Team report: Florida Panthers

When you hound a team like the Florida Panthers, one of the Tampa Bay Lightning's division rivals, it's easy to run out of different items to get signed. That when cards, a hockey-hounding staple, come in handy.

When that happens, like this past Saturday when the Panthers traveled to Hockey Bay, it's not unusual to have some players sign all four cards we offered. It also adds up to a successful adventure, when we snagged more than 40 autographs in less than a hour.

Panthers players signing four cards each were:

Wingers Steve Bernier (top row) and Michael Frolik;

winger Rostislav Olesz (top row) and center Steven Reinprecht; and

winger Michael Repik.

Of course, not every player, for a variety of reasons, signed four cards:

Top row: David Booth, Scott Clemmensen and Keaton Ellerby; and
Bottom row: Shawn Matthias, Tomas Vokoun and Stephen Weiss.

Other highlights from Saturday's quick trip:

~ Vokoun adding to the Threads collection; and
~ Booth and Weiss signing a couple of road trip souvenirs.

Thanks, eBay!

Earlier this year, when I actually had some spare cash on hand, I snagged a couple of jersey swatch lots off of eBay. While a few of the cards were viewed as collectibles, most were simply adding to the stock of items we'll use in our future hockey hounding adventures.

This card of Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun, who's one of the best signing players in the NHL, was part of one of those hauls.

On Saturday, the card, which features a nice, bright yellow swatch with some stitch marks as well as Vokoun's distinctive signature, became the latest addition to our Threads collection.

The Hockey Life: Week 6

In a sense, Boston's Tyler Seguin was correct. I was sending Colin over to get autographs. Where the Boston rookie was wrong, though, was who the autographs were for. They weren't for me, they were for someone else -- a youth hockey team up in Wisconsin that's holding a fundraiser to help offset player registration costs.

Still, that didn't keep Seguin from upsetting Colin, not by declining his request to add to the Bruins logo banner, but in how he did it, insulting his father (that's me, you know) by saying that he was the "kid whose father sends him over to get autographs for him."

In a sense, he accused me of "pimping out" Colin just to get signatures. Sorry, rookie, but that's hardly the case. I help Colin get his own autographs, telling him who players are and finding their cards within the card book. I'm a big boy, and I get my own autographs when I'm out hounding by myself. If Colin's with me, it's his hounding adventure, not mine.

From my point of view, there's little wrong with a father bringing out his son(s) for autographs. For the most part, it's a bonding moment. Every other NHL team or player we've hounded hasn't had a problem with our approach. If they have, they've kept their yaps shut or simply said "no."

Needless to say, Seguin set off a bit of a firestorm, as Hockey Bay hounds jumped all over him, pointing out his less-than-stellar start of the season left little room for his attitude. Incensed, I questioned the young man's intelligence, suggesting that if he could read (I believe he can), he might want to check out this blog.

I'll even admit to asking the Hockey Gods to teach the young man a few lessons, too, in the form of an extended slump and, adding in a dose of much-needed humility, a couple of long, haul-your-own-gear-bag bus rides down in Providence.

Seguin's young and, apparently, has plenty to learn about being a professional. Let's hope he puts this unfortunate incident to good use. We'll find out in December, when the Bruins come back to Hockey Bay. Depending on Seguin's attitude, maybe I'll have another chat with the Hockey Gods.

Boys' night out

Last week, as a reward for all of his hard work at school, Colin and I headed south, even heading across the famous Alligator Alley, to watch his beloved Bruins play the Florida Panthers.

It wasn't all about the Bruins, even though we stayed at the team's hotel, wishing the players well after checking out. It wasn't about the hounding, either, as we completed our goal days before in Hockey Bay.

No, it was about hanging out and watching hockey. Visiting someplace new with a sense of adventure. Bottom line, it was another instance of father-son bonding.

Of course, we had a great time. Colin had a rinkside view of warmups. He got lots of compliments and smiles on his game-night get-up. He even got to meet the diminutive Mini, one of the two Panther's mascots. Even better, in Colin's eyes, the Bruins won, earning a 1-1 split in their two-game road trip to the Sunshine State.

I think we'll do it again.

On the big ice

Though Colin has skated a couple of times on the ice at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, he'd never played a game on the Tampa Bay Lightning's home rink. That changed Friday when his Pinellas P.A.L. Stars took on the Tampa Bay Titans.

Colin, who was named as an alternate captain of his squirts-peewee squad, even had the honor of taking the opening faceoff for the Stars. And, yes, some of the kids he played against were bantams and midgets.

From what I hear, he did his best at being a pest, getting under the skin of a couple of bantam players for his dogged defense. He even drew a penalty. Even though the Stars lost, he said he had a blast.

