Hound Central 3.0

Unwilling to share

2008-09-02T11:37:00.002-04:00

To me, it's a classic case of protectionism vs. expansion. Do we keep a possession close to home? Or do we share it with others?

When it comes to the NHL playing games outside of North America, Hound Central 3.0 readers, by nearly 2-to-1 margin, made it very clear: NHL game in Europe are a bad thing.

Down here in Humidity Bay, the Lightning will open their 2008-09 campaign against the Rangers on Oct. 4 in Prague, the Czech Republic. Add exhibitions in Germany (Sept. 28) and Slovakia (Sept. 30) and it means that the Bolts camp in Tampa Bay will be considerably shorter than others.

Despite that, I believe it's a good idea for the NHL to play games overseas. Beyond the much-needed exposure, it's a way to say thank-you to fans who, until recently, could only watch their favorite sons on television.

Question: NHL games in Europe?

Bad: 9 out of 14 votes cast (64.3 percent)
Good: 5 out of 14 votes (35.7 percent)

The puck has dropped

2008-08-23T19:32:00.004-04:00

Consider it a promise kept: Hound Central 4.0 is now officially open for your review.

As always, folks, I appreciate all of the time that you've spent here. I hope Hound Central 4.0, even in its infancy, proves useful and entertaining.

In fact, Puckhound has already scored the first six pucks of his 2008-09 hockey-hounding campaign. Who signed? Click the link above.

Breaking news

2008-08-22T13:58:00.003-04:00

Faithful readers of Hound Central 3.0 should take note that the wait for Hound Central 4.0's official launch can now be measured in hours, rather than days.

Look for the journal that will chronicle the 2008-09 hockey hounding season to open for business, so to speak, sometime Saturday night.

In the meantime, see how your hounding bag stacks up against mine.

As always, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your patience. Hopefully, it will be rewarded.

Getting closer

2008-08-19T11:02:00.003-04:00

Though we're still a few days away from its official launch, you'll find Puckhound's review of 2008-09 Victory Hockey at Hound Central 4.0.

A new preseason game?

2008-08-18T12:03:00.007-04:00

I keep hearing reports about a Hurricane headed toward the Tampa Bay area. The last I knew, the Hurricanes aren't supposed to arrive until Oct. 11, the Lightning's home opener.

And who is this Fay character? I don't remember Carolina signing anyone named Fay, do you? Maybe it's some Finnish free agent who flew under the NHL radar.

Addendum (Aug. 19): Fay's only a tropical storm, not a Hurricane.

Consider it done

2008-08-16T15:09:00.005-04:00

Given that more than 58 percent of Hound Central 3.0 readers want to see a Hound Central 4.0, who am I to disagree. That's why, even before the poll ended, the new blog for the 2008-09 season has, indeed, found its way into the hockey blogosphere.

Though Hound Central 4.0 is up and running, we're still a few days away from its official launch, when preseason features, such as fearless prognostications and my annual thoughts on the best young players in the game, will fill in the days until my first trip to the Lightning's training camp.

In the meantime, Hound Central 3.0 will continue to run its course. I hope you don't mind.

Question: Hound Central 3.0 or Hound Central 4.0?

Launch Hound Central 4.0: 10 out of 17 votes cast (58.8 percent)
Keep Hound Central 3.0: 4 out of 17 votes (23.5 percent)
Don't care: 2 out of 17 (11.8 percent)
Shut it down (Sorry, Johnny Boy): 1 vote (6 percent)

How can they resist?

2008-08-15T11:36:00.014-04:00

Other than death and taxes, it's a popular belief that there are no sure things in life. I believe that adage goes far beyond that, namely a kid with a baseball at a minor league park stands a darn good chance to get some autographs.

Take Wednesday night at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, Fla., for example.

Staked out near the Clearwater Threshers dugout, Colin scored 14 autographs on a ball he retrieved from batting practice (drawing scorn from a grumpy old usher for running into a closed section) as well as his hand-drawn shark poster before the game's first pitch.

Among those signing were Michael Taylor (shown above), who crushed two home runs in the Threshers' 8-1 drubbing of the Lakeland Flying Tigers in Class-A Florida State League action.

Also signing the ball were Phillies prospects Quintin Berry, Gus Milner, Joe Savery and John Urick.

Granted, very few of these players will make it to the big leagues, but it didn't matter to Colin. For him, and me, it was another instance of quality time spent together during our summer break.

All about the sharks

2008-08-15T10:52:00.004-04:00

All summer long, Colin's fascination with sharks has grown. We traveled to a marine research facility in Sarasota to check out their specimens. He just a got a book with 1,000 facts about sharks. Heck, he even has a pair of shark sunglasses.

But, I get the sense that his summer wasn't complete until he got a bunch of Clearwater Threshers players -- Single-A prospects for the Philadelphia Phillies -- to sign his hand-drawn poster before a game earlier this week.

As usual, the players got a kick out of the poster, nearly every one asking whether he had drawn it.

Act now, save a bunch

2008-08-13T14:48:00.003-04:00

I normally wouldn't pass along store specials, but if you're expecting to use any paint pens during the upcoming NHL season, you might want to stop by your local Michael's arts and craft stores.

It seems that DecoColor Liquid Silver opaque paint markers (paint pens for short) as well as other color are only $1.99 each, rather than the normal $3.49. I spent a little over $10 to get five, saving $7.50 (or about three pucks) in the process.

Hard at work

2008-08-12T14:22:00.012-04:00

For those of you who may believe I've been talking to lawyers over the past few weeks, I now have proof that I've been busy creating the ninth and 10th titles to my suite of hockey collecting blogs:

Sweet Swatches: Fourteen of the sweetest memorabilia cards (primarily swatches of jerseys and patches) in our collection.

Young Guns: A look at our top-shelf Upper Deck Young Guns, the gold standard of hockey rookie cards.

Taken together, I believe all 10 offer one of the most comprehensive arrays of hockey hounding/collecting blogs on the Internet.

Check them out, won't you?

Also, keen observers may notice that Hound Central 4.0 has had its "soft" launch. The official launch is still a few days away, but the 2008-09 hockey hounding journal is up and running.

Design a mask

2008-08-12T10:31:00.005-04:00

So, you think you're an artist, eh? And you love hockey. The Vancouver Canucks are offering a contest just for you, with the opportunity to design backup goalie Curtis Sanford's mask.

Personally, I'd rather design Roberto Luongo's mask. He's a much better goalie (a mild understatement) and, as the Canucks' starter, the design would get much more exposure.

With that in mind, perhaps the Canucks should let fans design Sanford's hat, seeing he'll be more likely to wear that from the comfort of the bench than his mask this season.

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

2008-08-09T16:27:00.014-04:00

Here you go, a handful of items to occupy idle moments.

Don't forget to vote in the latest Hound Central 3.0 poll, too.

Have fun.

Name this logo

From what I remember, the chance to identify this little quizzical visual usually drew some interest.

Heck, even my wife likes this one.

Let's see how many educated guesses we get with this logo.

Remember, too, that complete answers get full credit.

Hockey Word Association

New third jerseys =
Ted Nolan =
Detroit Red Wings =
Jaromir Jagr =
Best young defenseman =

Hockey Scrambled

Injo Kapentin =
Ancdnu Ethik =
Virast Jaacz =
Tigrebl Luber =
Striku Rofets =

Hockey math

Tony Toesave gave up 169 goals on 1,980 shots faced in 66 games. What is Tony's goals-against average and save percentage?

A.) 2.89 GAA, .905 SP
B.) 2.37 GAA, .921 SP
C.) 2.73 GAA, .911 SP
D.) 2.56 GAA, .915 SP

Easy pickings

2008-08-06T19:16:00.007-04:00

In hounding, there must be a law of averages. For every tough autograph you get, there seems to be another that comes pretty darn easy.

Take this one from Tampa Bay's Akinori Iwamura. Rather than wait outside in the sweltering heat and humidity, all we had to do was enter a contest inside air-conditioned Tropicana Field before today's thrilling 10-7 walk-off victory over Cleveland.

Though autographed cards from some of the Rays' bigger names were picked clean, we certainly had no complaints about adding this one to the collection.

But, wait, there's more

2008-08-05T10:47:00.007-04:00

McFarlane's Sports Picks also promises a release this month. The lineup of its NHL Hockey Series 19, combining heroes past and present, features Don Cherry 2, Tony Esposito, Grant Fuhr (in Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs uniforms), Alex Kovalev, Bernie Parent (shown above) and Ryan Smyth 2.

Looking ahead, McFarlane's promises these releases deeper into the season:

NHL Legends Series 7 (release date of October 2008): Doug Gilmour (who, like Fuhr, will be available in Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs uniforms), Gordie Howe 2, Mark Messier (in Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers uniforms), Stan Mikita and Maurice Richard (shown at left)

NHL Hockey Series 20 (release date of November 2008): Daniel Briere, Jonathan Cheechoo (shown at left), Jarome Iginla 3, Nicklas Lidstrom 2, Dion Phaneuf, Daniel Sedin 2 and Vesa Toskala.

Feeding the habit

2008-08-05T10:22:00.004-04:00

As we all go through our various stages of hockey withdrawal, here's one instance of hope to hold onto until NHL clubs open training camps for the 2008-09 season.

Despite conflicting release dates (July 9 or Aug. 5?), we should soon expect to see Upper Deck offering Victory Hockey, the first cards for the upcoming season, featuring 200-card base and 50-card rookie sets.

Looking past its low-end reputation, meaning it'll likely be ignored by "elitist" collectors, I believe Victory provides autograph stock for quite a few big-name prospects:

~ Boston's Milan Lucic;
~ Chicago's Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews;
~ Edmonton's Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner;
~ Los Angeles' Jack Johnson;
~ Montreal's Carey Price and Andrei Kostitsyn;
~ the Rangers' Marc Staal;
~ Phoenix's Martin Hanzal;
~ St. Lous' Erik Johnson; and
~ Washington's Nicklas Backstrom

Key rookies, primarily late-season call-ups who enjoyed a couple of sips from their NHL cups of coffee last season, include Dallas' Mark Fistric, Los Angeles' Erik Ersberg, the Islanders' Kyle Okposo and Ottawa's Brian Lee.

A quick check of the Fleer hockey page, a subsidiary of Upper Deck, shows no future release dates. Disappointing, if you ask me.

The next step

2008-08-03T11:37:00.005-04:00

As you can see, I'm seeking input, through the latest Hound Central 3.0 poll, on the future of my hockey-hounding blog. Do I continue writing this version, covering my hounding efforts of the 2008-09 NHL season? Or do I start anew, launching Hound Central 4.0?

Unlike others I know, I'll be honest. Keeping Hound Central 3.0 alive through the upcoming season would be taking the easy way out. No starting from scratch, just picking up where I left off. And that, my friends, has great appeal.

Still, though, the idea of building Hound Central 4.0 offers its own set of rewards. It's satisfying to watch something grow from the first page view. It's a hoot, too, trying out new ideas and, hopefully, fresh approaches. It'll give me another set of 999 posts.

That's where you folks come in. Provide some guidance, please. So far, eight readers have shared their opinions.

Do the right thing. Take part in the poll, won't you?

Love conquers money

2008-08-01T11:45:00.006-04:00

I'm not sure who I believe more. Those who said, in Hound Central 3.0's latest poll, that the love of the game would motivate them to play in the NHL or those who would play simply for the money.

One approach is altruistic. The other is not. One preserves the game's basic integrity. The other preserves a bank account. There are plenty of reasons to choose one answer over another. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I voted for the love of the game.

The best answer, I believe, is twofold.

