Finding some room

He sure didn't have a lot of room to sign this mini-jersey, but Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward did the best he could. It's tucked in, right next to his number 30.

After having Ward sign many pucks, cards, photos, goalie masks, a Lowell Lock Monsters jersey and a couple of sticks, there isn't much left for him to sign for us.

Part of the push

As we make the late-season drive to top 2,300 autographed pucks for the collection, these nation-based souvenirs pucks are coming in pretty handy. Last week, with the New York Islanders in town, Al Montoya, left, and Kyle Okposo added this pair to the effort.

As of today, with three teams left to visit and one last visit for the Lightning, we stand only 13 away.

The Hockey Life: Week 22

If you're not doing anything this Wednesday evening, and even if you are, you can bid on this puck, signed by Hall of Fame goalie Tony Esposito, during a charity hockey game between Tampa Bay Lightning alumni and members of the St. Petersburg Police Department at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar, Fla.

The game, where a $5 donation gets you in the door for the 8:30 p.m. start, benefits the families of slain St. Petersburg police Sgt. Thomas Baitinger, Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz and Officer David S. Crawford. The three brave officers were shot and killed in two separate incidents within a month recently.

Scheduled to suit up for Lightning alumni are Dave Andreychuk, captain of Tampa Bay's Stanley Cup-winning squad, and Chris Dingman, who has his name etched twice into Lord Stanley's cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche and the Lightning.

I asked Mr. Esposito to sign the puck, which we're donating for a memorabilia raffle/auction during the fundraiser, before a recent Tampa Bay Lightning game against the Chicago Blackhawks. He willingly obliged.

We hope to see you out there.

Chip off the old block

If you've been keeping score at home, it's little surprise that Colin has become quite the hockey hound this season. Thanks to his team sheets, he routinely scores more autographs than his old man. You'll soon see, in the days ahead, just how well he's done. An upcoming report for the Chicago Blackhawks, in particular, should prove my point.

You know what? I'm glad he has. It shows that the love of a game, from playing to amassing a nice little collection of pucks, cards, photos and sticks, has been passed from father to son. I get more enjoyment watching him rack up the autographs than any I'll ever get. Just like his hockey games, he's first on the puck, so to speak. He's even remembering to say thank you.

As we approach the end of the 2010-11 hockey-hounding campaign, we'll have two more regular-season adventures to share, including when the Pittsburgh Penguins come to Hockey Bay later this month. Seeing that he'll be on his spring break that week, we'll be able to put in a full day. Let's hope Sidney Crosby is healthy enough to make the trip. We have a McFarlane 2010 Olympic gold medalists base that has his name on it.

Quote of the week

"Colin will be playing for me this spring."
Coach Dave, letting me know that Colin made the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning's Squirts "A" team.

Catching up with Joey Mac

By Colin
Hound Central 5.0 junior correspondent

When I first met Joey MacDonald, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. We were at their morning skate in Tampa. I had asked him for a goalie stick and he gave me one. Then I asked him to sign it, so he did.

After he got traded from the Leafs, I thought I'd never see him again. But I did, when we hounded the Detroit Red Wings a couple weeks ago. I found out he was with the team when my Dad told me.

When he came out, I said "Do you remember me?" Then he said, "Hey, little buddy." I said "Did you get that picture I drew for you?" He said, "Yep." I said" Did you like it?" He said, "Yep."

I was glad to see him again.

I was glad that he signed my team sheet, so I could add it to my collection.

Editor's note: Besides Joey Mac, others the signing the team sheet included Mike Babcock, Dan Cleary, Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Draper, Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen, Jimmy Howard, Jiri Hudler and Brian Rafalski.

Exception to the rule

Rumor had it that the Detroit Red Wings were a tough team to hound. Given the potential Hall of Famers who fill the roster, such as Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and, possibly, Chris Osgood, it's easy to see why.

And while these guys may be hard to hound, there's one member of the Red Wings who was more than willing to sign multiples.

In the two times that goalie Jimmy Howard, a former University of Maine Black Bear, signed for me during Detroit's recent two-day visit to Hockey Bay, I came away with two pucks, shown above, and four cards, including this addition to the Threads collection.

In fact, I believe he signed multiples for anyone with more than a single item. Hopefully, I just haven't jinxed other hounds and Howard continues to be a prolific signer. If not, you can blame me.

Sorry, Mr. Al

As Buffalo's Ryan Miller walked up the sidewalk, a flash of guilt struck my conscious. Given the item in my hand, I knew it would be the only item -- a base for McFarlane figure -- that I'd get signed. The only question was whether I'd keep it.

Al, Hound Central 5.0's senior correspondent in Toronto, is one of the very few people we'll get autographs for down here in Hockey Bay. Between all of the the work he's done for this blog and Hockey Hounds Universe, as well as his inspiring, but unsuccessful, attempt to covert Colin to the long-suffering existence of Leafs Nation, it's easy to say "yes" when he sends down the occasional item he'd like for us to get signed.

