Sunday morning homily XXII

It's been a sad week. From a stunning e-mail last Sunday afternoon to a somber funeral on Thursday, we've mourned the unfortunate death of a young hockey player. Tyler, a member of the Pinellas County Police Athletic League Stars bantam squad, was only 15. Sadly, a terrible decision cost him his life.

For those left behind -- his grieving family, two shocked hockey programs and teammates still in disbelief -- the numbing pain remains. Tyler, a kid so full of life and laughter, is gone.

To Colin, Tyler was a "big brother," someone who tolerated his little buddy's locker room antics, attempts to trip him during shared practices and someone to clear a path to the net for during the occasional stick-and-shoot. To Tyler, Colin was someone to share the joy of a bubble hockey game, even if it meant losing to the pesky kid.

I heard from more than one person, including Tyler's family, that Colin meant the world to Tyler. The feelings, I know, were mutual. In a way, those words brought some comfort. But, they also brought some pain. Role models, I believe, need to be there, leading the way, knowing and showing the difference between right and wrong.

Through his death, Tyler has given Colin, as well as every other young hockey player, a very valuable lesson.

Before the funeral, Colin wanted to know if Tyler was, indeed, a bad person. No, I told him, Tyler was not a bad person. Tyler was a good person, a kid who liked to have fun, played the game of hockey hard and, when necessary, stuck up for his teammates. What Tyler did, I told Colin, was make a bad decision.

At the best, Tyler's death is a learning experience. For many, including Colin, it was the first time they've suffered the death of a friend. To see Tyler's ashen, but calm, face in his open casket. To see tears fall down so many faces of Tyler's family, friends and teammates. To see, up close, the finality of life.

The biggest lesson, though, was about consequences. Losing one's life is a pretty harsh consequence for one bad decision. That, however, was the message. All it takes is one poor decision -- a single act of stupidity -- and you may pay with your life.

Talk about the ultimate consequence, right?

During the funeral, populated with teammates and friends wearing hockey jerseys, it was very difficult to not look at these young men and think two things: 1.) Thank God it wasn't any of them who were we grieving for; and 2.) Are there any others who we need to worry about? In every hockey family, parents have more than one child to watch out for. We watch out for every child on the team.

At that time, looking upon our sea of black-and-gold jerseys and one of his framed portraits on the church's altar, I prayed to Tyler, asking him to watch over his friends, to keep them from traveling the same path and, unfortunately, making the same bad decision. I also asked him to protect his teammates while they were on the ice.

In looking for a silver lining in this darkest of clouds, I asked Tyler to be their angel. Especially, Colin's hockey angel.

To that end, I've tucked one of Tyler's prayer cards inside Colin's helmet. One side of the card, which shows a set of hands in prayer, faces upward, to the heavens. The other side, containing of picture of Tyler, points downward, so he can watch over his little buddy.

There's also a prayer -- a child's verse -- under Tyler's picture:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to take.

Comforting words? Maybe. Kids aren't supposed to die.

Trading places

Just because you may think your hockey hounding might have geographical limitations, there's always one trick to try -- reach out to a like-minded individual in a different time zone.

Say you're hounding the Ontario Hockey League, just like Mike, who's shared some of his hounding hauls in eastern Canada. Using online hobby chat boards, he's found a trading partner from a Western Hockey League hound.

These show some of the items Mike's received through those exchanges, including some sweet pucks scored during the 2010 World Junior Championships in Regina:

Top row: Moncton Wildcats' Kirill Kabanov, an expected 2010 first-rounder; Moncton Wildcats' Brandon Gormley; and Moncton Wildcats' Nicola Riopel, a Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect; and;
Bottom row: Spokane Chiefs' Jared Cowen, a Ottawa's top pick in 2009; Kewlona Rockets' Brandon McMillan, an Anaheim Ducks prospect; and Moose Jaw Warriors Travis Harmonic, a New York Islanders prospect.

Top row: Lethbridge Hurricanes' Carter Ashton, one of Tampa Bay's two No. 1 picks in 2009; Regina Pats' Colton Teubert, Los Angeles' No. 1 pick in 2008; and Brandon Wheat Kings' Brayden Schenn, Los Angeles' No. 1 pick in 2009; and
Bottom row: a pair of pucks from Regina Pats' Jordan Weal.