For the love of the game, a person will bust their tail just to make it to the NHL. Once there, though, I wouldn't blame them for grabbing as much money as they could. Life's too short and all it takes is one bad second for a career to evaporate.

In the end, ideals trumped income. Overwhelmingly, too.

Question: What would be your motivation to play in the NHL?

Love of the game: 19 out of 24 votes cast (79.2 percent)
Love of money: 5 out of 24 votes (20.8 percent)

Quick work

2008-07-31T22:03:00.012-04:00

Want to know when happens when you get a tip that Evan Longoria, the Tampa Bay Rays' star rookie third baseman, is visiting a nearby establishment? That's easy.

You enlist one of Longoria's biggest 7-year-old fans, quickly put together a few items (the Tampa Bay Devil Rays bat, shown above, and Rays mini helmet, at left), make sure you have the proper signing instruments and, after getting out of our pajamas, head over to the establishment.

As you can see, we got there in plenty of time. In fact, the entire trip took about 30 minutes.

The full run

2008-07-29T10:20:00.006-04:00

Though I shared my top five hounding trips for the 2008-09 NHL season down here in Humidity Bay, here's a complete listing of the planned campaign:

Preseason

TBD: Lightning training camp
Monday, Sept. 22: Pittsburgh Penguins (Will Sidney sign?) %
Tuesday, Sept. 23: New York Rangers %

Regular season

Saturday, Oct. 11: Carolina Hurricanes (Lightning's home opener) *
Thursday, Oct. 16: New York Islanders
Saturday, Oct. 18: Minnesota Wild (Redemption, please) *#
Tuesday, Oct. 21: Atlanta Thrashers
Saturday, Oct. 25: San Jose Sharks (Welcome back, Dan Boyle) *

Saturday, Nov. 1: Ottawa Senators (Working a team helmet)
Thursday, Nov. 13: Detroit Red Wings *#
Tuesday, Nov. 18: Florida Panthers (Working a team helmet)
Friday, Nov. 21: Nashville Predators *
Wednesday, Nov. 26: New York Rangers

Thursday, Dec. 4: Boston Bruins (Welcome back, Patrice) *#
Saturday, Dec. 6: Buffalo Sabres %
Thursday, Dec. 18: Colorado Avalanche (Another five from Joey?) *
Tuesday, Dec. 30: Montreal Canadiens (Considering a team helmet)

Thursday, Jan. 15: Philadelphia Flyers
Monday, Jan. 19: Dallas Stars (Welcome back, Brad Richards) *#
Wednesday, Jan. 21: Buffalo Sabres
Tuesday, Jan. 27: Montreal Canadiens

Thursday, Feb. 12: Toronto Maple Leafs %
Tuesday, Feb. 17: Chicago Blackhawks (Hello, Mssrs. Kane and Toews) *#
Thursday, Feb. 19: New Jersey Devils
Sunday, Feb. 22: Boston Bruins *

Tuesday, March 3: Pittsburgh Penguins
Friday, March 6: St. Louis Blues *
Thursday, March 19: Washington Capitals %
Tuesday, March 24: Columbus Blue Jackets *

Tuesday, April 7: Pittsburgh Penguins %
Thursday, April 9: Washington Capitals (Lightning's home closer)

* = One of the 12-plus games we'll attend this season
# = Part of Top Five trips
% = Optional trip

Hot dates

2008-07-28T11:34:00.004-04:00

A quick run through the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2008-09 home schedule shows that I'll be making at least 25 trips over to Tampa to hound visiting teams in the months ahead.

All told, nine teams visiting from the Western Conference should help diversify the collection. Three teams -- the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets and Blues -- offer first-time hounding opportunities.

Here are my top five trips:

Saturday, Oct. 18 - Minnesota Wild: Despite having a ton of pucks, health reasons forced me to skip the Wild's visit last season. The early season appearance allows an opportunity for redemption.

Thursday, Nov. 13 - Detroit Red Wings: Though I'm expecting this team to draw a large crowd, the prospect of snagging some of the Wings' big names makes this too tempting to pass up. At the least, I need Marian Hossa to complete last season's Thrashers team helmet.

Thursday, Dec. 4 - Boston Bruins: This could be Patrice Bergeron's first visit to Humidity Bay in more than a year. His little buddy can't wait to see him.

Monday, Jan. 19, 2009 - Dallas Stars: Our Brad Richards collection wouldn't be complete without an autographed Stars puck. I'm sure, too, that I'll find something for Mike Modano.

Tuesday, Feb. 17 - Chicago Blackhawks: Hopefully, one Buffalo kid (me) will meet another Buffalo kid (Patrick Kane). If not, there's always Jonathan Toews, whose autograph would look good on a University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux puck.

Internal accounting

2008-07-27T11:02:00.013-04:00

Because of a dissolution of a friendship, the following items -- gifts that the unnamed sender believed were unreciprocated -- have been removed from Hound Central 3.0's collection and, with other items, will be returned to the source this week:

~ two Bobby Orr autographed pucks;

~ an autographed Wayne Gretzky Team Canada jersey;

~ an autographed Bruins helmet from Boston's Patrice Bergeron (a birthday gift to a 7 year old); and

~ a Boston Red Sox batting helmet autographed by David Ortiz (another birthday gift to a 7 year old).

Blog postings related to these items have also been deleted.

Granted, these are pretty significant items. Still, the relief that comes with this move far outweighs the burdens associated with retaining them.

I still believe, though, that we possess a respectable autographed sports memorabilia collection. Please know, too, that the autographed puck collection now stands at 1,538.

Addendum (July 28): The items have been sent. The image shows the postal service receipts. The smudges on the receipts are there to protect identities.

Hounding 2007-08: Season in review

2008-07-26T17:06:00.012-04:00

Going into the 2007-08 season, I said I wanted to slow down a bit and become more selective in my puck-hounding efforts. So much for slowing down, though quality wasn't sacrificed for quantity.

After snagging 258 pucks in my first full season down here in Humidity Bay, I added another 263 during the 2007-08 campaign. Going into the season, my goal was to add only 225 pucks, rounding out at a cool 1,500. Instead, The Vault now holds 1,538 pucks.

In the interest of full disclosure, the total includes seven pucks signed outside the NHL's regular season and playoffs. To me, a hounding season begins at training camp. Anything within the next 365 days is within the season.

The Vault would have been more stuffed, too, had I not been sidelined for Minnesota and Vancouver. Thankfully, the Wild comes back in 2008-09.

All in all, though, it was another solid season.

It wasn't just about the pucks, either. My biggest accomplishment was helping Colin build his collection. We've become very fond of our team sheets; they're easy to make and get signed. Now, we've got to work on his patience. The apple, I'm afraid, didn't fall too far.

Three new projects -- an American-born goalie stick, a Slovakian team jersey and a 1999 NHL All Star Game helmet -- can claim respectable, if not somewhat remarkable, beginnings. You'll also notice a handful of summertime forays into the American pastime.

Here are the highlights, culled from my 446 posts since Aug. 14, 2007, of the 2007-08 hounding season:

~ Putting in a long day to create a Tampa Bay Rays team ball.

~ Having former Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk provide some good advice on skating to Colin.

~ Adding baseball Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry to the collection.

~ Goin' racing at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix.

~ Finishing the regular season with a strong performance by the playoffs-challenged Tampa Bay Lightning.

~ Adding value to a pair of gloves from Tampa Bay defenseman Paul Ranger's rookie NHL season.

~ Having Atlanta's Kari Lehtonen sign the Thrashers team helmet.

~ Meeting a season milestone when Atlanta's Todd White signed the 250th puck of the 2007-08 campaign.

~ Choosing hounding over sleeping so I could get the 2008 NHL All Star Game's MVP to sign a puck.

~ Correcting a mistake on a 2004 Stanley Cup Game 7 puck.

~ Snagging pucks from Tampa Bay's short-lived Big Three 2.0.

~ Getting little thrill out of Boston's Phil Kessel signing a Team USA jersey and a wallpaper image.

~ Watching Colin fill up a Boston Bruins wallpaper image.

~ Having Boston's Tim Thomas sign a 2008 NHL All Star Game puck for the 1,500th of the collection.

~ Ending the debate between blue and black Sharpies.

~ Knowing that Florida's Jay Bouwmeester is a top-shelf player.

~ Getting back three players in a week from my TTM project.

~ Being pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get an autograph from Edmonton's Ales Hemsky.

~ Catching a Rocky Mountain High from the Colorado Avalanche.

~ Showing my appreciation after Colorado's Joey Sakic, one of my favorite players, signed five items.

~ Being more than happy to add Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin to the puck collection.

~ Having very low expectations for Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

~ Watching Colin experience the luck of the Irish.

~ Scoring 50 autographs from the Montreal Canadiens in a single hounding session, including four from rookie goalie Carey Price

~ Being in absolute shock when Carolina goalie coach Tom Barrasso, one of hockey's toughest autographs, stop to sign.

~ Catching up to Toronto's Alexander Steen to complete a pretty neat wallpaper image.

~ Loading up on the Calgary Flames, a day after hearing most of the team was in a grumpy mood.

~ Playing a hunch with Calgary's Jarome Iginla.

~ Getting a hat trick of pucks from Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff.

~ Marking the Tampa Bay Lightning's 15th year in the NHL by having Vinny Lecavalier sign a puck commemorating the milestone.

~ Snagging pucks from Ottawa's Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Andrej Meszaros.

~ Appreciating the eagerness of Ottawa rookie Nick Foligno in signing autographs.

~ Having Boston's Tuukka Rask reinforce my belief in homemade cheap-skate cards.

~ Improving upon a jersey swatch card of Carolina's Eric Staal.

~ Knocking out a team helmet from the Atlanta Thrashers in an afternoon.

~ Getting a pair of pucks signed by Hall of Famer Denis Potvin.

~ Showing that I learned a lesson after watching Hall of Famer Phil Esposito walk by.

~ Sending get-well wishes to Boston's Patrice Bergeron.

~ Not complaining when only two of 42 autographs from the Buffalo Sabres were on pucks.

~ Getting pumped up after Marian Hossa signed a pair of pucks.

~ Realizing New Jersey's Martin Brodeur is a much better playing goalie than he is at spelling Colin's name.

~ Experiencing a peak and a valley with Tampa Bay's Marty St. Louis.

~ Wondering who had the biggest grin at this meeting during the Lightning's training camp.

~ Hearing Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier's sentiments toward dealers.

~ Snagging autographs from Tampa Bay's Big Three in one day.

~ Reacquainting myself with the Lightning during my first trip to the 2007-08 training camp.

There you have it. All of the 2007-08 hockey hounding season, with a little baseball tucked in for good measure, in a single post.

Want more? Here you go: Hounding 2006-07: Season in review

As always, folks, thanks for stopping by.

Monster effort

2008-07-21T12:27:00.019-04:00

Sure, it may have taken three trips to Tropicana Field in a single day and nearly nine hours to get it done, but to snag 26 autographs from Tampa Bay Rays players, coaches and the general manager is, to me, pretty darn remarkable.

After hearing that the Rays would hold an off-day workout during the All Star Game break, Colin and I decided to try our luck with the team last Thursday. Our hunches and hard work paid off, too.

Our first trip of the day, in which we arrived at the Trop around 11 a.m., provided better information than autographs. Though we did put the first three signatures on it, the best part was learning the time of the workout.

Unfortunately, a bit of a misunderstanding led to a lengthy wait at the beginning of the second trip of the day. At first, I thought the player said the workout would start at 2:40 p.m. As a result, we arrived back at the Trop around 1 p.m. with high hopes. About 30 minutes after arriving, a team clubhouse worker told us the workout wouldn't start until 5 p.m.

