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!

Look familiar?

A week ago, I knew the 2010 Tampa Bay Lightning Young Guns camp would get the hockey-hounding juices flowing. Baseball's been fun. So have Colin's summer hockey scrimmages. But I've started to look forward to these development camps.

Think of it as the Midsummer Lure of the NHL (or close to it) Rink.

More than anything else, the camp was a fun break, a time to hang out with Colin, watch some hockey, learn some more skating drills and, whenever possible, add to the autograph collection.

Because the wish list wasn't too long, it was pretty easy to knock out:

Brett Connolly, the Lightning's No. 1 draft pick last month, inked the obligatory Tampa Bay Lightning and 2010 NHL Draft pucks. Though this isn't a knock on the kid, there's far less buzz this season that in the past two prospect camps with Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman.

Goalie prospect Dustin Tokarski signed this pair of pucks. He must have thought I wanted more than one signature on each puck. That can be the only explanation for signing off to the side, though his signature, as you can see below, isn't all that big.

Cards signed by Carter Ashton, Connolly and Alex Hutchings (on an Ontario Hockey League All Star set card) and a trio of cards, including one for the Threads collection, from Tokarski.

Of course, these weren't the only items signed over our two visits to the St. Pete Times Forum.

Perfect sense

As hard as I try, I can't think of any reason for Colin not to use a team sheet any time we go out hounding. C'mon, just look at this one. In less than 45 minutes, Colin scored autographs from 28 of the 32 Tampa Bay Lightning prospects (plus one coach), including top 2010 picks Brett Connolly, Brett Beukeboom and Adam Janosik.

Team sheets are perfect for these kinds of opportunities.

Other notable signers, per Lightning fan standards, were former 2009 draft picks Carter Ashton and James Wright. The Norfolk Admirals, the Lightning's AHL affiliate, are represented by Mitch Fadden, Jaroslav Janus, Richard Panik, Kevin Quick, Dustin Tokarski, Dana Tyrell, Ty Wishart and former Admirals coach Jim Johnson.

Swell-ter time

So, how hot did it get outside the St. Pete Times Forum on Wednesday at the Tampa Bay Lightning's Young Guns prospect development camp? How about 102 degrees? Is that hot enough? It was for us.

Rather than brave the heat, though, we took refuge in an air-conditioned vehicle, set at a comfortable 78 degrees, emerging only as opportunities for autographs approached. As you can imagine, the heat, humidity and an approaching thunderstorm were topics of conversation:

"No, this happens every afternoon, about this time, from June to who knows when," I told goalie prospect Dustin Tokarski. "That's why you're called the Lightning."

"Yes," I told Lightning scout Pat Verbeek as he signed this puck, "it's always this hot during the summer."

Beyond the weather, and specific Young Gun projects, Colin and I gathered a nice array of souvenirs, including four pucks from the Lightning's new GM Steve Yzerman and a team sheet, during camp.

For as many of these that were available during the camp, I didn't see too many people getting them signed by Brett Connolly, Tampa Bay's top pick, at sixth overall, at the NHL Entry Draft last month. It's my guess, too, this is one of the first Lightning pieces showing Connolly.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a sale at the American Hockey League's website and picked up a handful of Norfolk Admirals pucks, the Lightning's AHL affiliate. Goalie prospect Jaroslav Janus, left, and defenseman Ty Wishart signed this pair.

After the scrimmage, Colin had some prospects, including Carter Ashton (above "Tampa"), 2010 third-pound pick Adam Janosik (in silver at bottom of logo), Richard Panik (below the "28"), and Dustin Tokarski (left of logo) sign this team card.

The camp was also a time to plug a few gaps in specialty card sets, like this 2009-10 AHL Top Prospects card for Ty Wishart, who played last season for Norfolk.

Nice guy, that Guy

Not that it's a bad thing, but Guy Boucher, the Tampa Bay Lightning's new coach, is a pretty chatty guy.

Making an appearance at a Hockey Bay restaurant a couple weeks ago, he spent quality time with fans -- sometimes as long as five minutes -- during a post-radio-show autograph session.

Like this puck and promotional card, Boucher showed a personal touch. In our visit, we talked about Colin's hockey and the need for role players on teams. Boucher's son, a year younger than Colin, plays, too.

"Hey, maybe you two will play against each other this season," he told Colin.

Dinger's new card

It's nice to see Chris Dingman using an updated card for his Tampa Bay Lightning promotional efforts.

