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.

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.

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?

In honor of Olympic gold

Thanks to Al, Hound Central 5.0's senior correspondent in Toronto, we have a new hockey-hounding project to keep us busy over the next few seasons. And thanks to Carolina's Eric Staal, the captain of the Hurricanes, we were able to break the ice, so to speak, with the project.

Not too long ago, Al asked if we were interested in this set of nine members of Canada's 2010 Olympic gold-medal winning squad. Of course, we were, I told him.

Though we live down here in Hockey Bay, where palm trees ( not maple leafs) are part of the hockey landscape, I certainly can appreciate what that special moment in Vancouver meant in the cradle of hockey.

Besides Staal, who else is in the set? Here's who: New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, San Jose's Dany Heatley, Calgary's Jarome Iginla, Vancouver's Roberto Luongo, Columbus' Rick Nash, San Jose's Joe Thornton and Chicago's Jonathan Toews.

Conditions exist for us to have Brodeur, Crosby, Nash and Toews sign their bases, like Staal did, this season. The others, however, will have to wait until at least the 2011-12 hockey-hounding campaign.

Either way, it'll be no easy feat. Still, though, once we complete the set, the effort will certainly be worth it.

Congrats, Dino and Cammi

Yesterday the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, announced that Dino Ciccarelli and Cammi Granato, among others, will be inducted into the player category.

Dino has been waiting since 2002 for the call. He has 602 goals in his career. He's a former member of the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, so that sorta makes him a hometown hero wherever I have been.

Dino signed this Lightning third jersey for me in Michigan a week after signing with the Lightning. I was the only person in line at the Gibraltar Trade Center show that didn't have something for him from the Wings. During his first training camp with the Bolts, I made up for the lack of Wings respect and had him sign this puck.

Granato is one of two women (Canadian legend Angela James is the other Class of 2010 inductee) being inducted. This is the first time a woman (Or two for that matter) have been individually inducted. She has been with Team U.S.A. for 15 years and has a few Olympic medals to show for it. She was an analyst during these past Olympic games.

Cammi signed this postcard for my daughter about five years ago and has been in her "Girl Hockey" collection ever since. It is a pretty impressive collection that I may showcase for her one day.

Also named to the Hockey Hall of Fame's Class of 2010 were Detroit's Jimmy Devellano and former Calgary Flames owner, the late Daryl "Doc" Seaman.

10 Questions: David Harlock

David Harlock started his National Hockey League career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and spent time with the Washington Capitals, New York Islanders and Atlanta Thrashers as well. He was a member of Team Canada during several tournaments, including the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Harlock played college hockey for the University of Michigan Wolverines.

More recently, he is a client services representative with the Hylant Group, an insurance company.

Moody, Hound Central 5.0's senior correspondent, had the honor of meeting Harlock when he played for the Thrashers. He was kind enough to sign this card for him.

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. Same with the likes of Brian Propp and Kevin Miller. We truly appreciate the opportunity provided by Harlock.

Hound Central 5.0: Did you collect cards/autographs as a kid?
David Harlock: No

Hound Central 5.0: Is signing autographs fun or a chore?
David Harlock: Fun

Hound Central 5.0: What's the weirdest thing you've ever signed?
David Harlock: Nothing stands out

Hound Central 5.0: Do people still recognize you in public?
David Harlock: Not often

Hound Central 5.0: Can you tell the difference between autograph dealers and collectors?
David Harlock: Not really

Hound Central 5.0: Does it really matter if someone is a dealer?
David Harlock: Yes. I would prefer that people do not make money off of my autograph.

Hound Central 5.0: Would/do you sign blank pieces of photo paper?
David Harlock: Yes

Hound Central 5.0: Most famous person to ask for your autograph?
David Harlock: N/A

Hound Central 5.0: Most famous person you've asked for an autograph?
David Harlock: Have never asked for an autograph. I would rather engage the person in a discussion than ask for their autograph.

Hound Central 5.0: Black or blue Sharpies?
David Harlock: Blue ... for the University of Michigan. Go Blue!

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

It was in Vancouver

With the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver drawing the NHL's best, the league's annual midseason gathering of top players took a year off this season. I certainly didn't miss the NHL All-Star Game. Nor did nearly 70 percent of readers taking part in Hound Central 5.0's latest poll.

The hockey played over the two-week stretch was much more enjoyable than any single All-Star Game weekend. To me, and most of you will likely agree,Vancouver was an All-Star Tournament, not a meaningless game and a made-for-TV skills competition.

