Your Turn III

Thank goodness for faithful readers. If it wasn't for these fine folks, this collection of hounding reports wouldn't be possible.

Let's see what they've been up to:

Michael

Hounding out of Hartford, Conn., and Springfield, Mass., Michael takes advantage of his proximity to American Hockey League cities. This is his first report:

"Doing mostly the AHL, you don't get the big names but players who are on the rise over time like Thomas Hickey, Nikita Filatov, Tuukka Rask and Marc-Andre Fleury. Even the year of the NHL lockout, we were able to get Eric Staal and Patrice Bergeron on multiple items.

"Then, there are those players looking to just get another chance, like Adam Hall, Ryan Craig and Mark Parrish among others (you will notice I mentioned a lot of Tampa players).

"And if you pay attention to the transaction page from the AHL you get players sent down for conditioning. The Islanders' Rick Dipietro and Marty Biron were down this year.

"Even with all that, the ones to watch out for are the scouts. In the past few years, I've gotten Brad Park, Bill Barber, Larry Robinson and Kevin Lowe, among others.

The main difference in hounding the NHL vs. the AHL is the attitude by both the hounds and the players. When it comes to the hounds, there is less pressure to get things signed. So, no one is pushing or shoving to get something signed.

"The players themselves seem more willing to sign. I have noticed that when some players get to the NHL, their habits will change and many no longer sign multiples or sign at all.

"I can remember sitting in a hotel in Springfield with another hound watching TV. The Bruins were on. John Slaney, then with the Philadelphia Phantoms, came out of the elevator, signed and then sat down to watch the game with us.

"We were later joined by other members of the team who all signed and made comments about the game. Then there is the times you get to players or former players sitting in the stands and you get to hear a lot of great stories.

"And for all you puck collectors, one to get if you don't have it would be Marty McSorley. Well worth the wait. And ask him about his movie role in Con Air; he was the pilot."

Keith

Keith and his wife don't mind making the drive from Memphis to Nashville to watch the Predators. They leave work early on game days so they catch the earliest of the players.

Phoenix Coyotes: "I bailed out of work around noon and we got out of Memphis around 12:30 and in downtown Nashville by 3:30. As we pulled up to the team's hotel, we realized that the team bus was just pulling up in front of the main entrance. This is always a good sign, in that it ensures that we haven't missed any early players.

"Since it was cold, we ducked into the hotel to grab some hot coffee from the Starbucks in the lobby. As we were walking out to take our regular spots outside the hotel, we spotted former Pred and current Yote, Vern Fiddler, checking out. He followed us out and was more than happy to sign a couple of pucks and chat a bit while he flashed his newly reconfigured smile. He recently lost four teeth in a harsh meeting with a slapshot.

"Shortly thereafter, the players came out in groups. We missed out on Jovu as he had hotel staff wave down a taxi immediately after loading his bags into the bus. Most of the team, though, was fair game and was happy to sign after ditching their luggage. Most opted to walk the three blocks to the arena.

"We scored multiples from Peter Mueller (who insisted on priming each paint pen before signing ... great guy), Ilya Bryzgalov, Shane Doan, Taylor Pyatt and Keith Yandle. Others signing were Robert Lang, Adrian Aucoin, and Radim Vrbata. The only player who boarded the bus and didn't return to sign at all was goalie Jason Labarbera.

"And although he was called up from the AHL a couple of days prior and listed as as a healthy scratch that night at the game, we never saw Mikkel Boedker walk over. He since has been sent back down.

"All in all, a great trip worthy of the six-hour round trip. It's a shame the Preds lost, though."

J.R.

J.R., checking in again from San Jose, shares this head-scratcher:

"Joe Thornton stopped to sign after practice. The first person he tried to sign for was a female who had a black Thornton T-shirt. Her silver Sharpie wasn't working, so I gave her mine to use. She also had him sign her Sharks team sheet (the generic ones sold in the team store, not drawn like the ones your son creates).

