Hockey history, perhaps

Moody, Hound Central 4.0 roving Southeast correspondent, believes he may have set hockey hounding history. After a recent trip to a hotel in Gwinnett, Ga., he may have been the first autograph hound to actually hound an East Coast Hockey League team at its hotel.

Actually, if Moody is right, and this was history, he can't take sole credit for it. Nope, I'm sure daughters Mikayla and Natalie might have something to say about that. From what I hear, they did the lion's share of the hounding:

Mikayla, using a pink paint pen, got a dozen Everblades players to sign a stick blade: David Leggio, #33; Anton Khudobin, #35; Noah Babin, #5; Mark Lee, #22; Benn Olsen, #59; Ryan McGinnis, #2; Kevin Baker, #71; Ernie Hartlieb, #9; Steve McJannet, #7; Ryan Lang, #20; Colin Nicholson, #16; and Doug O'Brien, #26.

Natalie, making her first-ever hounding adventure, had the same dozen players sign her team sheet.

Moody, not one to sit on the sidelines, even got into the act, snagging this card from Hartlieb.

After hounding the Everblades, Moody and the girls went to the Everblades game against the hometown Gwinnett Gladiators. After the game, after which two Gladiators sign for fans, Mikayla added autographs from Gwinnett's Joe Fallon and Jordan Fox on a freebie backpack, above, and another of her custom stick blades. The girls got the puck during warmups.

Bottom line, everyone had fun. Moody got to spend some quality time with his daughters. The girls had a great day. I imagine, too, the players got a kick out of it as well.

This has to be a mistake

Not that I'm complaining or anything, but after pulling 85 Young Guns out of a box of 2008-09 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2 one can only wonder what in the Gordie Howe is going on in North Las Vegas.

That's right, one box produced eighty-freaking-five Young Guns. I've heard of hot boxes. This box, hand-picked from three offered at the House of Cards in Pinellas Park, Fla., was a near-meltdown within the Young Guns 50-card franchise.

Even better, I have no clue how it happened. It just did. Divine intervention? Mechanical gremlins? A mischievous collator? Who knows?

Just look at the numbers:

~ 48: Number of different rookie cards
~ 44: Percentage of Young Guns cards within the 192 cards in the box
~ 6: Number of Young Guns cards per box, on average, according to Upper Deck
~ 14: Number of boxes, using Upper Deck's averages, it would take to accumulate 85 Young Guns
~ $68.47: What I paid for the box

My only complaint? One would think a full set could have been culled from the 85. Nope. Didn't happen; 48 out of the 49 players, plus the checklist. Atlanta's Nathan Oystrick was the healthy scratch.

Now, look at some of the cards:

Four-banger

I know Islanders fans have high hopes for Josh Bailey, probably just as much as teammate Kyle Okposo, but this is downright ridiculous:

Ironic there's a short-print (098/100) in the mix, isn't it?

Hat tricks

Why, oh, why couldn't this have happened in any of the Series 1 boxes? Maybe I would've scored a Young Gun for Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos (hint, hint, hint)?

A pair of goalies -- Toronto's Justin Pogge and Washington's Simeon Varlamov -- showed up three times.

Duplicate efforts

The largest subset, there were two cards each for 29 players:

Doubles (from left): Washington's Karl Alzner, Carolina's Zach Boychuk, Los Angeles' Brian Boyle and Dallas' Fabian Brunnstrom

More doubles (from left): Columbus' Nikita Filatov and Dan LaCosta, and Vancouver's Cory Schneider

Not shown, but noteworthy: Anaheim's Andrew Ebbett and Brett Festerling, Atlanta's Boris Valabik, Carolina's Patrick Dwyer, Dwight Helminen and Justin Peters, Columbus' Derek Dorsett, Edmonton's Theo Peckham, Florida's Jason Garrison and Michael Repik, Los Angeles' Danny Taylor, the Isles' Mitch Fritz and Brett Skinner, New Jersey's Patrick Davis, Matthew Halischuk and Petr Vrana, Ottawa's Jesse Winchester, Philadelphia's Darroll Powe, Phoenix's Kevin Porter, Pittsburgh's John Curry, San Jose's Tom Cavanaugh and Washington's Tyler Sloan

One-per players

Besides Oystrick, it's my guess these are the Young Guns' toughies:

Top row: St. Louis' Ben Bishop, Toronto's Jonas Frogren and Buffalo's Nathan Gerbe
Middlow row: Toronto's Nikolai Kulemin, Carolina's Joe Jensen and New Jersey's Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond
Bottom row: San Jose's Jamie McGinn, Columbus' Andrew Murray and Philadelphia's Andreas Nodl

