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.