Question: Missing the All-Star Game?

No: 25 votes out of 36 cast (69.4 percent)
Yes: 11 votes (30.6 percent)

Team Canada women win gold

Congratulations to Team Canada's women on winning the 2010 Olympics gold medal.

Top row: Tessa Bonhomme, Jayna Hefford, Sarah Vaillancourt and Caroline Ouellette; and
Bottom row: Colleen Sostorics, Gina Kingsbury, Carla MacLeod and Charline Labonte.

Top row: Charline Labonte and Kim St-Pierre; and
Bottom row: Hayley Wickenheiser (unsigned, yes, but who knows?) and Jennifer Botterill.

Cards are from In The Game's 2007-08 O Canada set

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Czech Republic

Team Czech Last won gold in 1998 and finished third (bronze medal) at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. In Vancouver, the Czechs were eliminated from medal contention.

Cards signed by some of Team Czech's players:

Top row: Boston's David Krejci, Montreal's Tomas Plekanec, Minnesota's Marek Zidlicky and Lokomotiv's Josef Vasicek; and
Bottom row: Nashville's Martin Erat, New Jersey's Patrik Elias, Avangard's Jaromir Jagr and Phoenix's Zbynek Michalek.

Minnesota's Martin Havlat

Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec

Washington's Tomas Fleischmann on a Hershey Bears wallpaper.

Atlanta's Pavel Kubina

Above Photo: Tomas Kaberle with Mikayla during a Toronto Maple Leafs visit to Tampa.

Right Photo: Tomas Vokoun with Mikayla during a Florida Panthers visit

Ottawa's Filip Kuba signed last year when the Senators came to town.

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Slovakia

Team Slovakia has never won a gold medal and finished fifth at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. In Vancouver, Slovakia just knocked Team Sweden out of competition.

Cards signed by some of Team Slovakia's players:

Top row: Spartak's Branko Radivojevic, Boston's Miroslav Satan, Barys Astana's Josef Stumpel and Los Angeles' Lubomir Visnovsky; and
Bottom row: Locomotiv's Richard Zednik, New York Rangers' Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles' Michal Handzus and Chicago's Marian Hossa.

More cards signed by Team Slovakia players:

Top row: Spartak's Martin Cibak and Colorado's Peter Budaj; and
Bottom row: Tampa Bay's Andrej Meszaros, Chicago's Tomas Kopecky, Boston's Zdeno Chara and HK 36's Ziggy Palffy.

Montreal's Jaroslav Halak

Buffalo's Andrej Sekara

Tampa Bay's Andrej Meszaros on a Ottawa Senators wallpaper.

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Russia

Team Russia Last won gold in 1992, but finished fourth at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. Of the 23-man roster, I've managed to get 13 players from the partially NHL-filled squad.

Cards signed by some of Team Russia's players:

Top row: Montreal's Andrei Markov and San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov; and
Bottom row: Pittsburgh's Sergei Gonchar, Washington's Alex Semin, and Ottawa's Anton Volchenkov

More cards signed by Team Russia's players:

Top row: Russian Federation President Vladimir Tretiak, Columbus' Fedor Tyutin, Phoenix's Ilya Bryzgalov and Salavat's Victor Kozlov; and
Bottom row: Washington's Semyon Varlamov, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, Edmonton's Denis Grebeshkov and Salavat's Dmitri Kalinin.

Atlanta's Max Afinogenov.

New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay, Atlanta or South Florida.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Finland

Team Finland has never won gold but finished second for silver at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. Of the 23-man roster, I've managed to get 18 players from the NHL-rich squad.

I am not completely sure why, but I have been watching this group a bit more than I thought I would. Maybe because many of the players have been fan-friendly over the past few years. That always stands out for me.

Cards signed by some of Team Finland's players:

Top row: Calgary's Niklas Hagman, New York's Olli Jokinen, Annaheim's Saku Koivu and Avangard's Lasse Kukkonen; and
Bottom row: Phoenix's Sami Lepisto, Bufalo's Toni Lydman, Dallas' Jere Lehtinen and Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom.

More cards signed by Team Finland's players:

Top row: Tampa's Antero Nittymaki, Anaheim's Teemu Selanne, Vancouver's Sami Salo and Philadelphia's Kimmo Timonen; and
Bottom row: Carolina's Joni Pitkanen and Tuomo Ruutu, Ottawa's Jarkko Ruutu and Detroit's Valtteri Filppula.

