Little Gray Box: Tim Thomas

I was putting away some items when I came across our Little Gray Box, where we store our autographed homemade player cards. The box, itself, isn't really that special. It's made of plastic and has a hinged cover (with a USA Hockey sticker on it) that still snaps tight.

It's what's inside, though, that makes it special. It's filled with cards like this one, signed by Boston goalie Tim Thomas during the 2002-03 season, often representing a player's earliest NHL days.

Sometimes, when I'd lack cards for a player, I'd make these instead, rather than using a blank index card.

In going through the box, I came across quite a few from today's stars. In the weeks ahead, this new project will share some of these cards.

Tuning in Versus

A few years ago, news that games wouldn't be broadcast on ESPN brought about dread for the hockey-watching public. Instead of a well-known national sports network, the league inked a deal with the Outdoor Life Network.

Very few people had heard of the network. Even worse, not everyone had the channel in their cable package. The NHL, we were afraid, was relegated to second-tier status.

Guess what? It's turned out okay. OLN, as it was known back then, has now become Versus. And, if you ask Hound Central 4.0 readers, the network is doing a pretty good job with its playoff coverage. Nearly 60 percent of those taking part in Hound Central 4.0's latest poll looked favorably upon Versus.

My only beef with Versus' playoff coverage -- and it's likely not their fault -- was the scheduling of Eastern Conference games within an hour on the same night. Though it's easy to understand that the network wanted complete Pittsburgh-Washington games, I'd much rather have watched the Boston-Carolina series.

Question: NHL: on Versus?

Good: 17 out of 29 votes cast (58.6 percent)
Bad: 12 out of 29 votes (41.4 percent)

Ice isn't necessary

The Florida State League may be miles away from the National Hockey League, but that doesn't mean a hound can't score autographs from baseball's top prospects and the occasional Hall of Famer. Check out who Brett, Baseball Monday's FSL correspondent, was able to track down at Baseball Mondays.

Big save

Just in case USA Hockey magazine doesn't publish this drawing in a future installment of Slap's Gallery, this fine effort by Colin, showing a critical moment in Team USA's future 37-36 victory over Japan, certainly deserves to be part of Hound Central 4.0's Hockey Art gallery.

And, yes, that's Colin making the save.

Poor thing

So, Washington's Alex Ovechkin played with a sore wrist -- dinged in the regular season -- during the playoffs. Well, he certainly didn't hurt it signing autographs here in Hockey Bay.

Honoring efforts

Over the course of the past season, I took time to reflect upon the dedication required to pursue this hockey-hounding hobby of mine. The time. The money. The toll on your body.

Thankfully, though, I'm not alone.

Down here in Hockey Bay, there's a sizable group of hounds -- collectors, dealers and the usual clutch of fans -- that show up for most every NHL visiting team. Nearly all put in the time. Many do their homework. A helping hand is never far away. As a result, mutual respect grows as the season wears on.

Seeing that Hound Central 4.0 chronicles hockey-hounding activities here in Hockey Bay, it's my duty to honor those members of our fraternity. With that in mind, allow me to introduce to the Hockey Bay community this inaugural edition of the Hockey Bay Hounding Awards.

To make this work, though, I need your help. Please, feel free to submit, via comments at this post, your thought-out and well-reasoned votes (though none for yourself, please) for the following categories:

Hound of the Year: Awarded to the hound who consistently racks up quality autographs on a diverse platform of memorabilia. Please, don't vote for yourself.

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.

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

Lifetime Achievement Award: Honors a veteran Hockey Bay hound for their dedication, knowledge and product of their efforts.

Best Supporting Hound: Awarded to the hound(s) who assists in the collection of autographs.

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

Best Original Score: Awarded to the hound obtaining an autograph(s) on a rare or peculiar piece of memorabilia.

But, wait, there's more

Hound Central 4.0 readers and hounds outside Hockey Bay can also participate in this annual gesture of appreciation:

Nicest NHL player: Not only signs multiples, but is pleasant, too.

Snottiest NHL player: Is not just a toughie, but is downright rude.

Best-signing team: The team that bleeds Sharpies dry.

Worst-signing team: This is great intel, too.

Best-dressed player: Each team has one. Really, they do.

Nominations close June 1. Winners, who will receive nothing more than a mention here at Hound Central 4.0, will be announced in late June.

If no nominations are received from the Hockey Bay hounding community, Hound Central 4.0 will select an honoree in each Hockey Bay category.

Hockey Quiz No. 10

If it weren't for a handful of regular readers -- such as Brett, Drew and Moody -- I'd wonder whether these monthly installments are a productive use of my time. Geez, I don't believe they're that dofficult, given the amount of hockey intelligence that visits Hound Central 4.0.

So, to reward loyal readers, here are the latest mind-bending hockey exercises:

Name this logo

One might have to step back in time to recall this logo. Then again, maybe you won't. We'll see, won't we? Team and league, please.

