It's been a couple weeks

Well, a so-called soft launch of Hound Central 5.0 is about two weeks old. Thankfully, we've had NHL players and prospects filling rinks here in Hockey Bay as well as South Florida and Toronto before NHL training camps open, giving me and others something to cheer and, when the mood strikes, write about.

Heck, there's even a hounding report on the Oshawa Generals.

I imagine, too, I'll come back with a closing post, more detailed in plans and goals for Hound Central 5.0. Until then, feel free to peruse any of the many stories from the 2008-09 hockey hounding campaign here at Hound Central 4.0.

And, if you haven't visited it yet, Hound Central 5.0 has its own YouTube channel, HockeyBay Hound.

And, as always, please know that I truly appreciate your support. It's something I can't say enough. Thanks, folks.

Check it out

As promised, here's the big news: Hound Central 5.0 is up and running. A trip to Brandon earlier today marked the first hounding trip of the 2009-10 campaign.

Refresher courses

With more players taking to local rinks in preparation of NHL training camps, it's a good idea to brush up on your hockey-hounding skills:
~ Learn how easy it is to find teams;
~ The best way to get your cards ready for signing;
~ Make the effort to recognize players;
~ What's the best color Sharpie to use; and
~ Practice hockey-hounding etiquette.

All about baseball

Seeing that today is the last day of summer vacation, we're getting an early start on a full day of activities. We were pretty busy last week, too, taking in three baseball games within four days.

As a result, Baseball Mondays is loaded with new reports. Feel free to check them out.

Pleasant surprise

Like most every other hockey hound I know, the upcoming NHL season can't arrive soon enough. Allan, Hound Central 4.0's correspondent in Toronto, got an early start. Here's his report:

Well I'm happy to say that hockey is up and running in the Great White North! Leafs players, I hear, started showing up at their practice rink last week.

Recently, a local sporting goods store held a grand opening with Columbus goalie Steve Mason, who was signing for free. Imagine that? Free autographs from the reigning rookie of the year.

Because there were limits of one per adult and two per kid, I took my two kids. All told, we snagged five autographs - two pucks and the three 8x10s shown below. Mason also brought the Calder trophy with him.

We were about 25th in line and it only took about 15 minutes to go through the line. My kids wanted to go through again, but I didn't want to. I guess we could have, but it didn't feel right.

Mason was a nice kid and posed for photos with the kids. I wished him a great and healthy season, but asked him to take it easy on my Leafs!

Long live the Aud

Though Hound Central 4.0 does not condone acts of trespassing, I believe old-school Buffalo Sabres fans might enjoy one last look at the inside of the Memorial Auditorium.

Though it's been many years since attending a Sabres game there, I recognized many scenes taken during the clandestine trips of an urban explorer.

Special thanks, too, to Drew, one of Hound Central's faithful readers, for the head's up.

Different looks

Beyond signaling that the 2009-10 NHL season is right around the corner, the recent release of 2009-10 Victory also carries cards of players in their team's third jerseys. This sampling came from a couple 36-card packs we found at Target.

Tthis 200-card set boasts second-year cards for last season's rookies, creating autograph stock for such players as Columbus Steve Mason, the Calder Cup winner. You'll also find cards for Boston's Blake Wheeler, Chicago's Kris Versteeg and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos.

Its low price point is easy on the wallet, too.

These three points earn 2009-10 Victory a buy rating.

Batting .917

Over the course of the summer, Colin has put together a remarkable collection of Florida State League team-signed balls. Recently, with the Daytona Cubs in Dunedin to play the Blue Jays, he knocked out the 11th and final team ball of our Summer of Baseball.

The only team we missed? The Palm Beach Cardinals, the Advanced A farm club for MLB's St. Louis Cardinals. Maybe next summer, okay?

While you're waiting, then, stop by Baseball Mondays for these posts:

~ A pair of Tampa Bay Rays players adding to a work-in-progress team ball;
~ Larry Herndon, a big-leaguer for 14 years, on the MLB Alumni ball; and
~ Taking a big bite out of the Clearwater Threshers team set.

We're keeping these

It doesn't seem all that long ago that Colin was trying on this pair of skates. Really, though, it's been more than two years, and they've served him well as he's progressed from his first shaky glides across a rink to making hay, so to speak, in recreational league games.

And now that he's getting a little bigger and the skates are getting tighter, it's time to retire this pair. His new pair -- Nike Bauer Vapor XXVs -- are broken in and game-ready. In fact, he logged his first-ever hat trick yesterday wearing them.

But rather than toss out his first pair of skates or try to get a few bucks from Play It Again Sports, we're keeping them as souvenirs. Not only are they symbolic of all the time, effort and money over the past few years, but they also represent the first steps of Colin's fledgling hockey career.

That's what makes them priceless.

NHL players reporting to rinks

From what I hear, NHL players are taking to rinks getting ready for the upcoming training camps.

I read on Facebook yesterday that Buffalo's Tim Connolly was skating at the Skanteateles (N.Y.) Community Center. I've heard, too, that incredibleICE, down in South Florida, might have a few familiar faces twirling around the rink.

Looks like we'll have to take a ride over to the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, to see if anyone's shaking off some summer rust.

Take a look, won't you?

Just to prove that Baseball Mondays isn't just about collecting autographs during our Summer of Baseball, I've created a photo gallery that goes far beyond balls and strikes.