Quote of the week

"Is that Mini?"
Colin, his tongue planted firmly-in-cheek, as he pointed out Florida's Bryan Allen, who stands 6-foot-4, yesterday morning outside the Panthers' team hotel.

Yeah, I know . . .

Again I took on the challenge of adding a few officials to the old collection. I can't say enough good things about these guys. I would ask one thing of them however . . .

Come up with a new line. "We are not players" is getting a bit old.

Every time I hear that, and I let them know that I understand they aren't players, I get a chuckle about the fact that someone recognizes them for who they really are.

When I presented these photos to Dan O'Halloran and Francois St. Laurent, they both set down their bags and came right over. They genuinely appreciated that someone wanted their autographs.

O'Halloran signed this photo of him and King Henrik. Lundqvist completed it this week.

St. Laurent signed this group photo after letting me know that he recognized me from last year. He said that was the last time someone waited until after a game for his signature and told me to say hello to the two little kids who were with me.

Helping out

Not too long ago, a friend of the family asked a favor. Her brother, a youth hockey coach in Wisconsin, needed items for a fundraiser. She wanted to know if we could get this Boston Bruins logo banner signed for it.

I'll be clear here. I deny, for a multitude of reasons, about 97 percent of the multiple requests I get from people asking us to get autographs for them. If we honored every request, we'd never get autographs for our own collection.

Besides, I subscribe to the theory that anything worth having is worth going out and getting it yourself. Always have. Always will. In fact, I get uncomfortable asking others to get something signed for us. When they do, we reciprocate.

There are exceptions, though, to shooting down requests for getting items signed for others. Helping out a fellow youth hockey team, especially one coached by a good friend's brother, is among them. We know how much it costs to play hockey, and if we can help hockey parents save a couple bucks, it's our pleasure.

That's why we devoted the better portion of the Bruins' first trip to Hockey Bay this season loading up this banner with signatures from Bruins players. In all, Colin, not me, scored 27 autographs on it. Those who signed, among others, included Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Tuukka Rask, Mark Recchi, Marc Savard and Tim Thomas.

The only two players we missed? Boston's Tyler Seguin, the No. 2 overall pick at the 2010 NHL Draft, and Brad Marchand. It wasn't for the lack of asking, though. We asked. They denied. Seguin, in particular, was pretty rude about it.

Imagine that? An overhyped rookie, presently providing a great disservice to the No. 19 once worn by Joey Thornton, and his buddy rejecting a request from a kid to help fill out an item for a youth hockey fundraiser. And, yes, both were told what the banner would be used for.

Well, that's another story for another day. Sunday, to be exact.

Our annual tradition

Ever since Boston's Patrice Bergeron became Colin's best NHL buddy, we've made a point of getting a picture of the two. We got the 2010-11 edition out of the way Monday before the Bruins morning skate.

As always, "Petey" was a class act.

Where's Colin?

This photo may be from last season, but it shows that Colin's always up against the glass during warm-ups anytime the Boston Bruins, his favorite NHL team, visit Hockey Bay.

Thankfully, Mark Recchi, one of the nicest guys in the NHL, took the time to sign it for Colin.

Good example

For every overhyped rookie in the NHL, there's a hard-working player who's worthy of respect and being viewed as a role model. In this case, it's Tampa Bay's Adam Hall, another of Colin's NHL buddies.

He became the latest player to add to our Threads collection, when he signed it for Colin after Monday's morning skate.

Funny thing, too, we got this card out of a box of 2010-11 UD NHL Series 1 we busted last Thursday. Talk about making quick work out of something, right?

The Hockey Life: Week 5

Going into the school year, I made a deal with Colin. If he was on his best behavior and got good grades through the Thanksgiving break, we'd sign him up for the Tampa Bay Lightning's holiday hockey camp. A couple of weeks ago, knowing that he'd kept his end of the bargain, I offered an alternative reward.

Rather than the hockey camp, I asked if would he'd be interested in joining me in a quick road trip down to Sunrise, Fla., to watch the Boston Bruins, his favorite team, play the Florida Panthers. Well, let's just say that Plan B was a big hit.

So, after reconnecting with his best NHL buddy Patrice Bergeron later today and taking in the Bruins-Lightning game tomorrow night in Tampa, we'll hit the road Wednesday morning for a four-hour ride across the Sunshine State. Our lower-bowl tickets await us at the arena. We're even staying at the same hotel as the Bruins, too.

Think of it, if you will, as a boys' night out.

I left it up to Colin if he's going to tell Patrice about the trip. If not, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces.