Having your name on Lord's Stanley's Cup twice is a big deal. Especially this one, his second, when he won it in 2004 with the Bolts.

It's a step up from an earlier card.

And, yes, that's an uncapped Sharpie chicken-scratch. Remembering to recap the pen proves elusive, at times, for a certain 9-year-old who remains nameless.

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.

The Yzerman Project

When it comes to Hall of Famers like Steve Yzerman, I have little time for any other hockey-hounding platform, so to speak, than pucks. I don't want him to sign any cards, posters or 8x10s. Nope, all I want are pucks and, once I'm done with them, the Team Canada jersey.

With this dozen of pucks, I'll have my work cut out for me this season. It's hard enough to get 12 autographs out of most players, let alone a hockey hero like Yzerman. And, no, I don't expect him to sign all 12 at one time.

Still, though, I'm up for the challenge, making The Yzerman Project the centerpiece of my 2010-11 hockey-hounding efforts. I hope to make a sizable dent, with Colin's help, by knocking out the top row during the Lightning's upcoming rookie camp. After that, I'll be happy with two at a time during the course of the season.

The lineup:

Top row: Tampa Bay Lightning official game puck, 2010 Winter Olympics hockey champions, Detroit Red Wings and Team Canada;

Middle row: Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings big logo, Red Wings 2002 Stanley Cup champion and Red Wings 2002 Presidents' Trophy; and

Bottom row: Red Wings 1998 Stanley Cup champions, Red Wings 1997 Stanley Cup champions, Red Wings 2008 Stanley Cup champions and Canada souvenir.

Packing for camp

Like any good Boy Scout, I'm as prepared as I can be for the Tampa Bay Lightning's upcoming (July 10-14) prospects camp down here in Hockey Bay. The hockey-hounding bag is packed with the following items that we hope to get signed within the next week:

Tampa Bay Lightning and 2010 NHL Draft pucks for Brett Connolly, the Bolts' top pick in June's draft;

Lightning and Norfolk Admirals pucks for goalie Dustin Tokarski; and

Cards for Carter Ashton, Connolly and Alex Hutchings (top row) and a trio, including a Threads card for Tokarski.

Hockey in summer

I must admit, the Tampa Bay Lightning's prospect camp, scheduled to begin Saturday, has got the hockey-hounding juices flowing. May not get a lot, but it'll be good to add a few more pucks to the collection.

First, though, we have a couple of Florida State League games on the agenda, including our only road trip of the season, across the Sunshine Skyway to Bradenton, to watch the first-year Marauders play the Charlotte Stone Crabs.

Last week, we kept ourselves busy with a game in Dunedin and a rain-out in Tampa. See how we did at Baseball Mondays. Someone, and I'm not saying who, got his first autograph of our 2010 Summer of Baseball.

Safety first

Given that today's been a mostly cloudy day with sporadic showers, we decided to celebrate July Fourth at home tonight. Colin's still a bit young for firecrackers and Roman candles, so he's comfortable with sparklers.

He's wearing his biking helmet so he "doesn't get hit in the head from falling fireworks."

On the ice

I know it was 3-on-3 play over half a rink, but it was pretty cool watching Colin score 10 points (five goals and five assists) in the 30-plus minutes I got to take in after work yesterday. Sources tell me, though, that his effort picked up noticeably upon my arrival.

He started his squirts (9-10) summer scrimmage season, meaning at least five hours of ice time each week, until school resumes in mid-August. Back-to-back hourlong practices on Tuesdays, too.

We're not sure what we'll do in the fall. I'd rather have him play a few more seasons of recreational hockey, maybe another 25-30 games or so, within his specific age group. That way, he can work on skills and game sense before, hopefully, making any jump to travel leagues.

Ultimately, his talent, not deep pockets, drives this decision. I'm old school. I believe a player must earn a spot on any roster.

Just asking

Why is it that more people look at Baseball Mondays on a Tuesday rather than a Monday? After all, it's called Baseball Mondays, not Baseball Tuesdays.

Really, though, I should be ecstatic that anyone is looking at all.

Lessons learned

Most times, a certificate of participation is viewed as an adult's proof of having to sit through some sort of training. This certificate, however, is much different.

It's much more than a piece of paper, as it represents the first-ever summer hockey camp that Colin attended since strapping on skates more than three years ago. I'll tell you, too, that Colin truly earned it. Nearly 18 hours of ice time and six solid hours of off-ice conditioning will go a long way.

It's easy to admit, too, that I took something away from camp. Watching as much of his ice time as my work schedule allowed, I picked up some new skating and passing drills for Colin to work on over the rest of his summer vacation.