Flashbacks 08.10

Here's another player's-only stroll down hockey-hounding memory lane:

March 9, 2009: St. Louis' T.J. Oshie
Jan. 31, 2009: Hall of Famer Joey Mullen
Dec. 28, 2007: Montreal's Carey Price
Nov. 26, 2006: Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson
Dec. 29, 2005: Toronto's Matt Stajan

Little Gray Box: Ryan Miller

In all honesty, I can't remember if Buffalo's Ryan Miller signed this cheapskate card in 2002 or 2003. I am positive, though, we got it during our time in Beantown. Either way, it was one of the first autographs we received from the Sabres' talented goalie.

Yeah, me, too

I know we're dab smack in the dog days of summer, when thoughts of baseball, beaches and back-to-school bargains fill our minds, but I still can't get my mind off of hockey.

Watching Colin play, I suppose, has a lot to do with it. But so do the autographed pucks and cards, snagged during the 2008-09 campaigns final days and over the summer, I still have to put away. And, from what I hear, NHL players will be skating soon, prepping for training camps.

Bottom line, though, is that I'm not alone.

An overwhelming majority of Hound Central 4.0 readers who took part in the last quiz -- which asked whether they were missing hockey -- were looking forward to the 2009-10 NHL season and the corresponding hockey-hounding campaign.

Question: Jonesin' for hockey?

Yes: 15 out of 18 votes cast (83.3 percent)
No: 3 out of 18 votes (16.7 percent)

The three dissenting votes? Must've been Loafs fans.

And, really, can you blame them?

Thank God for shade

Want to know how hot it got last week during Florida State League game with a first-pitch time of noon? Let's just say triple-digits. You can read about that scorcher, as well as our cherry-picking efforts that day, at Baseball Mondays.

A long look back

Really, it's not that I didn't want to put together this review of our efforts of the 2008-09 hockey-hounding season. No, that wasn't the reason for its delay. It was more all the things that have kept me busy since the season ended down here in early April.

Mostly, it's been because of willingly accepting an increase in obligations here at home -- eschewing summer camp so Colin and I could spend more time together, landing a bunch of freelance work, hanging out at the Tampa Bay Lightning's prospects camp and, to keep our hounding games in shape, embarking upon our Summer of Baseball.

To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't get to this final review of the season earlier. Given that we added another 1,738 autographs, including 330 pucks, to the collection, one might believe that I'd trumpet our successes as soon as I could.

Didn't happen, though, did it?

So, now, without further delay, here are the top 20 highlights of the 2008-09 hockey-hounding campaign:

~ Loving every minute of watching 316 NHL players fill up 22 of Colin's hand-drawn team sheets.

~ Colin snagging the top three picks in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, including Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman, during their predraft trip to Humidity Bay.

~ Being in the right place at the right time for Washington's Alexander Semin. Thanks again, Moody.

~ Absolutely ruining Curtis Joseph's day when the Toronto Maple Loafs came to town.

~ Having Columbus' Rick Nash sign four pucks, including one of the OHL's London Knights.

~ Catching up with one of my favorite hockey players, former Buffalo Sabres captain Danny Gare.

~ Being surprised when Washington's Sergei Fedorov changed his mind about signing an autograph.

~ Getting Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos to sign 2009 NHL All Star Game pucks in a single day.

~ Compiling 25 autographs, including Cam Neely, Patrice Bergeron, Phil Kessel and Tim Thomas, on a new-look Boston Bruins third jersey.

~ Catching up with old buddies -- Boston Patrice Bergeron and Carolina's Cam Ward

~ Celebrating Martin Brodeur's return from injury when New Jersey visited Humidity Bay in February.

~ Having Triple Gold winner Brendan Shanahan sign the Team Canada jersey.

~ Reaching out to a fellow Buffalo kid, Chicago's Patrick Kane, and having him sign a pair of pucks.

~ Loading up a helmet with 26 signatures from members of the Montreal Canadiens.

~ Getting Dallas' Mike Modano to sign the Team USA jersey and a Stars puck.

~ Scoring 103 autographs in a single day, our best effort of the season, from the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

~ Having 26 members of the Florida Panthers, including Keith Ballard, Jay Bouwmeester, Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss, sign a team helmet.

~ Four pucks signed by San Jose's Jeremy Roenick, one of the game's fan-friendliest players.

~ The Tampa Bay Lightning's training camp and other over-the-summer activities presented the perfect opportunity to load up on autographs from Tampa Bay's Olaf Kolzig and Steven Stamkos.

~ Getting pretty sweet autographs from Hall of Famers Phil Esposito and Tony Esposito.

Summer break

Even wearing black, as well as a little gold, taking part in a Mites hockey clinic is an easy way to escape highs in the mid-90s.

Then again, that's a fact of life every summer here in Humidity Bay.

That's not to say, though, that Colin didn't work up a little sweat. Going through a number of skating, puckhandling and shooting drills can have that effect on a person.

Here's an idea

With the Tampa Bay Lightning in an all-out season-ticket marketing blitz -- including a multimedia tool that incorporates the fan and repeated telephone calls at home (four over the past week) -- I have a novel concept that certainly would ensure more fannies in the seats at the St. Pete Times Forum. It's called winning, something that the Bolts haven't done for the past two seasons.

A good excuse

I know that I owe Hound Central 4.0's faithful readers a review of our 2009-09 hockey-hounding efforts. It's just that our Summer of Baseball, chronicled at Baseball Mondays, has been keeping me busy. Last week alone, we saw three games in four days.

