Thanks, Mr. Crisp

By Colin
Hockey Hounds Universe correspondent

While hounding the Nashville Predators not too long ago, I got a compliment about my team sheet from Terry Crisp, a former NHL coach and now a color commentator for the Predators:

"Did you draw that," Mr Crisp asked me.

"Yes," I said.

"Good job," Mr. Crisp said.

All told, I got 16 autographs on the sheet. Players who signed included Shea Weber, Patric Hornqvist, Martin Erat, Jordin Tootoo, David Legwand, Pekka Rinne and my new buddy, Colin Wilson. He's got a cool first name, if you ask me.

Crossed off the list

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

There comes a point in every veteran hockey hound's career when opportunities for big-number autograph days begin to dwindle. You've either hounded the team umpteen dozen times, have run out of items or simply don't want to add the 28th signed card from a second-line center.

That's why the Hockey Gods bless us every season with rookies and top-line second-year players. Even if you focus on just them, it's well worth the trip.

In the case of the New York Islanders, once you get past a few big-name veterans -- Doug Weight and Rick Dipietro come to mind -- the most sought-after autographs this season would likely come from John Tavares and Nino Niederreiter, the Isles' top pick and fifth overall in 2010.

After snagging these four pucks (the top three are from Niederreiter and the Team Canada pucks is from Tavares) during the Islanders' recent visit to Hockey Bay, I'm thinking a second trip for the team this season might have only one purpose -- getting a photo of a couple of kids from Quincy, Mass., signed.

Heard of these guys?

By Colin
Hockey Hounds Universe correspondent

Last Sunday, it was a hockey day. We hounded the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins before going to the Tampa Bay Lightning game.

Finally, after three times, I got Sid the Kid to sign for me. Thanks the Lord. I got him on the McFarlane base (shown above) showing him in the 2008 Winter Classic.

Me and another kid were the only ones to get him when we saw him, though Daddy tells me that he signed for others earlier in the day. In total, we got 34 autographs from the Penguins.

I also got Evgeni Malkin on this Russian hockey card. Like Sidney, me and another kid were the only ones to get Geno as he headed out for lunch.

I didn't do a team sheet for the Penguins, just cards.

It was hectic with the Pens. Boy, am I glad it's over with.

The Stars have aligned

By Moody
Hockey Hounds Universe senior correspondent

Prior to the undefeated Dallas Stars suffering their first loss of the season, I ventured out for my first hounding adventure of the season. In what has become typical West Coast form, the Stars were a pretty good signing team.

Signing cards were:

Top row: Charlie Huddy, Trevor Daley, Stu Barnes, Karlis Skrastins, Brandon Segal; and
Middle row: Kari Lehtonen, Staphane Robidas, Matt Niskanen, Steve Ott, Mike Ribeiro; and
Bottom row: Jamie Benn, Loui Eriksson, Mark Fistric, Brian Sutherby, Brandon Morrow.

Once again, taking advantage of the freebies provided by fan packs, I was also able to add a Trevor Daley and Stu Barnes postcard.

Loui Eriksson was also kind enough to sign a Team Sweden photo.

Recent Stanley Cup winner Adam Burish signed a Cup celebration photo.

Collector's item

Given that he got into quite a bit of trouble over the obscene gesture he made to the Rangers' Sean Avery, one might think that Islanders' defenseman James Wisniewski might want to put the incident behind him.

After watching him sign this puck for a Hockey Bay hound earlier this week, that may not be the case. In fact, it's nice to know that Wisniewski has a sense of humor about it. His inscription: "I love Sean Avery."

Brag Book: San Jose Sharks

By J.R.
Hockey Hounds Universe correspondent

During the days of October 13-14, I made my long-anticipated hockey-hounding season debut (if a debut can last two days) at Sharks Ice, the practice facility for the San Jose Sharks. One of the few items I purchased during the off-season was a photograph showing the four Sharks who won Olympic gold for Team Canada.

Last season, my first hounding in my new home of San Jose, Joe Thornton ignored me every time I attempted to get him to sign an item. I am not obnoxious in my quest of obtaining autographs and, despite the fact that I might appear to be a degenerate, I am certainly not a dealer.

Last week, however, "Jumbo Joe" could not have been nicer. He willingly signed the Olympic photo (shown above) the first day and a puck on the second, making small talk in the process. Truth be told, I thought he was going to be the toughest one to complete the item. Judging by past performances, I suppose I can't be blamed for believing that, but he was the first to do so. Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Danny Boyle kindly finished off the photo.

Antti Niemi, Frazer McLaren and former Shark Mike Ricci also signed pucks.

All in all, it was a good couple of days. I look forward to more hounding opportunities as the season progresses.

