Team report: Carolina Hurricanes II

Though stay-at-home defensemen seldom score big goals or make headlines, every team has as least one. It's their job to hang back and make sure no one gets behind them.

In a way, that's my approach when it comes to hockey hounding. I prefer, for the most part, to hang back and be one one the last people to get an autograph. That way, if another player comes out, especially one I need to sign a specific item, I don't get caught up in a crowd.

Well, when the Caroline Hurricanes came to Hockey Bay a couple of weekends ago, I got caught pinching in. With a larger-than-expected crowd, I let myself get sucked in close to the hotel, keeping the back-door entrance wide open for Hurricanes captain Eric Staal.

Sure, we got some autographs, but my getting caught out of position meant it was the first time in years that I hadn't gotten at least one autograph from Staal when hounding Carolina. Oh, well, we all can't be perfect.

Snagging another 28 autographs, including this 2020 NHL Draft puck signed by Jeff Skinner eased the pain. Signing the cards were:

Top row: Zach Boychuk, Troy Bodie, Ryan Carter, Tim Gleason; and
Bottom row: Chad LaRose, Jamie McBain, Sergei Samsonov and Brandon Sutter.

Other highlights:

~ Goalie Cam Ward adding an 8x10 and two pucks to the collection;
~ Colin scoring 15 autographs on a wallpaper team sheet; and
~ yet another cheap skate card coming in handy.

Four for four

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. The best time to get NHL players is at the beginning of their NHL careers. Most of them, I'd dare say, are among the most willing signers, not even batting an eyelash at signing at least four cards at a time.

Last week's hockey hounding adventure for the Montreal Canadiens proves my point. Montreal's Lars Eller (from top to bottom), Tom Pyatt, P.K. Subban and Yannick Weber added 16 of the 45 cards that I got signed before and after the team's morning skate.

Getting the younger players is a good way, too, to build diversity into your autographed card collection. Not only are there NHL cards, but the American Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Team Canada are all represented.

The Hockey Life: Week 8

There are quite a few people upset with Edmonton Oilers rookie Linus Omark after his spin-o-rama move during his game-winning shootout goal against Tampa Bay on Friday night. He crossed a line of professionalism, some say. He didn't respect his opponent, others insist.

To all of them, I'm a big fan of relish on a hot dog.

Sure, the Lightning were on the losing end. No team wants to lose that way. And, I'll admit, it was probably pretty embarrassing to Bolts goalie Dan Ellis that some rookie, playing in his first NHL game, absolutely schooled him on what, ultimately, appeared to be a near-miss of a shot.

What I'm finding hard to believe is that a league in constant search of attention outside traditional hockey markets, as well as a handful of existing NHL locales, wouldn't embrace and promote a breath of fresh air within the game. And, to me, that's exactly what Omark provided.

Let's face it, it was a clever move. He did it far enough away from the net, too, that it really shouldn't have rattled any goalie's cage, especially one within the NHL. I even chuckled when he had to restart his attempt, making a second big loop before picking up the puck at center ice, because the play hadn't officially started.

I think back, too, to Tampa Bay's Marty St. Louis and some of his shootout goals that included a spin-o-rama move, though not nearly as pronounced as Omark's, but pulled off much closer to the net. No one howled then, did they? I didn't. I thought they were great.

Besides, the easiest way to deter future flashes of creativity from any rookie -- not just Omark -- would have been Ellis simply making the save, rather than letting a soft shot in through the 5-hole.

Missing something?

Can someone please tell Darren McCarty he really needs to put in his false teeth anytime he's providing analysis during Versus telecasts. It's one thing to drop your dentures in a glass during a game, but it's another to appear on live TV, working as a professional announcer, with a 2-inch gap in your grill.

I'm sorry, but the guy looked like a slob Thursday night during the Panthers-Capitals game.

Sure, I know it's a badge of honor, but if he's taking the time to get all gussied up and put on a suit, there's no reason he can't complete the picture with a full set of teeth.

Quote of the week

"I celebrated a little, but got right back on defense."
Colin, relating his scoring four goals, including three tip-ins, during a Pinellas P.A.L. Stars end-of-practice scrimmage Friday night.