The highlights of the 11 new posts:

~ getting a trio of single-signed balls from three Dunedin Blue Jays;
~ finishing up team balls for the Clearwater Threshers, Fort Myers Miracle and the Tampa Yankees; and
~ adding a team ball, the 10th of the season, from the Sarasota Reds.

As for the hockey-hounding year in review, all I can say is that it's still on the radar screen. Sooner or later, I'll find the time to take a trip down memory lane.

It's been such a long time

It's always a good day when our postal carrier drops off some autographs in our mailbox. In this case, they came from Edmonton's Patrick O'Sullivan, who, much to his credit, signed the four cards we sent.

The remarkable aspect of this arrival, however, is the time between request and return. These cards were mailed to O'Sullivan, in care of the Los Angeles Kings, on Dec. 31, 2007. If my math is correct, and that's open for debate, it took an astonishing 560 days for the cards to return.

And while one might grouse about the lengthy delay, we're just happy the cards, part of Hound Central 3.0's TTM project, finally made their way back home.

Thank goodness, too, that we used one of those Forever stamps.

Rest in peace, Reg

The recent passing of former NHL player Reg "The Ruffian" Fleming struck a chord with Moody, Hound Central 4.0's roving Southeast correspondent.

Here's Moody's recollection:

"I had the chance to meet him during an old timers charity game at a local rink back in Michigan. I had just graduated from high school, so I wasn’t very good at recognizing players. I had a few cards and one of them was a Tall Boy Reprint of Fleming.

"Armed with a Bic pen (Most of my early sigs were with ink pens), I snagged the players as they came off the ice. Mr. Fleming came off and, as I asked who he was in order to rifle through a stack of cards to find his, he patiently waited and happily signed the card for me.

"He may have played well before my time, but his signature is one of the first that has launched my interest in vintage autographs. As tattered as the card may be, it still sits on the top of my most memorable successes."

Flashbacks 07.21

It's been a long time since we tried one of these, hasn't it? More than five weeks, if you're keeping track.

Long overdue, if you ask me. Enjoy.

June 4, 2008: Tampa Bay's Dave Andreychuk
Jan. 23, 2008: Edmonton's Dwayne Roloson
Feb. 23, 2007: Kevin Paul Dupont, of the Boston Globe
Dec. 6, 2006: Buffalo's Daniel Briere
April 12, 2006: Atlanta's Marian Hossa

Mondays mean baseball

All it took was a proven method and a willingness to dodge a few raindrops to add these Florida State League-based items to our Summer of Baseball bounty:

~ A team ball signed by the Brevard County Manatees; and
~ a team ball signed by the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

The secret to success

Now that we're in the dog days of summer -- the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency behind us -- we have plenty of time to play general manager of an NHL team. We can ask ourselves whether our team's top pick will be NHL-ready or will he need more seasoning? Another big question, I believe, is can a pressing need be filled with a free agent.

Either way, we can only fantasize -- from a hockey fan's viewpoint, that is -- that we can call the shots as we build our NHL team. To me, though, the most-pressing decision any GM can make is how the team is put together. Does one build through the draft or stock the lineup with free agents? Maybe a combination of both?

According to Hound Central 4.0 readers, it takes a combination of both -- shrewd draft picks and sensible free agent signings -- to build an NHL club. Pretty sound advice, don't you think?

Question: What's the best way to build an NHL team?

Bit of both: 16 out 27 votes cast (59.3 percent)
Through the draft: 10 out 27 votes (37 percent)
Free-agent signings: 1 out 27 votes (3.7 percent)

Gallery: Lightning Young Guns camp

Just like the sign says: Welcome to the 2009 Tampa Bay Lightning Young Guns prospect camp held over the past week at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

Defenseman Victor Hedman, taken second overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, gets ready for a shift during Saturday's scrimmage.

Goalie prospect Riku Helenius prepares to make a save during a skills competition following Saturday's scrimmage.

Lightning defenseman Vladimir Mihalik, who stands 6-foot-7, was more than happy to level the playing field for this picture with Colin.

Goalie prospect Dustin Tokarski, one of the nicest kids in hockey, thanked Colin for taking this picture with him.

This is what you look like after fitting a week of hockey-hounding into an already busy life with a nasty summer head cold as the cherry on top. Colin took this photo Wednesday after the camp's final scrimmage.

Sticking with it

Besides getting three autographed pucks from Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay's top 2009 pick, the biggest project for the Lightning's Young Guns camp was Colin's mini goalie stick. From a Beyond the Blueline event to a prospect scrimmage to hanging out at the team's hotel, the stick was a constant companion.

By camp's end Wednesday, Colin scored 22 autographs. They're weren't all prospects, either. How about Dave Andreychuk and Steven Stamkos? They're on it. Even Lightning GM Brian Lawton, a former No. overall pick, signed it. So are Hedman and Carter Ashton, the Bolts' other first-round pick last month.

Items like this are perfect for this type of hounding. Photos and cards may be hard to find. I prefer, too, to be selective with pucks at these type of events, only taking chances, so to speak, with No. 1 picks.

Still, no complaints. We added 94 autographs, including nine pucks, within a week. Not bad, considering it's the middle of July.

Doubling up

Want to know what happens when all get into the same autograph line for Tampa Bay's prospects? Actually, that's an easy question. Not only can you get seven particular players, fresh from participating in Saturday's night scrimmage at the Lightning's Young Guns camp, to sign a team postcard, but you can also snag all on a puck.

