlookers -- knocked a little sense into him. Folks in Hockey Bay, just like every other NHL city, like their autographs.

Another pair

One of the quickest ways to mix quality and quantity is to load up on a team's bigger-name free-agent signings. That's what I've tried twice this week in Brandon.

In less than three days, I've added four pucks from Lightning defenseman Mattias Ohlund. Earlier today, he signed this pair of pucks. On Wednesday, he signed another pair.

Well, do we?

Maybe it's nothing more than wishful thinking, but a goalie battle may be brewing down here in Hockey Bay.

The way I see it is Tampa Bay goalies Mike Smith, coming back from a concussion, and Antero Niittymaki, fresh from hip surgery, have something to prove.

That goes beyond the Lightning and the team's fans. More important, I'd dare say, is they have to prove to themselves that they're the No. 1 guy. That alone makes it interesting.

At the least, the Bolts have solidified their goaltending, health permitting.

Niittymaki, who signed this Finland puck this morning, looked pretty good during an informal skate in Brandon. It's too bad Smith isn't around. It'll be fun to watch them go head-to-head.

Back to work

Throughout the NHL community, more and more players are hitting their local rinks to shake off a summer's worth of rust. Down here in Hockey Bay, the Lightning are no different.

Since Monday, a handful of players have been skating and running through drills at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon. Those skating earlier today were Adam Hall, Andrej Mezsaros, Antero Niittymaki, Mattias Ohlund, Steven Stamkos and Matt Walker.

I imagine, too, that the rosters for these informal gatherings will grow throughout the week, once Olympic team camps close and players get in their last week of vacation.

Making a connection

A few days ago, on the final day of Colin's summer vacation, we took a scouting trip to Brandon. Our mission? To see if any NHL players were getting an early start on the season.

Sure enough, our instincts proved true. We arrived just in time to see two of the last three players leave the ice.

Only Adam Hall remained. Hall, a forward, gathered a bunch of pucks near a puck bag in front of a net. I coaxed Colin into asking Hall whether he needed any help picking up the pucks.

Apparently, Hall picked up a hint, giving Colin this puck. Then, much to my delight, Colin and Hall had a good five-minute conversation about hockey, skating and fishing. A friendship, I believe, may have been struck.

Earlier today, after an informal skate with a handful of Lightning teammates, Hall completed the favor. Not only did he sign the puck, Hall even asked me to say hello to Colin.

Good impressions

It's no secret that free-agent signees try to make a positive first impression with their new employer. The players will greet the media, reach out to fans and, as training camp nears, be among the first to hit the ice.

Two of the Lightning's offseason acquisitions have done just that, each signing a pair of pucks following the informal workout in Brandon:

Goalie Antero Niittymaki; and

defenseman Mattias Ohlund.

Missed on defenseman Matt Walker twice -- coming off the ice and in the Ice Sports Forum parking lot. He didn't seem too interested in stopping. I think he waved, though. Maybe.

He's ready to play

Let's be real here. It's a roll of the dice any time you head out to hound pre-training camp skates. Honestly, you never know who's going to attend. Mostly, it's the new faces and guys within something to prove.

It's rare, I'd say, when one of a team's top stars shows up so early.

In Tampa Bay's case, it was Steven Stamkos, who survived and, ultimately, thrived in, his rookie NHL season, who was taking part in Wednesday's informal skate with a handful of teammates.

To commemorate the event, the second-year center, who set the Lightning's rookie goal record (23) last season, signed this Lightning puck.

Well on his way

One of the more welcome sights Wednesday after a long summer layoff from hockey was Tampa Bay defenseman Andrej Meszaros back out on the ice.

Coming back from offseason shoulder surgery, Meszaros is trying to answer questions of whether he'll be ready for training camp.

To me, he looked at ease running and participating in a few drills with a handful of Lightning teammates.

And, just to make sure, he passed Hound Central 5.0's autograph test, signing this Slovakia puck.