In one of his recent parcels, Al sent a McFarlane base for Miller. Later, he sent a Miller McFarlane for us, too. So, going into he Sabres recent visit, I faced the prospect of carrying both. That, to me, posed a little bit of a problem.

It's my belief that anytime you offer two same items to a player, you immediately come off as a dealer. After spending as much time as we have cultivating a collection, that's the last thing I wanted to do. And when it comes to the Sabres, I must remain true to my allegiances. Even if it means appearing greedy.

Besides, should both team make the playoffs and ultimately meet in the early rounds, I'll have another chance to get Al's signed. If not, there's always next year.

A tale of two brothers

Can you guess who won the 1965 NCAA championship with the Michigan Tech Huskies and was later inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988?

I think his clear and distinct signature will give this one away. Why can't the current guys give an autograph like the old timers? How about instead of advertising vintage games, tell the player to give vintage autographs?

Moody is now stepping down from his soap box.

Anyways, this is a sweet shot of Tony Esposito, holding that 1965 NCAA championship trophy, that he kindly signed for me last week before the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals.

Now, for the flip side. After the Bolts-Caps game, I was waiting around to see if Tony's older brother, Phil Esposito, would be as kind. Well, I must say, NO! As the godfather of Tampa Bay hockey left the arena, he angrily let me know that he was too old for this %$&@ and muttered a few other expletives.

I was the only one who asked for his autograph, but a few fans who were leaving the arena noticed his unkind words and expressed their opinions of the situation to him. They asked him if he was too old or just too big of (jerk). Then, they came over and asked who he was.

Double gold

What's better than getting New Jersey's Martin Brodeur on one piece of sports memorabilia celebrating Canada's gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

How about two items?

Thanks to a father-son tag-team effort, that's exactly what we did when Brodeur, a future Hall of Famer, signed the McFarlane figurine as well as this puck.

For the record, Colin got the McFarlane, planting himself in front of Brodeur at the end of a practice at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon last Thursday. Fifteen seconds later, if that, Brodeur signed the puck for me.

Though the signatures are the standard roadies offered up by Brodeur, they're certainly nothing to sneeze at. I can help but notice, upon closer review, that each is a bit different.

Interesting, don't you think?

Team report: Washington Capitals

When you don't carry a lot of pucks for a visiting NHL team, it's no surprise when you walk away with only one. That was the case last Wednesday when the Washington Capitals came to town.

Though I had only five pucks with me, I was fortunate to score this Hershey Bears puck, signed by goalie Michal Neuvirth, before the team's morning skate at the St. Pete Times Forum.

For the most part, the Capitals came out in clumps, four to five at a time, forcing hockey hounds and dealers to pick and choose. All told, I added 19 autographs, one below my standard of a decent day of hounding.

And, no, none came from Alex Ovechkin. Though I carried a single card for him, I knew better than to think I'd get it signed. He is, by far, the toughest NHL player in terms of getting an autograph. Kids and blue-eyed blondes, my experience has shown, stand the best chance.

As Ovechkin left the team's hotel, declining every request made of him, a small crowd of about 12 to 15 hounds and unrealistic dealers sporting Washington Capitals jerseys followed him for blocks. Not a single one got an autograph at that time.

Among those signing the 16 cards were:

Top row: Karl Alzner, Jason Chimera, Eric Fehr and Boyd Gordon; and
Bottom row: Mike Green, Mike Knuble, Jeff Schultz and David Steckel.

Other highlights of the day, so to speak:

~ Learning a valuable lesson not to take things for granted; and
~ Once again, putting some cheap skates to good work.

Thanks, guys

Ask any hound, and they'll tell you the same thing. The New York Rangers' Martin Biron is one of the most pleasant players they've ever met in the NHL.

It's beyond the fact that he'll sign more than a single item. Biron, who came up in the Buffalo Sabres organization, is personable, too, taking the time to chat. He's the kind of player who makes this hobby enjoyable. No attitude, just autographs -- the way it should be.

That hasn't helped me, though, get this jersey swatch signed over the past few years as he played his way across the Eastern Seaboard. It always seemed like I had something else or, to be honest, would let him pass so I could get an autograph from another player.

That all I changed New Year's Day. As you can see, the card finally got signed, becoming the latest addition to the Threads collection. I didn't get it, though. Nope, I have someone else to thank for that.

Over the holidays, we took a couple of Colin's hockey teammates -- twin brothers -- out hounding, showing them the ropes. The Rangers were the last of three teams they hounded with us over the break.

Before morning skate, Biron signed a pair of pucks, as we made the push to 2,200 for the collection. As a result, as well as I had to go into work early that day, it looked like the card would have to wait again. That's when one of the twins, who'd be sticking around with their dad until the team came back, offered to get some cards signed for us.

They did a good job, if you ask me.

Fits the bill

Because we've had decent luck with Montreal's Carey Price in the past, getting him to sign Canadiens and Tri-City Americans pucks as well as an 8x10 to Colin, it was time to branch out last week and find something else for the young goalie to sign. This McFarlane works, doesn't it?

