Hounding report: Ottawa Senators II

With Colin off this week for spring break and two teams coming into Hockey Bay, it was time for some father-son hockey-hounding bonding, kicking off with the Ottawa Senators earlier this week. Of course, Colin scored the lion's share of our 32 autographs, but that was by design.

After all, the torch was passed a long time ago.

Sure, I still identify the players for him. That's only fair. He has enough other things to keep his active mind busy. In the meantime, I focus my efforts on pucks, like I always have. Cases in point, perhaps, are the three, shown above, signed by Ottawa's Ales Hemsky, who did two, and Bobby Ryan.

Beyond that, the rest of the day's haul were cards:

Top row: Jared Cowen, Erik Karlsson, Clarke MacArthur and Milan Michalek; and

Bottom row: Chris Neil, Chris Phillips, Kyle Turris and Mika Zibinejad.

Two Senators players signed four cards each:

Craig Anderson and

Bobby Ryan.

The haul also included these set cards signed by, shown below from left, Cody Ceci, Hemsky and Jason Spezza:

Hemsky and Spezza also added to the ongoing Threads project:

Hounding report: Florida Panthers II

After a couple of low-number outings for the Boston Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes, the Florida Panthers' trip north to Tampa Bay last week was just what I needed. Not that my confidence was shaken, mind you, but it never hurts to have a solid day of hounding.

All told, I added another 21 autographs from a dozen players to the collection, getting more from a single team that we did from the Bruins and Coyotes combined.

Signing cards, shown above were:

Top row: Brian Campbell, Dan Ellis and Tomas Fleischmann;
Middle row: Tom Gilbert, Scott Gomez and Jonathan Huberdeau; and
Bottom row: Ed Jovanovski, Vincent Trocheck and Scott Upshall.

One of the highlights of the day, and likely the biggest reason for making the trip across Tampa Bay, was the recently acquired Roberto Luongo, who signed this McFarlane's SportsPick figurine commemorating Canada's gold medal in men's hockey at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver:

Two Panthers players also signed four cards each for me:

Brad Boyes

Dmitry Kulikov

Jovanovski also added to the Threads collection.

Hounding report: Carolina Hurricanes

It's not that it has never happened before, but when it does, it's worth mentioning. Many times this season, when my sidekick, Colin, joined me for hounding, he would go out and hand my fanny to me. Really, I don't have a problem with it. I'm more than happy to pass along the baton.

However, he does have a habit, and I wonder where he got it from, of celebrating his hounding victories over his old man. So, that's why I feel little guilt in playing up this simple fact -- I scored more autographs from the Carolina Hurricanes than he did just four days before Christmas.

All told, we snagged 45 autographs that day, with Colin scoring 19 on the team sheet, shown above, complete with signatures from Cam Ward, Alexander Semin, Jeff Skinner and Jordan, but not Eric, Staal. Now, do the math.

So, let my bragging begin:

Two pucks from Anton Khudobin and Ward;

Nearly two-dozen cards, including:

Top row: Patrick Dwyer, Justin Faulk and Nathan Gerbe;

Bottom row: Tim Gleason, Jay Harrison and Justin Peters; 

Top row: Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Skinner; and

Bottom row: Jordan Staal and Jiri Tlusty.

Mike Komisarek signed four cards ...

... as did Manny Malhotra, who, like Ottawa's Erik Karlsson, further

lends credibility to my theory of a bell curve in hockey hounding.

Early on, when Malhotra was a top prospect with the New York Rangers, he wouldn't get within 10 feet of a Sharpie and, honestly, wasn't very nice in shooting us down. Since then, Malhotra, who has faced considerable adversity in his career, is one of the nicest and most cordial players in the NHL. 

But, I digress. The day's haul also included these items:

Alexander Semin adding to the Threads collection; and

Brett Bellemore signing one of my cheapskates cards.

Hounding report: Nashville Predators

Cards dominated the day when the Nashville Predators stopped in Tampa, as 31 out of the 34 autographs I scored came after a blue Sharpie found cardboard before the squad's morning skate that mid-December day. Quite a few, too, signed for the first time for me.

In fact, it was only this puck, signed by David Legwand, the sole remaining member of the Predators inaugural squad, that differentiated from the rest of the haul.

I should also note, too, that Nashville's stay at a downtown hotel, not any of the three closer to the Tampa Bay Times Forum, came during the Father's Trip. Players, including some of the so-called toughies, are usually much more accommodating when a parent is present.

But, really, as you'll soon see, the day was about getting cards signed, including those shown above:

Top row: Rich Clune*, Matt Cullen and Mike Fisher; and
Bottom row: Matt Hendricks, Roman Josi* and Craig Smith*.

Quite a few players signed four cards each, too:

Gabriel Bourque*;

Kevin Klein;

Nick Spaling*;  and

Colin Wilson.

Among the other items:

Shea Weber, adding his scribble to the Threads collection;

Carter Hutton* and Seth Jones*, taken fourth overall

at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, signing my cheapskate cards; and

Hutton, adding to the fledgling All Goalies collection. 

And, no, I'm not trying to get the entire set signed.

* = players who signed for the first time for us. 

Hounding report: Winnipeg Jets

Though we didn't top our season-high hounding haul of the 2013-14 campaign, our tag-team effort for the Winnipeg Jets in early December came awfully darn close. All told, including Colin's 24-signature team sheet, we brought home another 56 autographs for the collection.

