10 Questions: Marc Lamothe

Marc Lamothe will be our first "10 Questions" that involves a player who is still playing professionally. He has four NHL games under his belt, two with the Chicago Blackhawks and two with the Detroit Red Wings. Playing in the American and International hockey leagues for most of his career, Lamothe has put up solid numbers.

Recently, as of April 7, Lamothe signed a deal to play for the Hamberg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (germany's top professional league) during the 2010-11 season.

In 10 Questions, Hound Central 5.0 asks NHL players -- past and present -- a few questions about their views on autographs. Former NHLer Ian Moran was the first to respond, giving us a few minutes of his time. Since then, there have been quite a few former NHL players who've responded.

We truly appreciate the opportunity provided by Lamothe.

Hound Central 5.0: Did you collect cards/autographs as a kid? If so, who's your favorite autograph?
Marc Lamothe: I didn't collect autographs as a kid.

Hound Central 5.0: Is signing autographs fun or a chore?
Marc Lamothe: I enjoy signing cards.

Hound Central 5.0: What's the weirdest thing you've ever signed?
Marc Lamothe: Someone's arm

Hound Central 5.0: Best/worst cities for autograph hound/dealers?
Marc Lamothe: I don't know.

Hound Central 5.0: Can you tell the difference between autograph dealers and collectors?
Marc Lamothe: I don't really think about it.

Hound Central 5.0: Does it really matter to you if someone is selling your autographs?
Marc Lamothe: Not really... I'm sure they're not making a ton of money from my signed cards.

Hound Central 5.0: Would/do you sign blank pieces of photo paper?
Marc Lamothe: Probably, but I can't remember ever signing a blank piece of paper.

Hound Central 5.0: Any items you won't sign?
Marc Lamothe: No, as long as it's relevant to me

Hound Central 5.0: Most famous person to ask for your autograph? Most famous person you've asked for an autograph?
Marc Lamothe: No one.

Hound Central 5.0: Black or blue Sharpies?
Marc Lamothe: Either one works for me.

Hound Central 5.0 and its correspondents thank Lamothe for his time in answering these questions. We appreciate his efforts, on and off the ice.

Picture-perfect day

When you're 8 years old, it's a huge deal when your dad lets you skip a half-day of school so you can watch your favorite NHL team practice. At least, that's what Colin told me. Because I figured it could be a day to remember, I took this picture of Colin watching Wednesday's practice.

Later that night, I had an idea. Rather than just add it to a photo album, why not let Colin use it as a second team sheet? We would certainly have the opportunity when we said good-bye to the Bruins on Thursday, as the team boarded the bus before its game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It turned to be a good idea, if I do say so myself, as 24 members of the Bruins roster and coaching staff added to the memories of the moment. Most every player, save for the late-running Tim Thomas (Colin gave him a hand-drawn "Good luck at the Olympics" card instead), honored Colin's requests. Among them: Patrice Bergeron (of course), Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Derek Morris, Tuukka Rask, Mark Recchi and Marc Savard.

All told, we added 68 autographs over the two days. More important, though, will be the memories.

With the Vancouver Olympics kicking off tonight, our hounding adventures also took on an international flavor when, from left, Tuukka Rask, Marco Sturm and Tim Thomas signed their respective national pucks.


Colin was also lucky enough Wednesday to snag a broken stick from Andrew Ference, who later signed it for him.

Among those signing cards Wednesday were:

Top row: Zdeno Chara, Matt Hunwick and David Krejci; and
Bottom row: Mark Recchi, Miroslav Satan and Blake Wheeler


Other highlights from two days of hounding Colin's favorite team:

~ Getting his best NHL buddy Patrice Bergeron to sign their annual photo;
~ Trying something different for Colin's first team sheet of the trip for his beloved Bruins;
~ Snagging Hall of Fame goalie and Bruins legend Gerry Cheevers on a couple of jerseys; and
~ Adding a 2010 Winter Classic puck from Marco Sturm.