Top row: World Juniors teammates Luke Adam, Gabriel Bourque and Marco Scandella; and
Bottom row: Montreal Canadiens legend Henri Richard; Jordan Eberle, who captained Canada's WJC championship squad, and another Canadiens legend Yvan Cournoyer.

Getting a head start

Seeing that the Windsor Spitfires' Taylor Hall is likely this June's No. 1 overall pick, wouldn't it be nice to already have a couple of autographs?

I know one person who does. It's Mike, an Ontario Hockey League hound, who's scored this pair from the prospect.

Hall, playing for the OHL's Spitfires, joins London's Nazam Kadri, Toronto's top 2009 pick, on this Team Canada celebration photo.

St. Louis prospect Alex Pietrangelo, a defenseman taken fourth overall in 2008 by St. Louis, would make a nice hat trick.

Going prospecting

If you want to get autographs from tomorrow's hope-to-be stars today, such as Toronto's Nazam Kadri, the Maple Leafs' 2009 No. 1 pick, there's nothing like Canadian junior teams. Just ask Mike, an Ontario-based hound who frequents the Ontario Hockey League circuit.

I'm sure you'll recognize some of these names:

Top row: London Knights team-signed photo and Nazam Kadri signed Team Canada pic; and
Bottom row: Nazam Kadri London Knights photo and Michael Hutchinson London Knights photo

Top row: Brampton Battalion 2009-10 team-signed poster; and
Bottom row: OHL pucks, from left, from Cody Hodgson, 10th overall in 2008 by Vancouver Canucks; Matt Clark, Scott Harrington and Barkley Goodhews


Eight members of the Windsor Spitfires on a team sheet: Taylor Hall, the likely No. 1 pick in June, Greg Nemisz, Calgary's top pick in 2005; Adam Henrique; Cam Fowler, the top-rated defenseman in the 2010 Entry Draft; Ryan Ellis, a 2009 first-round pick of the Nashville Predators; Craig Duininck, Stephen Johnston and Mark Cantin. Ellis also signed this Team Canada puck.

Custom work

Editor's note: Please allow Hound Central 5.0 to introduce Brett, one of the blog's most faithful readers and commenters, a very talented custom card maker (they look better than those produced by major companies, don't you think?) and owner of My Hockey Card Obsession blog.

Here, Brett, who hails from Alberta, shares his passion for the hobby as well as his talent for designing cards:

Brett's custom cards

I absolutely love custom cards. I enjoy making them and I enjoy seeing what other people come up with.

For me, custom card making started probably five years ago. I was a regular on the "Beckett boards" and noticed one guy constantly posting custom cards. My mind just started racing from there. One day, this guy decided to hold a custom card making contest for fun. People would make a card and we would go head-to-head with another designer (kind of like the playoffs). The other board members would vote for a winner and a few rounds later -- we had a champion.

At first, my skills were pretty slim, but with each card I made, I saw improvement. Eventually, I won a couple rounds. One time, I even won the whole contest.

I delved into the "retro" cards. Taking an old OPC design and putting a current player into it. I've seen many people try it, but only a few were at a level that I thought "this looks bang on ... you can't tell that it's a custom." I'm happy with the ones I have made, but the retros never really quenched my thirst for customs.

One of the other advantages to customs is you can make your own sets. The ideas and concepts were (and still are) aplenty. I started with the "Ultimate Masks" set as I am a huge fan of the goalie mask (especially the old fibreglass ones). Eventually, I'd like to send some off through the mail as I think they would make a great-looking card.

I've also developed a "Flashback Autographs" set or "FA Authentic" as I like to call them. I want it to span not just hockey or sports, but pop culture in the 1980s. Along with this Curly Neal card, I've made a Mr. T card and a Marc Singer (star of the 80s miniseries V). I'm excited to send those off as well.

At the start of this season, I tried making a set featuring a card for every day of the regular season. A hectic work schedule and the holidays have put me too far back and I'm going to have to abandon the set. I'm hoping to do something along the same lines during the playoffs.

