Yeah, me, too

I know we're dab smack in the dog days of summer, when thoughts of baseball, beaches and back-to-school bargains fill our minds, but I still can't get my mind off of hockey.

Watching Colin play, I suppose, has a lot to do with it. But so do the autographed pucks and cards, snagged during the 2008-09 campaigns final days and over the summer, I still have to put away. And, from what I hear, NHL players will be skating soon, prepping for training camps.

Bottom line, though, is that I'm not alone.

An overwhelming majority of Hound Central 4.0 readers who took part in the last quiz -- which asked whether they were missing hockey -- were looking forward to the 2009-10 NHL season and the corresponding hockey-hounding campaign.

Question: Jonesin' for hockey?

Yes: 15 out of 18 votes cast (83.3 percent)
No: 3 out of 18 votes (16.7 percent)

The three dissenting votes? Must've been Loafs fans.

And, really, can you blame them?

Thank God for shade

Want to know how hot it got last week during Florida State League game with a first-pitch time of noon? Let's just say triple-digits. You can read about that scorcher, as well as our cherry-picking efforts that day, at Baseball Mondays.

A long look back

Really, it's not that I didn't want to put together this review of our efforts of the 2008-09 hockey-hounding season. No, that wasn't the reason for its delay. It was more all the things that have kept me busy since the season ended down here in early April.

Mostly, it's been because of willingly accepting an increase in obligations here at home -- eschewing summer camp so Colin and I could spend more time together, landing a bunch of freelance work, hanging out at the Tampa Bay Lightning's prospects camp and, to keep our hounding games in shape, embarking upon our Summer of Baseball.

To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't get to this final review of the season earlier. Given that we added another 1,738 autographs, including 330 pucks, to the collection, one might believe that I'd trumpet our successes as soon as I could.

Didn't happen, though, did it?

So, now, without further delay, here are the top 20 highlights of the 2008-09 hockey-hounding campaign:

~ Loving every minute of watching 316 NHL players fill up 22 of Colin's hand-drawn team sheets.

~ Colin snagging the top three picks in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, including Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman, during their predraft trip to Humidity Bay.

~ Being in the right place at the right time for Washington's Alexander Semin. Thanks again, Moody.

~ Absolutely ruining Curtis Joseph's day when the Toronto Maple Loafs came to town.

~ Having Columbus' Rick Nash sign four pucks, including one of the OHL's London Knights.

~ Catching up with one of my favorite hockey players, former Buffalo Sabres captain Danny Gare.

~ Being surprised when Washington's Sergei Fedorov changed his mind about signing an autograph.

~ Getting Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos to sign 2009 NHL All Star Game pucks in a single day.

~ Compiling 25 autographs, including Cam Neely, Patrice Bergeron, Phil Kessel and Tim Thomas, on a new-look Boston Bruins third jersey.

~ Catching up with old buddies -- Boston Patrice Bergeron and Carolina's Cam Ward

~ Celebrating Martin Brodeur's return from injury when New Jersey visited Humidity Bay in February.

~ Having Triple Gold winner Brendan Shanahan sign the Team Canada jersey.

~ Reaching out to a fellow Buffalo kid, Chicago's Patrick Kane, and having him sign a pair of pucks.

~ Loading up a helmet with 26 signatures from members of the Montreal Canadiens.

~ Getting Dallas' Mike Modano to sign the Team USA jersey and a Stars puck.

~ Scoring 103 autographs in a single day, our best effort of the season, from the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

~ Having 26 members of the Florida Panthers, including Keith Ballard, Jay Bouwmeester, Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss, sign a team helmet.

~ Four pucks signed by San Jose's Jeremy Roenick, one of the game's fan-friendliest players.

~ The Tampa Bay Lightning's training camp and other over-the-summer activities presented the perfect opportunity to load up on autographs from Tampa Bay's Olaf Kolzig and Steven Stamkos.

~ Getting pretty sweet autographs from Hall of Famers Phil Esposito and Tony Esposito.

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.