No disappointment here

In the grand scheme of things, there's only one person who ranks higher than Carolina goalie Cam Ward in Colin's world of favorite NHL players.

That's why it's such a big deal every time the Hurricanes arrive in Humidity Bay to play the Lightning. This season's first trip, however, nearly brought a missed opportunity.

It seems that Colin had expended too much energy in his day with his Auntie Kathy, falling asleep about the time Ward and the Hurricanes made their way to the St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday afternoon.

Not wanting to disappoint Colin, Momma and I made sure that sincere pleasantries were exchanged and that Ward signed these items for him. The card, shown above, came in the Hurricanes fan pack we received last week. The puck, an official game model, came from Red Deer, Alberta, where Ward played his junior career.

Oh, yeah, who tops Colin's list? C'mon, you ought to know by now. It's Boston's Patrice Bergeron.