Prospect card, from left: Luke Witkowski, Carter Ashton, Juraj Simek, Jordan Mayer, Matt Read, Dustin Tokarski and Kyle DeCoste.

Prospect puck, from left: Juraj Simek, Carter Ashton, Dustin Tokarski, Kyle DeCoste, Jordan Mayer, Matt Read and Luke Witkowski.

Pencil these in

After a long day of watching hockey, ordering a Wendy's single with everything but onions and watching Colin collect three foul balls, I've finally had enough time over the past few minutes to scribble a list of top 10 teams we'll hound during the 2009-10 campaign:

No. 10. New Jersey Devils, Oct. 8: It's always nice to see Marty.

No. 9. Montreal Canadiens, Dec. 30: Respect the Le Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge.

No. 8. Vancouver Canucks, Feb. 9, 2010: A chance for redemption after missing them on their last trip to Hockey Bay.

No. 7. San Jose Sharks, Oct. 22: So many big names, so little time.

No. 6. Buffalo Sabres, March 18, 2010: Later, I'll attend the game with relatives from Western New York.

No. 5. Anaheim Ducks, Jan. 29, 2010: This team rewards effort.

No. 4. Phoenix Coyotes, March 16, 2010: But only if Wayne Gretzky is part of the organization. If not, the Coyotes trade places with the Canucks.

No. 3. Los Angeles Kings, Nov. 14: I'm burning a vacation day for this team. Lots of new faces certainly worthy of a bunch of pucks.

No. 2. Calgary Flames, Feb. 6, 2010: It's not just the Stanley Cup Finals history between the Flames and Lightning. It's an opportunity to snag a couple more pucks from Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester.

No. 1. Boston Bruins, Dec. 28: Three days after Christmas? Colin will be on vacation. I have the day off, too. Need I say anything more?

So, tell me. What are your top 10 hounding trips?

Big leagues, too

Just to prove that Baseball Mondays isn't all about minor league baseball, you might want to check out these postings:

~ Four members of the Tampa Bay Rays starting a 2009 team ball;
~ Four Toronto Blue Jays pitchers flocking to Colin's team sheet; and
~ A signed baseball from top 10 MLB prospect Josh Vitters.

Sorry to make you wait

In hindsight, I would've been better off not having Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay's top pick at the 2009 NHL Draft, sign these three pucks. Nope, I should've been home tending to a cold that blossomed a day after the Swedish defenseman completed the hat trick. It's taken me three days to even remotely recover.

See Stamkos?

It was easy to see just how much Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos has matured in the past year. A year ago, he was the hugely hyped No. 1 overall pick, all smiles and full of confidence.

Then came Barry Melrose. What a mistake that was. To his credit, Stamkos showed that he did, in fact, belong in the NHL.

Now, with that sorry episode behind us, Stamkos appeared much more at ease Saturday night with his still-growing role with the Bolts. He knows it, too. Like free agent signee Mattias Ohlund, he'll help mentor 2009 top pick Victor Hedman as well.

The leap to the NHL from the OHL has been made. And Stamkos, I believe, stuck the landing.

Oh, yeah, he signed a new-look Canada puck for us.

I don't know about this

It's not that I'm complaining or anything, but I'm having a hard time getting a Carter Ashton out of these autographs. I mean, yeah, he is a first-round pick, going 29th after Tampa Bay took Victor Hedman at second overall. But, still, that auto -- stylish and all -- looks like he's been at it for 15 years.

He's having fun

If there's one person who's thoroughly enjoying himself at the Tampa Bay Lightning's Young Guns camp these days it has to be goalie Dustin Tokarski.

Every time I've seen him, from the team's hotel to the rink to a post-scrimmage autograph session, the kid, a 2008 fifth-rounder, has had a milewide grin.

My guess? He's just soaking up the experience, even if winning WJC gold for Team Canada in 2009 wasn't enough, and looking forward to training camp. If it's anything else, it's only because he's a goalie.

In an instant

Though I carried cards and pucks during his brief appearances on Tampa Bay's blueline last season, I somehow managed to miss getting a single autograph from defenseman Ty Wishart.

That all changed Thursday, at the end of a long, cold-worsening day of baseball, hockey and hounding, when Wishart not only signed the two pucks, shown above, but these cards as well.

Wishart, part of the trade that sent Dan Boyle to San Jose, is taking part in the Lightning's Young Guns camp this week.

Handy to have

With the Tampa Bay Lightning holding its Young Guns camp this week, it was a good time to put some 2008-09 Norfolk Admirals team set cards to work. Among those to sign, and we still have a few cards to go, were Riku Helenius, Scott Jackson, Vladimir Mihalik and Juraj Simek.

If only for a moment

Over the next few days, we're hoping to get in a little hockey-hounding as the Tampa Bay Lightning holds its Young Guns camp at the St. Pete Times Forum. Of course, the top draw will be Victor Hedman, the Bolts' top pick at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal.

Beyond Hedman, though, there are a few more players who we'd like to add to the autographed puck collection -- namely, goalie Dustin Tokarski and defenseman Ty Wishart. After that, it's mostly cards for the rest of the players in camp.

Oh, yeah, we'll have a new Canada puck for Steven Stamkos, just in case he shows up over the next few days.

It may be summer, yes, but it's always hockey season here at Hound Central 4.0.

Not too much to ask, is it?

