By J.R.
Hockey Hounds Universe correspondent
As I arrived at the Buffalo Sabres hotel in San Jose a few moments in time for the morning skate hockey-hounding opportunity, a half dozen dealers were already on site. I didn't need my iPod.
Entrance of the Gladiators, the soundtrack for the day, was blaring in my head. Clearly, the
Ryan Miller circus was in town.
For the first few minutes, the only activity was the ever increasing number of dealers making their presence felt, growing faster than the population of
(Jason) Pominville. Suddenly, the front doors of the lobby swung open and former Sharks and current Sabres defenseman
Craig Rivet,
Nathan Gerbe and another unidentified teammate stepped out into the chilly morning air. They immediately made a right turn, walked along the outer wall and headed down the street. I grabbed my bag and caught up to them about a half a block away.
I asked Rivet if he would please sign a puck and he nodded, not uttering a sound. When he handed the puck back to me, I noticed that the autograph came out lousy. Stupid paint pens, I thought. Upon further review, let's blame the stupid individual in charge of priming said paint pens. Apparently, this is a simple lesson that I will never learn. Puck Signing 101: Make sure your paint pens are primed and ready for action.
Back in front of the hotel, sneaking peeks at the enormous and glorious Ryan Miller photographs being handled by the dealers, I recognized
Patrick Lalime walking toward me from the other end of the street. I politely asked him if he would mind signing a couple of cards (
shown above with one from Rob Niedermayer) and he graciously obliged.
"Man, it's pretty cold out here," he said.
"Indeed it is," I agreed. I wanted to tell him that he is from Quebec and the temperature in San Jose was probably a little warmer than what he was used to in Canada (or Buffalo), but I chickened out. Never argue with the man holding the blue Sharpie.
Not too much time elapsed when the man everybody was waiting for made his grand appearance. Miller took one look at all of "his biggest fans" and made a subtle, yet obvious gesture of slight irritation. To his credit, though, he signed at least one item (
and I saw a couple of guys get two) for every person there.
Unfortunately for me, while patiently waiting for Miller to sign my puck, I missed several Sabres as they got on the bus, including another former Shark,
Mike Grier. Miller may have been annoyed, but he put marker to photos and paint pens to puck for everyone.
Truth be told, Miller was certainly my No. 1 priority, but I also wanted to get former defenseman and current Sabres assistant coach
James Patrick to sign a New York Rangers puck. Patrick seemed surprised that somebody recognized him and actually wanted his autograph.
"You were one of my favorite players growing up in New York," I told him.
"Thank you," he replied. "Those were some good times."
Indeed they were, James. Good times and memories. That's what autograph collecting should be about, not dollars and cents.
Fortunately, the circus theme song is finally out of my head.
Signing pucks, show above, were, from top to bottom,
Lindy Ruff, Patrick, Rivet, Miller and
Tyler Myers.
Colby Armstrong;
Francois Beauchemin, since dealt to the Anaheim Ducks;
Tyler Bozak;
Jean-Sebastien Giguere;
Jonas Gustavsson;
Dion Phaneuf, signing in silver;
Kris Versteeg, since traded to Philadelphia; and
a Maple Leafs Gardens puck and card signed by Ron Ellis.
A Hockey Hounds Universe hat trick from right winger Teemu Selanne, a future Hall of Famer;
another Hockey Hounds Universe hat trick from center Saku Koivu, including a sweet player puck;
goalie Jonas Hiller;
defenseman Cam Fowler;
right winger Bobby Ryan; and
winger Jason Blake.
BRAMPTON BATTALION, including Sam Carrick, taken 144th overall in 2010 by the Toronto Maple Leafs; Barclay Goodrow, a 2011 mid-round prospect; Zach Bell, a 2011 mid-round prospect; and Matej Machovsky, who appeared in two games for the Czech Republic at the 2010 World Under-17 championship;
KITCHENER RANGERS, including Ryan Murphy, who Don Cherry said last year would be the No. 1 pick in 2011; and Tobias Reider, a projected second-round pick in 2011;
LONDON KNIGHTS, including Vladislav Namestnikov, a projected mid to late first-round pick in 2011; Scott Harrington, a projected early second-round pick in 2011; Jared Knight, selected 32nd overall in 2010 by the Boston Bruins; Jarred Tinordi, taken 22nd overall in 2010 by the Montreal Canadiens; and Igor Bobkov, the Team Russia's gold-medal-game-winning goalie in the 2011 WJC U-20 tournament;
MISSISSAUGA ST. MICHAEL'S MAJORS, including Justin Shugg, played on the two-time defending Memorial Cup champs Windsor Spitfires and was taken 105th overall in 2010 by the Carolina Hurricanes; Casey Cizikas, taken 92nd overall in 2009 by the New York Islanders; Maxim Kitsyn, who played on Team Russia's gold-medal winning WJC U-20 team; Devante Smith Pelley, taken 42nd overall in 2010 by the Anaheim Ducks; Stuart Percy, a mid-round prospect in 2011; and J.P. Anderson, a San Jose Sharks prospect who was an emergency call-up this month;
NIAGARA ICE DOGS, including Alex Friesen, taken 172 overall in 2010 by the Vancouver Canucks; Mark Visetin, taken 27th overall in 2010 by the Phoenix Coyotes and goalie for Team Canada's silver-medal winning WJC U-20 team; Ryan Strome, a projected top seven pick in 2011; Freddie Hamilton, taken 129th overall in 2010 by the San Jose Sharks; Dougie Hamilton (Freddie's brother), a projected top five pick in 2011; and former NHL player Mike Van Ryn, an assistant coach on the team;
SAGINAW SPIRIT, including Jordan Schwartz, taken 97th overall in 2009 by the Phoenix Coyotes; Ivan Telegin, taken 101st overall in 2010 by the Atlanta Thrashers; and Brandon Saad, a top 10 prospect in 2011; and
SARNIA STING, including Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk, both projected within the top five prospects for the 2012 NHL draft.
Back in front of the hotel, sneaking peeks at the enormous and glorious Ryan Miller photographs being handled by the dealers, I recognized Patrick Lalime walking toward me from the other end of the street. I politely asked him if he would mind signing a couple of cards (shown above with one from Rob Niedermayer) and he graciously obliged.
By Keith