Rather than head home and come back, we stuck it out, taking a walk around the Trop, laughing at lizards and watching a baby frog try to climb over a sidewalk curb. After a while, our patience was rewarded, as player after player, including Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria and James Shields, all heeded Colin's call and added to his team ball.

Our last trip of the day, timed with the close of the workout, put the finishing touches on the ball, as Carlos Pena, Dioner Navarro, B.J. Upton and Jonny Gomes all signed.

Who signed where?

Top photo (signatures listed from top to bottom): J. P. Howell, Akinori Iwamura, Grant Balfour, Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton
Second photo: Tom Foley (coach), Jason Hammel, Dan Wheeler, Steve Henderson (coach), Evan Longoria, Dave Martinez and Dioner Navarro (along the right side)
Third photo: Detail of Evan Longoria's autograph
Fourth photo: Andrew Friedman (GM), Andy Sonnanstine, Jonny Gomes, Scott Kazmir, Tim Bogar (coach), Joe Maddon (manager) and Cliff Floyd
Fifth photo: Carlos Pena, Willie Aybar, Shawn Riggans, Edwin Jackson, Jason Bartlett, James Shields and Gary Glover.

Players we didn't get (yet): Matt Garza, Gabe Gross, Erik Hinske, Trever Miller Troy Percival, Al Reyes and Ben Zobrist

Grumpy old men (We asked, but they wouldn't sign): George Hendricks and Don Zimmer

A work in progress

2008-07-21T12:09:00.020-04:00

While Colin was filling up his team ball last week, I occupied myself getting the first few signatures on a cherry-picking Tampa Bay Rays mini helmet.

All told, seven Rays players signed it, providing a respectable start to what will hopefully become a cool addition to our fledgling baseball collection.

Top photo: James Shields, from left, Carl Crawford, Jonny Gomes and manager Joe Maddon

Middle photo: Cliff Floyd, left, and Akinori Iwamura

Bottom photo: J.P. Howell, left, and another view of Shields' autograph

The remaining names on the want list: Grant Balfour, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria, Dioner Navarro, Carlos Pena, Troy Percival and B.J. Upton

Wish me luck, won't you.

He knows the game

2008-07-18T13:31:00.007-04:00

Just because Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria is a rookie, it certainly doesn't mean he isn't a veteran at the hounding game. The Rays' rising star of a third baseman said Thursday he'd sign my jersey, but only if he could personalize it.

Seeing that I'm a collector, and wasn't trying to make money off of his signature, I had no problem with his request. Besides, it was a real hoot meeting him before the Rays' late afternoon workout at Tropicana Field.

My bad

2008-07-18T13:26:00.012-04:00

If you look hard enough, and long enough, maybe even subjecting your eyes to a tear-inducing squint, you might make out a faint autograph from Tampa Bay's B.J. Upton along the bottom of the number on Colin's replica Rays jersey.

Rather than use a silver paint pen, I thought a bright blue paint pen would offer an even nicer contrast on this Rays jersey. It wasn't until Upton started signing it yesterday did I realize that the fabric would soak up the ink.

As much as I hate to do things twice (ask anyone who knows me), I'll have to make amends and get Upton to re-sign this jersey for Colin.

On the mound

2008-07-18T13:20:00.008-04:00

Less than 48 hours after winning the 2008 MLB All Star Game, Tampa Bay pitcher Scott Kazmir was one of the many Rays' big-name players to stop and sign items for us yesterday. This is the base to a McFarlane figurine for Kazmir.

Granted, it has nothing to do with hockey. During the summer, though, an autograph is an autograph. And, down here in Humidity Bay, the Rays are a pretty hot item.

Review: 2007-08 Be A Player

2008-07-17T21:55:00.013-04:00

It's a little weird, I suppose, that an autograph hound like myself actually looks forward to a release of a signature-laden product like Upper Deck's 2007-08 Be A Player Hockey. Still, though, there's something about the thrill of the chase in busting a box.

I was more than a little psyched, too, to get this double signature card of Philadelphia's Mike Richards and Mike Knuble.

Richards is a darned-good, hard-nosed captain-in-waiting, something that plays well in Philly. As for Knuble, I've been a big fan since his Bruins days riding shotgun with Joey Thornton. In my book, you won't meet a nicer NHL player than Knuble.

It's hard to get critical of one of favorite products. As a reviewer, though, I must. Like most everyone else, I wish the caliber of the players signing was a little better.

Though it's nice pulling signatures from such players as (top photo, from left) Florida's Keith Ballard (shown with Phoenix), the Rangers' Markus Naslund (shown with Vancouver) and New Jersey's Zach Parise, it's a tad deflating when you get one from a player like Jamal Mayers, Jarkko Ruutu or Jason Williams.

The 200-card base set is decent, but predictable. From a purely hounding standpoint, I'd rather have a few more recognizable tough guys or fifth defensemen rather than yet another card of, say, Rob Blake, Rod Brind'Amour or Brendan Shanahan.

Kudos, too, for showing trade-deadline-day movers in new team colors. Notable names include Dallas' Brad Richards and rentals Marian Hossa, as a Penguin, and Brian Campbell, as a Shark. Lightning fans can find goalie Mike Smith in his Tampa Bay duds.

Product snapshot: Be A Player Hockey
Something nice: A double-signature card of Philadelphia's Mike Richards and Mike Knuble and an opportunity to offer Upper Deck my copy editing talents on a freelance basis
Something not so nice: At nearly $12-$15 a pack, I want better quality among the autographs. Another UD product with a less-than-inspiring checklist. An additional one or two rookie cards would've been nice, too.
Puckhound's grade: 2.5 out of 5 pucks

My kind of six pack

2008-07-17T21:24:00.003-04:00

Now that former NHL goalie Mike Vernon has become the special assistant to Brian Lawton, Tampa Bay's vice president of hockey operations, I'll have to add another stack to my Lightning-only puck-hounding want list. And, no, I'm not complaining.

Not only did Vernon win Stanley Cups with Calgary (1998-99 season) and Detroit (1996-97 season, winning the Conn Smythe), but he also won a Memorial Cup with the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League.

Though he's not in the Hall of Fame, a player of Vernon's stature is certainly worthy of pursuing an NHL career collection. Maybe I'll make it a side project this season, meaning I'll also need pucks of the Lightning, Panthers and Sharks.

The Puck

2008-07-16T22:41:00.008-04:00

Someone, 7, misses hockey.

He's not alone.

Freelance gig, maybe?

2008-07-16T21:36:00.007-04:00

Rather than rag on Upper Deck for some shoddy copy editing, shown above on the back of a 2007-08 Be A Player Player's Club card (49/99) of Ottawa's Jason Spezza, maybe it's a sign that the card company needs some professional copy-editing help.

And though I subscribe to the theory that folks in glass houses should never throw stones, I openly admit that my postings are often in need of solid copy editing. I'm much better catching other's mistakes.

In case you can't find the error, it's "quarterback," not "quateback."

On a side note, Upper Deck's low-end Victory cards, the first product of the 2008-09 season, carry an Aug. 5 release date.

Moment of recognition

2008-07-16T10:33:00.011-04:00

How can a hockey hound tell when he's become a recognizable face? When Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier, the signer of thousands of autographs, remembers you as he inks a 2008 NHL All Star Game puck.

Normally, this recognition could easily become the death knell for any collector, as the thinking goes that once this happens, the player has decided that he's done signing for you.

But when our brief meeting, held yesterday during a meet-and-greet with Lightning season-ticket holders, ended with a firm handshake and his telling me that he'll see me at training camp, I got the sense that I'll have little to worry about.

If I'm wrong, I'll take solace in knowing it was the 10th puck that Lecavalier has signed for us. And, to be perfectly honest with you, I'm running out of pucks for him to sign.

Then again, maybe he was in a good mood after officially signing a contract (11 years, $85 million) that will make him a Lightning for life. Right now, though, I'll take Vinny at his word.

Multidimensional, that's me

2008-07-16T10:25:00.006-04:00

Just to prove that I'm much more than just pucks, I added to Colin's autograph collection yesterday, asking Lightning Girls Karen and Eva to sign this team sheet while waiting to get Vinny Lecavalier's autograph.

It's a tough job being a Daddy, but I'm more than happy to be one.

Patience, please

2008-07-14T11:55:00.006-04:00

In checking this blog's visitor stats recently, I could only chuckle when I discovered that someone found Hound Central 3.0 by searching for "Hound Central 4.0 best young defensemen" on Google. A few days later, another person went so far as to see whether Ottawa blueline prospect Brian Lee was on the defensemen list.

Now, faithful readers of the Hound Central hockey-hounding franchise know that these features, based solely on my perceptions of the NHL's young talent at forward, defense and goalie, have become an annual installment. The only problem, though, is that they aren't produced until early September.

Mainly, I wait until The Hockey News produces its annual preseason magazine, most often devoted to hockey pool junkies. It's there that I begin my research, culling the top players at these basic positions before settling on the best five at each position.

Until then, folks, we'll all have to be patient. As much as I'd like to have the season starting, it's still a number of weeks away. Let's enjoy the summer, shall we?

On Patrice, Vinny and online shopping

2008-07-13T12:55:00.014-04:00

Three hockey-related thoughts before I head off this afternoon to inform and enlighten readers of the St. Petersburg Times up north in Hernando County:

~ It's great reading that Boston's Patrice Bergeron, a favorite of Hound Central 3.0, joined the Bruins' youngsters last week at the team's development camp north of Boston.

Bergeron, who sustained a nasty concussion early last season after a questionable hit from Philly's Randy Jones, said he's looking forward to playing again.

"I want to make sure I'm ready," he told NHL.com correspondent John Bishop. “That’s why I came down here this week, to skate and work out and make sure I’m in the best shape I can be.”

Down here in Humidity Bay, we can't wait to see Bergie play again. Like most Bruins fans, we missed him last season.

~ Great, but expected, move by the Lightning's new ownership to lock up Vinny Lecavalier, signing the team's superstar to an 11-year, $85 million contract. Since he was drafted first overall by the Lightning in 1998, Vinny's been the face of the organization.

This deal, expected to be a hot topic Tuesday at a meet-and-greet autograph session (a future posting, perhaps?) for season-ticket holders, is expected to keep Lecavalier a member of the Lightning for life. I certainly hope so.

~ Why is it whenever I believe I've found a good online deal on a piece of hockey equipment for Colin, be it gloves, shin guards or pants, the supplier never has it in his correct size?

Sure, I understand the concept behind closeouts (supplies are limited and no exchanges are allowed), but offering only a handful of products in useless sizes rivals conduct that would earn a chippy player an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Low prices may lure people to Web sites, but if they can't find products at those advertised prices, a move that may steer some (but not me) to pay for more expensive gear, then they run the risk of alienating customers.

I, for one, took our business ($125, this order: helmet with faceshield, pants, gloves and shin guards) elsewhere.

And it wasn't any Florida-based pro shop; their prices ($44 for an off-brand pair of youth gloves, for instance, while I paid $25 for Mission Fuel 60s) are even higher.