The rest of the haul:

An 8x10 signed by Marleau;

An 8x10 from Joe Pavelski; and

An 8x10 signed by Ryane Clowe; and

Cards from Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Torrey Mitchell (who said, "I almost made it out of here" before grabbing my Sharpie), Jamal Mayers, Devin Setoguchi and Heatley.

Crazy Cup Shot!

By Moody
Hockey Hounds Universe senior correspondent

Ok, first of all get your mind out of the gutter. This is a family show and not some silly Johnny Knoxville show. I found this photo in 2005 and have carried it around ever since. I think it is a great shot and would look great on my wall.

Former NHL player Nolan Pratt was kind enough to put paint pen to photo while training last month at the Tampa Bay Lightning's practice facility. He and his brother, Harlan, were kind enough to talk with us for a bit and tell us about hockey in Europe.

Looks like neither of them have landed on a team as of yet. From what they say they are looking for a package deal.

Playing for pride

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

Some folks might believe Dallas captain Brenden Morrow placed more emphasis on helping Canada win the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal than his play for the Stars last season. Only Morrow can answer that question for himself. To me, representing one's country would certainly be a motivating factor.

To his credit, Morrow certainly had no issues signing this puck earlier this week when Dallas visited Hockey Bay to take on the Lightning.

Change in plans pays off

By Keith
Hockey Hounds Universe correspondent

Being three hours away from an NHL city (Nashville), my wife and I have to plan well in advance as to which teams we will be able to hound.

The first home game of the season was against the Anaheim Ducks who have, in the past, stayed in a hotel that was incredibly unfriendly toward fans and auto seekers. Because of that, we elected to sleep in and drive up just before game time and give only a half-hearted effort to our hounding—despite my wanting to snag a few Teemu Selanne signatures during what is most likely his last season.

But after a good friend (a Nashville local) texted the news that the Ducks were staying at a much friendlier hotel, we hit Interstate 40 within minutes. Getting positioned outside the hotel around 3:30, our efforts were rewarded.

We were able to get Selanne to sign two Jets pucks and a single Ducks puck, Ryan Getzlaf on a Ducks puck, Bobby Ryan and rookie Cam Fowler on USA pucks, Jonas Hiller on a Ducks puck and George Parros on a blank puck. This was purely a cherry-picking pursuit, but other players, including Saku Koivu, Troy Bodie, Aaron Voros and Randy Carlyle were gracious to sign for other fans.

The only failed attempt was with Corey Perry, who replied with "I got you guys this morning." Not one to quibble, I thanked him anyway. In his defense, my wife and I were the only new faces who weren’t there earlier in the day, so I can understand how he could assume. However, there were only five of us there, total, that afternoon. No big deal. I figure I’ll get him on a Team Canada puck on the next visit.

Top row: Cam Fowler, George Parros and Bobby Ryan.
Middle row: Jonas Hiller, Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf.
Bottom: Teemu Selanne.

Off to a good start

By Commonkid
Hockey Hound Universe correspondent

Well another American Hockey League season has gotten under way. The usual group of hockey hounds gathered in Springfield, Mass., for the start of our 2010-11 hockey-hounding campaign.

After catching up with what we'd all done over the summer, we talked about what we thought of the new affiliation (The Springfield Falcons are now a farm team for the Columbus Blue Jackets, not the Edmonton Oilers). Everyone agreed the Falcons should better than last year.

The new team means all new faces to learn, for both players and coaches. As the rosters were not exactly set yet, it's been sort of a hit-and-run start. We'll do better as the season goes.

So far, though, we've hounded the Charlotte Checkers (Carolina Hurricanes), Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers), Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins) and, of course, the Falcons. Among the players who've signed for us include Charlotte's Zach Boychuk (shown above), Hartford's Wade Redden (who limited everyone to two autographs and didn't seem too happy to be there) and Providence's Joe Colborne.

Hopefully, the season will be fruitful for us all. And to us TTMers, we're hoping for full mailboxes.

Back on the ice

Just because a player isn't in the National Hockey League anymore doesn't mean it's not worth your time to get an autograph. Mike, one of Hockey Hound Universe's two Toronto-based correspondents, snagged this puck from former NHL star Theo Fleury recently.

Fleury, it seems, was at the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence in Toronto, participating in the made-for-TV skating competition, Battle of the Blades. In this season, Fleury's partner is Jamie Sale, a three-time Canadian national champion pairs figure skater and 2002 Olympic gold medalist.

Besides Fleury, other NHL players taking part this season include Valeri Bure, PJ Stock and Patrice Brisebois.

