Small town connection

He may not be a household name within the NHL fan base, but Atlanta's Freddy Meyer has a big fan in the youngest hound within the Puckhound household. You see, both spent time growing up in and around Rochester, N.H., a small city along the New Hampshire-Maine border.

And, for Colin, that connection alone is enough to make a point of saying hello, as well as getting an autograph, anytime Meyer visits Hockey Bay. Cool thing, too, is that Meyer says he remembers Colin for that reason.

Next time, I'll suggest to Colin that he use a blue Sharpie, rather than a silver, so the autograph "pops" better.

The Hockey Life: Week 15

It was a pretty sad time this past week down here in the Tampa Bay area. On Monday, two St. Petersburg police officers were shot and killed trying to serve an arrest warrant. The deaths of those two brave men -- both married and one a father of three children -- have left a hollow feeling across the area.

Over the 25-and-counting years of my newspaper career, especially in the early days, working the police beat was part of my job. For the most part, it was a fun and, to say the very least, interesting gig. There were times, though, mostly getting grieving families to share private moments, that weren't very much fun.

Through daily police blotter checks, as well as covering assorted felonies, nasty car accidents and the occasional murder, I'd gotten to know quite a few officers, deputies and state troopers. By and large, they were good people doing a very difficult and demanding job. Away from the job, and out of uniform, they were like most everyone else -- husbands, wives, parents and neighbors.

These days, we find ourselves, through the game of hockey, on the periphery of the law enforcement community. The hockey team Colin plays for, the Stars, is sponsored by the Pinellas Police Athletic League. Some of his coaches are detectives or deputies. A few teammates have parents who work in law enforcement. For that reason alone, the officers' deaths hit close to home.

On Friday, hours after the officers' funeral, we learned just how much closer this terrible tragedy nearly came.

A fellow Pinellas P.A.L. hockey parent was part of the first group to go inside the house that fateful morning. He saw colleagues get shot. He shouted "Officers down!" into his radio. And, sadly, he witnessed death. Of that small group who faced an armed fugitive (and now dead) holed up in an attic, only he went home to his family Monday night.

After a long, sad week, I'm hoping he's thankful for that. We are.

Team report: Columbus Blue Jackets

It goes without saying, but I have to say it anyways. When an out-of-conference team comes to town, conditions exist to have a monster day. That's what happened last week when the Columbus Blue Jackets made their first trip to Hockey Bay since March 2009.

Don't get me wrong. Teams like the Blue Jackets may be struggling in the standings, but that doesn't mean people don't want to hound them. It's a time to load up on cards, pucks or 8x10s. When you walk away with 77 autographs, like we did, it's easy to see why.

It was, to date, the best day of the 2010-11 hockey-hounding campaign, and we still have a few more Western Conference teams coming in.

One of the top items was this Team Canada 2010 Olympic gold medal puck from Rick Nash, one of seven on the day.

Other Blue Jackets players signing pucks, shown above, were:

Top row: Derik Brassard and Chris Clark; and
Bottom row: Kris Russell and Fedor Tyutin.

Among those signing the 42 cards were:

Top row: Derek Dorsett, Mathieu Garon, Jan Hejda and Kristian Huselius;
Bottom row: Rostislav Klesla, Steve Mason, Marc Methot and Andrew Murray; and

As well as, from left, Samuel Pahlsson, Anton Stralman, Antoine Vermette and Jakub Voracek.

Other noteworthy events:

~ Colin putting a hand-drawn team sheet to good use;
~ four Blue Jackets players signing four cards each;
~ wishing Rick Nash signed on a better spot;
~ adding Rick Nash and Jakub Voracek to the Threads collection;
~ tapping into specialty cards; and
~ getting three cheap skates signed.

Drawing them in

By Colin
Hound Central 5.0 junior correspondent

I had wanted to do the Columbus Blue Jackets' third logo of a cannon for my team sheet, but I kept messing up. I guess it was out of my drawing capabilities, so I went and looked for more logos and saw the bug head one.

For some unknown reason, I started out with the eyes, basically because they had most of the inside navy blue lines attached to it. I think it actually turned out pretty good. The only thing I left out was the gray stripe because I wanted to keep it close to the same colors.