He also learned what it's like to play in soaking wet equipment. After taking part in a water fight inside the locker room because he wanted to "get wet and have fun," he learned -- once again -- the consequences for his actions. I soaked most of his gear, save for his gloves and helmet, and sent him out onto the ice, dripping wet, for a two-hour afternoon session. Needless to say, "Drip" got the point.

Years from now, both of us will look back upon the past week as part of the strengthening foundation of his hockey and life skills. There's still a long way to go, but it's times like this that push the puck forward.

Here's a picture from Thursday, when former Tampa Bay Lightning player Brian Bradley led the campers through a spirited workout/clinic. Colin's in the front row, second from right, wearing his gold-and-black P.A.L. Stars jersey.

The hockey camp, however, wasn't the only thing we did last week. Stop by Baseball Mondays to see what else kept us busy.

Stockpiling material

One of the more enjoyable projects during the 2009-10 hockey hounding campaign was adding to the Threads collection of signed jersey swatch cards. Though we'll be scaling back during the 2010-11 season, in terms of items and trips, continuing this project will represent a major part of our efforts.

Thanks to eBay, I've been cherry-picking some jersey swatch cards over the past few weeks, adding to the inventory. As you can see, some fairly big names, including Buffalo's Ryan Miller, Hall of Famer Joey Mullen, Ottawa's Jason Spezza and Florida's (for how long?) Tomas Vokoun were part of the haul.

A couple of cards from the 2009-10 MVP Two on Two quad memorabilia series have also made the 2010-11 campaign lineup:

The top card of the two shown, featuring younger NHL defensemen, won't get completed this season as Vancouver and reputed toughie Kevin Bieksa won't travel to Hockey Bay this season.

The bottom card, showing members of Nashville's 2009-10 roster, will get worked in October, when the Predators play the Tampa Bay Lightning, but will have to wait until Jason Arnott and his New Jersey teammates hit Hockey Bay in January to be completed.

What offseason?

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Chili's restaurant have got together to promote each other this offseason with a weekly radio show at different locations around the Hockey bay area. That means the ticket reps will be out in full force trying to heard the masses for next year. It also means an opportunity to snag a few 'graphs.

Last week's event brought out a few former players, a Hall of Famer and someone we thought would be a new inductee.

Dave Andreychuk took the time to sign the commemorative magazine from his Stanley Cup year. I am still trying to figure out why he isn't on the list of Hall of Fame inductees this year, but that may give us something to celebrate next summer.

Hall of Famer Phil Esposito was kind enough to sign this quartet of cards. (Thanks, Colin, for the help on this one.)

Brian Bradley, a true class act, signed my work-in-progress program from the first-ever Lightning home game. Roman Hamrlik's signature is also seen on the cover. Espo's autograph can also be found inside.

As a note, Chris Dingman was also in attendance and was more than willing to sign for fans. Unfortunately, I had nothing for him.

Colin also made his way onto a video clip from the street hockey action before the radio show. See if you can spot him, working his way past a defender to score an open-net goal.

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.

Farewell to two greats

This week the NHL had two future Hall of Famers hang up their skates. Scott Niedermayer and Rob Blake both decided it was time to move on.

Scott Niedermayer played 18 seasons and is the only hockey player in the world to win the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, the World Championship, World Junior Championship, the World Cup and the Memorial Cup. He may go done in history as the best defenseman (in his era) to play the game

Rob Blake is another great defenseman with his name on the Stanley Cup as well as an Olympic gold medal around his neck.

Hound Central would like to thank both of these greats and wish them all of the best in their futures.

No slacking off here

Just because posts are few and far between here at Hound Central 5.0 doesn't mean I've been shirking my blogging and hounding duties. Just take a look at Baseball Mondays, our hockey offseason pursuit, to see what's been keeping us busy.

This week alone, we're missing three baseball games (two Florida State League games and a Tampa Bay Rays summer concert series game, featuring the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Barenaked Ladies) in with Colin's first-ever summer hockey camp.

It's our day

To all of my fellow hockey dads, as well as those who've yet to join the club, remember to take the time to bask in the glow of Father's Day today. We've earned it. Though we all enjoy being a daddy more than a father, it's the best job we'll ever have.

For the record, I got two nice cards, including this one from Colin, a ton of hugs, a Florida saltwater and freswater fishing license, a fishing T-shirt that's a tad too tight (it'll likely be exchanged for an insulated tumbler and socks) and a dinner of grilled marinated steak, a twice-baked potato and tomato salad.