"He then walked right past me and signed about another 8-10 autographs before heading into the locker room.

"Here's my deal. I won't yell, beg or draw any unnecessary attention to myself to get a player to sign. Thornton obviously saw me, but decided to move on. That's fine. I can try again some other time."

BEV

BEV, hounding in Toronto, shares another story of enjoying inside-the-hotel access:

New Jersey Devils: "I had an opportunity to hound the New Jersey Devils prior to game time Feb. 2. when they were in Toronto. Obviously, my main goal was to get an auto from Martin Brodeur. I was also looking for a sig from Devils coach Jacques Lemaire. I also kept an eye open for assistant coach Scott Stevens and special assignment coach Larry Robinson.

"I only collect Hall of Famers, so the rest of the team did not interest me. The team was staying at a high-end Hyatt hotel downtown. I was also staying at the hotel, so I freely made my way back and forth between the lobby and the 15 hounds on the sidewalk.

"The game bus parked on the street in front of the north tower of the hotel around 3:30 p.m. Security staff put up waist-high fences across the sidewalk that the hounds had to stay behind. Unfortunately, this interfered with pedestrians using the sidewalk, who had to walk around the hounds and fences.

"The players got to the bus by walking through a special door that lead through the kitchen of the hotel restaurant. Security was very tight. There were several plainclothes security guards with earpieces in the lobby and on the sidewalk. Lobby access to the players near the special kitchen exit was minimal due to the number of security staff.

"Around 3:45 p.m., I noticed Lemaire outside on the sidewalk having a cigar. After he was done his stogie, I asked him for an autograph in French and he gladly signed a Montreal Canadiens logo card for me. Several hounds by the bus saw me and brought over sticks, pucks, etc., to get signed. He signed everything.

"Around 4:00 p.m., I returned to the lobby and noticed several players walking through the lobby to the south tower of the hotel. For some reason, player after player went to the south tower of the hotel before they went to the team bus parked by the north tower. I never did figure it out. Maybe they were dropping off room keys or something.

"Anyway all the security folks were in the north tower or by the bus. I sat in a chair by the south tower elevators, pretending to read my Brodeur autobiography (with a blue sharpie hidden underneath). Sure enough, Marty comes walking through the lobby toward the south tower.

"I show him his book and ask for an autograph in French. He immediately recognizes the book and walks over to me to sign it. I tell him I am looking forward to reading it. He thanks me for buying it. Perfect.

"I was two-for-two and decided to head out to the street to see how the other hounds were doing. By now, it is about 4:30 and all the players are heading out to the bus. Let me say that most of the team was very good at signing. Almost every player signed for every hound who asked. Only Rob Niedermayer and Jamie Langenbrunner needed to be coaxed by the hounds but they did sign.

"Also note that some of the players did not use the special kitchen exit and exited through the front doors of the lobby. They walked right out to the sidewalk/street, tried to blend in with pedestrians and board the bus without the hounds noticing. Of course the hounds noticed this and got the sigs they wanted.

"When it was time for Brodeur to board the bus, the hounds went into a screaming frenzy. He came out of the special kitchen exit and to the right-hand fence. Immediately in front of me, he signed a team photo for a guy, a puck for a guy and boarded the bus. That was two sigs for the 15 hounds. I thought about getting something else signed, but I was happy with the book. I never did see Stevens and Robinson.

"It was a great outing for me adding two more Hall of Famers to my collection."

Your Turn II

Given that the Tampa Bay Lightning isn't always at home, there are gaps within the schedule where fresh content, culled from our own hockey-hounding adventures, is, in a word, impossible. But that's where you come in.

After years of sharing these stories with you, I've asked my fellow hounds to pass along their tales of hounding -- good or bad. So, here we are again, turning over the platform afforded by Hound Central 5.0 to hockey hounds to share stories of their autograph adventures.