Had a busy morning over at Baseball Mondays. Now, if only you'd spend a few minutes reading about:

~ A team ball from the St. Lucie Mets;
~ A mini bat from the Dunedin Blue Jays;
~ A fellow St. Petersburg Junior College alum;
~ Catching up with Colin's favorite FSL team; and
~ Snagging an assortment of autographs from the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Update: 2009-10 Western Conference visitors

Back on April 3, I predicted that the following teams would be visiting Hockey Bay for the 2009-10 season: Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes and the Vancouver Canucks.

Well, even though the Lightning's 2009-10 schedule has yet to be released, a little bird told me that these would be the teams: San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and the Phoenix Coyotes.

The only difference? The Sharks.

It won't be long before we get official word.

Update: Lots for the Lightning

Given all of the movements made by the Tampa Bay Lightning's new ownership last season, with the team drafting Steven Stamkos first overall and signing such free agents as Olaf Kolzig, Ryan Malone, Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts, the 2008-09 edition of the Tampa Bay Lightning provided the target-rich hockey-hounding environment.

Forget Vinny Lecavalier's abysmal season, a foggy Mike Smith, the revolving door on defense and, unfortunately, executive office in-fighting. The team, despite its foibles, still carried quality NHL players. Why that talent couldn't jell, that's not my job. That's a question better left to Lightning brass.

Still, hounding the Lightning provided a backbeat to the 2008-09 campaign. Trips were made in bunches, during training camp and clustered throughout the season. All in all, three Lightning-specific themes rounded out the collection: a team jersey, adding 32; a team helmet, a somewhat disappointing effort with only six signatures; and, of course, a bunch of pucks.

Going into last season, I figured to add 75 pucks from the Lightning alone. Didn't make it. Not even close:

Len Barrie (co-owner): Lightning and Kamloops Blazers

Brandon Bochenski: Lightning

Matt Carle: Lightning and San Jose Sharks (no longer with team)

Steve Downie: Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers

Steve Eminger: Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals new

Adam Hall: Lightning, Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins

Riku Helenius: Lightning

Andrew Hutchinson: Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes (no longer with team

Olaf Kolzig: Lightning, Lightning Prague Premiere game-dated, Washington Capitals new logo, Washington Capitals eagle, Washington Capitals original logo, 2000 NHL All Star Game, Washington Capitals 25th anniversary, 1998 NHL All Star Game, Rochester Americans, Portland Pirates and Tri-City Americans

(Editor's note: A special tip of Hound Central 4.0's battered Cooper SK600 to Olie the Goalie. For what it's worth, he's a class act.)

Oren Koules (co-owner): Lightning and Saw DVD cover

Lukas Krajicek: Lightning and Vancouver Canucks

Tom Kurvers (co-assistant GM): Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils (Never saw him)

Brian Lawton (director of hockey operations): Lightning and Minnesota North Stars

Vincent Lecavalier: Lightning three-stripe, Lightning Prague Premiere game-dated, 2009 NHL All Star Game, 2008 NHL All Star Game and Notre Dame Hounds (at left)

Claude Loiselle (co-assistant GM): Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Quebec Nordiques

Ryan Malone: Lightning

Barry Melrose: Lightning, NHL 2Nite, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets (No longer with team)

Andrej Meszaros: Lightning

Vinny Prospal: Philadelphia Flyers

Kari Ramo: Tampa Bay Lightning-Norfolk Admirals (at left), Norfolk Admirals and Springfield Falcons

Mark Recchi: Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens and Kamloops Blazers

Gary Roberts: Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins

Matt Smaby: Lightning, Tampa Bay Lightning-Norfolk Admirals first year affiliation, Norfolk Admirals and Springfield Falcons

Mike Smith: Lightning, Lightning Prague Premiere game-dated, Dallas Stars and Utah Grizzlies

Martin St. Louis: 2009 NHL All Star Game

Steven Stamkos: Lightning, Lightning three-stripe, 2009 NHL All Star Game, Lightning Prague Premiere game-dated, NHL practice puck, Team Canada and Sarnia Sting

Rick Tocchet (interim head coach): Lightning, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes and Phoenix Coyotes geodesic design

Mike Vernon (special assistant to Brian Lawton): Lightning, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks and Portland Winter Hawks (never saw him)

Radim Vrbata: Lightning, Phoenix Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes (no longer with team)

Wes Walz (assistant coach): Lightning, Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild inaugural season (at left)

Ty Wishart: Lightning, San Jose Sharks and Prince George Cougars (never saw him; hope to real soon)

I had no pucks for Jussi Jokinen (no longer with team), Jeff Halpern, Mike Lundin, Shane O'Brien (no longer with team) and Paul Ranger.

2008-09 Lots for the Lightning totals
Autographed pucks: 64
Autographed jersey: 32
Autographed helmet: 6
Autographed sticks: 2
Bottom line: 104 (or 10.3 percent of Hound Central 4.0's noncard autographs collected during the 2008-09 NHL hounding campaign)

Editor's note: This list originally appeared on Hound Central 3.0.

Oh, really?

Earlier this year, we heard from a Clearwater Threshers players that collecting an assortment of autographed Florida State League team balls might be a difficult task. Well, guess what? It hasn't been hard at all, as Colin recently secured his sixth team ball of our Summer of Baseball.

You'll find that story, as well as others, at Baseball Mondays. Take a break from hockey, won't you, and check out our summer hobby.

Less than convincing

Now that we find ourselves mere hours away from the first overall pick being made in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Hound Central 4.0 readers are far from certain that the New York Islanders will, indeed, select John Tavares.

Of the 14 votes cast (a low number, curiously), only eight felt that the Isles will pick Tavares to lead them to the promised land. Sure, it's a majority, but it's hardly a ringing endorsement.