The New York Rangers' Olli Jokinen with Mikayla taken on a trip to Tampa.

Minnesota's Mikko Koivu

Dynamo's Ville Peltonen.

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida.

We still have photos of players like Lydman, Timonen, Nittymaki, and Pitkanen that were taken with Mikayla that we hope to finish (Finnish) off this season. She is also hoping to take care of a game stick from Nitty in the near future.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Sweden

Team Sweden won its last gold medal in 2006 at the last Olympiad held in Torino, Italy. Of the 23-man roster, I've managed to get 16 players from the NHL-rich squad.

Cards signed by some of Team Sweden's players:

Top row: Atlanta's Tobias Enstrom, New York's Henrik Lundquist, Columbus' Fred Modin, Tampa's Mattias Ohlund; and
Bottom row: Vancouver's Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Bufalo's Henrik Tallinder and Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg.

More cards signed by Team Sweden players:

Top row: Detroit's Johan Franzen, Dallas' Loui Eriksson; and
Bottom row: Nashville's Patric Hornqvist, Detroit's Niklas Kronwall, and Washington's Nicklas Backstrom.

San Jose's Doug Murray

Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson stadium poster

Toronto's Jonas Gustavsson.

Most of these items have been signed over the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team U.S.A.

Team USA won its last gold medal in 1980 (Miracle On Ice), but failed to medal in the last Olympiad, earning only a eighth-place finish. Of the 23-man roster, I've managed to get only 16 players from the NHL-rich squad.

Cards signed by some of Team U.S.A.'s players:

Top row: St. Louis' David Backes, Carolina's Tim Gleason, Los Angeles's Jack Johnson, Tampa's Ryan Malone; and
Bottom row: Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick, San Jose's Joe Pavelski, Boston's Tim Thomas and Colorado's Paul Stastny.

More cards signed by Team USA players:

Top row: Toronto's Phil Kessel, Nashville's Ryan Suter, New York's Ryan Callahan and Anaheim's Bobby Ryan; and
Bottom row: New Jersey's Zach Parise, Anaheim's Ryan Whitney, LA's Dustin Brown and Buffalo's Ryan Miller

Most of these cards have been signed in the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida. Puckhound helped with the acquisition of the Stastny card.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Canada

Team Canada won its last gold medal in 2002, but failed to medal in the last Olympiad, earning only a seventh-place finish. Of the 23-man roster, I've managed to get 21 players from the NHL-rich squad, only missing out on Philadelphia's Mike Richards (kinda) and Dallas' Brenden Morrow

Cards signed by some of Team Canada's forwards:

Top row: Anaheim's Corey Perry, Columbus' Rick Nash, San Jose's Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley; and
Bottom row: Calgary's Jarome Iginla, Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Boston's Patrice Bergeron.

More cards signed by Team Canada players:

Top row: Philadelphia's Chris Pronger, Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer, Chicago's Duncan Keith and Los Angeles' Drew Doughty; and
Bottom row: San Jose's Dan Boyle, Chicago's Jonathan Toews, San Jose's Joe Thornton and Carolina's Eric Staal

Even more cards signed by Team Canada players:

Top row: Vancouver's Roberto Luongo; and
Bottom row: Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, Nashville's Shea Weber and Chicago's Brent Seabrook.

Most of these cards have been signed in the past two seasons, either in Hockey Bay or South Florida.

Concerning Richards, I do have an autograph from him. Unfortunately, though, it's on a wrong card.

Moody's Olympics Gold: Team Switzerland

I wanted to take advantage of the Olympic break to show off the diversity of my collection with a small picture gallery for a few of the teams.

Team Switzerland is my first team. The Swiss, or Suisse, have never won a gold and only finished sixth in the last Olympics played in Torino, Italy.


Shown are cards I've received in the past from various Suisse forwards through fan packs:

Top row: Martin Pluss, Sandy Jeannin and Ivo Ruthemann; and
Bottom row: Hnat Domenichelli and Romano Lemm

I have also been fortunate enough to land a few defensemen, including, from left, Rafael Diaz, Philippe Furrer and the New York Islanders' Mark Streit.

Rounding out the Suisse's three-man goaltending squad are the Anaheim Ducks' Jonas Hiller, Dallas Stars prospect Tobias Stephan and Ronnie Rueger.