If you'd like to take part in future installments, and I humbly repeat my request to lend your voice to this effort, please send your stories to Hound Central 5.0.

In this second offering, Hound Central 5.0 offers stories from a trio of hockey hounds:

Cory D.

Cory, out of Kansas, shares his appreciation for minor league players:

"I live in Topeka, Kansas, which isn't exactly a hockey hotbed, but we've been lucky to have four different teams in the past 10 years, so I've gotten to see a lot of players at two different levels go through this town.

"I remember when we first got a team in 1998, the CHL Topeka Scarecrows, this team was pretty darn good and one of my favorite things to do was get to the games early with my family (I was 10 years old at the time) and look for pucks. I found quite a few and started building a collection of autographs. It was always so awesome to see the guys take the time to sign autographs. I especially remember when they came to my elementary school and signed for everybody and played scooter hockey for the kids.

"Another one of my favorite stories comes from the 2000-2001, my family had went to a Scarecrows practice over Christmas break and when one of the goalies (Scott Hay, current goaltending coach for the Bakersfield Condors) was coming off the ice, he handed me his stick and told me to keep it. It just made my day because he was one of my favorite players."

J.R.

J.R., who filed this report from San Jose, shares his recent successes of attending a Sharks practice. Sounds like it was well worth the time:

"After reading the reports on this site since the beginning of the season, I finally decided to attend my first Sharks practice. I just moved to San Jose from New York about three months ago and have been considering going to a practice since I’ve been here. Despite having the best intentions, I truly believe this site kicked my enthusiasm into high gear.

"Since I’m new to the area, I carefully mapped my route to the practice facility and made it there unscathed. Of course, however, I did manage to go to the wrong rink once I got inside. Once I realized my error, I did find the correct rink thanks to a member of the Sharks Ice staff.

"Practice was already under way when I made it to the south rink and I must say I was rather disappointed to find only eight Sharks on the ice (Devon Setoguchi, <strong>Torrey Mitchell, Brad Staubitz, Jody Shelley, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jay Leach, Kent Huskins and Thomas Greiss). Perhaps because of the small on-ice turnout, practice only lasted approximately 30 minutes.

"Shelley was the first Shark to leave the ice and after he signed for a couple of fans, he was kind enough to sign a puck for me. I mentioned that I enjoyed the fight he had last night with Cam Janssen of the St. Louis Blues, not so much for the action, but the duration, and he chuckled.

"Setoguchi was the next player to depart and he went immediately into the locker room, despite being asked for autographs from two or three fans. I brought one of his hockey cards with me in case signed, but wasn’t disappointed that he kept walking.

"I managed to snag autographs from Staubitz and Huskins as they left the ice surface. Both players signed for anyone who asked (and there weren’t many autograph hounds in the small crowd) and appeared to be quite fan-friendly.

"I promised myself that if I received one or two autographs in my first venture to practice, I would be thrilled. Well, I exceeded my hopes, acquiring three signed pucks for my collection.

"However, much to my surprise, the collecting was not over. As it turned out, the Shark Olympians, and there are eight of them, were at the facility to conduct interviews with the local NBC affiliate. I was fortunate to also get autographs from Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov when each concluded their interviews, well after the practice had concluded. Marleau also took the time to pose for photographs with a couple of young female fans.

"Douglas Murray also signed for two fans after he spoke with the reporter, but since I only brought six pucks with me, I was not able to get his autograph. Oh well, maybe next time.

"All told, I walked away with six autographed pucks. A very successful day, in both quantity and quality, in my book. I am very much looking forward to attending my next practice.

"Good luck to all the hounds out there."

Scott B.