The players liked it, as I got three compliments, including one from R.J. Umberger when he signed it for me. All together, it worked out great as I got 21 autographs, including Rick Nash, Derik Brassard, Kristian Huselius, Fedor Tyutin and Jakub Voracek.

All fours

Anytime you rack up a bunch of cards on a hockey-hounding adventure, there's a good chance that more than one player signed more than one card. When it happens, the stack of cards gets deep real quick.

That's what happened last week when four members of the Columbus Blue Jackets, in Hockey Bay to play the Tampa Bay Lightning, signed four cards each:

Jared Boll and Derik Brassard; and

Chris Clark and Kris Russell.

All things being equal ...

Not that I'm complaining or anything, but I wish Columbus' Rick Nash would have signed this McFarlane base, commemorating Canada's gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, in a much better spot.

As you can see, his signature means the figurine doesn't sit in the proper position.

To me, the ideal place for Nash's autograph, if you really want to call it that, belongs to the left of his name or above the Team Canada Olympics squad logo.

Am I being too picky? Probably. Really, I should be happy enough that he signed it when the Blue Jackets visited Hockey Bay last week.

Going forward, I'll try to pay more attention when I try to add another two this season -- Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. So far, we have three of the nine-piece set.

Beyond the fabric

If you've ever busted a box of hockey cards (well, maybe more than one), you've likely pulled a jersey swatch card as one of the premiums. Some, especially those featuring patch, nameplate or number swatches, are put away for safe keeping. One of favorite players get tucked away, too.

For the most part, though, or at least it has been my experience, most of these cards could be viewed as run-of-the-mill jersey cards. Sure, they're nice, souvenirs of official NHL games. Some cards feature bigger names, too. But after pulling a bunch, as we've been fortunate enough to do over the years, they simply become a part of the collection.

That's one of the main reasons we started the Threads collection, taking these cards one step further by getting them signed by players. Last week, Columbus' Rick Nash and Jakub Voracek became the latest two NHL players to join our club.

I can live with these

One of the last things I do in preparing for a visiting NHL team, after I've gathered pucks, erased cards and checked the American Hockey League transactions, I create as many of these cheap skate cards I need.

In the case of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who visited Hockey Bay last week, I needed to make four of the cards. As you can see, three proved very useful in what turned out to be a very productive, as well as a long, day of hockey hounding.

Though I couldn't find hockey cards for neither Grant Clitsome nor Derek MacKenzie, I had only one card for Jan Hejda. Each was more than willing to sign.

The only Blue Jackets player who didn't sign one? That would be Matt Calvert. It wasn't that he wouldn't, I just never recognized him. Oh, my bad. Maybe next time, I'll have some cards for him.

The Hockey Life: Week 14

It has happened every winter, ever since leaving New England and setting up shop down here in Hockey Bay. There comes a time, most often on a Saturday night, when I miss taking the back roads and highways to attend an American Hockey League game.

Though I love attending NHL games, even down here in Hockey Bay, there was something a bit more fun about taking in a game at a minor-league barn. It wasn't just the cheaper prices, either. It was like the games seemed more real, the action closer and, in a way, the night more alive. Determination filled players' faces. Boards rattled and shook. You could even smell kernels becoming popcorn.

Taking it a step further, and perhaps closer to the point, I miss hounding after AHL games. The two rinks I frequented, in Portland, Maine, and Lowell, Mass., provided some of the easiest hounding I've ever encountered. You could stand outside the players' entrance, even to the point of holding open doors. If that didn't work, the team bus was, maybe, 20 feet away. It was that simple.

I can't recall ever being really bothered by the late-night cold, even on the clearest of nights when stars were the brightest. I'm sure it has something to do with growing up in western New York. Sure, our winters were snowy. They were cold, too. Over time, you got used to it.

For all of those reasons, as well as the memories etched in my mind, there was just something about those Saturday nights. Someday, maybe, I'll get that feeling again. Until then, Hockey Bay will suffice.

A little help here

I pride myself on being able to recognize most any autograph doled out by an NHL player. But faithful reader Brett, who runs the My Hockey Card Obsession blog, has me stumped with his latest "Who am I?" contest.