Lots for the Lightning

2008-07-08T13:46:00.042-04:00

Given all of the movements made by the Tampa Bay Lightning's new ownership, with the team drafting Steven Stamkos first overall and signing such free agents as Olaf Kolzig, Ryan Malone, Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts and Radim Vrbata, I could very well add another 75 pucks from the Lightning alone this season:

Len Barrie (co-owner): Lightning and Kamloops Blazers

Brandon Bochenski: Lightning *

Matt Carle: Lightning and San Jose Sharks

Adam Hall: Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators

Andrew Hutchinson: Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes *

Olaf Kolzig: Lightning, Washington Capitals new logo, Washington Capitals eagle, Washington Capitals original logo, 2000 NHL All Star Game, Washington Capitals 25th anniversary (above, right), 1998 NHL All Star Game (above, left), Rochester Americans, Portland Pirates and Tri-City Americans

Oren Koules (co-owner): Lightning and Saw DVD cover

Tom Kurvers (co-assistant GM): Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils

Brian Lawton (director of hockey operations): Lightning and Minnesota North Stars

Vincent Lecavalier: Lightning three-stripe (above) and 2008 NHL All Star Game

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

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, Dallas Stars and Utah Grizzlies

Steven Stamkos: Lightning, Lightning three-stripe and Team Canada

Rick Tocchet (assistant 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 #

Radim Vrbata: Lightning, Phoenix Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes

Wes Walz (assistant coach): Lightning, Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild inaugural season (at left)

Ty Wishart: Lightning, San Jose Sharks and Prince George Cougars *

I'll have no pucks for Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern, Mike Lundin, Shane O'Brien, Paul Ranger and Martin St. Louis.

* Provided, of course, he makes the team;

# provided he visits Tampa

What do you think?

2008-07-08T12:24:00.004-04:00

I was thinking of adding this program from the 2008 NHL Entry Draft to my want list for Tampa Bay's top pick Steven Stamkos.

I suppose, too, I should try to get fellow first-rounders Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings, second overall), Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis Blues, fourth overall), Tyler Myers (Buffalo Sabres, 12th overall), Zach Bogosian (Atlanta Thrashers, third overall) and Luke Schenn (Toronto Maple Leafs, fifth overall).

Busy, busy, busy

2008-07-07T09:57:00.009-04:00

Every summer, NHL teams try to retool their lineups for the season ahead. In some cases, it's the addition of a key free agent or the promotion of a vaunted rookie. In others, there will be a modest amount of change, perhaps two to three new faces.

Down here in Humidity Bay, though, Lightning fans have witnessed a near-wholesale change in the lineup, given the team's uberactive wheelings and dealings. How busy have the Lightning been? On opening night, there could be as many as eight or nine new faces in the lineup and one mulleted mug behind the bench.

From a hounding standpoint, what I thought would be an easy season of hounding the Lightning, focusing on Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, now presents a challenge worthy of my time and expertise:

Olaf Kolzig: Nearing the end of his NHL career, he tops my list of new Lightning faces. Though the Lightning represent only his second NHL team, there should be ample opportunities to have him sign some specialty (AHL, All Star Game and anniversary) pucks.

Steve Stamkos: Being the No. 1 overall draft pick puts a bull's eye on his autograph. Given the team's pre-draft publicity surrounding him, it should be relatively easy to snag quite a few more autographs from him. My wish lists includes Lightning pucks, magazines, a Team Canada jersey and that picture of he and Colin at the team's meet-and-greet.

Gary Roberts: Brought onto to the team to provide some grizzled leadership to Stamkos, I've had the pleasure of getting his autograph numerous times. Still, though, it won't keep me from having him sign a Lightning puck.

Mark Recchi: Here's another player brought aboard to provide leadership. Like most veteran players nearing the end of their runs, he's become much more willing to sign. That's good, because I'll have four to five pucks for him to sign throughout the season.

Ryan Malone: Another addition designed to add some grit to the Lightning's soft lineup. I'll focus on cards more than multiple pucks. Having hounded him in the minors, all I really need from Malone is a signed Lightning puck.

Radim Vrbata: My most recent puck order contains three pucks for him: Lightning, Blackhawks and Avalanche. I might as well get him while I can, right?

Matt Carle: Of all the new faces, I predict that he'll make one of the biggest differences in the lineup. Coming off of a sophomore slump, the former Hobey Baker Award winner should show why he's certainly worthy of pucks.

Adam Hall: Playing for his fifth team (Nashville, Rangers, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay) in four seasons, he represents the proverbial handful for puckhounds such as myself. Given his ever-decreasing point total, though, I'll likely limit him to two pucks -- Nashville and Tampa Bay.

Brandon Bochenski: Yeah, he's bounced around a bit lately, becoming the NHL's poster boy for adventure-seeking job-hoppers. That doesn't mean I'll load up on pucks, though. Maybe a Lightning puck, but that's about it.

Andrew Hutchinson: Not exactly a household name, but he did win a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. That alone, I believe, is worthy of at least a couple pucks to go with the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals pucks in the collection.

Barry Melrose: Though I'll resist the temptation to have him sign a mullet wig, I'd like to find an ESPN NHL 2nite promotional puck for him to sign. Until then, I'll use the L.A. Kings, Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets pucks I've ordered.

The rich? Well, they get richer

2008-07-02T14:12:00.005-04:00

It's bad enough that the Red Wings won this past season's Stanley Cup. Now, they go out an ink Marian Hossa, selected by Hound Central 3.0 readers as this summer's top unrestricted free agent, to a one-year, $7.4 million deal.

Though far from unanimous, Hossa, who will play for his third team in less than a season, easily outdistanced the competition, snagging nerly 80 percent of the relative few votes cast.

Given Detroit's talent-laden lineup (featuring Mssrs. Lidstrom, Datysuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, among others), a gnawing rumble in the pit of my stomach tells me that the Red Wings may very well do the same in 2008-09.

Oh, the humanity.

Question: Who's the top UFA?

Marian Hossa: 11 out of 14 votes cast (78.6 percent)
Wade Redden (NYR): 2 out of 14 votes (14.3 percent)
Jaromir Jagr: 1 out of 14 votes (7.1 percent)
Cristobal Huet (CBH): 0 out of 14

Proof positive

2008-06-26T21:25:00.008-04:00

Imagine my surprise just a few minutes ago when checking out the Tampa Bay Lightning's Web site I stumbled across this photo gallery image of Steven Stamkos signing Colin's jersey earlier today during a meet-and-greet with season-ticket holders.

To see the gallery, click on the link inside this story. Colin's is the fourth of seven photographs.

A good start

2008-06-26T20:33:00.015-04:00

Say what you will about new Tampa Bay Lightning coach Barry Melrose (he's been out of the game too long to what's up with the mullet?), but he certainly has a knack for putting people at ease.

Though Lightning officials asked that autographs be kept to one per person and that posed photos wait until another day, Melrose entertained nearly every request Thursday during a meet-and-greet with Lightning season-ticket holders.

My question? Will John Buccigross, Melrose's journalist sidekick during ESPN's NHL 2Night run, be joining the Lightning front office?

"Nope, Bucci's staying in Connecticut," Melrose said, laughing. "Right where he belongs."

Not sweating the details

2008-06-26T20:27:00.004-04:00

I might have been the only one to notice, but the new Tampa Bay Lightning sign hanging outside the St. Pete Times Forum contains a pretty serious error.

The sign, sandwiched between a couple of tall ads for Heineken, shows the Lightning's newly anointed Big Four -- Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Dan Boyle and Steven Stamkos, the team's No. 1 draft pick for 2008.

The only problem, however, is that the sign shows Stamkos, wearing a No. 91 Lightning sweater in game action, as a lefthanded shot. Sorry, but he's a righthanded shot.

And, for the sake of accuracy, it matters.

Mission accomplished

2008-06-26T19:37:00.005-04:00

Seeing that it rains down here in Humidity Bay nearly every afternoon during the summer, our trip over to downtown Tampa was in doubt for awhile earlier today. It wasn't so much the rain, though, as it was the nasty thunder and lightning.

Still, once the storm passed we headed east, dodging a few raindrops along the way, for some more Lightning. Namely, the team's No. 1 overall draft pick, Steven Stamkos.

After the meet-and-greet with season-ticket holders, we were able to get Stamkos to sign this Sarnia Sting puck. Sure, I had more items that I would've liked to gotten signed, but there was a strict one-per limit. Colin had him sign his Lightning jersey.

Once Stamkos signed, we completed a neat little autograph trick -- getting two No. 1 overall picks within a week. Last Thursday, we scored Tim Beckham, the Tampa Bay Rays' first selection in the 2008 MLB draft.

One down ... one to go

2008-06-25T13:20:00.009-04:00

With a little bit of luck, we might be able to add autographs from two No. 1 overall picks in little more than a week.

Last Thursday, with the Cubs in town for an interleague matchup with the Rays, Colin scored Tim Beckham, Tampa Bay's top 2008 pick on June 5, on an official practice ball (see stamp on top of ball) that someone gave to him during batting practice.

Tomorrow, we'll head over to Tampa to get Steven Stamkos, taken first overall last Friday by the Lightning in last week's NHL draft. The event is for season-ticket holders, so we'll have to catch him outside. New coach Barry Melrose will be there, too.

A side note on the baseball: Had I been thinking, we should have had Beckham's brother, Jeremy, a 17th-round pick (503rd overall) of the Rays, sign the ball. He was there. It'll have to wait, I suppose.

Hockey always comes first.

Wasn't even close

2008-06-22T11:20:00.005-04:00

As expected, the Tampa Bay Lightning made quick work of their No. 1 overall pick at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, selecting center Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting. Still, though, that didn't end the drama inside Scotiabank Place in Kanata, Ontario.

The biggest question, it seems, was who would go second overall -- Guelph's Drew Doughty or Petersborough's Zach Bogosian?

Once again, Hound Central 3.0's readers proved their hockey IQ by overwhelmingly picking Doughty, who went second to Los Angeles, over Bogosian, taken third by Atlanta.

Question: Who will be the No. 2 pick overall at the 2008 NHL Draft?

Drew Doughty: 15 out of 21 votes cast (71.4 percent)
Zach Bogosian: 6 out of 21 (28.6 percent)

Gee, what can I do with this?

2008-06-20T12:25:00.007-04:00

If the Tampa Bay Lightning makes, as is expected, Steven Stamkos the No. 1 overall pick of the NHL Draft tonight, do you think this Sarnia Sting puck might come in handy? I do.

Though I've read that Stamkos is planning to spend the weekend in Kanata, Ontario, where the draft is taking place, I'm sure the Lightning will be making the Sarnia Sting star available to its fan base soon enough.

I'm hoping to have this, as well as a few other items, signed by month's end. If not, there's always rookie camp.

Stamkos fans would be well-served to visit this site at the St. Petersburg Times. The newspaper (disclosure notice: my employer) has created a five-card set of Stamkos, available for download, printing and, I imagine, getting autographed.

Please note, though, they won't be considered his true rookie cards.

I'm confused

2008-06-20T12:12:00.006-04:00

I'm not 100 percent certain, but I believe I pulled an Sweet Stitches "oopsie" from a tin of 2007-08 Upper Deck Sweet Shot.

Though I'd hardly complain about a three-swatch card, I don't believe Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar ever wore the purple-and-yellow throwback sweater for the Kings in an NHL game.

Kopitar didn't play in the NHL when the Kings last wore the throwbacks, Dec. 2 and Dec. 16, 2004. In fact, Kopitar, who scored two goals in his NHL debut on Oct. 6, 2006, was playing for Sodertalje in the Elitserien in 2004-05.

Now, if you read Upper Deck's certification language, it doesn't specifically state that it was Kopitar who wore the sweater.

However, calling it an "Anze Kopitar Game-Used trading card" certainly leads a reasonable person to expect that the jersey swatches did, indeed, come from a sweater worn by Kopitar.

I've seen other variations of this card showing black and white swatches, but I can't find anything else like this one.

Is it an error card? If not, what would you call it?

I suppose I'll have to ask Upper Deck. Maybe, it'll be able to tell me.