Top row: Florida's Kendal McArdle, Edmonton's Steve MacIntire, Pittsburgh's Janne Pesonen and Los Angeles' Teddy Purcell
Bottom row: Colorado's Chris Stewart, San Jose's Brad Staubitz, Phoenix's Viktor Tikhonov and the Young Guns checklist, showing Dallas' Fabian Brunnstrom, Tikhonov and Columbus' Nikita Filatov

Down the stretch

Like the Tampa Bay Lightning, my hockey season will end with the beginning of the NHL playoffs. Barring a miracle unknown to man, the Bolts' 2008-09 campaign will come to a merciful end when the final buzzer sounds April 11 in Atlanta.

Going into the season, my hopes were high that this would be a successful year for the Lightning. New ownership. New coach. And a kid named Steven Stamkos, who we were all stoked to see. For once, I was bitten by the Bolts bug.

Well, we all know what's happened since then. The new owners did their best to fulfill a derisive "cowboy" tag. The mulleted one lasted, what, 16 games? Only Stamkos, who has picked up his game in the past few weeks, has not become punchline material -- yet.

Despite all of this, one would think it would be easy to walk away from this team. Beyond any dealing of Vinny Lecavalier -- the face of the franchise -- my loyalty remains in check. I'm willing to give the new organization through next season before truly committing myself as a fan.

Even with the disappointment of this season, there will be no abandoning of my first full hounding foray as a fan, this season's Lots for the Lightning campaign. From the initial post and its lofty goals through last week's rain-soaked visit, the project is winding down. Beyond pucks, the main items remaining are the team jersey and helmet.

After a strong start in training camp and preseason visits, visiting NHL teams occupied my time up until the holidays. Last week's trip, after hounding the New Jersey Devils, was the first since then. I like to spread out my visits as the season progresses. Familiarity is good at the beginning, but you don't want to be a nuisance.

The jersey and helmet will receive some much-needed attention once the Lightning return from its road trip. There are a couple of three-game homestands coming up, so that should provide enough opportunity. The rest will be up to the Lightning.

Among the highlights, to date, of the Lots of the Lightning:

~ Helping the Lightning contribute to the biggest haul of the season -- 103 autographs in a day;
~ Recognizing opportunities from Vinny Lecavalier's prep school days;
~ Adding a few more autographs to the Lightning team helmet;
~ Making good use of Barry Melrose 's short stay;
~ Pulling together five autographed pucks from Stamkos;
~ Getting Matt Smaby to re-sign four pucks that didn't turn out too well in the first attempt;
~ Landing the first few signatures, including one from Marty St. Louis, on the team jersey;
~ Watching Hall of Famer Phil Esposito launch the Lightning team helmet project;
~ Snagging 41 autographs, including 14 pucks, from the Lightning in a day;
and
~ Having new faces Olaf Kolzig and Mark Recchi sign the first pucks of the campaign.

Freeze frame

Now more than ever, especially with the new camera, I keep an eye out for the art within the sport of hockey. This caught my attention during the second intermission of the Bruins-Lightning game this past Sunday.

Two for roughing

Want to know what happens when you wear a Boston Bruins third jersey to a Tampa Bay Lightning game? Well, if you're ThunderBug, the Bolts mascot, and Daddy gives you permission, well, you end up just like this.

The other mascot is the University of South Florida's Rocky the Bull.

Trust me, no one was hurt in the making of this photograph.

Bored? Not any more

Excuse me, but I'm wondering whether there's a bit of elitism going on among Hound Central 4.0 readers. Though we've received a respectable number of entries for February's Win this Autograph contest, I'm hoping that the prize -- a dozen autographed cards -- is not the reason behind the fewer entries than in the past.

Granted, this month's winner won't get a puck signed by Hall of Famer Denis Potvin or Minnesota's Mikko Koivu. Still, a dozen autographs is worth two minutes of your time, telling me about your favorite pull from a pack of cards.

Also, Mensa called earlier today. Mensa tells me that it will rescind the membership card of any one who doesn't take a shot at Hound Central 4.0's latest hockey quiz.

So far, only two readers have tapped into their hockey intelligence.

Good, not great

Maybe it was the end of a long and disappointing road trip. It could have been the bigger-than-normal crowd (25-plus, easily) on a late Sunday afternoon. Then again, maybe we've gotten spoiled from past trips.

Yesterday's gametime hounding session with the Boston Bruins was a bit subdued, even to the point of being lackluster. Players who usually sign -- goalie Tim Thomas comes to mind -- didn't come over. No matter the reason, it was interesting, to say the least.