Hockey happens

We had plans to hound the Minnesota Wild last Sunday. Really, we did. Had nearly a dozen pucks and a full book of cards for them.

It was all for naught, though, when another hockey coach from Colin's home arena asked him to suit up for his team. Of course, we obliged, as the coach could become Colin's coach next spring should we make the leap to travel-team hockey.

Though the team lost, Colin scored the game's first goal. Please know, too, that it was Colin's third game of the day and fourth within 19 hours.

As you can imagine, he slept like a rock later that night.

Quote(s) of the week

"What's he doing wearing that sissy jersey?"
A skater -- a man in his 40s -- at TBSA Countryside ice rink to me, kiddingly, as Colin walked past him wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey.

"He's a damn good skater, that kid. He can wear any jersey he wants."
That same skater, about 15 minutes later, as he stood near me, catching his breath after trying to keep up with Colin.

Signing curves

When it comes to getting autographs from NHL players, it's important to keep in mind the stage of the player's career. Doing so, I believe, is a critical factor.

For the most part, the average NHL player will take the time to stop and sign for most reasonable requests. Pucks, cards, jerseys and photos are no problem. Blank sheets of photo paper? Well, that's up to each player. Most, but not all, know the difference between collectors, fans and dealers.

The trickiest dribble within hockey hounding comes when dealing with two classes of players -- superstars and top draft picks. Both sit atop any hound's wish list. I mean, who doesn't want an autograph from Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby or Edmonton's Taylor Hall? These type of players truly understand what it means to be hounded, facing crowds wherever they go.

My advice? It never hurts to ask, but be prepared to have them say no. That way, if they do agree to sign, it's a bonus. Of the two classes, I've had better luck over the years with the top draft picks rather than the game's biggest names.

Think of it this way. As players are starting out, signing autographs may be somewhat of a novelty. It's fun to be recognized. After some time, though, and this can be measured in weeks or months, that novelty begins to wear off. Any time players step out in public, from heading out to morning skates or grabbing dinner the night before a game, chances are hockey hounds will be waiting with Sharpies and paint pens in hand.

The same holds true for the NHL's superstars. Only the team bus or hotel room offers sanctuary from hockey hounds. No place, it seems, is off-limits. To me, however, that comes with the territory. It's part of being the best in the game. I suppose that's what makes it easy for them to say no. They're good and they know it.

When talking about players' signing curves, I like to reference a bell curve. For those unfamiliar with the term, think of a camel's hump. The animal's back starts off straight, quickly heads north in a rounded fashion and then slopes down to another straight line.

To me, that best represents an NHL player's signing habits:

~ In the beginning (representing a flat line), most players will sign just about anything. Attention is heaped upon them, as crowds clamor for their scribble on all forms of sports memorabilia. It must be quite a rush.

~ As these players get better (representing the upward slope of the bell curve), and their egos kick in, they become more difficult. It's easy to identify a player in this stage as he'll either limit the number of items he signs or the frequency of his refusals increases.

~ Once these players' skills begin to erode (representing the downward slope), they understand they won't be in the NHL forever. A humbling realization, most players return to early signing habits, even taking the time to chat with fans. In doing this, players become the proverbial fan favorites.

~ The curve is completed (representing another flat line) upon retirement. Most players, except those stars who make the Hockey Hall of Fame, fall out of the hounding public's eye, becoming nearly forgotten, save for the occasional trivia question. To me, this is the best time to approach these players, especially those who take front office, coaching or scouting positions, as it's natural for them to want to be remembered in a positive way.

Now, this observation is based on nearly 15 straight years of hockey hounding, not any scientific data. And it certainly can't be applied to each and every NHL player. Hopefully, though, it might explain why players sign or don't sign.

Feel free to discuss and share your observations.

The Hockey Life: Week 4

It's not too often that you get to see an NHL team step outside of a rink during practice. It's even more odd when you see hockey players tossing around a football on a paved parking lot outside the St. Pete Times Forum.

But that's what happened last Tuesday as Tampa Bay Lightning players headed outside to play something that looked like rugby. Squaring off into two teams -- shirts vs. skins -- the Bolts spent about 20 minutes yukking it up at something that was far beyond their element.

All the time, the Bolts drew "What the heck is going on?" stares from Toronto Maple Leafs players, on their way to the morning skate, and Hockey Bay hounds. The nontraditional practice must have worked, though, as the Bolts blanked the Leafs later that night.

My observation from the spectacle: The Bolts, to a man, threw the football like hockey players. Perhaps Josh Freeman, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback, can stop by next time and offer some pointers.

