Blasts from the past

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

When culling cards for a visiting team, it's a good idea to remember all of the specialty sets you've likely accumulated over the years. From league-specific juniors sets to the Rookie Class offering that Upper Deck used to put out, they're an easy way to offer something beside the latest card releases.

These two, for goalie Steve Mason and forward R.J. Umberger, came in handy last week when the Columbus Blue Jackets visited Hockey Bay. They'd been sitting around for a few seasons, as we don't see the club on a regular basis.

The team's last trip, in March 2009, focused more on pucks, as I added two dozen to the collection.

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.

Target-rich environment

When Upper Deck gathered likely members of the 2010-11 NHL Rookie Class at the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence in Toronto earlier this month, it made perfect sense for Al and Mike, two of Hockey Hounds Universe's Toronto-based correspondents, to attend and get in a little preseason hounding.

Really, is there any reason, other than living in Florida, that any hockey hound wouldn't attend an event like this? When you have top prospects like Edmonton's Taylor Hall, shown above, taken first overall in June's NHL draft, in your vicinity, it could be viewed as a crime not to make a play.

Also attending the event were Boston's Tyler Seguin, taken No. 2 overall in June; Edmonton's Jordan Eberle; and Los Angeles' Brayden Schenn.

Al, our senior Toronto correspondent, got Hall to sign this Oilers puck and an 8x10.

Mike, our other Toronto-based hound and resident Ontario Hockey League expert, added these pucks to his collection.

Top row: Edmonton's Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, Columbus' Ryan Johansen and Carolina's Jeff Skinner; and
Bottom row: Vancouver's Jordan Schroeder, Dallas' Scott Glennie and Seguin.