The Hockey Life: Week 18

Last Thursday, I started writing a post explaining the absence of reports earlier in the week. The reason was as simple as this: the Detroit Red Wings were in town. And, as any serious hockey hound knows, the team demands your full and undivided attention. That alone meant I didn't have time to finish it.

From the future Hall of Famers on the roster -- Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk come to mind -- to the history surrounding the Original Six team, the Wings always draw a big crowd. Thursday night, a sea of red nearly filled the St. Pete Times Forum, where the Wings spanked the hometown Lightning, 6-2.

A funny thing happened, though, when it came to hounding the Wings. While most of us expected big crowds, numbering into the high 20s at the least, the most at any one time was a baker's dozen -- 13. Not that we were complaining, mind you.

With baseball spring training camps opening up nearby, most of the dealers likely turned their attention elsewhere. Baseball, I hear, sells better than hockey. It helped us, too, that we kept it a secret the Red Wings stayed in St. Petersburg, not at one of the three Tampa hotels frequented by NHL teams.

Still, no complaints. It was nice being among friendly faces. And, as you'll read in the days ahead, once we share the bounty of trips for the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers, the hounding wasn't all that bad.

Stepping up

It was with more than a little bit of pride that I sewed an "A" on Colin's Pinellas P.A.L. Stars jersey Saturday morning before his first game of the winter-spring campaign. Entering the fourth season with the program, his coaches saw fit to make him an alternate captain.

Gaining the "A" carries some extra responsibilities. Though he tries to lead by example on the ice, playing hard and as best as he can, he has developed a growing voice in the locker room, keeping his teammates, even some a little older, focused on the upcoming game.

For the record, too, the Stars kicked off the campaign in fine fashion, beating one of the Ellenton teams, 8-0. Colin had a goal and an assist.

A milestone for Moody

Here's a tip of Hound Central 5.0's battered, old Cooper SK600 to Moody on the one-year anniversary of his authoritative voice on collecting autographs through the mail, Moody's TTM Blog.

Between the in-person reports here at Hound Central 5.0 and at Hockey Hounds Universe, Moody's TTM Blog rounds out our comprehensive look at the hockey-hounding hobby.

Join me, please, in wishing Moody congratulations on his efforts -- over the past year and the many days ahead.

Quote of the week

"Go home, shovel snow!"
Our response to Red Wings fans chanting "Let's go Red Wings" at Thursday's 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.

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.

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.

Hotlanta's hopping

I was able to make a quick trip by the Duluth, Ga., training facility to check in on the Atlanta Thrashers. Really glad that I did. Pretty much the whole team, as well as a few prospects, were there getting in some skating before camp opens.

We showed up a bit early for the Thrashers and saw a goalie out on the ice. It turns out to be Dave Caruso, a current New Jersey Devils prospect and former Ohio State Buckeye. He was kind enough to stop and talk with us for a couple of minutes before heading out to catch a flight to New Jersey.

The Thrashers then entered the ice for a little scrimmage. It's my opinion that these guys shouldn't be taken lightly this year.

As the players exited the ice (almost all at once), it got a bit crazy stopping them. I decided I would ask them as I was able to get to their page in my binder. The ones I missed, well, I'd just have to wait for another day.

Those who stopped to sign:

Akim Aliu on an 8x10;

Ben Eager on an 8x10;

Evander Kane on an 8x10, expressing dissatisfaction with Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke;

Arturs Kulda on an 8x10;

Rich Peverly on an 8x10;

Chris Mason on a practice puck; and

Head coach Craig Ramsay on a card.

Craig Ramsay being at the rink was a bit of a surprise, because I thought the coaching staff wasn't allowed to meet with the players until the start of camp. The entire coaching staff, as well as new general manager Rick Dudley, once a Buffalo Sabres teammate of Ramsay's, was on hand in the locker rooms, but not on ice.

Hmmmmmm!

Boys will be boys, but men are still boys

Editor's note: Just making sure that Hound Central readers know this post is by Moody, not Puckhound. I'm thinking Moody may have gone a little batty waiting for the season to begin. Still, though, the man makes a point:

My wife tells me this all the time, and, as a man, it frustrates me to no end. I work hard, I provide for my family and always try to do the right thing.

Well, after looking over some photos of the Stanley Cup, I realized just how juvenile a grown man can be. I can now agree with the missus everytime she says those words.

Take a look at Hall of Famer Frank Selke's title as it's printed on the Stanley Cup. (Editor's note: Even better, how about Arc Campbell's? Figures, too, that it's the Loafs.)

Yes, I realize it's a bit childish to giggle at this, but I did and I still am as I write this post. I also chuckled a bit when I noticed that even the team's mascot even got his name on the Cup.

I apologize now for this immature post, but man, oh, man.

What it's all about

Take a moment, please, to read a letter from Dan Goldie, one of Moody's recent TTM successes. It's a good hockey story.

Goldie's a Buffalo kid to boot, too.

Love those zebras

It may have taken hours for me to get Stevie Y and I may have looked a tad bit foolish while doing so. That's okay in my book.

I decided to speed things up a bit in my last hounding outing. I went over to the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon because I knew that Jonny Murray, an NHL linesman, was running a power skating camp there. In less than five minutes, my patience paid off.

Jonny signed four photos for me on his way in to the forum and even took the time to ask where I got them. He even went through the work-in-progress "Officials" team sheet, below, and tried to name the others who'd signed.

There are still plenty of camps going on this summer. Take the time to research your local ice rinks and see what kind of gems you can haul in.

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!

Hounding help

I was unable to make the trip to Clearwater as I had hoped in order to solidify my acquisition of Norm Beaudin, a member of the original World Hockey Association Winnipeg Jets.

I asked Puckhound if he would mind, since young Colin skates at the arena where Norm owns a hockey store. In turn, Ron employed the help of Mrs. Puckhound, and, as you can see from the results . . .

Norm, who scored 103 points as a rookie linemate of Bobby Hull in 1972-73, was more than happy to apply his penmanship to these two photos.

Many thanks to the Puckhound family for helping me out with this small project.