Take 'em when you can get 'em

2008-06-18T21:48:00.007-04:00

Just because the NHL season is over doesn't mean that you can't snag an autograph or two. Look at the three we added to our collection earlier this evening.

The old school Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning pucks, shown above, were signed by former NHL player John Tucker, who runs a pro shop and coaches teams at the Clearwater Ice Arena.

I'd been carrying the pucks with me for a couple weeks now, as Colin skates and takes lessons at the arena. Tonight was the first time I'd seen Tucker when he wasn't on the ice.

This card, signed to Colin by another former NHL player Chris Dingman, was obtained following Colin's skating practice when we returned to the Wing House restaurant in Pinellas Park, where the Lightning were holding a live radio broadcast and an event for season ticket-holders.

Now, some might say that these former players are hardly worth the effort. With all due respect, however, I disagree. Sure, both are unlikely candidates for the Hockey Hall of Fame. But, both also played in the NHL, something that, in the grand scheme of things, not too many people get to do.

Even though I'll plead guilty to cherry picking during the season, I'm always happy to add autographs during the offseason.

I think I'll wait

2008-06-18T12:32:00.008-04:00

I was going to order three 2008 NHL Draft pucks today from Sensations, the Ottawa Senators' team store at Scotiabank Place in Kanata, until I learned that the shipping to Florida would be $30.

It's bad enough the puck was $7. I get mine for less than $2.75. I'd pay $5 for shipping. Maybe even $8. But $30? I don't think so.

Hopefully, my patience will be rewarded. It's my guess Steven Stamkos, projected as Tampa Bay's first overall pick Friday night, will be around Humidity Bay for quite a while.

No complaints here

2008-06-18T11:57:00.005-04:00

Though Buffalo's Ryan Miller is one of the more willing signers in the NHL, I wasn't the least bit disappointed to snag this 2007-08 Upper Deck Sweet Shot card. No, sirree, not one bit.

Hockey, Scrambled: 2008 Draft edition

2008-06-18T11:09:00.005-04:00

Though it's likely to be busy today down here in Humidity Bay (the NHL is set to vote on the proposed $200 million sale of the Lightning), don't let that keep you from figuring out who is who in this special edition of Hound Central 3.0's Hockey, Scrambled:

~ Tinika Tifoval =
~ Leax Girtapeleon =
~ Vesnet Kosmtas =
~ Limkek Drokebe =
~ Chaz Chubkoy =

For proper credit, please leave your answers in a message. Thanks.

Sunday morning homily XXX

2008-06-15T10:55:00.015-04:00

Now that I've dried off and got the water out of one of my ears following a mid-morning battle with super soakers (my Father's Day present) with Colin (that's him, on the right, with me at a Bolts game), it'll be much easier to share with you why, from my point of view, that Father's Day is, indeed, the best holiday of the year:

~ Fathers get to revel in the joy that they have helped to create. From skating backwards to fishing to sharing a recliner, spending time with your children is the best thing a father can do. Granted, most fathers I know, myself included, want to spend more time with their children and families. At least, though, we all have today.

~ Fathers get to pass along their experience, their love and their beliefs. From working hard at everything you do to remembering to look both ways when entering an intersection after the traffic light has turned green, it's our job, as a child's most important role model, to pass along the wisdom we've gained over the years.

~ If you're lucky (like I am), you'll get one of your better meals of the year today. For me, it'll be grilled steak, marinating for the past three days; twice-baked potatoes, including real bits of bacon and sour cream; and one of my favorite foods -- canned carrots. A slice of cake (or two or three) will top it off.

And though it was nice to open cards and unwrap presents on this day, the best gift I'll ever get is the one I receive every day from Colin -- a hug, a kiss and my favorite words: "I love you, Daddy."

To me, it just doesn't get any better than that.

Stoked, and stocked, for Stamkos

Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit here, but I can't wait for this Friday, when the 2008 NHL Entry Draft kicks off in Kanata, Ontario. If perception becomes reality, that is when the Tampa Bay Lightning, picking first overall, will draft Sarnia's Steven Stamkos, a talented center who many believe is NHL-ready.

Really, it's not that I'm the biggest Lightning fan down here in Humidity Bay. Sure, they're my most recent "hometown team," and I'll root for them to do well every season, but they reside a couple notches down the list.

No, what I'm waiting for is Stamkos' first public visit to Tampa. I'm certain the Lightning, given their "Seen Stamkos" campaign, will be more than happy to show off their latest star. Work schedule permitting, I plan on attending as many introductory events as I can.

Why? Another no-brainer. I have quite a few items -- three pucks, a couple of magazines, a few cards and a Team Canada jersey waiting to be signed. And that, my friends, is just the beginning.

Thanks, again and again and again

As I bring the final Sunday morning homily of the season to a close, I want to thank everyone who has taken time to stop by Hound Central 3.0. I know this blog is an acquired taste, focusing much more on autographs than hockey in general.

And while the summer always represents a slowdown in the hockey autograph cycle, I'm hoping that there's enough news -- within hockey and my hounding activities -- to offer, at the least, a weekly posting until training camps open in September.

As always, folks, I appreciate your support.

Tim Russert: 1950-2008

2008-06-14T08:36:00.005-04:00

As a journalist and as a native Western New Yorker, I felt a profound sadness upon learning that Tim Russert, the moderator for NBC's Meet the Press for the past 16 years, had passed away on Friday.

Mr. Russert, a native of Buffalo and a big fan of the NFL's Bills, was a journalist's journalist. He was all about getting the truth, even if it meant throwing a few high-and-tights at an unwilling subject, and protecting the integrity of objectivity.

Sunday mornings and politics, I'm afraid, will never be the same.

The only award show I watch

2008-06-13T11:25:00.004-04:00

Five things about last night's NHL awards ceremony in Toronto:

~ Perhaps it was a bit too predictable, but the NHL's awarding of its first Lifetime Achievement Award to Gordie Howe was pretty darn touching. I can't help but wonder, though, if that award will someday be named after Mr. Hockey.

~ It was nice to see Tampa Bay's Vinny Lecavalier honored across the league for his philanthropic efforts, winning the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. Then again, Hockey Bay has known about Vinny's off-the-ice contributions for some time.

~ I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised that Washington's Bruce Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award, for the NHL's best coach. Long before he took his spot behind the Capitals' bench, I watched quite a few games when he was coach of the AHL's Manchester (N.H.) Monarchs. Though he had a tough time getting the Monarchs deep into the playoffs, he led the Hershey Bears to the 2006 Calder Cup championship.

~ Someone from the Anchor Bar ought to send Chicago's Patrick Kane a couple heaping, steaming plates of chicken wings for his shout-out to Buffalo during his acceptance speech after winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. As a native western New Yorker, it's always sweet to see a Buffalo kid do good.

~ For as long as Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk has played in the NHL, don't you think that his English would be a bit better by now. I must admit, though, his acceptance speeches for winning the Frank Selke (defensive forward) and Lady Byng (gentlemanly player) trophies had to be among the shortest in award show history.

Take 2 for No. 2

2008-06-05T19:34:00.007-04:00

Really, I should have given much more thought to the most recent Hound Central 3.0 poll, which asked (foolishly) who would be the No. 1 pick at the NHL draft -- Sarnia's Steven Stamkos or Peterborough's Zach Bogosian?

More than anything else, when The Hockey News calls you a "savior" on the cover of its draft preview, I'd say it's a done deal.

Closer to home, though, the Lightning have made no attempt to conceal their intentions with the No. 1 pick. In fact, the big hockey question all over Humidity Bay is have you Seen Stamkos?

So, yes, it's a given Stamkos will bring his talents to the Lightning. That's why I brought the Stamkos-Bogosian poll to a quick end.

The first eight votes, all in Stamkos' favor, further convinced me that there is a much better question to be asked of Hound Central 3.0's faithful: Who's the No. 2 overall pick? Is it Bogosian or Guelph's Drew Doughty?

Question: Who will be the No. 1 pick at the 2008 NHL Draft?

Steven Stamkos: 8 out of 8 votes cast (100 percent)
Zach Bogosian: 0 out of 8

Stanley likes Wings

2008-06-05T12:24:00.002-04:00

Congratulations are in order for the Detroit Red Wings, who dispatched the Pittsburgh Penguins last night to win their 11th Stanley Cup in the team's history. The team was simply too talented, too deep and too experienced for the Penguins.

Good advice

2008-06-04T22:07:00.015-04:00

After getting Dave Andreychuk, the former Tampa Bay Lightning captain, to sign a few items earlier tonight, I'm not sure what I was more excited about.

From a hounding standpoint, I'm thrilled that I finally got him to sign, at left, my Lightning Andreychuk jersey.

And I certainly won't complain that he also signed, above, Tampa Bay Lightning 2004 Stanley Cup champions and Oshawa Generals pucks.

From a Daddy standpoint, though, I'm downright ecstatic about the advice he had for Colin, fresh off a hockey skating lesson just down the road from where Andreychuk was part of a remote radio broadcast.

"So, you're hockey skating?" Andreychuk asked.

"Yep," Colin replied, "just got done with my lessons."

"How'd you do? Did you fall?" Andreychuk asked.

"All the time," Colin said.

"That's OK. Did you ever see me fall? I fell all the time, too," Andreychuk said.

"You fell?" Colin asked.

"All the time. But you know what I did every time I fell?" Andreychuk said.

"What?" Colin replied.

"I always got right back up," Andreychuk said. "That's what you have to do."

Why not?

2008-06-04T14:53:00.007-04:00

Looking for a new job? The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking for a head coach.

Follow my lead and send your resume to:

Tampa Bay Lightning
c/o Head coach search
401 Channelside Drive
Tampa FL 33602

Hopefully, the Lightning will, at the least, send rejection letters to those of us who don't make the cut.

One more thing, too: Tell 'em Hound Central 3.0 sent you.

Phlashback

2008-06-03T21:10:00.004-04:00

After pulling this card, signed by NHL Hall of Famer Bernie Parent, from a pack of 2007-08 Upper Deck Sweet Shot earlier today, the first thought that popped into my hounding-deprived mind was the 1974-75 Stanley Cup Finals.

Not only did the Broad Street Bullies beat my beloved Buffalo Sabres, 4 games to 2, for their second Cup, but Parent was the star of the series, giving up only 12 goals in the six games on his way to winning his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy.

Did you know that he has his own blog?

Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!

2008-06-02T11:35:00.008-04:00

Given that Detroit can claim its 11th Stanley Cup tonight by beating Pittsburgh (fulfilling my prediction of the Wings in five), it's no wonder that Hound Central 3.0 readers voted Detroit's Chris Osgood as a better goalie than Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury.

And just like this Stanley Cup Final, the poll, the blog's 18th of the season, wasn't as close as it appears. Osgood, who's had himself one whale of a playoffs as his backup (sounds weird, doesn't it?) Dominik Hasek, a future Hall of Famer, watches from the bench, remained in front throughout the poll.

In the interest of full disclosure, I voted for Fleury. At this time, he isn't the best goalie. Down the road, when the Penguins are in the midst of a long run of winning the Cup, I believe Fleury will be a better goalie. Right now, though, it's Osgood.

And, unless Detroit's Johan Franzen gets a hat trick tonight, including the Cup winner, I don't see anyone other than Osgood picking up the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Question: Who's the better goalie?

Wings' Chris Osgood: 13 votes out 23 votes cast (56 percent)
Pens' Marc-Andre Fleury: 10 out of 23 (43 percent)

Luc Bourdon: 1987-2008

2008-05-30T11:52:00.001-04:00

Please join me in sending your good thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Luc Bourdon, who was killed yesterday in an accident in his native New Brunswick. Bourdin, 21, was a highly touted defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks.

