Good for laughs

Now that Moody has told his story of getting autographs from Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman, it's time to spill the beans on what happened just before the new Tampa Bay Lightning general manager made him feel like a 14-year-old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert.

Because it was hot that day during the Lightning's Young Guns player development camp, we braved the outside elements tucked inside the air-conditioned comfort of Moody's truck. It was, after all, summertime in Florida.

As we sat inside, soaking up the AC and trying to stave off an afternoon nap, we spied someone walking down a sidewalk. At first, the person's identity was obscured by bushes and we dismissed it was Yzerman because the person appeared to be wearing a touristlike fanny pack.

Boy, were we ever wrong. Not only was this person not wearing a fanny pack (it was a cell phone holster), but it was, indeed, the Red Wings' legendary captain. The alarms, so to speak, were sounded.

In what can be accurately described only as a jailbreak or a scene from the Three Stooges, the three of us (Moody, Colin and I) sprung to action. Colin nearly climbed over Moody trying to get out. In return, Moody nearly sent Colin back into his seat. Me? I was fumbling through my bag to grab the pucks shown above as well as two paint pens.

Moody was the first to leave the truck, scrambling up a small incline to the sidewalk and begin the chase. Colin, only seconds behind in his departure, ran along the incline, issuing his request.

"Yzerman," he shouted, "can you sign for my friend and Dad?" (It's nice to know where I rank, isn't it?) No "Mr. Yzerman" or "Steve." Just "Yzerman."

Thankfully, Stevie Y stopped.

After gathering the four pucks and pens, I nearly fell out of Moody's truck, getting a foot tangled up in my hounding bag, to join the chase. Despite my girth and age, I made up lost ground as quickly as I could, most likely causing seismic activity from my heavy feet.

As you can see, our reward was well worth the comedic effort. In less than five minutes of actual hounding, coming within a nearly three-hour-long wait, we knocked out one-third of our primary hounding project this season, The Yzerman Project.

For the record, Colin scored the Red Wings and Lightning pucks. Given Yzerman's and Team Canada's success at the 2010 Olympics, I had Yzerman sign the top pucks in gold.

No longer a tough guy

I like to think of myself as a secure man with very few insecurities. I am 6-foot-2, 240 pounds in stature and climb 300- to 400-foot cellular towers for a living.

All that went out the window last week when I saw my childhood hero, Steve Yzerman. I immediately turned into a 14-year-old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert as soon as I saw the Tampa Bay Lightning's new general manager walk by us during the club/s Young Guns development camp.

I have never been nervous or goofy around any player I have met -- and I have met a lot. This, however, was different.

Photo taken in Detroit from an advertisement for my former employer while I lived in the Motor City is now signed by the Hall of Famer.

Photo taken of the tribute on ice after Yzerman's number was retired is now added as an autographed shrine on my wall.

I chose these two photos to get signed because I wanted to make sure that no one else would present the same items to him this year. They needed to stand out in my collection and not be a mass-produced mimic of the usual.

As much as I want a Stanley Cup photo or HOF induction photo (I do plan on adding those) the "14-year-old JoBro fan" in me wanted my first time to be special.

Gone camping

Florida hounds camp a bit different than typical folks. Instead of the deep woods, we venture into the concrete jungle. Instead of birdwatching, we keep an eye out for hockey players. Most importantly, instead of a musky old tent, we rough it at the Marriott Waterside in Tampa.

All in all, it was still a good time spent with my little girls and our pals, Ron and Colin.

I used last week's Tampa Bay Lightning Young Guns development camp to hone my skills for finding non-NHL photos for players to sign. In my opinion, I did pretty good.

That will be the theme for the upcoming season when I hound. I will make an effort in my 8x10s to only use college, juniors and international photos.

Andrew Agozzino: Camp invitee

Carter Ashton: 2009 first-round pick

Mark Barberio: 2008 sixth-round pick

Brock Beukeboom: 2010 third-round pick

Brett Connolly: 2010 first-round pick

Mitch Fadden: 2007 fourth-round pick on game-used jersey

Scott Jackson: 2005 second-round pick by the St. Louis Blues (Photo also signed by Fadden)

Radko Gudas: 2010 third-round pick

Joe Hartman: Camp invitee

Alex Hutchings: 2009 fourth-round pick

Brandon Hynes: Camp invitee

Adam Janosik: 2010 third-round pick

Jaroslav Janus: 2009 sixth-round pick

Jim Johnson: Norfolk Admirals coach

Zane Kalemba: Camp invitee

Alex Killorn: 2007 third-round pick

Tom Kurvers: assistant general manager, at the time of this camp

Jonathan Lessard: Camp invitee

Tim Marks: Camp invitee

Matt Marshall: 2007 fifth-round pick

Brendan O'Donnell: 2010 sixth-round pick

Richard Panik: 2009 second-round pick

Kevin Quick: 2006 third-round pick (Go Blue!!)