I have no idea about the identities of the three signers, even with his cryptic clue. Maybe you do. If so, let Brett know. Me, too, please.

Quote of the Week

"Where's the duct tape? Where's the duct tape? Where's the duct tape?"
Colin, responding, in perfect cadence, to a nearby Lightning fan's too-loud and constant chant of "Let's go Lightning!" during the Bolts-Blue Jackets game.

A tale of two brothers

Can you guess who won the 1965 NCAA championship with the Michigan Tech Huskies and was later inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988?

I think his clear and distinct signature will give this one away. Why can't the current guys give an autograph like the old timers? How about instead of advertising vintage games, tell the player to give vintage autographs?

Moody is now stepping down from his soap box.

Anyways, this is a sweet shot of Tony Esposito, holding that 1965 NCAA championship trophy, that he kindly signed for me last week before the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals.

Now, for the flip side. After the Bolts-Caps game, I was waiting around to see if Tony's older brother, Phil Esposito, would be as kind. Well, I must say, NO! As the godfather of Tampa Bay hockey left the arena, he angrily let me know that he was too old for this %$&@ and muttered a few other expletives.

I was the only one who asked for his autograph, but a few fans who were leaving the arena noticed his unkind words and expressed their opinions of the situation to him. They asked him if he was too old or just too big of (jerk). Then, they came over and asked who he was.

Team report: New Jersey Devils

My full intention was to hound the New Jersey Devils last Friday before the team's morning skate. That all changed, though, when I learned that the Devils would be skating at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon the day before.

The only concern, though, was whether I could get over to the rink in time after picking up Colin from school. Well, that wasn't a problem.

In another sign that the Hockey Gods do, indeed, smile upon us, we weren't at the rink for more than five minutes when players and coaches started leaving the ice. Less than 45 minutes later, we'd added another 33 autographs, including 21 cards, to the collection.

Among those signing pucks, shown above from left, were Ilya Kovalchuk, Matthew Corrente and Mattias Tedenby.

Just for good measure, we also had Adam Oates, now an assistant coach for the Devils, sign this pair of pucks, too.

Among those signing cards were:

Top row: Jason Arnott, Matthew Corrente, Patrik Elias and Adam Mair; and
Bottom row: Brian Rolston, Colin White, Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus.

Other highlights from our brief, but fruitful, opportunity of hounding:

~ getting Hall of Famer Larry Robinson on four cards;
~ adding a pair of autographs from Martin Brodeur;
~ scoring a hat trick from Jason Arnott; and
~ having Patrik Elias add to the Threads project.

Double gold

What's better than getting New Jersey's Martin Brodeur on one piece of sports memorabilia celebrating Canada's gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

How about two items?

Thanks to a father-son tag-team effort, that's exactly what we did when Brodeur, a future Hall of Famer, signed the McFarlane figurine as well as this puck.

For the record, Colin got the McFarlane, planting himself in front of Brodeur at the end of a practice at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon last Thursday. Fifteen seconds later, if that, Brodeur signed the puck for me.

Though the signatures are the standard roadies offered up by Brodeur, they're certainly nothing to sneeze at. I can help but notice, upon closer review, that each is a bit different.

Interesting, don't you think?

Top Shelf: Jason Arnott

He may not go down in NHL scoring annals as one of the most prolific in history, but New Jersey's Jason Arnott gets major points in my book after signing these three pucks during the Devils' visit last week.

Really, I would've been happy with just one, but signing all three lands him the Top Shelf honor.

Caught black-handed

Of all the in-person autographs we've scored over the years, it's a fair estimate to say that 60 percent have been signed in blue Sharpie, the color of choice among hounds. Another 35 percent, primarily on pucks, came from silver or blue paint pens.

What's left, including this latest addition to the Threads collection, were done in black.

It certainly wasn't a conscious decision to hand New Jersey's Patrik Elias a black Sharpie. No, it was more like a lack of planning or positioning on my part.

Somehow, I didn't have an extra blue Sharpie in the bag last week. And with Colin using the blue Sharpie for Martin Brodeur to sign a McFarlane base, I had to use this or risk letting Elias pass by.