Scott, who hounds in South Florida, has provided numerous reports from his NHL hounding adventures at less-than-friendly hotels. Here are a few more:

New York Rangers: "The Rangers usually stay at a certain beach hotel, but this time they stayed elsewhere on the beach. They are usually not a good signing team, but this year they were better. If we don't have a card for a player, we use the 2005-06 Parkhurst team logo cards. We were able to get Artem Anisimov (1 Parkhurst card), Donald Brashear (1 of 1), Chris Drury (2 jersey cards), Marian Gaborik (2 of 4), Chris Higgins (6 of 6), Michal Rozsival (1 of 3), Henrik Lundqvist (1 of 3) and John Tortorella (1 Parkhurst card)."

Philadelphia Flyers: "The Flyers had almost a week here in South Florida before their game, so they stayed at a hotel on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. They have always been a good-signing team and this time was no exception. We got Aaron Asham (2 Parkhurst cards), Danny Briere (2 of 3), Dan Carcillo (1 of 1), Riley Cote (2 of 2), Simon Gagne (2 of 3), Claude Giroux (1 of 1), Scott Hartnell (1 of 3), Ian Laperriere (3 of 3), Darroll Powe (2 of 2), Mike Richards (1 of 1), James van Riemsdyk (2 Parkhurst cards), Braydon Coburn (1 of 1), Kimmo Timonen (1 of 1) and Brian Boucher (3 of 3). We also got a Chris Pronger "Waving the Flag" card signed that I have been trying to get him to sign for a few years."

Washington Capitals: "By far, the worst signing team in the NHL. Since Alexander Ovechkin's rookie year when he signed, he and most of the Caps completely ignore the fans. The hotel where the Caps stay is a lot tougher on us, making us stand across the street from the team bus. One of the managers there actually was telling players not to come and sign for us. Luckily, Brendan Morrison was there this year. He is from the old school of treating the fans with class. He signed all four of his cards. And he told Eric Fehr (1 of 1) and Alexander Semin (2 of 3) to walk over and sign for us."

Your Turn I

As promised, here is the first installment of Your Turn, Hound Central 5.0's platform for other hockey hounds -- young and old -- to share stories of their autograph adventures.

If you'd like to take part in future installments, and I hope you consider doing this, please send your stories to Hound Central 5.0.

In this offering, Hound Central 5.0 is pleased to introduce stories from these four hockey hounds:

Jordan

At 14 years old, Jordan is the youngest contributor, and does so with his parents' permission.

"After going to the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose's first-ever skills competition, I had a feeling in my head of rookie hounding that simply I had to get the job done.

"How, though? Well, in advance, I asked my dad to take me there. He had no problem with it. It may have been busy, but my patience was rewarded by getting (center) Marty Murray, a former Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames player on my second-ever signed hockey puck.

"I also got guys like (defenseman) Mike Funk and (goalie) Daren Machesney to sign what I presented to them. I had a good time and I will go hockey hounding in the near future.

"Thanks for reading!"

BEV

Bev shares his story of enjoying inside-the-hotel access during the recent Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2009's induction ceremonies:

"I was at the Westin Harbour Castle hotel in Toronto during the Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Celebration. On the eve of the induction ceremony (November 9), there was only about seven people in the lobby getting autographs (compared to a mob of about 30 local hounds/dealers out on the street).

"The hotel was packed with people. This year, hotel security staff did let registered guests get autographs from players in the lobby, but they were still discouraging it. Registered guests were allowed to call a player over to sign something, but security did not want anyone running up to players or forming crowds around them.

"In the past, if the security staff saw you getting autographs in the lobby, they would give you a warning and threaten to throw you out of the hotel ... even if you were a registered guest.

"People I saw signing included Lanny McDonald, Dale Hawerchuk, Borje Salming, Bryan Trottier, Steve Shutt, Billy Smith, Peter Stastny, Michel Goulet, Johnny Bower, Larry Murphy, Ted Lindsay, Chris Chelios and Rod Gilbert. Bobby Hull was an outstanding signer.

"There were many other Hall of Famers signing, but I did not know their names. I heard that Viacheslav Fetisov turned down many autograph requests, but did not witness it. Steve Yzerman, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch signed a few on their way to their limos.

