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.

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.