But after adding another 25 autographs, including Phil Kessel and Byron Bitz on the Bruins team jersey (shown above), there's no need to complain. Besides, the trip was more about Colin seeing an old buddy more than anything else. Everything else was gravy.

Signing pucks were, from left, Shane Hnidy (who flipped the puck to Colin after pregame warmups during the Bruins' first trip to Hockey Bay this season) and Milan Lucic.

Signing cards were, from left, P.J. Axelsson, Michael Ryder and Dennis Wideman.

Other highlights:

~ No surprise here: Colin catching up with Patrice Bergeron;
~ Hall of Famer Cam Neely taking care of us;
~ Three Bruins -- Bergeron, Lucic and Marc Savard -- signing the Team Canada jersey; and
~ Ten Bruins finding the time for Colin's team sheet.

The Bruins photo gallery is worth a look, too.

As always, thanks

One of these days, we'll run out of item for Boston's Patrice Bergeron. After signing this 8x10 photo (above) of the back of Colin's new Bruins third jersey, a Reebok Bergeron model stick (below) and the Team Canada jersey, we're that much closer. It always seems, though, that Colin can always find something for his buddy to sign.

Appreciate it

For a Hockey Hall of Famer, Cam Neely would be well within his right to ignore every request for an autograph. Thankfully, the Bruins legend doesn't do that.

Not only did Neely sign on the crest of the Team Canada jersey yesterday before the Bruins game against the Lightning, but he also signed this card and Colin's team sheet.

The Heroes & Prospects card, from In the Game's 2005-06 set, shows Neely in his days with the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League.

Another three

Hall of Famer Cam Neely wasn't the only Bruins player to sign the work-in-progress Team Canada jersey yesterday. Boston's Marc Savard (left), Patrice Bergeron (top) and Milan Lucic (bottom right) all added to it.

The other signature? New Jersey's Brendan Shanahan, who signed it this past Thursday. To date, 18 players have signed the jersey.

Plenty of room

Yes, it's a bit of a surprise that only 10 Bruins signed Colin's team sheet yesterday, given Boston's reputation, other than Phil Kessel, as a good-signing squad. Still, three of them came from All Star Marc Savard, pest Milan Lucic and Hall of Famer Cam Neely.

Not a bad hat trick, if you ask me.

Others signing were P.J. Axelsson, Byron Bitz, Shane Hnidy, Michael Ryder, Mark Stuart, Shawn Thornton and Dennis Wideman.

Gallery: Boston Bruins

Of the handful of these galleries I've produced this season, this one for the Bruins is my favorite. I'm sure most of you know why. For the rest of you, just look below.

The reason we made the trip to Tampa yesterday: Colin's picture with Boston's Patrice Bergeron. Colin's wearing his new Bruins third jersey, a Bergeron replica model fresh from the team's pro shop.

It's always a good day when Cam Neely, a Hall of Famer, stops to sign.

Center Marc Savard will sign autographs, but limits it to one per person. I can live with that.

Center Milan Lucic was one of the better signing Bruins during the team's stop in Tampa Bay.

Though he's recovering from broken orbital bones, winger Michael Ryder took the time to sign before Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.

Sunday morning homily XXIII

Two buddies will renew acquaintances later today when Colin sees Boston's Patrice Bergeron before this afternoon's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. I'll have to tell you something, though. I wouldn't mind if it were their last.

After watching Patrice sustain his second concussion in as many seasons, our concern is not about autographs, but for Patrice's health and well-being. Another concussion, no matter how serious, could come easily. And each one will only have more complicated consequences.

Concussions, I'm afraid, have a cumulative effect. Just ask former NHLers Jeff Buekeboom, Pat LaFontaine and Eric Lindros.

To us, Patrice has nothing more to prove. He made the NHL as a rookie out of training camp. He's won championships. He's shown tremendous athletic ability. He made an inspirational comeback from a fairly serious injury. Most importantly, though, is he's served as a perfect role model for one of his younger fans.

Colin, however, was greatly concerned when Patrice was hurt this season against Carolina. With his own hockey career in its fledgling stages, he was worried about getting hurt like Patrice.

As a father, more than a hockey dad, I told Colin that it could happen to him, too. I also told him that it's okay to walk away as a result, that his health is more important than any goal, assist or blocked shot.

If asked, I'd offer that same fatherly advice to Patrice.

Whirlwind tour

Today's trip for the Bruins caps a very busy 16 days down here in Hockey Bay. Seven teams have traveled here, and we've hounded five of them (not counting the Bruins), making it the busiest homestand of the 2008-09 campaign.