"Brett Hull signed a few and used some very vulgar language indicating that he just wanted to be left alone. He then went to a secluded corner of the lobby bar, so he could visit with friends without being disturbed before he caught his limo ride.

"Yes, I did cherry-pick some selected autographs for my personal collection. Each year, this night is a great opportunity to load up on Hall of Famers if you are a registered hotel guest and if security leaves you alone. Some years, you can easily get 15 to 30 Hall of Fame signatures. On a year when security is grumpy, you may only get one or two."

Scott B.

Scott, out of South Florida, sent in many reports from his adventures hounding NHL teams at hotels. Here are a handful of his reports, with others to follow in future installments:

New Jersey Devils: "The Devils' PR guy is the worst in the league by far. Over the past few years, we have only been able to get Colin White and Martin Brodeur before he has the hotel throw us off of the property. This year was just a little better. We were able to get Zach Parise (2 of 4 cards), Brian Rolston (3 of 3), Bryce Salvador (1 of 1) and Rob Niedermayer (3 of 12). Then the PR guy had us all thrown off the property. After getting kicked out, some of the other (hounds) waited in their cars and were able to run up to the bus to get Brodeur. New Jersey is the only team that stays at this hotel that gives us a problem, thanks to the PR guy."

Los Angeles Kings: "We have not seen the Kings for several years, so we didn't know what to expect. But they were the best signing team by far this season. We got Dustin Brown (4 of 4), Alexander Frolov (2 of 6), Raitis Ivanans (1 Parkhurst card), Teddy Purcell (1 of 1), Brad Richardson (3 of 3), Wayne Simmonds (1 of 1), Jarret Stoll (3 of 3), Justin Williams (2 of 2), Drew Doughty (2 of 2), Jack Johnson (4 of 4), Randy Jones (1 of 1) and Jonathan Quick (1 Parkhurst card). A big key was that we were allowed to call over players, something that has been hit-or-miss at this particular hotel."

Pittsburgh Penguins: "The Penguins are not a good signing team. Usually they stay at a hotel on the beach, but this time they stayed at the same hotel used by the Los Angeles Kings. But the Penguins players walk around like gods because they won the Stanley Cup. And most of them even look bothered if you ask them for an autograph. Our friends told us that the only ones to sign were Pascal Dupuis, Ben Lovejoy and Nathan Guenin.I also heard that the hotel's manager didn't allow hounds to call over players."

Keith

Keith and his wife, who live in Memphis, Tenn., are devout Nashville Predators fans with a partial season ticket package. Their hounding adventures are just that; Both leave work early (usually around noon or so) to make it to the east side of the Sommet Center by 3 p.m. on game days to catch the earliest of the players.

"I have several stories tied to our hounding, but my most rewarding experiences are when I was just going for very few players or even just a single. The most recent was when the Edmonton Oilers came into Nashville earlier this season.

I've been a huge fan of Nikolai Khabibulin since the mid 1990s and I probably consider him my favorite player of all time. In college, I would play the arcade game 'NHL Open Ice' in the campus' arcade to make the Phoenix Coyotes a playoff team and to hear the announcer mispronounce his name ("Save from COBBY-BOO-LINN").

Anyway, I had never been able to catch him on previous visits, despite him playing in division rival Chicago for several years. My work schedule, his injuries, traffic, etc., had pretty much convinced me that I wouldn't ever pull it off.

"This season, I bought my ticket package in July, picking out the lone Oilers-Predators game in the first half of the season for the sole purpose of getting Habby's sig before the game.

"We showed up in plenty of time and spotted the team's bus parked at the Hilton Hotel, just across the side street from the arena, meaning that the majority of the players would simply walk across and enter through the player's entrance. Only one other hound was present and she easily added to her collection, scoring Shawn Horcoff, Sam Gagner, Jeff Deslauriers and others.