Want to know what's weird, too? Not a single one came on a puck. No, the rest came on cards. For me, it's hard to believe we'd have such a good day and not add another puck. I guess that's what happens some times, right?

So, who signed? Just about every one:

Top row: Dustin Byfuglein, Michael Frolik and Matthew Halischuk; 

Bottom row: Olli Jokinen, Al Montoya and Adam Pardy;

Top row: Ondrej Pavelec, Anthony Peluso and Devin Setoguchi; and

Bottom row: Eric Tangradi, Chris Thornburn and Blake Wheeler.

Two Winnipeg players signed four cards each for us:

Bryan Little and

Mark Stuart.

In the odd move of the day, to me at least, Mark Scheifele personalized these two cards. While I have no problem with that, having him sign one for Colin and me, I can only wonder whether he had a conversation recently with Ottawa's Erik Karlsson.

Frolik also added to the Threads collection:

And last, but not least, and only because the math didn't add up when scanning the cards, James Wright, a former No. 1 pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning and one of the nicest players we've ever met, signed this card for us.

Hounding report: Ottawa Senators

If you ever want proof of my "bell-curve approach" to hockey hounding, make a trip out for the Ottawa Senators. In my theory, I surmise that all NHL players go through stages in their willingness to sign. In today's example, we'll discuss Ottawa's Erik Karlsson.

While every one of his teammates took to time to stop and sign for us in early December, the talented Senators' defenseman held himself in such high regard that he repeatedly denied requests. In my theory, which suggests that players become increasingly difficult in signing as they gain in NHL stature, Karlsson must be at or near the apex of the bell curve.

In time, especially as his skills erode and his speed dissipates, Karlsson will likely soften his approach. And, in doing so, further prove my point. When, and not if, he does, I'll be there waiting, blue Sharpie in hand.

Thankfully, though, Karlsson proved to be the exception, rather than the norm. All told, I added another 33 autographs, including this Jason Spezza card for the ever-growing Threads collection, in a hockey-hounding adventure that bookcased Ottawa's game-day morning skate.

Signing pucks, shown above, were Cory Conacher, from left, Hall of Famer Denis Potvin and Mika Zibanejad.


A number of Senators signed cards that day:

Top row: Craig Anderson, Erik Condra, Joe Corvo and Jarde Cowen; and

Bottom row: Eric Gryba, Robin Lehner, Clarke MacArthur and Marc Methot;

Top row: Milan Michalek, Chris Phillips and Zack Smith; and

Bottom row: Spezza, Kyle Turris and Patrick Wiercioch.

Colin Greening also signed four cards:

Team report: Montreal Canadiens

More than anything else, the memory that Colin and I will take away from hounding the Montreal Canadiens during their recent visit to Hockey Bay was the diversity of items we both got signed.

Well, that and the fact that it was the most productive outing, so far, of the shortened 2013 hounding campaign.

All told, between a puck (signed by Montreal rookie Alex Galchenyuk), a photo (like the one, at top, that Canadiens captain Brian Gionta signed for Colin), a memorabilia card, a slew of player cards and a wallpaper-based team sheet for Colin, we added another 57 autographs to the collection.

Here's a sampling of the cards that Montreal players signed for us:

Top row: Colby Armstrong, Francis Boullion, Peter Budaj;

Middle row: Gabriel Dumont, Lars Eller, Alexei Emelin; and

Bottom row: Alex Galchenyuk, Brian Gionta and Tomas Kaberle.

Also signing cards were:

Top row: Andrei Markov, Travis Moen and Max Pacorietty; and

Bottom row: Brandon Prust, Michale Ryder and P.K. Subban.

We also lucked out and had a pair of Canadiens knock out full card-book pages for us:

David Desharnais signed four cards.

Tomas Plekanic also signed four cards.

Peter Budaj added to the ongoing Threads project.

Next up: Carolina's Jordan Staal

Team report: Winnipeg Jets

When the revamped 2013 NHL schedule was released, I was psyched to learn that I'd be able to go out and hound the Winnipeg Jets. Yes, I know they're the old Atlanta Thrashers and, really, they don't have many, if any, of the league's biggest names.

Because of schedules -- both work and Colin's hockey -- last season, I never got the chance to hound the team, the first in their new look and home base far north of the Mason-Dixon Line. And, after a season's worth of card releases, I had a decent stack of cards, as well as a few items, that showed the new team logo.

That's why I made sure I put myself in the right place at my new-found right time (after morning skate, rather than before) to get some ink from Sharpies and some paint from pens on our Winnipeg Jets items.

At day's end, too, I had no complaints, adding another 28 autographs, including this puck signed by team captain Andrew Ladd and another by Evander Kane, to the collection.

Signing cards, shown above were:

Top row: Ron Hainsey, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Mark Scheifele; and
Bottom row: Jim Slater, Kyle Wellwood and Blake Wheeler.

Among the other highlights:

Alexander Burmistrov, top, and Ondrej Pavelec signed four cards each;

Olli Jokinen signed a pair of pucks;

Dustin Byfuglien, left, and Al Montoya signed specialty set cards; and

Byfuglien also added to our ongoing Threads project.