So, what going to happen? Hard telling. We'll have to watch the draft at 7 tonight on Versus to find out.

Question: Will the New York Islanders take John Tavares first overall?

Yes: 8 out of 14 votes cast (57.1 percent)
No: 6 out of 14 votes (42.9 percent)

Now, while you still have on your general manager/player personnel hat, feel free to take part in the latest Hound Central 4.0 poll, which asks what is the best way to build an NHL team.

Back in the day

I thought you might get a kick out of this: Hockey Sock Rock by Phil Esposito and the Ranger Rockers, released in 1979, and featured, besides Espo, John Davidson, Ron Duguay, Pat Hockey and Dave Maloney.

Even better, the flip side contains Please Forgive My Misconduct Last Night by Dionne and the Puck-Tones, featuring the Los Angeles Kings' Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor.

A tip of Hound Central 4.0's roughed-up Cooker SK600 to Moody, our roving Southeast correspondent, for passing along the photo.

Little Gray Box: Mike Green

Little did I know, during the 2005-06 season, that Washington's Mike Green would become a Norris Trophy finalist, a NHL First Team All Star and set an NHL record for defenseman with his eight-game goal-scoring streak.

Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to have him sign one of my homemade cheap skates cards.

You're on the clock

With only a handful of days before the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, it's time we all put on our general manager/player personnel hats and figure out the top 30 NHL draft prospects.

Though the top two picks are easy, either John Tavares or Victor Hedman, it gets a little tricky after that. Will teams pick the best available player or try to fill an institutional need?

Barring any last-minutes trades (think Toronto trading for the Islanders' No. 1 overall pick), here's a lineup of the draft order for the first round. If you'd like to participate, feel free to share your insights in a comment.

In the meantime, here are my picks:

No. 1: John Tavares, C, New York Islanders
No. 2: Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
No. 3: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, LW, Colorado Avalanche
No. 4: Matt Duchene, C, Atlanta Thrashers
No. 5: Evander Kane, C, Los Angeles Kings
No. 6: Jared Cowen, D, Phoenix Coyotes
No. 7: Brayden Schenn, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
No. 8: Dmitry Kulikov, D, Dallas Stars
No. 9: Nazem Kadri, C, Ottawa Senators
No. 10: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Edmonton Oilers
No. 11: Zack Kassian, RW, Nashville Predators
No. 12: Jordan Schroeder, RW, Minnesota Wild
No. 13: John Moore, D, Buffalo Sabres
No. 14: David Rundblad, D, Florida Panthers
No. 15: Simon Despres, D, Anaheim Ducks
No. 16: Dylan Olsen, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
No. 17: Scott Glennie, C, St. Louis Blues
No. 18: Louis Leblanc, C, Montreal Canadiens
No. 19: Carter Ashton, LW, New York Rangers
No. 20: Jacon Josefson, C, Calgary Flames
No. 21: Robin Lehner, G, Philadelphia Flyers
No. 22: Ryan Ellis, D, Vancouver Canucks
No. 23: Chris Kreider, C, New Jersey Devils
No. 24: Ryan O'Reilly, C, Washington Capitals
No. 25: Stefan Elliott, D, Boston Bruins
No. 26: Calvin deHaan, D. New York Islanders
No. 27: Carl Klingberg, LW, Carolina Hurricanes
No. 28: Landon Ferraro, LW, Chicago Blackhawks
No. 29: Kyle Palmieri, C, Detroit Red Wings
No. 30: Tim Erixon, D, Pittsburgh Penguins

Three-Sharpie day?

When it comes to my own hounding productivity, it's a great day any time I score at least 50 autographs. One hundred autographs? Only once.

How do you describe it, then, when you snag 206 autographs in a day? Awesome? Impressive? Frightening? I'm at a loss for the perfect word.

You'll just have to ask Brett, a Hockey Bay hound who also hits the diamonds every season, including the Florida State League's All-Star Game festivities in Fort Myers. He filed his report with Baseball Mondays.

No surprise here

Eyebrows didn't even flinch this time. Going in, I knew, without even a hint of doubt, that Hound Central 4.0's readers would show off their hockey IQ. Know what? I wasn't disappointed.

An overwhelming majority, picking with their heads more than their hearts, said John Tavares would be picked first overall at next Friday's NHL Entry Draft in Montreal. Hands down, too.

The margin of victory? Not even close. Huge, even. Then again, that was a given. Not even Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene combined could top the Next One of 2009.

The $10 million endorsement deal question now -- across the hockey spectrum, including here at Hound Central 4.0 -- is whether or not Tavares lands on Long Island or, perhaps, elsewhere. I know there's a few Loafs fans who think he'd look real good in blue and white.

It won't be long now.

Question: No. 1 overall pick

John Tavares: 20 out of 36 votes cast (55.5 percent)
Victor Hedman: 10 out of 36 votes (27.8 percent)
Matt Duchene: 6 out of 36 votes (16.7 percent)

The envelopes, please

After careful tabulations, double-blind accounting and pacts of secrecy authenticated by verification experts at the highest levels, the inaugural edition of the Hockey Bay Hounding Awards have finally arrived on the shores of Tampa Bay.

In the moments ahead, you'll find yourselves nodding in agreement, shrinking away in horror and, occasionally, shaking your head in disagreement. That's exactly what we're hoping for, at least.