Tricks of the Trade: Etc.

2008-05-29T14:39:00.003-04:00

When I started this feature, Tricks of the Trade, my goal was to share the ease of getting autographs from professional hockey players. With a little bit of time, a decent amount of effort and a budget of your own determination, anyone can build a nice collection of autographed items.

Sure, some folks have other uses for hounding. They make good money at it, too. I'm jealous, I suppose. Still, though, it's a hobby.

As the 2007-08 NHL season winds down (Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final is tomorrow (Detroit leads Pittsburgh, 2 games to 1), here are my final bits of free advice.

Put them to good use, won't you?

~ Don't expect much in late-season hounding: After a long season, and especially for clubs out of the playoff race, the players, by and large, view signing as a chore. They'll still stop, but expect even longer stares. If anything, it's a good time to finish off team items or snag a player you let pass earlier in the season.

~ Staying put: Given the economics of travel today, visiting teams seldom travel home between playoff games. Even on off-days, they'll still practice, head out for walks and grab cabs to a restaurant. Best times are late morning to early afternoon and around supper time.

~ Be charitable: As teams are eliminated from the playoffs, pay special attention to players taking part in hometown and home-team fundraisers, such as golf tournaments, softball games and community events. Sure, it may cost money to get into the event. That's the point. The money goes to a good cause. Adding to your collection makes it a win-win situation.

Signing bonus

2008-05-25T11:10:00.007-04:00

With the hockey season long over down here in Humidity Bay, we've turned our attention to the surprising Tampa Bay Rays, taking in last night's 11-4 drubbing of the Baltimore Orioles.

Before the game, we were pleasantly surprised to find Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, well known for his alleged application of foreign substances to baseballs, signing autographs for free.

That's right. A Hall of Famer for free. Can't beat that, can you?

Not this time, Pittsburgh

2008-05-24T00:15:00.005-04:00

Beyond the tired storyline of youth vs. experience, the Stanley Cup matchup of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings offers some interesting storylines:

~ Will Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg outscore Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin?
~ Is it fair to compare the Penguins' Sergei Gonchar to the Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom?
~ Will the Penguins use Hal Gill to neutralize the Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom?
~ Who'd would you rather have as a backup? Detroit's Dominik Hasek or Pittsburgh's Ty Conklin?

And while I believe the Penguins are destined to enjoy a long successful run as the NHL's elite club, they're going to have to wait another season. This season, the Red Wings are simply too good, too experienced and too deep to not win any seven-game series.

Pittsburgh's young squad will learn -- the hard way, unfortunately -- what it takes to be a Stanley Cup champion. I like to think, too, that this lesson will serve them well in the years ahead.

My pick: Wings in five

I should have known better

2008-05-20T01:18:00.004-04:00

Deep down inside, I knew this was going to happen. I knew Detroit would beat Dallas. I just couldn't help myself. Against all logic, and relying solely on emotion, I picked Dallas to win in seven.

The mighty Red Wings, however, had different plans, easily dispatching the Stars to win the Western Conference crown in six.

With a convincing 4-1 victory Monday night deep in the Lone Star State, Detroit now meets Pittsburgh for the right to claim hockey's most hallowed hardware, Lord Stanley's Cup. Game 1, at the Joe, is 8 p.m. (EST) Saturday.

Throughout the season, the Wings have proven to be the league's elite team. The Pens, coming into the finals playing two fewer games, are capable of being a handful, too. Can Pittsburgh do it? Or is Detroit simply too good?

Give me some time to think about it. I'd hate to repeat a mistake.

His time to shine?

2008-05-18T20:12:00.003-04:00

Maybe now, with the Penguins reaching their first Stanley Cup finals since 1992, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will get the exposure (and perhaps a few more Conn Smythe votes) that he deserves.

Playing in the shadows, so to speak, of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, it's easy to understand why Fleury may not be a name in many hockey households. Penguins fans, however, have known about this kid for some time.

Though there were some questions about Fleury coming into this season, his play this season, and especially the playoffs, should answer his critics. In 14 games, he has a 12-2 record, a 1.70 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage.

If he keeps those numbers up, maybe Pittsburgh does have a chance. Against Detroit, that is.

Wishful thinking, perhaps?

2008-05-15T11:40:00.004-04:00

As convincing as the Detroit Red Wings have been throughout the 2007-08 NHL playoffs so far, there is a healthy amount of skepticism (or is it distaste?) that the Presidents' Trophy winner will be the last team standing.

By more than a 2-to-1 margin, participants in Hound Central 3.0's latest poll, which asked if Detroit would take home Lord Stanley's Cup, showed little faith that the Red Wings would, indeed, deliver the goods.

I guess we'll soon find out, won't we? Though I was one of the majority voters, I'm sensing that the Red Wings will, in fact, enjoy victory laps with the Cup held high.

Question: Will Detroit win the Cup?

No: 21 out of 31 votes cast (67.7 percent)
Yes: 10 out of 31 (32.3 percent)

Pen on paper

2008-05-15T11:33:00.005-04:00

Though it would have been better to pull, say, an autographed Future Watch card of Chicago's Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews (really, who wouldn't?) from a box of 2007-08 SP Authentic, I must commend Upper Deck for letting the players sign the actual cards, not a bunch of Band-Aid stickers.

I had to settle for, from left, Minnesota's Petr Kalus, St. Louis' David Perron and Toronto's Anton Stralman.

Decent pull

2008-05-15T11:21:00.005-04:00

It's not that I'm a big fan of the Phoenix Coyotes or Peter Mueller, but I thought this was a pretty cool Future Watch auto/patch card to pull out of a box of 2007-08 SP Authentic.

If you look closely, the swatch, from a shoulder patch, has three colors. Too bad, though, the "memorabilia" was used only in a photo shoot, not an NHL game.

One more time

2008-05-11T18:40:00.007-04:00

Are you getting bored counting down the minutes before tonight's Penguins-Flyers game? Maybe these will help pass the time.

If enough interest is shown -- and that means leaving answers in comments -- this could even become a regular occurrence.

Hockey Word Association

Joel Quenneville =
Upset City =
Steven Stamkos =
Detroit Red Wings =
Sean Avery =

Who am I?

Ahnjo Zrefann =
Nyad Ranbious =
Drab Schradri =
Bastio Semtorn =
Raneto Mintikytia =

Math quiz

If Gary Goodglove gave up 189 goals in 65 games, while facing 1,904 shots, what would be his goals-against average and save percentage?

A.) 2.68 GAA, .923 SP
B.) 3.02 GAA, .894 SP
C.) 2.91 GAA. .901 SP

Sunday morning homily XXIX

2008-05-11T11:43:00.004-04:00

Eleven years from now, when a father's dreams come true, the first person Colin should thank after being taken in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft better be his Mama.

Should this dream come true, it will be because of, more than anyone else, her. She's the one who gets him to skating lessons. She's the one who sits through public skates. She's the one who tightens the laces of his skates. She's his hockey mom.

I must admit, too, to being a bit jealous. My work schedule has meant that I've missed most of the skating lessons. She's missed just one week since December. Only when I've used a vacation or personal day have I been able to pitch in. Still, though, in this economy, I won't complain. Too much, that is.

Colin's skating instructor tells us he's ready to move ahead to Hockey 101 lessons. There, in the weeks ahead, he'll learn more skating related specifically to the game -- backwards, crossovers and quick cuts, while working, of course, on his developing one-timer from the right faceoff circle.

And while I can teach him the nuances of the game -- snapshots over slapshots, clearing a crease and delivering devastating hip checks -- it's going to be his Mama who will nurture his growth. That's what Mamas do best.

Hockeytown? I don't think so

For a city that professes itself as Hockeytown, I'll add my considerable weight to the growing question of just what the heck is up with the hometown fans. Empty seats at a Western Conference championship game in Joe Louis Arena? That's sacrilegious.

As much as I hate to admit it, I don't see a team that can beat the Red Wings. I'm already rethinking my Stars-in-seven pick. Pittsburgh, while hugely talented, would only earn a lesson from Detroit. Sorry, but it'll be Titletown, once again, along the banks of the Detroit River.

So, for Detroit fans to not sell out the Joe during the Red Wings' run can mean only one of two things:

~ The economy is so bad in Detroit (and, by all accounts, the city's hemorrhaging auto industry is pretty darn ugly) that no one has any disposable income left; or
~ Red Wings fans have become complacent, even though it's been six years since Detroit last won the Cup.

Penguins in six

2008-05-09T10:28:00.004-04:00

Up until Thursday, when I learned that Philadelphia defenseman Kimmo Timonen would miss the Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh, I was holding out faint hope that the blue-collar Flyers would solve the high-flying Penguins. Now, I'm not so sure.

For most, it's been Danny Briere and Martin Biron who have made the most visible difference for Philadelphia. Briere was won back the Flyers' fickle fans. Biron's play, in two words, is simply remarkable.

In my book, though, Timonen has been the key. He brought an increased level of offensive talent, as well as a quiet confidence, to the Flyers' blueline. Unfortunately, a blood clot in his left foot has him on the sidelines.

Not to take anything away from the Penguins' star power -- with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Sergei Gonchar and Marc-Andre Fleury -- but Timonen's absence will be enough of a difference.

Pittsburgh wins in six.

Stars in seven

2008-05-08T12:59:00.006-04:00

In what will likely be viewed as picking with my heart rather than with my head -- or a Herculean case of wishful thinking -- I'm throwing my support behind the Dallas Stars as they do battle with the NHL's eight-legged monster, the Detroit Red Wings.

My reasoning? With all due respect to the Nashville Predators, Detroit really hasn't been tested in any of its series so far this playoffs. Dallas, on the other hand, has had to fight tooth-and-nail, knocking out higher-seeded teams along the way.

It won't come easy, but I'm saying it'll be the Stars in seven games. Furthermore, Mike Ribeiro will get the clinching goal for Dallas.

Mixed feelings

2008-05-08T12:48:00.005-04:00

I don't know about you, but this is the time of the hockey season that I start to dread. On one hand, the intensity and physicality of conference championships promise some of the most exciting hockey of the season. Conversely, though, they also mean that the season is nearly over. What do you think?

Captain Clutch

2008-05-05T09:36:00.009-04:00

Every team, from Little League Baseball to the National Hockey League, needs a player who typifies its heart and soul. Someone who leads by example, shouldering an increasingly heavier load as the season wears on. Someone who can will a team to win. Simply, someone who isn't afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.

In Dallas, that player is Brenden Morrow.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Morrow sent Dallas onto the Western Conference finals early (very early) this morning when he scored with 9:03 left in the game's fourth overtime, lifting the Stars to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Morrow's goal, his seventh of the playoffs and second OT winner in the series, ended the eighth-longest NHL playoff game.

The goal, too, also goes a long way to cementing that the Stars, who open the championship series Thursday in Detroit, have truly become Morrow's team. For the longest time, it was Mike Modano who drove Dallas' bus. Like Mark Messier was to the New York Rangers, Morrow is not only buckled in, but he's got a death grip on the Stars' steering wheel.

And though his naming as the Stars' captain may have ruffled some feathers within Big D a couple of seasons ago, Morrow's leadership, and not just against the Sharks, shows that, indeed, the pick was on the mark.

The I-76 Series

2008-05-04T17:42:00.007-04:00

Before the season started, I had Minnesota beating the Philadelphia for the Stanley Cup. Goodness, was I wrong with the Wild. The Flyers, however, are keeping my hopes for a .500 season, so to speak, on life support. It certainly doesn't look any easier against Pittsburgh, who just dispatched the Rangers.