No spin-o-ramas, I'm told, were involved.

Last-minute tasks

Going into the Tampa Bay Lightning's final home game, we really only had a handful of items that we wanted to get signed as we hounded the Bolts' following a morning skate.

Two of those items concerned rookie Victor Hedman.

As you can see, Colin was able to deliver, getting Hedman, the team's top pick in 2009, to complete the 8x10 of him and Atlanta's Evander Kane in a posed, "playful" moment before last year's draft.

The other item, a ticket stub featuring the Swedish defenseman. I'd found it a few days earlier tucked under a seating section sign inside the St. Pete Times Forum. Rather than throw it away, I figured it was better off recycling the item.

Beyond the ordinary

Just because a player is in his rookie NHL season doesn't mean it's easy to run out of items for him.

Sure, you can alway use pucks, photos or custom cards instead of high-end rookie cards for autographs. Team items work, too.

In the case of Atlanta's Evander Kane, Colin used this Thrashers mini pennant to add to Saturday morning's haul.

Moody's new blog

Want to know the rewards of hard work? You get your own blog. In this case, it's Moody, Hound Central 5.0's senior correspondent.

At Moody's TTM Blog, you'll find a wealth of information and the occasional insight from a longtime practitioner, on collecting hockey autographs through North America's fine postal systems.

Three D

Granted, it was more of an afterthought than the primary objective of a midday trip today over to Brandon, but it was nice to add these cards from Tampa Bay Lightning defensemen, from left, Victor Hedman, Mike Lundin and Andrej Meszaros.

It's not that hard to spell

Far be it from me to complain after the Islanders' John Tavares signed this puck Thursday, but it's another example of an NHL player misspelling Colin's name.

In Tavares' case, he made it out to "C-O-L-I-O-N" even after I slowly spelled it for him, letter-by-letter, after hearing he tends to do that with certain items.

Makes you wonder just how much did the 2009 No. 1 overall draft pick pay attention in school. Then again, when you know you'll be a millionaire by 18, life skills like spelling are probably not too important.

Oh, well, it's still an autographed Tavares puck. We're happy to have it.

He's good for four

If getting Buffalo's monstrous rookie Tyler Myers to sign a pair of pucks and Colin's team sheet Saturday morning wasn't enough, the 6-foot-8 defenseman, who scored the game-winner in the Sabres' 3-2 shootout thriller, also signed this 2008 NHL Draft program.

With the Los Angeles Kings coming to town in mid-November, we're hoping to add No. 2 pick Drew Doughty, at left, to the program. That would leave only St. Louis' Alex Pietrangelo, center, 2008's fourth-overall pick, to complete the piece.

These work as well

While my "cheap skates" cards work for NHL prospects early in a season, it doesn't mean that I have to use them for every young player. Thanks to Upper Deck's late-season prospect set Rookie Class, card hounds can have at least one for the game's youngest stars.

On Monday, with the Florida Panthers in Hockey Bay, I put a pair from the 2008-09 edition to good use, having centers Michael Frolik and Shawn Matthias sign their cards. That's a pretty sweet signature from Matthias, too.

Cheap skates: Dmitry Kulikov

There's nothing worse, when it comes to hounding, than not having any cards for an NHL prospect to sign when an opportunity presents itself. Sure, you can have them sign a puck or a photo, but those can quickly add up to some serious cash.

For the purists, -- those who stick primarily to cards-- finding a card for these prospects can be tricky. They haven't been in the league long enough, especially at this stage of the season, to have any cards. And, then, there's the question of even getting a rookie card signed.

That's why I created this card for Florida's Dmitry Kulikov, the 14th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Draft.

Sure, I had him sign a puck Monday, seeing that he was a first-rounder. I like to think, though, that this so-called "cheap skates" card, updated from a Microsoft Word template I made a few years ago, is perfect for the occasion.

Simply put, they get the job done.

Sunday morning homily II

The New Jersey Devils team bus had left the Westin Harbour Island hotel Thursday. A couple of us were still hanging out, waiting on the Devils' healthy scratches to head over to the game.