Hockey Word Association

San Jose Sharks =
Vinny Lecavalier =
NHL playoffs =
Knee-to-knee hits =
Ruslan Fedotenko =

Hockey, scrambled

Masto Shrommolt =
Akiloni Bakbihunil =
Royce Rypre =
Noehas Norsimorn =
Nisden Geedsibren =

Hockey math

Puckhound, a Florida-based hockey hound, collected 330 pucks during the 2008-09 campaign. Sadly, he had only 278 cases at season's end. How much will Puckhound spend, at 55 cents a case plus $27.69 in shipping and taxes, to have a case for each autographed puck? As always, show the math.

A.) $56.59
B.) $55.89
C.) $56.29
D.) $56.09

Answers to Hockey Quiz No. 9:

Name this logo: Greenville Grrrowl of the East Coast Hockey League
Hockey, scrambled: Kent Huskins, Tony Esposito, Kristian Huselius, Stan Mikita and Daniel Carcillo
Hockey math: B. There would be 23,597 seconds of overtime. Math: 21,600 seconds (18 20-minute periods) + 1,980 seconds (33 minutes) + 17 seconds = 23,597.

Higher priority

For some reason, I thought that this Hockey USA team jersey would be nothing more than an afterthought throughout the 2008-09 NHL hounding campaign. You know, something that would be remembered occasionally, rather than regularly. A plugger, if you will, for American-born stars from visiting teams.

One day, while doing some hounding homework, I realized that each team, especially the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche, had quite of few Team USA alums. Big names, too. Mike Modano. Bill Guerin. Ryan Miller. Doug Weight. They join Phil Kessel, whose tiny scribble started it all during the 2007-08 campaign.

All told, we added 20 signatures this past season. It looks like we have room for a few more, too, during the 2009-10 campaign.

Win this Auto: Colin 37

Given that Colin scored 10 goals in one-on-one drills during his Mini Mites practice yesterday, it's a reasonable expectation that this official NHL practice puck, signed by the youngest of Hockey Bay's Goofiest Dudes, will will one day become the Holy Hockey Grail for collectors.

Then again, it just might end up becoming a paperweight, a dust magnet or lost under some shelving in your garage after a pickup game.

Either way, it caps Hound Central 4.0's Win this Auto contest.

So, what are we looking for this time? How about, in 100 words or less (I mean it this time), share your favorite youth hockey moment.

Please, leave your answers in a comment. Thanks.

One word: Certainly

Technically, I could hold the only two entrants to a serious violation of the "no more than 100 words" rule April's Win this Auto contest for a 2008-09 NHL Victory oversized card signed by Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk. Because I'm a nice guy (most of the time, that is), though, I'll cast that rule aside.

When it comes to deciding the question of whether Kovie deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, I'm not sure 1,000 words would be enough to adequately present a cogent argument.

But it was Bill, with his voluminous response, who wins the card, not so much for the depth and breadth of his entry, but for the extended analysis.

Rather than repeat Bill's winning response, you can read it here.

Now, if Bill will send me an e-mail, available at my profile, we'll get this card, signed during Atlanta's final visit to Hockey Bay during the 2008-09 NHL season, ready for delivery.

Don't forget, too, to enter May's contest.

It's Monday. That means baseball.

What former New York Yankees infielder, now managing in the Florida State League, was one of 14 Tampa Yankees to sign a team ball last week? You'll have to visit Baseball Mondays, which chronicles our hockey offseason hobby, to find out.

After practice

There's nothing more rewarding at the end of back patio hockey workout here in Hockey Bay than hockey balls clustered in the net.

Just got home

Sorry, folks, but we just got home from Mother's Day activities and hockey practice (Someone scored 10 goals). You'll have to wait until Monday for April's Win this Auto contest winner. Sorry.

Explained absences

With family in town, we've been doing what most Florida visitors do -- playing the role of tourists. Watching the Rays lose to the Red Sox. Having a Cuban sandwich at Tampa's La Teresita and a gelatto at Mazzaro's. Checking out white tiger cubs at Lowry Park Zoo.

That's why I haven't been around the past few days.

Once I finish raking leaves and start laundry, as well as check out National Train Day in Tampa, man the grill during a family-and-friends cookout and think of something to do for Mother's Day, I should be able to provide a couple of posts over the weekend, including the winner of April's Win this Auto contest for Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk.

Please know, too, that May's Win this Auto contest, for a puck autographed by the youngest of Hockey Bay's Goofiest Dudes, will be the last of the season.

A very good deed, indeed

There are times in the course of a hounding career where success is not measured in how many autographs you get in a single outing. Sometimes, it's what you do with them.

Moody, Hound Central 4.0's roving Southeast correspondent, shares a story from his last hounding trip for the Thrashers, to the team's practice facility in Duluth:

"I got Ilya Kovalchuk (to sign a card) inside, but decided to give it up after he drove past a nice little lady who was outside waiting for him to sign. She was telling me how she was there for her husband who was terminally ill and, obviously, lost his job. She was just trying to make her husband happy by gathering his favorite team's signatures on a piece of loose leaf paper.

"I decided to donate the cards I had left and help her get them signed to make the outing more meaningful for her and her family. Since Kovie didn’t stop, I felt it was only right to help.