Just making sure

It was real easy to tell that Moody, Hound Central 5.0's senior correspondent, just got back from a vacation. Just ask Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson, who twice told him Tuesday that neither the cards nor the 8x10 photo Moody asked him to sign weren't of him, even though they were of a Ron Wilson.

I can't say that I hadn't nearly made the same mistake myself. What makes this funny, though, is that after being told that the cards weren't his, Wilson also passed on the 8x10 that Moody offered up as Plan B. Wilson, to his credit, still signed something for Moody -- the binder he used as a platform.

Thankfully, Moody took it all in fun. And I think we all learned that there are two Ron Wilsons who played in the NHL.

Line of the Week

"I don't sign team items. Do you have anything that's just of me?"
Toronto's Phil Kessel to a Hockey Bay Hound, who asked the Leafs' forward why he wouldn't sign his 16x20 team photo. Kessel also wouldn't sign a McFarlane base.

Team report: Toronto Maple Leafs

Part of my goals for the 2010-11 hockey-hounding campaign was to scale back my efforts. Between work and family obligations, I needed to cut back on other endeavors. Limiting my time spent hounding was one way to do that.

I'm finding, however, that it's easier said than done. Rather than pack up and leave after Toronto's Kris Versteeg was the last player to head out Tuesday for the Maple Leafs' morning skate, I stuck around near the St. Pete Times Forum instead.

My reason for staying wasn't just adding more autographs. Seldom does the reward match the effort, I've learned. No, it was more about hanging out with friends, busting each other's chops and talking hockey. To me, that's the best part of the hobby. Adding another 28 autographs doesn't hurt, either.

Signing some of the 11 pucks, shown above, were:

Top row: Tyler Bozak, Luca Caputi and Mike Komisarek; and
Bottom row: Clarke MacArthur, John Mitchell and Colton Orr.

Among those signing cards were, from left, Francois Beauchemin, Jonas Gustavsson and Tomas Kaberle.

Other highlights from a morning of hounding:

~ Pucks signed by Toronto's Big Four; and
~ a shout-out to Mikhail Grabovski and Fredrik Sjostrom.

These will do

Every NHL team, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, has what you'd call the Big Four. This Tuesday, it consisted of Toronto's Jean-Sebastien Giguere, (clockwise, from top left) Phil Kessel, Luke Schenn and Kris Versteeg.

Had Leafs' captain Dion Phaneuf made the trip, as well as signed one of the two pucks I had for him, it would've been a hard decision picking who to leave out. My guess? Versteeg. I don't think he's yet to meet the mighty expectations of Leafs Nation.

A thank-you note

I have this rule when it comes to hockey-hounding. If an NHL player is nice enough to sign all four cards that I offer, he gets a shout-out here at Hound Central 5.0. Think of it as a token of my appreciation.

In this case, it's Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski (top row) and Fredrik Sjostrom, who signed eight of the 15 cards I got Tuesday morning before and after the Maple Leafs' morning skate.

Thanks, guys.

Looking for bargains

Over the years, one of the most common questions I get from readers is where do I buy my pucks and how much do they cost. My answer? It's always the same. I buy them wherever I can.

Most are bought online, through a sports memorabilia distributor. Others, however, are bought at arenas, card stores, flea markets and the ilk. Though I often pay no more than $2.75 a puck, I've spent as much as $5 a puck.

It all depends on the situation. If I see a puck I can't find elsewhere, or if I'm caught empty-handed, then I'll begrudgingly pay a higher price. But if I can save a few bucks, well, then, I'd be an idiot if I didn't.

Overall, 65 percent of Hound Central 5.0 readers pay less than $5 for each of their pucks. To me, that's a decent deal. One reader, though, gets pucks for free. Knowing Moody, Hound Central 5.0's thrifty senior correspondent, I think he's the one.

Question: How much do you pay for each of your pucks?

$3 to $4.99: 8 votes out of 20 cast (40 percent)
More than $5: 6 votes (30 percent)
0.01 to $2.99: 5 votes (25 percent)
Free: 1 vote (5 percent)

On a side note, if you buy any pucks from the distributor, please tell them that Hound Central 5.0 sent you. Thanks.

The Hockey Life: Week 3

Given that the Tampa Bay Lightning have been on a West Coast road trip over the past week, hockey-hounding has been in a holding pattern. That doesn't mean, though, we didn't lead our hockey lives.

Rather than collecting autographs, we focused more on Colin's hockey, in anticipation of intrasquad scrimmages (that's him, #37, shown above) finally turning to games against teams from other rinks here in the Hockey Bay area.

In what's becoming something of a weekly tradition, Colin and I worked on his shooting and passing skills Wednesday. We take advantage of a street hockey rink in Largo, where Colin practices his in-close one-timers and rebound shots as well as getting a better handle on passing.