Most recently, I have been working on a set that I have wanted to do for over a year now. I was lucky enough to be at the game where Trevor Linden's jersey was retired. I thought it would be cool to create a set of cards commemorating his career. There will be 16 cards in the set (his jersey number). I'm about half done with the fronts, but am hoping to upgrade on some of the photos.

Recently, I have had a couple people ask if I could do some cards for them. One person even sent me some autographs he got when he was a kid. The big one was Maurice "The Rocket" Richard (shown at top). I've finished a couple, including this one of Jean-Guy Talbot , and have got them printed and cut.

I'm really happy with the way they turned out and am excited to continue on with them. This guy also had a ticket stub from one of The Beatles' final concerts ever. As you can see, I created a card that enshrines the ticket stub.

As you can see, I love making custom cards. For me, for others. ... I've even got my 11-year old niece into it. We've designed a template for some Twilight cards (her favorite movie). We're hoping to get some cards out in the mail this year and hopefully we can snag some autos.

Team Canada women win gold

Congratulations to Team Canada's women on winning the 2010 Olympics gold medal.

Top row: Tessa Bonhomme, Jayna Hefford, Sarah Vaillancourt and Caroline Ouellette; and
Bottom row: Colleen Sostorics, Gina Kingsbury, Carla MacLeod and Charline Labonte.

Top row: Charline Labonte and Kim St-Pierre; and
Bottom row: Hayley Wickenheiser (unsigned, yes, but who knows?) and Jennifer Botterill.

Cards are from In The Game's 2007-08 O Canada set

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Czech Republic

Team Czech Last won gold in 1998 and finished third (bronze medal) at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. In Vancouver, the Czechs were eliminated from medal contention.

Cards signed by some of Team Czech's players:

Top row: Boston's David Krejci, Montreal's Tomas Plekanec, Minnesota's Marek Zidlicky and Lokomotiv's Josef Vasicek; and
Bottom row: Nashville's Martin Erat, New Jersey's Patrik Elias, Avangard's Jaromir Jagr and Phoenix's Zbynek Michalek.

Minnesota's Martin Havlat

Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec

Washington's Tomas Fleischmann on a Hershey Bears wallpaper.

Atlanta's Pavel Kubina

Above Photo: Tomas Kaberle with Mikayla during a Toronto Maple Leafs visit to Tampa.

Right Photo: Tomas Vokoun with Mikayla during a Florida Panthers visit

Ottawa's Filip Kuba signed last year when the Senators came to town.

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Slovakia

Team Slovakia has never won a gold medal and finished fifth at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. In Vancouver, Slovakia just knocked Team Sweden out of competition.

Cards signed by some of Team Slovakia's players:

Top row: Spartak's Branko Radivojevic, Boston's Miroslav Satan, Barys Astana's Josef Stumpel and Los Angeles' Lubomir Visnovsky; and
Bottom row: Locomotiv's Richard Zednik, New York Rangers' Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles' Michal Handzus and Chicago's Marian Hossa.

More cards signed by Team Slovakia players:

Top row: Spartak's Martin Cibak and Colorado's Peter Budaj; and
Bottom row: Tampa Bay's Andrej Meszaros, Chicago's Tomas Kopecky, Boston's Zdeno Chara and HK 36's Ziggy Palffy.

Montreal's Jaroslav Halak

Buffalo's Andrej Sekara

Tampa Bay's Andrej Meszaros on a Ottawa Senators wallpaper.

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida.

Coping skills

You've got to hand it to Al, Hound Central 5.0's affable Toronto-based correspondent. No matter how poorly the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs are playing, he's able to maintain his sense of humor.

His latest gem? A definition of the term "Leafland," another name, I suppose, for Leafs Nation.

"It's the only place in the world," Al says, "where subpar hockey players putting on subpar performances night after night are treated like gods."

Still, though, when you're able to mingle with some of the "gods" and add these items to your collection, it's like that proverbial spoonful of sugar helping a particularly bitter medicine go down:

McFarlanes

A pair from former Leaf Doug Gilmour, who's coaching the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League;

Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere; and

Defenseman Luke Schenn.