Before we get to the winners, though, Hound Central 4.0 would like to thank everyone who has visited this chronicle of the 2008-09 hockey-hounding campaign. Using an incalculable payment of your free time, your presence and attention is the greatest reward we could ever receive. Again, thank you.

Now, let's see who's winning nothing more than a mention here at Hound Central 4.0:

Hound of the Year: Awarded to the hound who consistently racks up quality autographs on a diverse platform of memorabilia. Winner: Chris

Autograph of the Year: Awarded to the hound who scores an autograph from one of hockey's best players -- past or present -- during the course of a season. Winner: Ryan, for his team-signed picture, shown above, of Louie, the St. Louis Blues mascot.

Rookie of the Year: Awarded to a hound who excels in his/her first full Hockey Bay season. Winner: Ryan

Lifetime Achievement Award: Honors a veteran Hockey Bay hound for their dedication, knowledge and product of their efforts. Winner: Ron (Thanks, folks)

Best Supporting Hound: Awarded to the hound(s) who assists in the collection of autographs. Winner: Three-way tie -- Andy, Scott and Colin

Meatball of the Year: Awarded to a hound who displays a clear lack of thought and consideration toward his peers. Winner: Meatball

Best Original Score: Awarded to the hound obtaining an autograph(s) on a rare or peculiar piece of memorabilia. Winner: Jamie, for getting game-used sticks signed twice by each player. Don't ask me why, ask him.

NHL awards

Nicest NHL player: San Jose's Jeremy Roenick

Snottiest NHL player: Toronto's Curtis Joseph

Best-signing team: Dallas Stars

Worst-signing team: Washington Capitals

Best-dressed player: Atlanta's Garnet Exelby, for his fedora alone

Like looking at pictures?

Good. Check out these five galleries from the 2008-09 hockey-hounding season down here in Hockey Bay:

April 8, 2009: Pittsburgh Penguins
March 18, 2009: Toronto Maple Leafs (my favorite)
March 7, 2009: St. Louis Blues
Feb. 23, 2009: Boston Bruins
Feb. 18, 2009: Chicago Blackhawks

Teeming with sharks

After adding 40 autographs last week from the Florida State League's Jupiter Hammerheads and Clearwater Threshers during Shark Week, it's safe to surmise that Baseball Monday's Summer of Baseball mini-project didn't bite. Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun.

Little Gray Box: Jeff Carter

These days, Philadelphia's Jeff Carter is best known as a goal-scoring sniper. He signed this cheapskate card during the 2004-05 season, when today's young NHL stars were forced by the NHL lockout to play in the American Hockey League.

Flashbacks 06.10

It's been nearly three weeks since the last installment of this summer space filler. How about a mixture of team and player reports from Hound Central 3.0, 2.0 and 1.0?

April 2, 2008: Atlanta Thrashers
Oct. 27, 2007: Buffalo Sabres
Feb. 20, 2007: Florida's Eddie Belfour
Oct. 29, 2006: San Jose Sharks
Feb. 17, 2006: Hall of Famer Stan Mikita

Know the Bible?

Did you know that Doug Waechter, a St. Petersburg, Fla., native and pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, incorporates a Bible verse in his autograph? Well, he does, and that's just fine with us.

So, which one does he use? You'll have to check out Baseball Mondays, our offseason blog on our baseball-hounding adventures, to find out.

He could relate

Seeing that May's Win this Auto contest featured an NHL official practice puck signed by Colin, it was only right, Hound Central 4.0 decided, that he picked the winner.

It didn't take him long. After reading each of the four entries, Colin decided it was Petey who would win the autographed puck.

Here's Petey's entry about his favorite youth hockey moment:

"My favorite youth hockey moment came when I was about Colin's age. We had this big goalie who came out to help us. It was always a big thrill to score on him, even in practice. I think I got five goals one time, but never 10. That must have been great."

Now, if Petey will send me an e-mail, available at my profile, we'll get this puck, signed by Colin following his 10-goal performance in a recent practice, ready for delivery.

Remember, too, that this is the final contest of the 2008-09 hockey-hounding campaign. I hope you enjoyed it.

Top Shelf: 2009 NHL draft prospects

Want to know who was the first Hockey Bay hound to get an autograph earlier today from John Tavares, the likely No. 1 overall pick at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft?

How about Colin? Yeah, Colin. My Colin.

After nearly four hours of waiting out convention crowds, false alarms and near 90 degree temperatures, Tavares and his two fellow top NHL Draft prospects -- forward Matt Duchene and Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman -- signed autographs for all three of us before their dog-and-pony show for the Tampa Bay Lightning braintrust.

As they left the Marriott Waterside, walking toward a waiting Escalade, we decided to each pick one prospect to stop. I stopped Hedman, Chris took Duchene and Colin, using his "cute kid" status to its full advantage, singled out Tavares.

Guess what? It worked. He got all three to sign this Nike stick blade.

Colin's effort, too, made up for his old man's miss on Tavares. Not bad for an 8-year-old, huh?

No shame in these

With the John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene -- the top 2009 NHL Entry Draft prospects -- in Tampa earlier today for a meet-and-greet with the Tampa Bay Lightning brass, a handful of Hockey Bay hounds took it upon themselves to welcome the trio of soon-to-be millionaires to Tampa.

As you can see, Duchene, a forward who signed the Brampton Battalion puck, and Hedman, a Swedish defenseman who signed a NHL practice puck, allowed me to add to our collection, When it came to Tavares, who often personalizes items, I flat-out missed with two pucks.