Geoffrey Schemitsch: 2010 fourth-round pick

Dustin Sylvester: Camp invitee

Dustin Tokarski: 2008 fifth-round pick on a game-used stick

Dana Tyrell: 2007 second-round pick

Pat Verbeek: Lightning head pro scout

Luke Witkowski: 2008 sixth-round pick

Ty Wishart: 2006 first-round pick by the San Jose Sharks

Michael Zador: 2009 fifth-round pick

Teigan Zahn: 2010 seventh-round pick in the greatest fight photo ever!

Look familiar?

A week ago, I knew the 2010 Tampa Bay Lightning Young Guns camp would get the hockey-hounding juices flowing. Baseball's been fun. So have Colin's summer hockey scrimmages. But I've started to look forward to these development camps.

Think of it as the Midsummer Lure of the NHL (or close to it) Rink.

More than anything else, the camp was a fun break, a time to hang out with Colin, watch some hockey, learn some more skating drills and, whenever possible, add to the autograph collection.

Because the wish list wasn't too long, it was pretty easy to knock out:

Brett Connolly, the Lightning's No. 1 draft pick last month, inked the obligatory Tampa Bay Lightning and 2010 NHL Draft pucks. Though this isn't a knock on the kid, there's far less buzz this season that in the past two prospect camps with Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman.

Goalie prospect Dustin Tokarski signed this pair of pucks. He must have thought I wanted more than one signature on each puck. That can be the only explanation for signing off to the side, though his signature, as you can see below, isn't all that big.

Cards signed by Carter Ashton, Connolly and Alex Hutchings (on an Ontario Hockey League All Star set card) and a trio of cards, including one for the Threads collection, from Tokarski.

Of course, these weren't the only items signed over our two visits to the St. Pete Times Forum.

Perfect sense

As hard as I try, I can't think of any reason for Colin not to use a team sheet any time we go out hounding. C'mon, just look at this one. In less than 45 minutes, Colin scored autographs from 28 of the 32 Tampa Bay Lightning prospects (plus one coach), including top 2010 picks Brett Connolly, Brett Beukeboom and Adam Janosik.

Team sheets are perfect for these kinds of opportunities.

Other notable signers, per Lightning fan standards, were former 2009 draft picks Carter Ashton and James Wright. The Norfolk Admirals, the Lightning's AHL affiliate, are represented by Mitch Fadden, Jaroslav Janus, Richard Panik, Kevin Quick, Dustin Tokarski, Dana Tyrell, Ty Wishart and former Admirals coach Jim Johnson.

Swell-ter time

So, how hot did it get outside the St. Pete Times Forum on Wednesday at the Tampa Bay Lightning's Young Guns prospect development camp? How about 102 degrees? Is that hot enough? It was for us.

Rather than brave the heat, though, we took refuge in an air-conditioned vehicle, set at a comfortable 78 degrees, emerging only as opportunities for autographs approached. As you can imagine, the heat, humidity and an approaching thunderstorm were topics of conversation:

"No, this happens every afternoon, about this time, from June to who knows when," I told goalie prospect Dustin Tokarski. "That's why you're called the Lightning."

"Yes," I told Lightning scout Pat Verbeek as he signed this puck, "it's always this hot during the summer."

Beyond the weather, and specific Young Gun projects, Colin and I gathered a nice array of souvenirs, including four pucks from the Lightning's new GM Steve Yzerman and a team sheet, during camp.

For as many of these that were available during the camp, I didn't see too many people getting them signed by Brett Connolly, Tampa Bay's top pick, at sixth overall, at the NHL Entry Draft last month. It's my guess, too, this is one of the first Lightning pieces showing Connolly.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a sale at the American Hockey League's website and picked up a handful of Norfolk Admirals pucks, the Lightning's AHL affiliate. Goalie prospect Jaroslav Janus, left, and defenseman Ty Wishart signed this pair.

After the scrimmage, Colin had some prospects, including Carter Ashton (above "Tampa"), 2010 third-pound pick Adam Janosik (in silver at bottom of logo), Richard Panik (below the "28"), and Dustin Tokarski (left of logo) sign this team card.

The camp was also a time to plug a few gaps in specialty card sets, like this 2009-10 AHL Top Prospects card for Ty Wishart, who played last season for Norfolk.

Packing for camp

Like any good Boy Scout, I'm as prepared as I can be for the Tampa Bay Lightning's upcoming (July 10-14) prospects camp down here in Hockey Bay. The hockey-hounding bag is packed with the following items that we hope to get signed within the next week:

Tampa Bay Lightning and 2010 NHL Draft pucks for Brett Connolly, the Bolts' top pick in June's draft;

Lightning and Norfolk Admirals pucks for goalie Dustin Tokarski; and

Cards for Carter Ashton, Connolly and Alex Hutchings (top row) and a trio, including a Threads card for Tokarski.