Who were the biggest names we added so far? How about these teams and players:

~ New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, Zach Parise and Brendan Shanahan;
~ Chicago's Brian Campbell, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews;
~ Toronto's Jason Blake and Luke Schenn;
~ Atlanta's Zach Bogosian, Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen; and
~ the Islanders' Josh Bailey, Bill Guerin, Kyle Okposo and Doug Weight.

That also doesn't include a quick trip for the Lightning, that yielded autographs from Vinny Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos.

Going fishing

It seems that there's a standing joke among Chicago Blackhawks players any time Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews get swarmed by hounds before the team's morning skate last Tuesday.

Teammate Adam Burish spoke a bit too loudly last Tuesday with this observation when Kane and Toews stepped outside the team's hotel: "It's time to feed the fish."

Burish chuckled as he said it three times. Oddly, the smile vanished, though, as I asked him to sign at gametime: "Hey, Adam, it's time to feed the fish." Know what? He didn't sign. No great loss, I'd say.

5 Big Sigs

With only the Boston Bruins in town today and the Lightning hitting the road tomorrow, we'll be one-and-done with these items:

~ the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron on a Reebok Bergeron model stick;
~ Zdeno Chara, Phil Kessel and Blake Wheeler on the Bruins jersey;
~ Bergeron, Milan Lucic and Marc Savard on the Team Canada jersey;
~ Goalie Manny Fernandez on Wild and Stars pucks; and
~ General manager Peter Chiarelli on a Harvard University puck.

Time to hustle

With the NHL trade deadline approaching, I'll be making a concerted effort to work the Lightning team jersey and helmet projects, just in case the team's lineup changes. On Thursday, I hounded the Lightning for the first time since before the holidays.

Helping to flesh out the team jersey were Steve Eminger, David Koci and Matt Pettinger. They join Ryan Craig, Chris Gratton, Olaf Kolzig, Shane O'Brien, Michel Oullet, Karri Ramo, Paul Ranger, Martin St. Louis, Mike Smith and Jason Ward.

As usual, Kolzig, still with the team despite a season-ending injury, was more than willing to sign for a small group of hounds and fans. He signed this Tri-City Americans puck, the 12th he's added to the collection. Kolzig, who played for the Western Hockey League team during his junior days, now co-owns the club.

Among the other noteworthy events:

~ Realizing that ink, rain don't mix and most likely wasting an autograph from Vinny Lecavalier;
~ Having Steven Stamkos sign one of my photos; and
~ Getting a former University of New Hampshire player to sign the American-born goalie stick.

Paint, rain don't mix

Want to know what happens when you get caught in the rain while you're hounding? A puck signed Thursday by Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier comes out with a less-than-perfect signature.

Despite the best efforts of the small group huddled under two small umbrellas, I couldn't block all of the raindrops.

Chances are, I'll use Goo-Gone to wipe away Lecavalier's signature (Oh, the horror!) and try again under sunnier conditions.

In a good mood

In a sense, I shouldn't have been surprised that Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos scored his first NHL hat trick Tuesday against Chicago. You can't help but notice how relaxed he looks in this photo -- taken by your truly during warmups and signed Thursday by Stamkos.

In the meantime

Every time I see Cap Raeder, an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning, I chide myself for forgetting to bring the work-in-progress University of New Hampshire jersey.

In 1974, Raeder was an All-American goalie for the Wildcats. If you're a UNH hockey fan like me, Cap's a huge deal.

Well, I missed another opportunity for the jersey Thursday when I saw Raeder outside the Devils' team hotel. Thankfully, though, I had something else for him -- the American-born goalie stick. He played for Team USA in the inaugural Canada Cup in 1976.

Sooner or later, I'll have Raeder sign the UNH jersey. When? Who knows?

Unconventional methods

You can look all day long in The Vault, but you'll never find any mention of these two pucks, signed by Lighting players past and present, Brad Richards, left, and Ryan Malone. Want to know why? Well, we didn't get either in person.

The Richards puck, featuring the team's old logo, cost $10 (that's right, only $10) at the Lightning jersey-lettering station Tuesday inside the St. Pete Times Forum. The Malone puck was given to Colin by a fellow Lightning fan who marveled at his enthusiasm for the game.

Still, though, they'll look pretty darn good on one of Colin's dressers, provided I can find the room.

Giving the Devils their due

When New Jersey's Martin Brodeur went down with an elbow injury earlier this season, it was easy to pass on the Devils' first trip to Hockey Bay last November.