Let's just say the hounding bag has been restocked with blue Sharpies.

Team report: Washington Capitals

When you don't carry a lot of pucks for a visiting NHL team, it's no surprise when you walk away with only one. That was the case last Wednesday when the Washington Capitals came to town.

Though I had only five pucks with me, I was fortunate to score this Hershey Bears puck, signed by goalie Michal Neuvirth, before the team's morning skate at the St. Pete Times Forum.

For the most part, the Capitals came out in clumps, four to five at a time, forcing hockey hounds and dealers to pick and choose. All told, I added 19 autographs, one below my standard of a decent day of hounding.

And, no, none came from Alex Ovechkin. Though I carried a single card for him, I knew better than to think I'd get it signed. He is, by far, the toughest NHL player in terms of getting an autograph. Kids and blue-eyed blondes, my experience has shown, stand the best chance.

As Ovechkin left the team's hotel, declining every request made of him, a small crowd of about 12 to 15 hounds and unrealistic dealers sporting Washington Capitals jerseys followed him for blocks. Not a single one got an autograph at that time.

Among those signing the 16 cards were:

Top row: Karl Alzner, Jason Chimera, Eric Fehr and Boyd Gordon; and
Bottom row: Mike Green, Mike Knuble, Jeff Schultz and David Steckel.

Other highlights of the day, so to speak:

~ Learning a valuable lesson not to take things for granted; and
~ Once again, putting some cheap skates to good work.

Filling gaps

Laugh if you must, as I sometimes chuckle do when using these cheap skate cards, but these homemade cards truly do come in handy.

Lacking any legitimate hockey cards for Washington's Matt Hendricks and DJ King, all it took was five minutes of seat time in front of my computer and about 45 seconds of combined hounding time to add these to the collection.

There's a bit of a bonus, too. If memory serves me correct, and that's always a legitimate question at my ever-advancing age, these could be the first autographs I've received from either Capitals player.

Granted, neither is a household name, but in the interest in building a diverse collection, it's another two names crossed off of the so-called want list.

The Hockey Life: Week 13

Over the past week, I've had two instances where telling folks that we had more than 2,200 autographed pucks brought raised eyebrows. Not so much in disbelief, I think, but in a sense of wonder. "Twenty-two hundred pucks," they ask. "What do you do with them?"

Even I've started to marvel at the magnitude of the collection. There's no way we can display them all, with only 100, at most, on display in two cases in our office/playroom. Most are packed away in boxes, duly noted in multiple records, waiting for the right time and place to be put on display and handed down to future generations.

There's been a concerted effort during this hockey-hounding campaign to slow the pace of the collection. For a variety of reasons, financial and dwindling storage space among them, I'm turning more to cards than pucks anytime a team makes its way to Hockey Bay. Though there are some teams that I'll carry at least a dozen pucks for, very few teams require more than six pucks.

In a sense, we need the league to reload. By focusing on pucks for more than 10 years now, and limiting our efforts to particularly puckworthy players, we've been adding depth to, rather than broadening the scope of, the collection.

So, when will enough be enough? That's hard telling. There's no round number, like 2,500 or even 5,000, that will lead us to pull the plug on pucks. It'll happen when it happens. Until then, we'll add to the collection -- one puck at a time.

Serves 'em right

Couldn't help but chuckle at some autograph dealers coming up empty with Washington's Alex Ovechkin last week. Not only did they bring a full crew (at least six adults and two children all wearing Capitals jerseys, with some of the guys wearing two jerseys), but they honestly expected that Ovechkin would sign each and every jersey.

Sorry, guys, but that was extremely wishful thinking. Ovechkin may not speak perfect English, but he has a pretty good handle on one word -- "No." From what I hear, Ovie signed for the two children, but that was it.

It's hard to believe that any Washington Capitals team jersey, ultimately bound for eBay or some other sports memorabilia outlet, would be worth the effort, or any reasonable amount of money, lacking one of the NHL's toughest autographs.

I wonder, too, if the children got to keep their jerseys. I hope so, but something tells me they didn't.

Quote(s) of the Week

"You looked good out there."
Puckhound, to New Jersey Devils assistant coach and Hall of Famer Larry Robinson, at the end of the team's practice in Brandon on Thursday.

