Doubling up

In part of our bid this season to add former NHL players to the autographed puck collection, Colin was quick to add Gilles Meloche, top, and Tony Granato, part of the Pittsburgh Penguins' coaching staff, during the team's extended stay here in Hockey Bay recently.

Next trip, we'll try to get Meloche on California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons pucks and Granato on Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks pucks.

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!

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.

10 Questions: Todd Ewen

Todd Ewen played for the St Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the San Jose Sharks. He got his name on the Stanley Cup in 1993 while with the Canadiens.

These days, he's a marketing and sales executive at Remax Properties West.

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, Kevin Miller, David Harlock and Jeff Shevalier. We truly appreciate the opportunity provided by Ewen.

Hound Central 5.0: Did you collect cards/autographs as a kid? If so, who's your favorite autograph?
Todd Ewen: Todd McFarlane with Spawn comics ( Vancouver born)

Hound Central 5.0: Is signing autographs fun or a chore?
Todd Ewen: Always a pleasure!

Hound Central 5.0: What's the weirdest thing you've ever signed?
Todd Ewen: Never really had a weird situation in signing.

Hound Central 5.0: Best/worst cities for autograph hound/dealers?
Todd Ewen: L.A .. East Coast usually have the most dealers in the crowd, but it was growing when I retired.

Hound Central 5.0: Can you tell the difference between autograph dealers and collectors?
Todd Ewen: After over a decade in the NHL, you see the same faces, doesn’t take long to figure them out.

Hound Central 5.0: Does it really matter to you if someone is selling your autographs?
Todd Ewen: Yes and no. You want to give back to the game and make sure that you sign for the fans. Without them, there is no following.

Hound Central 5.0: Would/do you sign blank pieces of photo paper?
Todd Ewen: No!

Hound Central 5.0: Any items you won't sign?
Todd Ewen: No.

Hound Central 5.0: Most famous person to ask for your autograph? Most famous person you've asked for an autograph?
Todd Ewen: The most famous person I asked for an autograph was former President Gerald R. Ford in Anaheim.

Hound Central 5.0: Black or blue Sharpies?
Todd Ewen: Whatever is available, I will sign with a crayon if they want.

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

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."

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 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.