Price also signed Colin's rock-solid team sheet.

Interesting insight

Remember Phil Myre? He's a retired NHL goalie who played for, among other teams, the Atlanta Flames, Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Rockies.

He's also created a blog that offers an insider's view on the NHL, hockey and life. It's definitely worth a look.

Thanks, eBay!

Earlier this year, when I actually had some spare cash on hand, I snagged a couple of jersey swatch lots off of eBay. While a few of the cards were viewed as collectibles, most were simply adding to the stock of items we'll use in our future hockey hounding adventures.

This card of Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun, who's one of the best signing players in the NHL, was part of one of those hauls.

On Saturday, the card, which features a nice, bright yellow swatch with some stitch marks as well as Vokoun's distinctive signature, became the latest addition to our Threads collection.

These will do

Every NHL team, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, has what you'd call the Big Four. This Tuesday, it consisted of Toronto's Jean-Sebastien Giguere, (clockwise, from top left) Phil Kessel, Luke Schenn and Kris Versteeg.

Had Leafs' captain Dion Phaneuf made the trip, as well as signed one of the two pucks I had for him, it would've been a hard decision picking who to leave out. My guess? Versteeg. I don't think he's yet to meet the mighty expectations of Leafs Nation.

Keep them in mind

There are very few people whose lives haven't been touched by cancer. My grandfather, Roy, who sacrificed his retirement to raise a grandson, died of lung cancer. I'm sure you know someone, too.

That's why I'm asking you to do what you can for Goalies Against Cancer 2010. It's a certainly worthy venture. At the least, take a look at the cool masks that Leblanc Designs made for the Maestas brothers. Words of encouragement would be nice, too. Thanks.

Always a reason

Any hockey-hounding opportunity, from Canadians juniors right on up to NHL teams, always has a gem or two just waiting for any enterprising hound.

Just ask Mike, Hound Central 5.0's resident Ontario Hockey League expert, who snagged this 8x10 and puck from Windsor's Jack Campbell at a recent Windsor Spitfires practice.

Campbell, the 11th-overall pick by Dallas in the 2010 NHL Draft, backstopped Team USA to a gold medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships.

Certainly worthy

It's always nice to get fan mail or, in Hound Central 5.0's case, comments. Here's one I'd like to share with everyone:

"Hello, I've been an avid reader of your blog for a while and I thought you might like to check out a fundraiser me and my brother are doing involving hockey against breast cancer.

"I would email you, but I'm not exactly sure how I go about doing that on here (it's probably something really obvious...lol).

"Anyway, just thought you might want to give it a look and perhaps stick it at the end of one of your posts sometime? Either way, thanks and I hope you do 6.0 next season!"

Well, guys, I hope this is a little better than that.

At first, I was a bit skeptical. Now, after waiting a few weeks, I realize I'd made a mistake. This effort, called Goalies Against Cancer 2010, is the real deal. USA Hockey is involved. So is Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, through his Steadfast Foundation. So, too, is the Susan G. Komen Passionately Pink for the Cure organization.

Two hockey-playing, Colorado-based brothers, Joey and Brandon Maestas, are the goalies behind the scenes, working hard to help bring hope to the fight against breast cancer. If you can, help them out with one of their fundraisers. I've elected to donate $25. Thanks.

As for Hound Central 6.0, we'll have to see. Something else might be in the works. You'll know when we know, but it's coming soon.

Hotlanta's hopping

I was able to make a quick trip by the Duluth, Ga., training facility to check in on the Atlanta Thrashers. Really glad that I did. Pretty much the whole team, as well as a few prospects, were there getting in some skating before camp opens.

We showed up a bit early for the Thrashers and saw a goalie out on the ice. It turns out to be Dave Caruso, a current New Jersey Devils prospect and former Ohio State Buckeye. He was kind enough to stop and talk with us for a couple of minutes before heading out to catch a flight to New Jersey.

The Thrashers then entered the ice for a little scrimmage. It's my opinion that these guys shouldn't be taken lightly this year.

As the players exited the ice (almost all at once), it got a bit crazy stopping them. I decided I would ask them as I was able to get to their page in my binder. The ones I missed, well, I'd just have to wait for another day.

Those who stopped to sign:

Akim Aliu on an 8x10;

Ben Eager on an 8x10;

Evander Kane on an 8x10, expressing dissatisfaction with Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke;

Arturs Kulda on an 8x10;

Rich Peverly on an 8x10;

Chris Mason on a practice puck; and

Head coach Craig Ramsay on a card.

Craig Ramsay being at the rink was a bit of a surprise, because I thought the coaching staff wasn't allowed to meet with the players until the start of camp. The entire coaching staff, as well as new general manager Rick Dudley, once a Buffalo Sabres teammate of Ramsay's, was on hand in the locker rooms, but not on ice.

Hmmmmmm!

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!