With hindsight always being 20/20, I should have realized there are plenty of willing signers -- such as Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta, Zach Parise and Brian Rolston (who signed the pucks shown above) -- on the team. And since then, the Devils added Brendan Shanahan.

Even with Brodeur's absence, New Jersey is certainly a team worth hounding.

That point was reinforced yesterday when the Devils added another diverse 48 autographs to the collection. Beyond the typical fare of cards and pucks, among the other items signed were Team Canada and Team USA jerseys, the American-born goalie stick and, believe it or not, a teddy bear.

Among the 22 cards we got signed:

Top row: Patrik Elias, Paul Martin (who signed four) and Mike Rupp
Bottom row: Bryce Salvador, Colin White and Travis Zajac

Even Devils' coach Brent Sutter got into the act, signing this Canada Cup puck for me.

Sutter, who won two Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders during his playing career, was a member of Canada's first place team in 1991, 1987 and 1984.

All we need is an Islanders puck.

Other highlights of the Devils' visit to Hockey Bay:

~ Future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur signing two jerseys;
~ Brendan Shanahan, another future Hall of Famer, siging the Team Canada jersey;
~ Devils star Zach Parise inking a University of North Dakota puck;
~ Five Devils pledging allegiance to the Team USA jersey;
~ Super sub goalie Scott Clemmensen showing interest in the American-born goalie stick;
~ Devils' David Clarkson and Mike Mottau signing four cards each;
~ Adding five signatures to Fire, the New Jersey Devils teddy bear; and
~ Fourteen members of the Devils organization signing Colin's team sheet.

Don't forget to check out the New Jersey Devils photo gallery.

Marty's back

New Jersey's Martin Brodeur may have missed a sizable chunk of the season with an elbow injury, but hounds across the NHL should take note that the future Hall of Famer is traveling with the team.

Don't believe me? How about the Devils' Brodeur #30 replica jersey (shown above) he signed for me yesterday before New Jersey's morning skate or the Team Canada jersey he signed at gametime.

Note the difference in autographs, too. My request for a personalization produced a better-looking signature than the one on the Team Canada jersey. He also continued his established practice of limiting most requests to a single signature, but will sign more than once in a day.

Triple Gold winner

By wearing the maple leaf and winning championships at the 2002 Olympics, 1994 World Championships and the 1991 Canada Cup, New Jersey's Brendan Shanahan gained entrance into the Triple Gold Club.

That's enough of a reason, I believe, to have him sign Hound Central 4.0's work-in-progress Team Canada jersey yesterday before the Devils' morning skate.

Glad I bought these

We've had a bit of a run with University of North Dakota hockey alums visiting Hockey Bay over the past few weeks.

New Jersey's Zach Parise was the most recent, signing this Fighting Sioux puck yesterday before the Devils' morning skate.

Also siging UND pucks lately have been Buffalo's Drew Stafford, Toronto's Jason Blake, and Chicago's Jonathan Toews. Hopefully, St. Louis' T.J. Oshie will sign one when the Blues come to town next month.

Pledging allegiance

With 11 American-born players on their active roster, the New Jersey Devils certainly pay homage to the USA Hockey program. Within those 11 are five with strong ties to Team USA who signed our work-in-progress jersey yesterday:

General manager Lou Lamoriello, who served as Team USA's general manager in the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Right winger Brian Gionta, who has played in the Olympics, World Championships and world Junior Championships.

Center Jamie Langenbrunner, who has played for the United States in the Olympics, World Cup of Hockey and the world Junior Championships.

Center Zach Parise, who played in the World Championships and the World Junior Championships.

Left winger Brian Rolston, who has represented the United States at the Olympics (winning silver in 2002), World Cup of Hockey and World Junior Championships.

A select club

It's easy to tell when you're working on a winner of a project. The player providing the latest addition expresses his appreciation for the item and wants to know who else has signed it. Or at least that's what New Jersey's Scott Clemmensen did Thursday when he signed the American-born goalie stick.

For the record, the stick contains signatures from Florida's Craig Anderson, Hurricanes goalie coach Tom Barrasso, Detroit's Ty Conklin, the Isles' Rick DiPietro, Islanders goalie coach Mike Dunham, former NHLer John Grahame, Washington's Brent Johnson, Buffalo's Ryan Miller, Islanders GM Garth Snow and Boston's Tim Thomas. Most were collected in the 2007-08 campaign.

An anomaly?

Why is it that an NHL team's tough guy is often the one of the friendliest toward fans? New Jersey's David Clarkson was more than willing to sign these four cards for us Thursday as he made his way to the St. Pete Times Forum for the Devils' game against Tampa Bay.