Later on, though, I'll have to go to work and help put out Monday's paper, including the weather map. Not only will I be at the office until 1:30 a.m. Monday, praying nothing newsworthy occurs past midnight, but I also have to get Colin to the rink seven hours later for his first day of summer hockey camp.

A dad has to do what a dad has to do. It's my job and I love doing it.

No worries, Phil

You never know when hockey hounding is going to create a lasting memory. Take last night, for instance.

After Moody's, Hound Central 5.0's senior correspondent and resident TTM guru, tipped us off that Hall of Famer Phil Esposito would be at a Chili's in Tampa, we decided to take that in, rather than attend a minor league baseball game up the road.

Really, it wasn't that difficult of a decision. Any time you have the chance to get an autograph from a Hall of Famer, it's certainly a worthy reason for changing plans.

Esposito, the special guest during a Lightning radio show, didn't disappoint, signing a bunch of autographs. In our case, it was this book. Worn out from playing street hockey for nearly an hour in the late-afternoon humidity, I sent Colin up to get Esposito's book signed.

"You're not going to let him read this, are you?" Esposito asked from across the restaurant, knowing full well the book contains salty language and, ahem, adult exploits.

"No, not anytime soon," I replied. "Maybe in five years or so."

A favor, please

Humor me, will you? Stop by Baseball Mondays, please. You'll see what's been occupying our time over the past few weeks. Thanks.

I can live with this one

As much as I hate making mistakes, I certainly don't mind that I missed on the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Lord Stanley's Cup in Game 6, not Game 7 as I predicted.

Having a fellow Buffalo kid -- Patrick Kane -- score the Cup-winning goal and then give props to his hometown was pretty cool. Though the Sabres didn't win it, the Stanley Cup will get to spend at least one day in western New York.

Poetic justice

Seeing that the Chicago Blackhawks can close out the Philadelphia Flyers tonight to claim Lord Stanley's Cup, I figured it was about time to share the results of the latest Hound Central 5.0 poll. In it, HC5.0 asked what was a bigger upset earlier in the playoffs -- the Montreal Canadiens beating the Washington Capitals or the Pittsburgh Penguins.

When it comes down to it, the results were hardly surprising.

Given the the Caps seemed destined to win the Cup, HC5.0 readers overwhelmingly picked the Habs' stunning upset as far greater than the club's follow-up act against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

I must admit that I was pulling for the Canadiens in both series, but more so against the Caps. There's a certain smugness among most of the Capitals, beginning with Alex Ovechkin down to, if you can believe this, Shaone Morrisonn, that made it very easy to root against them. I still smile at the thought of the long faces on the Caps' bench as the Habs celebrated the upset. Good stuff, I tell you, good stuff.

Bottom line? Ovie's a great player, but not the kind of guy who will win championships. It was a huge mistake, I believe, when the Capitals named him captain. He's far too selfish, and self-centered, to ever be a team guy. Maybe he'll learn that with age. I doubt it though.

Question: Bigger upset?

Habs over Capitals: 17 votes out of 24 cast (70.8 percent)
Habs over Penguins: 7 votes (29.2 percent)

Oh, yeah, before I forget. The Flyers will force a Game 7, but the Blackhawks will lift the Cup. Dustin Byfuglien scores the Cup winner, too, tossing the puck to Chris Pronger, so "Chrissy" can add add it to his collection.

Summer prospecting

I am not sure if everyone is burned out from a busy season or not. If not, I may have a tip to share.

Try checking in on any of your local hockey rinks. A lot of former players work there as hockey instructors and it could make for easy pickings. While you are there, look for hockey camps that may be scheduled with current and former players.

Last year I added Yan Kaminsky to my collection just by going over to the Gwinnett (Ga.) Ice Arena.

This year, I plan on trying for Norm Beaudin (who sharpens Colin's hockey skates) over in Estero (he also runs a pro shop at the Clearwater (Fla.) Ice Arena) and Bob Joyce at the RVD Sportsplex in Orlando.

They may not be superstars, but they did get a chance in the NHL.

Great intel

Moody's done it again. Rapidly becoming a must-see site for autograph hounds employing TTM practices, Moody's posted a list of addresses for Ontario Hockey League teams.

The guy, Hound Central 5.0's senior correspondent and TTM maven, is a fountain of rock-solid information. Rather than simply show off his hard-earned rewards, he shares his information with others.

Not many other TTM sites are willing to do that.