"I don't know about that."
Larry Robinson, in response, to the compliment.

"C'mon, two weeks of hard skating and you could play for most any NHL team."
Puckhound

"Ah, I tried that before."
Larry Robinson

Team report: New York Rangers

It's all the Florida Gators football team's fault. Had the Gators, in Hockey Bay to play Penn State in the Outback Bowl, not been staying at the same hotel as the New York Rangers on New Year's Day, I'm certain we would have had much better luck than we did.

Though we hustled enough to add two dozen autographs, including half a dozen pucks, to the collection, we fell victim to a never-ending stream of buses shuttling the Gators and their boosters from the hotel.

Rather than walk past as earlier teammates had, the late risers took a right, rather than a left, and I didn't want to run across an active driveway, especially with Colin and a couple of his teammates with me.

Sometimes, it's just better to play it safe and be happy with what you can get. There's always another season.

Signing the pucks were:

Top row: Martin Biron (Rangers and Islanders) and Michael Del Zotto; and
Bottom row: Ruslan Fedotenko (Rangers and Lightning 2004 Stanley Cup Champions - he scored the Cup-winning goal) and Alexander Frolov.

One of the morning's biggest surprises, as well as the biggest score, came when Rangers captain Chris Drury signed all four cards I offered. I told him I'd be happy with any one.

Rounding out our hockey adventure were:

~ getting a little help from Colin's teammates; and
~ Colin helping the Rangers celebrate their 85th anniversary.

A good choice

Given the good luck Colin had using a wallpaper image as a team sheet for the Montreal Canadiens, it made perfect sense to try it out a second time. Enter the New York Rangers, another Eastern Conference team we've consistently hounded over the years.

With it being the New York Rangers' 85th anniversary, wallpaper images conveying that distinction certainly seemed appropriate. After Colin scored 14 autographs on New Year's Day, it's looking like a solid call.

Among those signing were captain Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan, Daniel Girardi, Marc Staal, Martin Biron, Ruslan Fedotenko and, yes, Sean Avery.

Thanks, guys

Ask any hound, and they'll tell you the same thing. The New York Rangers' Martin Biron is one of the most pleasant players they've ever met in the NHL.

It's beyond the fact that he'll sign more than a single item. Biron, who came up in the Buffalo Sabres organization, is personable, too, taking the time to chat. He's the kind of player who makes this hobby enjoyable. No attitude, just autographs -- the way it should be.

That hasn't helped me, though, get this jersey swatch signed over the past few years as he played his way across the Eastern Seaboard. It always seemed like I had something else or, to be honest, would let him pass so I could get an autograph from another player.

That all I changed New Year's Day. As you can see, the card finally got signed, becoming the latest addition to the Threads collection. I didn't get it, though. Nope, I have someone else to thank for that.

Over the holidays, we took a couple of Colin's hockey teammates -- twin brothers -- out hounding, showing them the ropes. The Rangers were the last of three teams they hounded with us over the break.

Before morning skate, Biron signed a pair of pucks, as we made the push to 2,200 for the collection. As a result, as well as I had to go into work early that day, it looked like the card would have to wait again. That's when one of the twins, who'd be sticking around with their dad until the team came back, offered to get some cards signed for us.

They did a good job, if you ask me.

The Hockey Life: Week 12

Even though we spent last night at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey "Fully Charged" circus at the St. Pete Times Forum, the true circus, as far as hockey-hounding is concerned, arrives Wednesday, when the Washington Capitals and You-Know-Who come to town.

Rather than carry high expectations, I've learned over the past few seasons to aim low. That way, I won't be disappointed. And it's not just Ovie, too. Aside from a handful of players, most notably Mike Knuble, most of the Capitals are as tough as a reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner on a reigning Stanley Cup champion.

Sorry, guys, but let me be the bearer of some sobering news: you haven't won Lord Stanley's cup.

Really, it's easy to see why Ovechkin routinely and repeatedly shoots down requests by anyone who isn't a child or a young, blue-eyed blonde. The guy must get hounded, just like Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, every place he goes. And while it would be nice (hint, hint) if he'd just have us all line up and sign one item, I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon.