If memory serves me correctly, a lot of people, especially those whose job it is to know such things, picked the Rangers to win it all. I guess I shouldn't feel so bad.

Either way, this Eastern Conference championship oughta be one whale of a series. The Flyers have knocked off some big teams in the Capitals and, most recently, the Canadiens. The Penguins, conversely, haven't really been tested. Plus, they hate each other.

With little more than 300 miles -- a five-hour ride and $17.25 in tolls -- separating these two more-grit-than-glitter cities, let me be among the first to call it the I-76, or Pennsylvania Turnpike, Series.

Sunday morning homily XXVIII

2008-05-04T10:08:00.005-04:00

In the end, perhaps, it was unfair to compare Montreal's rookie netminder Carey Price to Canadiens legends Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy.

Sure, Price showed glimpses of greatness, leading many of us to think that hockey magic, once again, had been captured in a bottle. Early on, his play and poise started the whispers of his following in those famous footsteps. As the playoffs wore on, however, it became apparent that those comparisons were off-base.

More than anything else, I suppose, it was a weak glove hand that did in the young goalie. A noticeably horrendous effort in Game 3 against Philadelphia was easily exposed and exploited. I found it interesting, too, that Price used a newer catching glove, to no avail, in the series-ending loss last night.

Please know that I'm not piling onto Price at this point. Personally, I believe the kid is going to have a solid career in the NHL. I'm sure, too, that he'll take the Canadiens back to the playoffs many, many times. He is, in my humble estimation, that good.

The lesson I'll take away from his playoff run was the pressure of potential, especially when the spotlight shines on one of hockey's grandest stages. It's not just the comparison to two of hockey's greatest goalies, but to play for and in Montreal, where the game is religion, could easily test the most seasoned of goalies.

Let the kid learn from this experience. He'll have all summer to replay each and every shot that eluded him. It's all part of the learning process. Someday, maybe his name will be mentioned, positively, in the same sentence as Dryden and Roy.

Some things, Montreal fans need to believe, are worth waiting for.

I can hardly wait

Yes, I know I have months to wait before I can resume my hockey-hounding adventures. That didn't keep me, however, from getting ready for next year.

Even though I've yet to file away last year's bounty, I've already added to the stockpile for the 2008-09 season, snagging some AHL team pucks (Norfolk Admirals, Rochester Americans and Springfield Falcons) and prospects card sets.

Other than that, though, I'm going to try to work down my existing inventory. And, yes, get some stuff put away.

Not so fast

2008-05-02T10:11:00.006-04:00

It's normal, I suppose, to vote with your heart more often than with your head. Visions of glory silence voices of reason. Idealism trumps realism. Poop, I'm afraid, happens.

Take Montreal's rookie netminder Carey Price, for instance.

When the latest Hound Central 3.0 poll, launched before the second round of the NHL playoffs, asked which player would take home the Conn Smythe Trophy for their efforts as the quest for Lord Stanley's Cup pushes toward summer, Price took an early lead, one that he never relinquished. Of the 39 votes cast, the goalie garnered 15, or 38.5 percent.

Now that his Canadiens are facing elimination at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers, a position that can be blamed on an apparent weak glove, those hopeful votes cast in his support appear to be in vain. Funny thing, too: The poll allows visitors to change their votes.

As expected, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Washington's Alex Ovechkin, finished tied among voters, each receiving six votes. It further proves, I believe, the lifelong comparison that will follow these two players.

I was a bit surprised that Someone Else, who also received six votes, didn't do better. Given playoff performances by Philly's Martin Biron, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, Detroit's Johan Franzen and Chris Osgood, there are plenty of players worthy of consideration.

Question: Which player will win the Conn Smythe Trophy?

Montreal's Carey Price: 15 out of 39 votes cast (38.5 percent)
Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby: 6 out of 39 (15.4 percent)
Washington's Alex Ovechkin: 6 out of 39 (15.4 percent)
Someone else: 6 out of 39 (15.4 percent)
Philadelphia's Danny Briere: 3 out of 39 (7.7 percent)
Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury: 2 out of 39 (5.1 percent)
San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov: 1 out of 39 (2.5 percent)
Minnesota's Marian Gaborik: No votes

Ayuh, I've been to Maine

2008-04-22T00:46:00.008-04:00

With Team USA and Sweden opening training camps in and around Portland, Maine, later this week (April 24-30) for the upcoming World Championships, I'm going through a rather severe case of hockey homesickness. And it's not just because of the missed hounding opportunities.

No, I'm a big fan of Portland. It's a cool city. Old, brick and granite buildings. Lots of 'em. Commercial Street separates a working waterfront and a bustling downtown. Expect trendy gift shops and the requisite prices. The restaurants could be better, but there are some brew pubs, namely Three Dollar Deweys, worth visiting, too.

My favorite thing to do in Portland, and this should come as no great surprise, was hockey hounding. Many a winter's night, after making the 45-minute, mostly back-road ride to Portland to take in the game, I stood outside the Cumberland County Civic Center, snagging autographs from then-AHL stars Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Jason Spezza and Eric Staal.

Portland is, by far, the easiest place I've ever collected autographs. The players' entrance fronts Spring Street. At game time, most walk down from the hotel or parking garage. Post-game, the bus parks right outside the doors.

Who's worth hounding? How about these players?

Team USA: Buffalo's Jason Pominville and Drew Stafford, Carolina's Tim Gleason, Chicago's Patrick Kane, Edmonton's Tom Gilbert, Los Angeles' Dustin Brown and Patrick O'Sullivan, New Jersey's Zach Parise and Phoenix's Peter Mueller and Keith Ballard.

Team Sweden: Ex-Islander Kenny Jonsson, Los Angeles' Erik Ersberg and Vancouver's Alexander Edler. It's too bad such players as Vancouver's Markus Naslund and the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik declined their invitations.

Even though I can't be there, here's hoping that someone takes advantage of this opportunity. I'll bet that some of Boston's hounding crew will be there. If not, they'll miss out.

Early spring chores?

2008-04-19T17:54:00.004-04:00

We received these cards from Chicago's Patrick Sharp in today's mail. It made we wonder about something. Do you think Chicago's absence from the NHL playoffs has anything to do with its arrival? I suppose it does.

Sharp, part of Round 3 of Hound Central 3.0's TTM project, is the third current or former member of the Blackhawks to return signed cards. The others? Duncan Keith and Tuomo Ruutu, now with Carolina.

The Habs have it

2008-04-17T13:27:00.004-04:00

It seems that fans of the Montreal Canadiens have discovered this little old blog of mine. How do I know? That's easy. As the latest Hound Central 3.0 poll wound down, there was a last-minute push in picking the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup.

That's not to say, though, that it was a landslide. It seems, too, that other visitors felt that another team, one not made available within the poll's choices, would end the season skating laps with hockey's hallowed hardware lifted to the heavens.

I was a bit surprised, too, that the Detroit Red Wings, who finished the 2007-08 regular season with the league's best record, didn't fare better in the poll. Then again, winning the Presidents' Trophy, which the Red Wings did for the sixth time, does not automatically guarantee success deep into June. Just ask the Buffalo Sabres.

Who's going to win the Cup? It's hard telling. Montreal does appear to be pretty stout, especially with rookie goalie Carey Price doing his best imitation of another rookie goalie who once led the Habs to the promised land. Still, though, I'm sure folks in other corners of the hockey universe, especially those in Pittsburgh, might beg to differ.

Question: Who will win the Stanley Cup?

Montreal Canadiens: 23 out of 49 votes cast (46.9 percent)
Another team: 17 out of 49 (34.7 percent)
San Jose Sharks: 4 out of 49 (8.1 percent)
Ottawa Senators: 3 out of 49 (6.1 percent)
Detroit Red Wings: 2 out of 49 (4 percent)

Sunday morning homily XXVII

2008-04-13T09:48:00.006-04:00

There's just something about waking up early on a Sunday morning.

To sit on the back porch, a freshly brewed cup of coffee in hand, and watch the sun's rays peek through the branches of black walnut and oak trees. To watch worker honeybees flit from flower to flower, performing their missions. It's relatively quiet, too, with only the songs from birds filling the backyard.

With Florida's warm weather gaining steam, I know the months ahead will limit these opportunities. It's just too darn hot most days to enjoy the best of what the balmy Sunshine State has to offer.

Still, though, we're likely getting our last reprieve of cool, dry air over the next few days. Now that we've been down here a few years, I'm thankful I know enough to enjoy it.

Even if it means waking up early.

Football, in an arena?

As much as I'd like to take in our first Tampa Bay Rays game of the season, we're heading over to Tampa later today to check out the Tampa Bay Storm in our first-ever Arena Football League game.

From what I hear, the game's pretty exciting and the talent level improves each year. Sure, it's not the NFL, but the sports does produce lots of scoring and, as a result, excitement.

Given the lack of both during Lightning home games this season, I'm hoping that holds true.

Crowned

Hound Central 3.0 extends its congratulations to Boston College for winning the NCAA men's hockey championship last night. For the Eagles, who beat Notre Dame, 4-1, to claim the title, it is their third national championship.

One more win

2008-04-12T11:35:00.005-04:00

Just a quick note to wish the Notre Dame men's hockey team the best of luck tonight as they play Boston College for the NCAA national championship. The game, on ESPN, starts at 7 p.m. EST.

All the way from San Jose

2008-04-11T12:15:00.004-04:00

Colin always gets a thrill whenever he receives any sort of mail. Most times, it's a card from his Nana and Babop, back in New England, with a couple of dollars for a treat from the neighborhood ice cream truck.

Now, when he told me that he got some mail yesterday, I'll have to admit that I got a little excited, especially when he said it came from San Jose's Matt Carle, part of the fourth round of Hound Central 3.0's TTM project this season.

In my book, Carle, a former Hobey Baker Award winner, has the potential to be a star defenseman in the NHL.

Crowning the Kings

2008-04-07T18:20:00.009-04:00

In less than two hours, we'll learn what team will have the luxury of picking first overall at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft later this year.

If it we're up to Hound Central 3.0 readers, however, it would be the Los Angeles Kings, and not the doormat Tampa Bay Lightning, that would win the Steven Stamkos Derby.

In one of the closest polls ever here at Hound Central 3.0, 18 of the 35 voters picked the Kings, the Western Conference's cellar dweller, to get the No. 1 pick. Seventeen readers picked the Lightning, who finished with the league's worst point total.

With the draft lottery taking place at 8 EST tonight (it's televised on Versus, so check your local listings), we'll all learn just who will get the coveted pick.

Will the top pick be Stamkos, the Sarnia Sting center who's projected to step right into the NHL next season? A lot of people believe his name will be called first on June 20 at Scotiabank Place in Kanata, Ontario. Then again, it could be a defenseman: Peterborough Petes' Zach Bogosian or the Guelph Storm's Drew Doughty.

I guess we'll have to wait, won't we?

Question: Who will get the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft?

Los Angeles Kings: 18 out of 35 votes cast (51.4 percent)
Tampa Bay Lightning: 17 out of 35 (48.6 percent)

Update: The Lightning did, indeed, win the lottery for the first overall pick at the 2008 NHL Draft.

Patrice's back!

2008-04-07T16:18:00.008-04:00

That cheer you heard about 10 minutes ago emanating from Florida came after Colin and I learned that Boston's Patrice Bergeron, a favorite here at Hound Central 3.0, has been cleared to participate in the NHL playoffs.

Patrice, who sustained a serious concussion during a game last October after a cheap hit from behind by Philadelphia's Randy Jones, said he wouldn't play in Thursday's series opener against the Montreal Canadiens.