Pucks

Retro Leafs logo pucks, from left, signed by Mike Komisarek, Nikolai Kulemin and Alexei Ponikarovsky; and

Maple Leafs big logo pucks, from left, signed by Tomas Kaberle, Luke Schenn and Mikhail Grabovski.

Assorted items

Top row: Former Leaf Jason Blake on a McFarlane base and a Team Canada puck signed by Luke Schenn;
Bottom row: Pucks signed by Alexei Ponikarovsky and former Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala;

An 8x10 signed by goalie Jonas Gustavsson;

A Leafs mini helmet signed by Alexei Ponikarovsky, Mikhail Grabovski, Francois Beauchemin, Jeff Finger, Garnet Exelby, Ian White, Tyler Bozak, Matt Stajan, Vesa Toskala, Tomas Kaberle, Wayne Primeau, Nikolai Kulemin, Niklas Hagman and Tyler Bozak; and

The old standby, cards:
Top row: Matt Stajan, John Mitchell, Jamal Mayers and Stajan; and
Bottom row: Niklas Hagman, Lee Stempniak, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Mikhail Grabovski; and

Top row: Jeff Finger, Vesa Toskala, Nikolai Kulemin and Colton Orr; and
Bottom row: Tomas Kaberle, Francois Beauchemin and Luke Schenn.

Intel

The Leafs players seemed to enjoy signing team items like the helmet, as opposed to the photos, pucks and cards that other hounds and dealers throw in front of them ... Phil Kessel is a waste of time, too, signing only a couple of items for one or two people, mostly young women, before taking off.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Russia

Team Russia Last won gold in 1992, but finished fourth at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. Of the 23-man roster, I've managed to get 13 players from the partially NHL-filled squad.

Cards signed by some of Team Russia's players:

Top row: Montreal's Andrei Markov and San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov; and
Bottom row: Pittsburgh's Sergei Gonchar, Washington's Alex Semin, and Ottawa's Anton Volchenkov

More cards signed by Team Russia's players:

Top row: Russian Federation President Vladimir Tretiak, Columbus' Fedor Tyutin, Phoenix's Ilya Bryzgalov and Salavat's Victor Kozlov; and
Bottom row: Washington's Semyon Varlamov, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, Edmonton's Denis Grebeshkov and Salavat's Dmitri Kalinin.

Atlanta's Max Afinogenov.

New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay, Atlanta or South Florida.

Rest in peace, Tyler

We just received some terribly sad news. Tyler, one of Colin's "big brothers" in the Pinellas Police Athletic Stars family, passed away unexpectedly late last night. He was only 15.

In consoling Colin, who looked up to Tyler as a role model in life and hockey, I told him to keep Tyler's memory in his heart.

I ask that you keep Tyler's family in your prayers.

Thank you.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Finland

Team Finland has never won gold but finished second for silver at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. Of the 23-man roster, I've managed to get 18 players from the NHL-rich squad.

I am not completely sure why, but I have been watching this group a bit more than I thought I would. Maybe because many of the players have been fan-friendly over the past few years. That always stands out for me.

Cards signed by some of Team Finland's players:

Top row: Calgary's Niklas Hagman, New York's Olli Jokinen, Annaheim's Saku Koivu and Avangard's Lasse Kukkonen; and
Bottom row: Phoenix's Sami Lepisto, Bufalo's Toni Lydman, Dallas' Jere Lehtinen and Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom.

More cards signed by Team Finland's players:

Top row: Tampa's Antero Nittymaki, Anaheim's Teemu Selanne, Vancouver's Sami Salo and Philadelphia's Kimmo Timonen; and
Bottom row: Carolina's Joni Pitkanen and Tuomo Ruutu, Ottawa's Jarkko Ruutu and Detroit's Valtteri Filppula.

The New York Rangers' Olli Jokinen with Mikayla taken on a trip to Tampa.

Minnesota's Mikko Koivu

Dynamo's Ville Peltonen.

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida.

We still have photos of players like Lydman, Timonen, Nittymaki, and Pitkanen that were taken with Mikayla that we hope to finish (Finnish) off this season. She is also hoping to take care of a game stick from Nitty in the near future.