Instead, I'll set my sights on other players, such as the Capitals' young goalies Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth. I'd also like the opportunity to thank John Carlson for his goal at last year's World Junior Championships. Like most of you, I wouldn't pass up on autographs from Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Alexander Semin.

And, just in case, I'll have a Russian hockey card for Ovie. Wish me luck.

Sneak preview

Colin had a couple of games with his Pinellas P.A.L. Stars team Friday to close out his winter season. Rather than meeting one of the two Ellenton teams, he got to play against the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning, one of the four travel teams here in the Hockey Bay area.

Given that the Stars haven't played or practiced in some time, I was surprised to hear that the Stars beat the Jr. Lightning, 9-3 and 2-1, with Colin scoring the game-winner off a rebound with only five seconds left in the second game. In a sense, we viewed it as an informal tryout for the Jr. Lightning squad.

More than anything else, it gave him a taste of what it'll be like when he makes the jump, hopefully, to travel team play this spring. I'm sure there's at least one team down here in Hockey Bay that can use a pest-in-training.

Team report: Montreal Canadiens

With Colin off on his Christmas break last week, it made perfect sense that we try to hound as many teams as we could during his two weeks off from school. It didn't hurt, either, that all three were Original Six teams. I guess that's what motivated me the most.

If you can't get up for an Original Six team like the Montreal Canadiens, no matter how many times you've hounded them, you have no business carrying a blue Sharpie. Last Thursday, I nearly burned through mine.

Much to my surprise, though, the Habs were a bit out of character. Normally a team that takes some effort, every player, including noted toughies Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez and Carey Price, worked the sizable line that formed outside the team's hotel. Once it was over, I was stunned at how easy it was.

Helping us rack up 75 autographs, which matches our season-high tag-team effort, were these players who signed the cards shown above:

Top row: Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez;
Middle row: Josh Gorges, Roman Hamrlik and Maxim Lapierre; and
Bottom row: Travis Moen, Tomas Plekanic and Jaroslav Spacek.

Also signing cards were:

Top row: Alex Auld, Hall Gill and Andrei Kostitsyn; and
Bottom row: Kirk Muller, Max Pacorietty and Benoit Pouliot.

Here's another instance, too, where cheap skates, what I lovingly call my homemade cards, come in handy.

Most every NHL teams, and the Canadiens were no exception, carry players who rarely have more than a handful of cards. In my case, I've run out of cards for Montreal's Mathieu Darche and Alexandre Picard.

Rather than let them pass by, though, I had them sign these two cards.

To me, it doesn't matter if a card is produced by a major card manufacturer. As long as it has room for a signature, and these cards do, there's little reason not to make them part of the collection.

Other highlights from a fruitful day of hockey hounding:

~ getting Habs goalie Carey Price to sign a McFarlane base;
~ using a different type of wallpaper image for Colin's team sheet; and
~ reinforcing a belief that it's best to catch a player early in his NHL career.

Four for four

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. The best time to get NHL players is at the beginning of their NHL careers. Most of them, I'd dare say, are among the most willing signers, not even batting an eyelash at signing at least four cards at a time.

Last week's hockey hounding adventure for the Montreal Canadiens proves my point. Montreal's Lars Eller (from top to bottom), Tom Pyatt, P.K. Subban and Yannick Weber added 16 of the 45 cards that I got signed before and after the team's morning skate.

Getting the younger players is a good way, too, to build diversity into your autographed card collection. Not only are there NHL cards, but the American Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Team Canada are all represented.

Fits the bill

Because we've had decent luck with Montreal's Carey Price in the past, getting him to sign Canadiens and Tri-City Americans pucks as well as an 8x10 to Colin, it was time to branch out last week and find something else for the young goalie to sign. This McFarlane works, doesn't it?

Price also signed Colin's rock-solid team sheet.

The Hockey Life: Week 11

After hounding NHL players in person for nearly 15 years, it's easy to become jaded or lazy. Thankfully, I've had decent luck, building a substantial collection of autographed pucks, cards and assorted memorabilia that I hope someday will be passed on to future generations of my family.