"I must say that this outing was -- by far -- the best outing of the year because I felt like I walked away with something more than a signed piece of rubber or cardboard.

"It truly humbles a person when you stop and listen to another person’s life and how something as little as a signed card from an athlete could make their time on earth more enjoyable.

"How hounds like myself take for granted how these encounters with athletes become routine and just another part of the day. That we do not think twice about dropping a couple of bucks for a Sharpie or pack of cards and not have to worry about whether or not we will miss a meal. "

Well said, Moody, well said.

Beyond the good deed and great story, Moody also went home with cards signed by Zach Bogosian, Eric Boulton, Tobias Enstrom, Johan Hedberg, Slava Kozlov, Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik.

Dodging raindrops

Sometimes, you just have to grin and bear it. Take Moody, for instance, during a late-season hounding trip to Duluth, Ga., to catch the visiting Ottawa Senators.

Unfortunately for Moody, Hound Central 4.0's roving Southeast correspondent, it started raining. Though most players stopped to sign, their autographs were subpar, ruined by the falling rain. After seeing that, Moody showed his years of experience and stayed dry.

After the team's bus left the arena, Moody went inside where he bumped into Ottawa's Nick Foligno. After signing two cards for Moody, Foligno asked how he did with other players. Moody told him the truth -- he was the only one.

To Moody's surprise, Foligno told him to hang out a moment. Foligno rounded up some teammates, all waiting for a cab ride to a nearby Bass Pro Shop, and brought them back to Moody.

So, who did Foligno round up? How about Shean Donovan, Chris Kelly, Brian Lee, Chris Phillips, Jason Spezza and Jesse Winchester? Even better, Spezza signed five cards.

Not bad for a rainy day, huh? The autographs came out pretty nice, too.

Boulton Believers

When it comes to the Moody household, it's not Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov or Kari Lehtonen who get top billing. No, it's Thrashers' tough guy Eric Boulton.

Though Moody's intent for the late-season trip to the team's practice facility in Duluth, Ga., was for the daughters of Hound Central 4.0's roving Southeast correspondent to score some autographs, the day took a more pleasant and humorous turn for the better.

Natalie started getting a little heavy for dad to keep holding so we put the cards away and settled for giving the players “High Fives” as they came off the ice. The players all stopped and slapped hands with her.

After defenseman Nathan Oystrick gained a young fan in Little Natty after giving her not only a good high-five after walking off the ice, he gave her his hockey stick. Boulton, standing next to Oystrick, did not want to get outdone. He asked Natty who was her favorite player. She pointed at Oystrick.

Well, Boulton said he wanted to be her favorite, offering his stick in exchange for him being her new fave. The deal was done. Boulton sealed the deal when he asked Mikayla if she wanted a stick, too. The only catch, he said, was that he had to be her fave.

Needless to say, the girls are now true Boulton Believers.

By the way, Mikayla started a team-signed Thrashers mini helmet, adding coach John Anderson, Ron Hainsey, Johan Hedberg, Kovalchuk, Lehtonen, Bryan Little, Oystrick, Eric Perrin and Boris Valabik. Little Natty had cards signed by Hainsey, Kovalchuk, Kozlov, Lehtonen and Valabik.

Friends in cold places

Here's a nice little bonus, courtesy of Al, Hound Central 4.0's Toronto-based correspondent. These 8x10s, signed by Calgary's Olli Jokinen, above, and Jarome Iginla, came from a buddy in Alberta.

It's nice when players sign on a photo's legible areas. Nothing's worse than an autograph on the darkest parts of the image.

Though I'm not surprised that Iginla offered up a sweet signature, it looks like Jokinen went out of his way to sign where it could be seen.

Step up to the plate

Jonesin' for some John Hancocks? Achin' for some autographs? Shiverin' for some signatures? Me, too.

Maybe these posts at Baseball Mondays, a chronicle of hockey offseason hounding adventures, will help:

~ A mighty nice haul from the Toronto Blue Jays at a team-sponsored event, courtesy of Al, Hound Central 4.0's north-of-the-border correspondent; and
~ Starting team balls for the Clearwater Threshers and Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League.

Poll: Vinny's staying put

In an e-mail over the weekend, I learned that the Tampa Bay Lightning will host “Beyond the Blue Line” open houses this summer for fans. These open houses, held in the Lightning locker room, offers face time with the team’s owners, hockey brass and coaches.

Another thing I noticed was that none of the sessions were scheduled for late June or early July. While some may believe this time is set aside for NHL draft preparations, I can't help but wonder if an impending decision on Vinny Lecavalier's future with the Lightning will fill those days as well.

Seeing that his new contract and its no-trade clause kicks in July 1, the team must decide whether it wants to tie up a sizable chunk of the salary cap in a single player.

If it helps the Lightning brass with its decision, a majority of Hound Central 4.0 readers have already made the call: Vinny Lecavalier, the face of the franchise, will not be traded.

Question: Will the Lightning trade Vinny Lecavalier?

No: 20 out of 33 votes cast (60.6 percent)
Yes: 13 out of 33 votes (39.4 percent)