Still, though, for Patrice to be cleared medically for the playoffs has got to be a big boost of confidence for himself, the Bruins and their fans. Especially for two, down here in Florida, who have neither the Buffalo Sabres nor the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs.

Sunday morning homily XXVI

2008-04-06T10:44:00.005-04:00

Now that the hockey season has mercifully concluded down here in Tampa Bay, one might think that the withdrawal symptoms would be kicking into overdrive by now. Thankfully, that isn't the case.

I suppose taking the past week off from work, a move that coincided with Colin's spring break vacation from school, played a major role. And while we didn't cross everything off of our to-do list, we kept ourselves busy, and out of trouble, by hanging out together.

Sure, we did the hockey thing on Monday, hounding the Atlanta Thrashers and the Tampa Bay Lightning and taking in two periods (A brewing head cold meant I couldn't tolerate the Lightning's lackluster play and the incessant scoreboard-driven cheering any longer) of Tampa Bay's final home game of the 2007-08 season.

As the lights of the St. Pete Times Forum diminished in my rear-view mirror that night, I knew the activities and lessons of the days ahead (some planned, others impromptu) would help with the transition:

~ Helping to teach the Goofy Dude that learning to tie one's shoes is the last official test of successfully making the leap to Big Boyhood;
~ Getting our Indy Car fix at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg;
~ Teaching him right from wrong, namely that one returns a purse found in an empty shopping cart outside a Wal-Mart;
~ Keeping a promise to fly a kite, even if it was a bit too windy;
~ Giving Colin a personal tour of his father's first tour of duty in Florida;
~ Going to a movie theater and watching Horton Hears a Who!;
~ And, yes, we went ice skating a couple of times.

Now, had finances allowed us to travel to visit family or attend some of Florida's big-name theme parks, I'm sure we would have created a different set of memories. Still, though, I believe we had a pretty fun week of vacation. At least that's what Colin keeps telling me.

Classy Calgary

A nice touch by the Calgary Flames to line up and shake the hand of Vancouver's Trevor Linden following last night's game. Though it hadn't been announced officially, there were few people inside the GM Place last night who didn't know that the contest would be Linden's last in the NHL.

Once the final buzzer sounded, ending the Canucks' season, there were the Flames players, including 50-goal scorer Jarome Iginla, lining up to congratulate the player who many Vancouver fans believe defines the Canucks.

I may be wrong, but I don't recall that act of respect ever happening in other sports.

Looking ahead

After a couple days of getting back to work, my plans for hockey over the next few months will focus on cataloging the past few weeks of hounding and reorganizing all things related to hounding.

I doubt I'll revisit Baseball Mondays, last summer's project that focused on baseball hounding efforts. Simply put, it's just too blasted hot from mid-April to September to stand outside and try to collect autographs.

Instead, I hope to get in more ice skating, especially with Colin, and some fishing. Hounding is only a hobby, not a business. Life is far too short to not have fun.

Goin' racing

2008-04-04T19:01:00.006-04:00

While I'm more than happy to call it quits for the season, Colin still had a little hounding left in him earlier today as we attended the opening day of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

After the morning practice sessions, Colin was able to score some autographs from a couple of IndyCar Series drivers and a car owner.

Making Colin's day were, above from left to right, driver Dan Wheldon, car owner and driving legend Michael Andretti (shown below, signing Colin's shirt) and driver Milka Duno.

Finishing strong

2008-04-03T10:12:00.006-04:00

Just because the Tampa Bay Lightning suffered through an extremely disappointing season. Hound Central 3.0 wasn't about to let that get in the way of the final hounding session of the 2007-08 NHL season.

No, sir. Not us. Not when the team provides a red-carpet (really!) opportunity to snag some autographs from the hometown heroes. And though fans had to endure a muggy reminder Monday that summer's right around the corner, it proved to be a fine way to cap another season of hounding.

As you can see, Colin did quite well with another of his hand-drawn team sheets. Notable sweat-soaked signers included Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Dan Boyle and Jeff Halpern.

Even Puckhound got into the act, getting Boyle, Filip Kuba, Mike Lundin and Jason Ward, among others, to sign these cards . . .

. . . and Halpern and Junior Lessard, winner of the 2004 Hobey Baker Award, as well as new goalie Mike Smith, to sign these pucks.

By day's end, Hound Central 3.0 added another 33 autographs from the Lighting to the collection. If you add the 34 autographs we scored from the Atlanta Thrashers earlier in the day, the last trip of the 2007-08 produced a total of 67 autographs.

Not bad, if you ask me.

Last of the lot

2008-04-03T09:53:00.004-04:00

Up until a magical meeting with the Notre Dame men's hockey team this season, Puckhound would follow the exploits of the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota.

A top-shelf college hockey program, it has produced the likes of such NHL stars as Ed Belfour, Jason Blake, Zach Parise, Doug Smail and Jonathan Toews.

As a result, I bought a bunch of North Dakota pucks a few years ago. After Tampa Bay's Matt Smaby, who left North Dakota early to sign a pro contract, signed this puck, I now have to pick up a few more.

Adding value

2008-04-02T20:31:00.008-04:00

Amid pictures of baseball clinics, patio hockey and the aftereffects of blue cotton candy, our latest packet of photos from the corner drugstore also included this of Tampa Bay defenseman Paul Ranger's autographed rookie-season, game-used gloves.

I received the gloves as a birthday present from the Mrs. in early December. But it wasn't until a month ago that I got around to having Ranger sign them for me.

Given Ranger's potential to become a top-level NHL defender, I'd like to believe that these will become a top-shelf collectible.

One more thing

2008-04-02T20:21:00.002-04:00

I'd be remiss if I didn't share with you another autograph from Monday's effort for the Atlanta Thrashers. Though I needed a couple of players, I was fortunate enough to add goalie Kari Lehtonen to the Thrashers team helmet.

Smiles, all around

2008-04-02T17:34:00.005-04:00

Thanks to a balky printer that, for the time being, is reluctant to print magenta and cyan, I wasn't able to print out a team sheet for Colin to use Monday when we hounded, for the fourth time this season, the Atlanta Thrashers.

While I fretted about my lack of technological skills to solve this problem, Colin took some markers and solved the problem himself, showing his resourcefulness by creating his own hand-drawn team sheet.

As his ever-doting daddy, I was rather proud of his artistic talents and ambition. The Thrashers, including such big names as Ilya Kovalchuk, Kari Lehtonen and Mark Recchi, saw the beauty within, too. More than one of the 17 players to sign complimented Colin on his interpretation of the team's logo.

I'm sure, too, that after a season of signing the same pucks, pictures, cards and jerseys, it's a bit refreshing to see something different, especially an item drawn by a star-struck kid who couldn't care less whether a player was a fourth-line center or a seventh defenseman.

Inspired by Colin's efforts, I turned my attention away from cherry-picking Atlanta's big names and took a team approach, landing a few veterans and a rookie on pucks (including the 250th of the season) and adding to the diversity of the autographed card collection.

All in all, between Colin's team sheet and my assorted items, Atlanta's players added another 34 autographs to the collection on what, because Tampa Bay didn't make the NHL playoffs this season, was our final hockey-hounding adventure of the 2007-08 season.

Cards, shown above, from left: Tobias Enstrom, 2007-08 UD NHL Rookie Class; Eric Perrin, 200304 Cardset Finland; and Chris Thorburn, 200506 AHL Top Prospects.

Primary objective

2008-04-02T17:27:00.004-04:00

Of all the things I could've brought Monday to have Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk sign, this card here sat atop the list.

Sure, it would have been nice to add him to the so-called Young Guns stick. There's also an old-style Thrashers sweater sitting in one of our closets, too.

But what I really wanted was to have Kovie sign this card from the lockout-induced 2004-05 UD Hockey All-World edition set. Besides, I'll have plenty of time to get those items signed next season.

End of the road?

2008-04-02T17:17:00.004-04:00

Over the years, I considered myself fortunate whenever I was able to get a single autograph from Atlanta's Bobby Holik and Mark Recchi. Holik would sign, but was strict one-per. Recchi, however, often proved elusive.

That's why I was a little dumbstruck Monday when each signed two pucks. Even more surprising, was Holik's question whether I wanted him to sign the Rangers puck.

It makes me wonder about one of my long-held beliefs about a player's signing habits: the closer they get to retirement, the nicer they are toward fans.

Top row: Mark Recchi
Bottom row: Bobby Holik

Season milestone

2008-04-02T17:07:00.004-04:00

Say what you will about Atlanta's Todd White, but all I'll ever say is that he signed the 250th puck of the 2007-08 season before Monday's game against the Lightning.

From my point of view, he's certainly puckworthy. Not only has he averaged better than a half-point a game in 10 NHL seasons, but the former Clarkson University star was a finalist for the 1998 Hobey Baker Award.

Two good reasons

2008-04-02T16:58:00.007-04:00

One of the few things to look forward to during late-season games are the chances to score autographs from call-ups.

And, while some of the call-ups are getting their gratuitous cup of coffee, others give team management a preview of coming attractions.

Atlanta's Boris Valabik is one of these players. A 6-foot-7 defenseman, Valabik was the Thrashers' No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. That alone is deserving of a puck.

Having him sign the Slovakian team jersey, however, was a bonus.

What do you think?

2008-04-02T10:38:00.010-04:00

When Tampa Bay's Mike Smith signed the 258th puck of the 2007-08 campaign (and the 1,533rd of the collection) during a red-carpet ceremony Monday before the Lightning's final home game of the season, it's safe to say that Hound Central 3.0 had a pretty decent season of hounding.

That total, however, doesn't include all of the cards, helmets, jerseys, sticks and team sheets we got signed this season.

Go Irish!

2008-04-01T19:52:00.003-04:00

A quick shout-out to the Notre Dame men's hockey team making it to the 2008 Frozen Four from April 9-12 in Denver. Given the competition (Michigan, North Dakota and Boston College), it won't be easy, but it'll certainly be rewarding. It wasn't all that long ago that we got to meet the team.

Clutch players

2008-03-30T17:55:00.010-04:00

When it comes to late-season hounding, one has to expect that the players are well past tired of signing. Still, like the games that await, they trudge on, dutifully following the hundreds before them, fulfilling their sense of obligations toward the game's fans.

And while I was hardly prepared for the team's late-season call-ups from Albany, N.Y., it was the team's big-name stars who came through for a handful of us Saturday afternoon as the team boarded its bus to the St. Pete Times Forum. Eric Staal, Cam Ward, Erik Cole and, to a lesser degree, newcomer Sergei Samsonov made sure we didn't go home emptyhanded.

In our fourth time of hounding the Hurricanes this season, it was just those four players who helped us add another 16 autographs, including five pucks, to the collection. Yes, I suppose, we were doing a little cherry-picking.

I had a couple of pucks for Tuomo Ruutu, but missed him while waiting for Staal to sign some items, including a puck commemorating his MVP performance at the 2008 NHL All Star Game. For good measure, too, he added to one of Colin's work-in-progress teams sheets.

Ward, one of our favorite players, certainly didn't disappoint, inking an 8x10 and three cards. And, not only did Cole sign four cards for Colin, but this Hurricanes Stanley Cup Champions puck as well.

Samsonov, who, like Ruutu, joined the Hurricanes from the Blackhawks, turned in a pleasantly surprising performance, breaking away from what was his norm during his days in Beantown.

Cards, shown above, are:
Top row: Erik Cole, Eric Staal and Cam Ward; and
Bottom row: Erik Cole, Eric Staal and Cam Ward