Puckhound's itinerary

Now that we're just days away from our 2010-11 hockey-hounding season, it's time for me to put my cards, as well as some pucks, jerseys and the occasional 8x10, down on the table. Health, weather and work schedules permitting, here's who I'm hoping to hound between now and April down here in Hockey Bay:

Monday, Oct. 18: Dallas Stars - Breaking the ice, so to speak
Thursday, Oct. 21: New York Islanders - Maybe John Tavares will spell Colin's name correctly this time.
Sunday, Oct. 24: Nashville Predators - Western Conference teams are automatics.
Wednesday, Oct. 27: Pittsburgh Penguins - Passed on them both times last campaign. Won't do that again.
Tuesday, Nov. 9: Toronto Maple Leafs - Maybe I can talk Al, HHU's senior Toronto correspondent, into flying down for a Leafs-Bolts game sometime. The next one's Jan. 25, 2011.
Sunday, Nov. 14: Minnesota Wild - This could be cards only.
Monday, Nov. 22: Boston Bruins - Colin wouldn't miss this for the world.
Wednesday, Nov. 24: New York Rangers - Sean Avery's a turkey.
Friday, Dec. 4: Colorado Avalanche - Colin has a hockey game, so this might be tricky. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, Dec. 15: Atlanta Thrashers - Time to start loading up Evander Kane cards.
Tuesday, Dec. 28: Boston Bruins - I can only do the morning skate. I can't get out of work.
Thursday, Dec. 30: Montreal Canadiens - Let's see if Mike Cammalleri is as rude this season.
Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011: Washington Capitals - I doubt Ovie stops. Doesn't matter. Already got him on two pucks back in 2006.
Friday, Jan. 14: New Jersey Devils - Ilya Kovalchuk and Martin Brodeur.
Tuesday, Jan. 18: Columbus Blue Jackets - More cards than anything else. Did real good on pucks -- two dozen, to be exact -- last trip in.
Tuesday, Feb. 1: Philadelphia Flyers - Maybe we'll luck out again this season.
Sunday, Feb. 6: St. Louis Blues - I'm looking forward to this trip.
Tuesday, Feb. 8: Buffalo Sabres - Finally!
Thursday, Feb. 17: Detroit Red Wings - We'll see if Henrik Zetterberg really is a Facebook friend.
Wednesday, Feb. 23: Phoenix Coyotes - Man, I wish Wayne Gretzky still coached this team.
Wednesday, March 4: Chicago Blackhawks - Can you say "madhouse?"
Friday, March 11: Ottawa Senators - One of my all-time favorite signing teams
Friday, March 25: Carolina Hurricanes - Hopefully, Eric Staal will add to the Threads collection.
Thursday, March 31: Pittsburgh Penguins - Who knows? Maybe Sid the Kid is mellowing out.
Friday, April 8: Florida Panthers - Unless the Lightning make the playoffs, this closes the book on the 2010-11 hockey-hounding campaign.

All or nothing, it seems

It sure looks like hockey hounds intend to keep themselves busy over the course of the 2010-11 campaign, as most taking part in Hockey Hound Universe's first-ever poll indicated they'll packing their hockey-hounding bags more than 20 times this season.

Somewhat surprising, perhaps, is that the middle ground, defined as hounding 11-20 times, received so little support. In fact, more hockey hounds said they'd hit the bricks 10 times or less.

Question: How many times will you go hockey hounding this season?

More than 20 times: 9 out of 17 votes cast (52.9 percent)
0-10: 5 votes (29.4 percent)
11-20: 3 votes (17.7 percent}

Review: Metallic Markers

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

In Hockey Hounds Universe's never-ending quest to make hockey hounding more affordable, we're always looking for economical hockey-hounding supplies. Sure, a box of Sharpies is a gimme. Life's too short for thick scribbles. It's speciality items, though, like these Metallic Marker silver and gold markers, where costs can quickly add up.

These markers, found at a Michaels arts and crafts store, cost about $2 each, more than a two-pack of silver Sharpies but less than a full-price DecoColor paint pen. At the least, they serve as an introduction to another Hockey Hounds Universe feature: product reviews.

The pens, made in America, work best on photos. One problem, though, is the ink needs time to dry. We're not talking minutes, but at least 10 to 15 seconds. Any less leads to smudging. The gold and silver inks also work well on dry stick tape.

The silver marker's ink sticks on pucks, but requires significant drying time. Set aside a minimum of 15 minutes before any heavy handling. In most cases, however, that's far too long. Even after 24 hours, the gold marker's ink smeared on pucks.

Forget all hockey cards, even if they've been erased. Both colors smear, even after a minute of drying time. Same, too, for mini helmets.

HHU recommendation: These Metallic Marker pens don't work across enough autograph platforms, as in photos, cards, pucks and helmets, to become a staple in your hockey-hounding bag. At best, use them for photographs.