Team report: Phoenix Coyotes

Surprise! No, I didn't make a mistake. This is, in fact, a team report for the Phoenix Coyotes' recent visit to Hockey Bay. Don't be fooled by these three New York Rangers pucks, though. They were all signed by members of the Coyotes organization: Don Maloney, Michal Rozsival and Ulf Samuelsson.

I must admit, however, that I was getting a bit concerned. You see, these were the first three pucks I got signed, out of seven for the day, and I started wondering whether I'd have any that showed the Coyotes logo. Well, I did get at least one Phoenix puck signed:

From left, Mikkel Boedker, Shane Doan and Tyson Nash.

Thankfully, there were no shortage of Coyotes cards, as well as a few other teams, that got signed:

Top row: Eric Belanger, Paul Bissonette, Ilya Bryzgalov and Oliver Ekman-Larsson; and
Bottom row: Martin Hanzal, Lauri Korpikoski, Jason LaBarbera and Derek Morris.

All told, we scored 68 autographs, including 33 cards, in one day from Phoenix. The trip also marked the 25th hounding adventure of the 2010-11 campaign.

It gets better, too. The New Jersey Devils were staying at the same hotel on the same day. Though we were unprepared, we managed to snag a few. Expect those reports next week.

Other highlights, and one downer, from the Coyotes:

~ talking Colin out of drawing a lizard for his team sheet;
~ bragging about getting 20 autographs from five players;
~ making the call to move to silver Sharpies;
~ adding a couple of cards to the Threads project; and
~ using a cheap skate card for David Schlemko.

Doubling up

Now that vacations are over and I've got a better handle on my freelance work, it's time to get caught up with a little bit of Hound Central 5.0 housecleaning, namely the past two HC5.0 polls.

As always, I appreciate your participation and patience.

Summer hounding

The first poll inquired about your summer plans, specifically if you'd been hounding at all this summer. Nearly three-quarters of those responding said they would get in a little hounding. Same here.

In fact, Colin's already put together team balls from the Dunedin Blue Jays and Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League. With any luck, he'll add another, from the Charlotte Stone Crabs, before the week's out.

And, with the news that hockey legend Steve Yzerman is the Tampa Bay Lightning's new general manager, we'll be looking for any and all opportunities to build that collection over the summer.

Question: Hounding this summer?

Yes: 22 votes out of 29 cast (75.9 percent)
No: 7 votes (24.1 percent)

Deep thinking

Hound Central 5.0 took a philosophical approach with the other poll, asking if there is more to life than hockey.

Since last August, when NHL players took to a rink at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, hardly a day went by that hockey wasn't a subject. At times, it felt too consuming. That's part of the reason for the recent scarcity of posts -- I'm trying to realize that there's more to life than hockey.

In a way, that's easier said than done. Between Colin's summer hockey program (3-on-3 games, Tuesday night practices and Wednesday skating sessions), we're still pretty busy and hockey-centric. It's not a complain, just a fact of the life we've chosen.

Lately, though, we're finding time for other endeavours. Beyond attending some FSL games, we're looking forward to Colin's summer vacation. We're working on a 10-item list of things to do once school lets out June 9th. Hunting for trains, counting 100 jets, picking blueberries and watching the Barenaked Ladies perform after a Tampa Bay Rays game are among the items.

I'm sure, too, that taking in the Lightning's Young Guns camp, should the team hold one this summer after the upcoming NHL Draft, will make the list. We wouldn't want to get rusty now, would we? We're hoping that Yzerman will be in a signing mood as well.

Question: More to life than hockey?

Yes: 25 votes out of 34 cast (73.5 percent)
No: 9 votes (26.5 percent)