We chatted with her about really only targeting Habby, and she assured us that he was really friendly and would sign as long as he was walking over, rather than riding the bus. Strangely enough, some actually do ride the bus over rather than walk the 200 feet.

"After about 45 minutes, it seemed the entire team had walked over and the progression of players ended with no Habby. Determined (and with nothing better to do), we waited. Finally admitting defeat, we were retreating from our spot when I saw the familiar face exit the door of the hotel.

"I hate to admit that I can turn into 'fan boy' when encountering the players I watched as a kid, but I do. I simply stayed put and tried to play it cool, simply addressing him as 'Habby,' and asking him to sign an old Coyotes puck for me.

"My wife extended a McFarlane base to him and he signed after confirming with her that the same paint pen would suffice. He shook my hand and took his time signing and chatted a bit.

"The entire trip resulted in just a couple of autos from a single player, but it's been by far my most memorable hounding experience thus far."

Sunday morning homily XII

Of all the weeks of the 2009-10 NHL season, the next two carry the biggest expectations. Sure, seeing that Christmas comes Friday plays a major role in my anticipation. More so, though, is that Colin, well into his hockey-hounding apprenticeship, has the next two weeks off as a holiday break.

Thanks to the NHL schedule makers, too, this vacation will afford ample opportunity for him to hone the craft. Four teams -- the Flyers, Thrashers, Bruins and Canadiens -- all travel to Hockey Bay before month's end. And, thankfully, I have most of those days off from work.

Even better, and I alluded to this last week, is we're nearing our next milestone in the collection -- 2,000 autographed pucks. With a little hard work and even more hustle -- two attributes that can make or break a hounding season -- we should top that mark sometime next week.

More than anything else, though, the next two weeks mean we'll get to spend more time together. Most weeks, our school and work schedules mean we only get to see each other for 10 or 15 minutes a day -- he's getting ready for school and I'm waking up from a another long night at the paper.

The time off will go far beyond Christmas morning and hockey-hounding. We'll have time to sit down and talk -- reinforcing his growing responsibilities at home, school and his hockey team -- as well as chill out. There will be games to play, slices of Fortunato's pizza to eat and, most importantly, strengthening the bonds between father and son.

Among the presents we'll open Christmas morning, the best I'll receive, beyond the one that Colin made for The Missus and me, will be the time spent together. It always has been and always will be.

It's my prayer, too, that all of you enjoy that as well.

Peace.

First batch

Hound Central 5.0 will publish this week its first installment of Your Turn, what we hope will become a regular feature of the blog where readers and fellow hounds share their stories of hockey hounding.

So far, four hockey hounds -- Jordan, BEV, Scott and Keith -- have taken the time to send in their stories. A tip of Hound Central 5.0's old, roughed up Cooper SK600 to them for their efforts. Now, if only a few more hounds, among the 40-plus who visit daily, would step up and follow suit.

As you can see, Hound Central 5.0 more than welcomes stories from other hounds. This season alone, Moody and Al, a pair of seasoned hockey-hounding veterans who swerve as Hound Central 5.0 correspondents, have filed many reports, each offering a different perspective.

In the remaining months of the 2009-10 campaign, I'd like to give as many hounds as I can a platform to share their stories.

If you have one, let me know.

5 Big Sigs

Like I said earlier, we'll ramp up this week, as well as get the entire family involved, when the Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers visit Hockey Bay during the first week of the holiday break.

Here's what we're hoping to add as we push toward 2,000 pucks:

~ Philly's James van Riemsdyk on a Flyers puck, as well as the University of New Hampshire hockey jersey;
~ Philly's Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Mike Richards on 2010 Winter Classic pucks;
~ Philly's Chris Pronger on St. Louis Blues and Hartford Whalers pucks;
~ Atlanta's Nikolai Antropov on Thrashers and N.Y. Rangers pucks; and
~ Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk on a Thrashers souvenir puck.