I suppose I could've asked as he sat in the back seat of a waiting Escalade outside the Marriott Waterside, after I got the pucks from Hedman and Duchene. Thankfully, Tavares did sign something for Colin.

Who knows, maybe I'll head back over tomorrow morning and try my luck again. If not, he'll be around during the 2009-10 campaign.

Still, snagging two of the top three likely picks at the NHL Draft later this month isn't anything to sneeze at.

Not a Crab among them

Can you guess what Florida State League team nearly filled up a team ball for Colin during two games last week? Here's a hint: It's one of the Tampa Bay Rays' farm teams. Need another? Check out Baseball Mondays.

Little Gray Box: Ryan Getzlaf

There was a time when I had little other than pucks for Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf to sign. Namely, a quick demotion to the Portland Pirates, the Duck's AHL affiliate, during his rookie NHL season. That's when this cheapskate card came in quite handy.

Could've been Joey

With only one of 25 votes picking the Boston Bruins over the San Jose Sharks as the biggest choke in the 2008-09 NHL playoffs, one could surmise that it was a Sharks fan or player who felt the sting of the latest Hound Central 4.0.

One unproven theory could be that it was San Jose's Joey Thornton, a former member of the Bruins organization, who cast the sole vote against the Sharks, the Western Conference's top-ranked team, being the biggest disappointment of this season's playoffs. If it was (and, really, I doubt it), Jumbo Joe needs to get some counseling for his denial.

Sorry, but the Sharks were, indeed, the poster boys for playoff upsets. Though Boston's loss disappointed Bruins Nation, it wasn't nearly as gut-wrenching as San Jose's first-round collapse.

Question: Biggest choke

San Jose Sharks: 24 out of 25 votes cast (96 percent)
Boston Bruins: 1 out of 25 votes (4 percent)

Joining the 21st century

I finally got around to joining Facebook. Now, I'm pondering whether Twitter is nothing more than a passing fad for narcissistic egoists.

Update: 10 Big Sigs

Before the 2008-09 hockey hounding season down here in Hockey Bay, I predicted that these items would be added to the collection.

Let's see how I did:

No. 10: Montreal's Saku Koivu on the Canadiens' legends jersey - Did not obtain

No. 9: Dallas' Brad Richards on a Stars puck

No. 8: San Jose's Dan Boyle on a Sharks puck

No. 7: A team-signed Boston Bruins jersey

No. 6: New Jersey's Martin Brodeur on a replica jersey

No. 5: Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby on Colin's #87 Penguins jersey - Did not obtain.

No. 4: Columbus' Rick Nash on Blue Jackets and Team Canada pucks

No. 3: Pucks from Chicago's Patrick Kane (Blackhawks, London Knights and Team USA) and Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks, Team Canada and University of North Dakota)

No. 2: Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Henrik Zetterberg on Red Wings pucks

No. 1: Chicago's Nikolai Khabibulin (provided he stays), Columbus' Fredrik Modin (provided he stays healthy) and Toronto's Pavel Kubina on our Tampa Bay Lightning 2004 Stanley Cup Champions items. - Not a single item.

Looking back, it wasn't a great season, but it wasn't bad. Though Crosby signed during his visits to Hockey Bay, I missed getting him to sign. Perhaps, too, I overshot on the goals for the Red Wings. And Koivu signed a Canadiens team helmet instead.

The biggest disappointment, though, was not adding to the Tampa Bay Lightning 2004 Stanley Cup Champions items. One would think that the No. 1 item on the 10 Big Sigs campaign would take precedence, but a combination of players not traveling to Hockey Bay (Khabibulin and Modin) and simply forgetting (Kubina) worked against me.

Still, I'm happy to have added what we did. I'm sure, too, that this project will return for the 2009-10 hockey hounding campaign. This time, though, I'll have to keep my eyes on the prize, won't I?

Fan Pack attack II

Though I didn't enjoy much success in my fan pack efforts, it's nice to know that Moody, Hound Central 4.0's roving Southeast correspondent, had a great season getting professional hockey teams to send him a ton of free goodies.

Next season, I'm taking a different approach. Rather than sending our requests in bulk e-mails (appearing, I hate to admit, as a spammer), I'll send out a couple a day to select teams. Cherry-picking, I suppose, but that's my prerogative.

In the meantime, these items, received by Moody over the past few months, cap the fan pack reports for the 2008-09 hockey hounding:

Team: Dallas Stars
League: National Hockey League
Items: Player cards for Mike Modano and Marty Turco, oversized player cards for Trevor Daley, Brenden Morrow, Steve Ott and Tobias Stephen, a sticker set and a Stars mini pennant.

Team: Frolunda HC
League: Elitserien, or the Swedish Elite League
Items: Autographed player sheet of goalie Johan Holmqvist, a former member of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Team: SC Bern
League: Swiss National League A
Items: Autographed player sheet of Martin Gelinas, a former NHL player.

Among the other teams to send items not previously profiled:

~ the New York Islanders sent out a team poster; and
~ the Rockford Ice Hogs of the American Hockey League sent a program and player photos of Evan Brophey, Mike Brennan and Bryan Bickell.

Three things to do

Now, I know I'm not the only person who has to work on Memorial Day. So, if you're lucky enough to have the day off and family cookout is hours away, here is a hat trick of activities to keep you busy:

~ weigh in on the Hockey Bay Houndings Awards;
~ see who's made a play for a puck autographed by Colin; and
~ test your hockey knowledge on our latest hockey quiz.

You can thank me later.