From there, we headed farther north to a small ice skating rink inside a shopping mall in the Countryside area, where Colin got put through the paces, as he has for the past year, working on his skating, building up his endurance and thanking people for compliments on his skating.

Oh, yeah, we even broke down and bought some hockey cards, including Panini's 2010-11 Score offering. A low-end product, it does offer a deep checklist. I even ordered and received three dozens pucks for our hounding adventures this month.

Even without hounding, we had a pretty busy hockey week, I'd say.

Scary dudes

So, how was your Halloween? As usual, we had a fun time, as I had the night off from work. Colin was a Clone Trooper and I reprised my role as Anton Kantstopapuck, an old, fat Russian goalie.

Too bad, though, that Halloween came on a Sunday. We didn't have as many trick-or-treaters as normal, meaning we had plenty of leftover candy. Adding to it, Colin brought home a bulging bag of treats.

If you'd like some, we have plenty. No Reese's peanut butter cups, though. They're mine and, sorry, I'm not sharing.

Farewell, Houndmobile

For the past seven years, there had been one constant companion in all of my hockey-hounding adventures -- a 1998 light blue metallic Ford Taurus.

When in New England, it made the rounds from Portland, Maine, to Providence, R.I., to Manchester, N.H., and Boston. After arriving down here in Hockey Bay, it made so many trips over to the St. Pete Times Forum that I was convinced the Houndmobile knew the way on its own.

Along the way, it drove through snow and ice, driving rain and strong winds, over bridges and through tunnels. It wasn't the prettiest of cars, but that isn't the point.

Bottom line, the Houndmobile did its job, getting me from Point A to Point B and back about 99 percent of the time. I'm thankful for that.

Sadly, though, all good things must come to an end. It lacked a working air conditioner. It needed some catalytic converter work. And the odometer stopped working two summers ago, stuck on 235, 454 miles. Lord knows the car had many more miles on it.

Because of that, I took it off the road in May. It sat at the top of our driveway, waiting for me to decide what to do with it. A couple of weeks ago, a decision was made. After buying it for $3,200 back in 2003, I sold it for $200, nothing more than a parts car. I like to think I got my money's worth.

About a year ago, I bought a car from some cousins in South Carolina. I'll tell you what, I won't do that again. What was supposed to be a solution was nothing more than another set of problems. But, it runs. Since May, it's made a number of hounding trips, for our Summer of Baseball as well as the current hockey-hounding campaign.

With some luck, it'll last long enough until we can buy something better. Until then, the spirit of the Houndmobile remains alive.

Team report: Pittsburgh Penguins

Last season, I refused to take part in the circus that was known as the Pittsburgh Penguins. It wasn't just because of the team's big names. No, it had to do more with them being the then-reigning Stanley Cup champions and the big crowds that flock to the team.

This season, though, we'll make two trips out for the Penguins. The first came in October when the Penguins arrived a few days early for a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While that may not seem out of the ordinary, strange circumstances turned the day into a bit of a circus.

You see, it wasn't just the Penguins who were staying at the Westin Harbour Island hotel. The Nashville Predators, also in town to play the Lightning, were staying at the same hotel. Thanks to some shared intel, we had items for both teams that Sunday.

All told, we added 75 autographs, including 32 from Pittsburgh, in our best day, so far, of the 2010-11 hockey-hounding campaign. For the record, I added another two before the Penguins' game-day morning skate. By then, the team had been pounded and hounded for three days and ignored most requests.

Signing pucks, shown above, were:

Top row: Mike Comrie, Alex Goligoski and Chris Kunitz; and
Bottom row: Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek and Eric Tangradi.

Players signing cards, shown above, were:

Top row: Comrie, Eric Godard, Goligoski and Brent Johnson; and
Bottom row: Tyler Kennedy, Kunitz, Kristopher Letang and Evgeni Malkin

Also adding to the stack of cards were, from left, Michalek, Brooks Orpik, Jordan Staal and Maxime Talbot.

We also put a cheap skate card to good use for Tangradi.

Other highlights from hounding the Penguins:

~ Colin scoring autographs from Sidney Crosby and Malkin;
~ Getting a scribble from Malkin; and
~ Doubling up, so to speak, on Gilles Meloche and Tony Granato.

Doubling up

In part of our bid this season to add former NHL players to the autographed puck collection, Colin was quick to add Gilles Meloche, top, and Tony Granato, part of the Pittsburgh Penguins' coaching staff, during the team's extended stay here in Hockey Bay recently.

Next trip, we'll try to get Meloche on California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons pucks and Granato on Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks pucks.