Part of the process has been introducing Colin to the hobby. From his hand-drawn team sheets to cards and the occasional puck, he's quickly come up to speed. I'm proud to admit, too, that he outhounds his old man on a fairly consistent basis. After all, it's his collection, not mine.

More than any autograph, even one from Wayne Gretzky, spending quality time with Colin and gaining stories that will last a lifetime are my rewards. If nothing else, hockey and hounding bind this father and son.

Another reward is introducing others to the hobby, particularly in-person hounding where meeting and interacting NHL players is just as much fun, maybe even moreso, as getting their autographs.

For the past week, we've helped introduce two of Colin's youth hockey teammates to the world of in-person hockey hounding. They've learned how to find teams at hotels, the best times to see the players and that nonglossy cards are easier to use than glossy cards. More importantly, they've learned that 45 minutes of patience often yields five minutes of hockey-hounding bliss.

Their reward? In three trips for the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, one-half of the NHL's Original Six, the boys added a significant number of autographs to their growing collections. Along the way, they scored autographs from some of the NHL's biggest names -- Boston's Tim Thomas and Marc Savard. Montreal's Mike Cammalleri and Carey Price. New York's Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist.

We could be better hosts

It's not that I'm against tourists here in Florida. They're the economic lifeblood for many businesses and residents. It's even better, too, when they're hockey fans, helping to fill up the St. Pete Times Forum.

Over the past few seasons, we've had the pleasure of meeting Canadian families down here in Hockey Bay. Like us, they were hanging out near their favorite team's hotel in bids to score autographs from their hockey heroes. Because they're on holiday, they're getting some souvenirs.

Depending upon their attitudes, which quite often are far more gracious than any visitors from U.S. locales, we've been more than happy to help out by identifying players, tell them the best times to see their team as well as offer insight on other attractions.

Every so often, though, we detect an air of hockey superiority. After all, hockey is, indeed, Canada's sport. The game, too, has been played north of the border far longer than down here in Hockey Bay. Still, some fans' expectations that Canada-based teams will win long before the puck is dropped is a bit humorous.

It's poetic justice, I suppose, that the Lightning find a way to humble these fans, as well as their hometown teams, just like the Bolts did last Thursday against the Canadiens.

Awfully quiet

Speaking of the Lightning's 4-1 victory over the Canadiens last week, what did you think of Steven Stamkos' spin-o-rama penalty shot goal? Pretty sweet, wasn't it?

What I couldn't help thinking, though, and I'm not alone in this opinion, was how the goal, as well as Lightning's response, could be viewed as hypocritical. It wasn't all that long ago that the Lightning and a portion of its fan base were criticizing Edmonton rookie Linus Omark's spin-o-rama during a shootout.

In Omark's case, his nifty move was far enough away from the net that it shouldn't have bothered Tampa Bay's Dan Ellis. It did, though, and the Oilers won that game. Stamkos' move, however, came on Montreal goalie Carey Price's doorstop. Rather than being panned as a "hot dog" move, heaps of praise, and deservedly so, were showered upon Stamkos.

Like I said back then, there's nothing wrong with injecting some entertainment and derring-do in the game. In fact, it's too bad we don't see more action like that. Sitting deep in your seat, rather than on its edge, gets boring.

Going forward, though, let's hope the Lightning players and fans keep their mouths shut should it happen again to them.

No laughing matter

Two times last week, an anonmymous reader felt the need to comment, in harassing and potentially threatening manners, on Colin's hockey abilities. Sorry, young man, but I take things like that seriously. That's one of reasons why I use a website stat-tracking program. This isn't the first time it's proved useful, but I'm hoping it's the last.

As a result, I've filed complaints with the Ontario Provincial Police, the home base for Rogers Cable, the Internet service provider linked to the easily tracked user (99.251.197.122), as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Fredericton, New Brunswick, the origin of the IP address.

Furthermore, young man, if you feel the need to disparage a 9-year-old to make yourself feel better, it's my advice, coming only as a father, that you seek professional help. If it's true that you're a AAA midget player who's ranked for the Ontario Hockey League draft, as you claim to be, let's hope the teams, for their own sake, place as much value on character as they do skill.

And, if you don't like what I'm writing, don't bother stopping by. We'll do just fine without you.