Your Turn III

Thank goodness for faithful readers. If it wasn't for these fine folks, this collection of hounding reports wouldn't be possible.

Let's see what they've been up to:

Michael

Hounding out of Hartford, Conn., and Springfield, Mass., Michael takes advantage of his proximity to American Hockey League cities. This is his first report:

"Doing mostly the AHL, you don't get the big names but players who are on the rise over time like Thomas Hickey, Nikita Filatov, Tuukka Rask and Marc-Andre Fleury. Even the year of the NHL lockout, we were able to get Eric Staal and Patrice Bergeron on multiple items.

"Then, there are those players looking to just get another chance, like Adam Hall, Ryan Craig and Mark Parrish among others (you will notice I mentioned a lot of Tampa players).

"And if you pay attention to the transaction page from the AHL you get players sent down for conditioning. The Islanders' Rick Dipietro and Marty Biron were down this year.

"Even with all that, the ones to watch out for are the scouts. In the past few years, I've gotten Brad Park, Bill Barber, Larry Robinson and Kevin Lowe, among others.

The main difference in hounding the NHL vs. the AHL is the attitude by both the hounds and the players. When it comes to the hounds, there is less pressure to get things signed. So, no one is pushing or shoving to get something signed.

"The players themselves seem more willing to sign. I have noticed that when some players get to the NHL, their habits will change and many no longer sign multiples or sign at all.

"I can remember sitting in a hotel in Springfield with another hound watching TV. The Bruins were on. John Slaney, then with the Philadelphia Phantoms, came out of the elevator, signed and then sat down to watch the game with us.

"We were later joined by other members of the team who all signed and made comments about the game. Then there is the times you get to players or former players sitting in the stands and you get to hear a lot of great stories.

"And for all you puck collectors, one to get if you don't have it would be Marty McSorley. Well worth the wait. And ask him about his movie role in Con Air; he was the pilot."

Keith

Keith and his wife don't mind making the drive from Memphis to Nashville to watch the Predators. They leave work early on game days so they catch the earliest of the players.

Phoenix Coyotes: "I bailed out of work around noon and we got out of Memphis around 12:30 and in downtown Nashville by 3:30. As we pulled up to the team's hotel, we realized that the team bus was just pulling up in front of the main entrance. This is always a good sign, in that it ensures that we haven't missed any early players.

"Since it was cold, we ducked into the hotel to grab some hot coffee from the Starbucks in the lobby. As we were walking out to take our regular spots outside the hotel, we spotted former Pred and current Yote, Vern Fiddler, checking out. He followed us out and was more than happy to sign a couple of pucks and chat a bit while he flashed his newly reconfigured smile. He recently lost four teeth in a harsh meeting with a slapshot.

"Shortly thereafter, the players came out in groups. We missed out on Jovu as he had hotel staff wave down a taxi immediately after loading his bags into the bus. Most of the team, though, was fair game and was happy to sign after ditching their luggage. Most opted to walk the three blocks to the arena.

"We scored multiples from Peter Mueller (who insisted on priming each paint pen before signing ... great guy), Ilya Bryzgalov, Shane Doan, Taylor Pyatt and Keith Yandle. Others signing were Robert Lang, Adrian Aucoin, and Radim Vrbata. The only player who boarded the bus and didn't return to sign at all was goalie Jason Labarbera.

"And although he was called up from the AHL a couple of days prior and listed as as a healthy scratch that night at the game, we never saw Mikkel Boedker walk over. He since has been sent back down.

"All in all, a great trip worthy of the six-hour round trip. It's a shame the Preds lost, though."

J.R.

J.R., checking in again from San Jose, shares this head-scratcher:

"Joe Thornton stopped to sign after practice. The first person he tried to sign for was a female who had a black Thornton T-shirt. Her silver Sharpie wasn't working, so I gave her mine to use. She also had him sign her Sharks team sheet (the generic ones sold in the team store, not drawn like the ones your son creates).

"He then walked right past me and signed about another 8-10 autographs before heading into the locker room.

"Here's my deal. I won't yell, beg or draw any unnecessary attention to myself to get a player to sign. Thornton obviously saw me, but decided to move on. That's fine. I can try again some other time."

BEV

BEV, hounding in Toronto, shares another story of enjoying inside-the-hotel access:

New Jersey Devils: "I had an opportunity to hound the New Jersey Devils prior to game time Feb. 2. when they were in Toronto. Obviously, my main goal was to get an auto from Martin Brodeur. I was also looking for a sig from Devils coach Jacques Lemaire. I also kept an eye open for assistant coach Scott Stevens and special assignment coach Larry Robinson.

"I only collect Hall of Famers, so the rest of the team did not interest me. The team was staying at a high-end Hyatt hotel downtown. I was also staying at the hotel, so I freely made my way back and forth between the lobby and the 15 hounds on the sidewalk.

"The game bus parked on the street in front of the north tower of the hotel around 3:30 p.m. Security staff put up waist-high fences across the sidewalk that the hounds had to stay behind. Unfortunately, this interfered with pedestrians using the sidewalk, who had to walk around the hounds and fences.

"The players got to the bus by walking through a special door that lead through the kitchen of the hotel restaurant. Security was very tight. There were several plainclothes security guards with earpieces in the lobby and on the sidewalk. Lobby access to the players near the special kitchen exit was minimal due to the number of security staff.

"Around 3:45 p.m., I noticed Lemaire outside on the sidewalk having a cigar. After he was done his stogie, I asked him for an autograph in French and he gladly signed a Montreal Canadiens logo card for me. Several hounds by the bus saw me and brought over sticks, pucks, etc., to get signed. He signed everything.

"Around 4:00 p.m., I returned to the lobby and noticed several players walking through the lobby to the south tower of the hotel. For some reason, player after player went to the south tower of the hotel before they went to the team bus parked by the north tower. I never did figure it out. Maybe they were dropping off room keys or something.

"Anyway all the security folks were in the north tower or by the bus. I sat in a chair by the south tower elevators, pretending to read my Brodeur autobiography (with a blue sharpie hidden underneath). Sure enough, Marty comes walking through the lobby toward the south tower.

"I show him his book and ask for an autograph in French. He immediately recognizes the book and walks over to me to sign it. I tell him I am looking forward to reading it. He thanks me for buying it. Perfect.

"I was two-for-two and decided to head out to the street to see how the other hounds were doing. By now, it is about 4:30 and all the players are heading out to the bus. Let me say that most of the team was very good at signing. Almost every player signed for every hound who asked. Only Rob Niedermayer and Jamie Langenbrunner needed to be coaxed by the hounds but they did sign.

"Also note that some of the players did not use the special kitchen exit and exited through the front doors of the lobby. They walked right out to the sidewalk/street, tried to blend in with pedestrians and board the bus without the hounds noticing. Of course the hounds noticed this and got the sigs they wanted.

"When it was time for Brodeur to board the bus, the hounds went into a screaming frenzy. He came out of the special kitchen exit and to the right-hand fence. Immediately in front of me, he signed a team photo for a guy, a puck for a guy and boarded the bus. That was two sigs for the 15 hounds. I thought about getting something else signed, but I was happy with the book. I never did see Stevens and Robinson.

"It was a great outing for me adding two more Hall of Famers to my collection."