Over walks a man, with a recognizable Canadian accent, asking us how we did with the Devils. Did we get autographs from Martin Brodeur, he asked? No, I told him, we hadn't. Unbeknownst to the future Hall of Famer, I'm sure, Brodeur only signed for dealers earlier in the day.

Eventually, our conversation turned to the Lightning. We talked about Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos. Victor Hedman and Carter Ashton, the Bolt's two 2009 first-round picks, came up. How much of a mistake it was last season for the Lightning to hire Barry Melrose as a coach did, too.

It wasn't long, though, before I brought up James Wright's name. When it did, a smile grew across the man's face.

"That's my son, you know," he said. "James Wright."

Thankfully, I had made positive comments about the kid, talking about how he was a pleasant surprise, making the team out of training camp by playing more like a veteran than the 117th overall pick in 2008. Dad's smile only grew.

After that, we talked about being a hockey parent and the differences between youth hockey in Canada and the United States. As a rookie hockey dad, I enjoyed picking the brain of someone who's traveled the path I hope and pray we follow down the road.

As gametime approached and relatives gathered, Dad had one last question for me.

"So, did he sign an autograph for you," Dad asked? "He better have."

Yes, Mr. Wright, your son signed autographs. A fellow Hockey Bay Hound gave the one shown above to my young hockey player. But, let's hope, too, that your's sticks around a little longer. If you don't mind, I have a few more questions.

Addendum (10/14/09): St. Petersburg Times writer Joe Smith had a nice story about James Wright at tampabay.com.

Better than a goal

Sticking with the hockey dad theme, I'm learning to look for instances during Colin's games where his coaches see the potential of a kid playing in his first full recreational league season by handing him a heaping helping of responsibility. He had one of those moments Saturday night, when he pulled a shift as the only forward on a 5-on-3 penalty kill.

For an 8-year-old, playing against 9- to 12-year-olds, to be given that kind of responsibility, even if it came during a rec-league game, was pretty darn cool. Just like Mr. Wright, I was one proud daddy.

5 Big Sigs

Last Sunday, I said the only team we'd hound last week was the New Jersey Devils. Well, as you'll read over the next few days, we also squeezed in a visit Saturday for the Carolina Hurricanes.

This week, though, you have my word. There is only one team coming to Hockey Bay. It won't have to travel too far, either, as it'll be the Florida Panthers. After that, it'll be more than 10 days before another NHL club provides a hounding adventure.

With that in mind, here's what I hope to add:

~ A Czech Republic souvenir puck from Tomas Vokoun;
~ a U.S.A. souvenir puck from David Booth (missed him);
~ a Panthers puck from Dmitry Kulikov, taken 14th overall in 2009;
~ jersey memorabilia cards signed Jordan Leopold (yes), Steven Reinprecht (no) and Tomas Vokoun (yes); and
~ more than one card (he signed three) signed by Bryan Allen.

We all need the practice

Just as I'd thought, we've seen familiar and new faces as more Tampa Bay Lightning players -- from captain Vinny Lecavalier to 2009 No. 1 draft pick Victor Hedman to goalie Mike Smith, above, gather at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon most weekday mornings for informal workouts.

As a fan, these sessions are a sure sign that hockey is just around the corner. Down here, the Bolts hold a rookie camp Sept. 8-11. The NHL camp opens Sept. 12. Beyond that, it's on to April, at the least.

As a hound, these informal workouts are an opportunity to work on your game or, in my case, kick off another hockey-hounding blog. By and large, the players are in great moods. Most stop when asked and are willing to sign multiples.

To me, it's the best time of the season to get the home team players.

Though I've missed getting Marty St. Louis on Wednesday (too busy taking videos and pictures), I can't complain about these additions to the collection:

Signing pucks were, from left, Jeff Halpern, 2009 No. 1 pick Victor Hedman and Ryan Malone.

Signing cards were, from left, Todd Fedoruk, Kurtis Foster, Lukas Krajicek and Mike Smith.