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?

Top Shelf: Patrick Kane

All day long Tuesday, I heard that Chicago's Patrick Kane was, for the most part, a strict one-per signer, even taking the time to study a person's face before signing their item. Given the crowd he attracted, I would have been content with just one autographed puck.

I suppose sharing the fact that we both hail from Buffalo (I lived at Albany and Barton on the city's west side during the late 1960s) -- naming my old public and high schools went a long way toward my getting the Blackhawks and London Knights pucks signed.

Proven formula

As always, Colin's team sheets were a big hit. A respectable number (13) of Chicago Blackhawks, including Patrick Kane, Brian Campbell, Brent Seabrook and Cristobal Huet took the time Tuesday afternoon to sign for Colin.

The highlight, though, was a fairly animated conversation between Eddie Olczyk, a former Blackhawk and current TV analyst, and the Goofy Dude about the virtues of doing well in school.

Other signers were Cam Barker, Marc Bergevin, Troy Brouwer, Aaron Johnson, Antti Niemi, Joel Quenneville, Matt Walker and James Wisniewski.

Gallery: Chicago Blackhawks

Yes, it was disappointing that Chicago's Nikolai Khabibulin, who backstopped the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup, didn't make the trip. Most of the team, though, did its best to lift spirits:

If winger Patrick Kane was hoping his hat would hide his identity, it didn't work. Thankfully, he didn't hold it against us, signing at least one for nearly everyone at gametime.

All Star defenseman Brian Campbell, who said late Monday that he was done signing for the trip, took care of hounds at gametime.

Defenseman Brent Seabrook made the day for quite a few hounds.

Coach Joel Quenneville wishes a happy birthday to a Chicago native and Hawks fan.

Former Blackhawk and current TV analyst Eddie Olczyk signs Colin's team sheet. That's Colin's noggin barely showing through the greenery.

10 Big Sigs

Going into any hockey season, it's a pretty safe assumption that we'll add at least 300 to 400 autographs to the collection. Though I focus on pucks, we get quite a few cards signed, too. Toss in the occasional photo, stick, helmet or jersey and they add up real quick.

This season, however, is no different. Beyond adding to the quantity, selective requests (another term for cherry-picking) made to players on teams that frequent Tampa Bay will certainly add to the quality of the collection.

That's not to say, though, that I don't have a short list of items that I really want to get signed this season. And while I tried to limit it to 10, keeping in the spirit of the title, I resorted to counting by instances.

I hope you can forgive me.

No. 10: Montreal's Saku Koivu on the Canadiens' legends jersey

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

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

Review: 2008-09 Victory

Sure, the 2008-09 Victory is an entry-level product devoid of top-shelf premiums, but that doesn't mean it isn't being welcomed by hockey card collectors. Not only does it represent the first release of the new season, but it also contains the first non-rookie, and extremely signable, cards of Chicago's dynamic duo, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

The benefits, however, go far beyond its low cost and quick fix to many cases of hockey withdrawal. In the product we found -- 11-pack retail boxes for $9.99 at our local Target store -- each box contained a jumbo card (one of 42 available) suitable for getting signed and putting on display. Each player card also has a pronunciation guide.

Of course, too, we were psyched to snag this Stars of the Game card of Boston's Patrice Bergeron, a favored player in Puckhound's family. The photo must have been taken early in the season, as it shows Bergeron in the Bruins' new duds before he got hurt.

One disappointment, and it really is a minor one, is a bounty of rookie cards from relatively unknown players. Granted, most of Victory's rookie set were late-season call-ups, but selectivity would only add to value.

Still, though, Victory Hockey is a welcome sight and a useful product for hounding. Picking up a box or two can only help us survive the dog days of late summer.

Puckhound's snapshot

Product: 2008-09 Victory Hockey
Vital stats: 200-card base set, 50-card rookie set, gold and black parallels, 50-card Game Breakers insert set and a 50-card Stars of the Game insert set
Something good: A low-price product that provides a quick fix for those of us suffering through hockey withdrawal
Something bad: A bunch of rookies that only the most devout of hockey fans would recognize
Puckhound's score: 2.5 pucks of 5 pucks