Useful, I'll tell you

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

I had this Lowell Devils pucks kicking around the stockpile, when I remembered that Florida Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen came up the the AHL team's parent club, the New Jersey Devils.

A little research showed that Clemmensen played a few games in the Massachusetts mill city during the 2206-07 and 2008-09 seasons. Not wanting to let this puck collect any more dust, I made it part of the late-season push to top 2,300 autographed pucks for the collection.

Certainly worthy

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

Earlier in the 2020-11 season, I found some American Hockey League pucks on clearance at the league's website. Seeing that the New York Islanders visit Hockey Bay twice a season, I figured it wouldn't hurt to snag a couple of Bridgeport Sound Tigers pucks.

I finally put them to good use earlier this week, when defenseman Travis Hamonic, left, and left winger Jesse Joensuu, a couple of second-rounders, made the trip to Hockey Bay. Perhaps I should've held out for Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald, but I'll take these. A second-round pick is definitely worthy of adding to a puck.

Newshound, too

By Mike
Hockey Hounds Universe Toronto correspondent

It pays to follow the news. During an announcement of Hockey Canada's braintrust for the upcoming 2011 IIHF World Championships, former NHL defenseman Rob Blake, who was named to the management staff, signed these items. The event was held at the MasterCard Center for Hockey Excellence, the practice facility for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Trading hat tricks

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

Sometimes, within the hockey world, the stars align for an NHL player. Not too long ago, it happened for Tampa Bay's Teddy Purcell, when he logged his first-ever hat trick.

The following day, Purcell made a public appearance at a motorsports dealer in Brandon, Fla. To commemorate the occasion, we had Purcell, who broke into the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings, sign this trio of pucks.

The puck on the far right, honoring the NHL's Hockey for Huggies campaign, carries special significance. It was a fundraising giveaway, so to speak, before the game when Purcell logged his hat trick. What better way, I thought, to remember Purcell's achievement?

Brag Book: Toronto Maple Leafs II

Hound: Al, Hockey Hounds Universe's senior Toronto correspondent
Hounding opportunity: Toronto Maple Leafs practices
Where: MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence, Toronto
When: 2010-11 NHL season

Let the bragging begin:

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.

Rounding 'em up

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

Unless this is your first rodeo, cowboy, it's fairly common knowledge among established hockey hounds across North America, maybe even Sweden, that New Jersey goalie Johan Hedberg is a more-than-willing signer.

If you didn't know this, though, consider yourself duly informed.

These three pucks, obtained during the Devils' recent visit to Hockey Bay, are proof that Hedberg will sign more than one item.

Well worth the price

By Al
Hockey Hounds Universe senior Toronto correspondent

I don't like to pay for autographs, however, some autographs I feel are unattainable. "Mr. Hockey" himself, Gordie Howe was a no-brainer. It was a public appearance earlier in the season at a local collectible store when Mr. Hockey for a sit-down signing.

The fee was fair, especially for someone of this Hall of Famer's stature and letter-perfect signature.

Another paid autograph -- a puck signed by Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller -- was acquired through a local charity auction. I don't mind paying for these items because the money goes to a good cause. This puck, however, was a bargain at $8. The puck alone, unsigned, is worth that much.

International flavor

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

Want to know the quickest way to add depth and variety to your autographed puck collection? Well, that's easy. All you have to do is use these national souvenir pucks.

That's exactly what I did during the Detroit Red Wings recent visit to Hockey Bay. While I carried at least two pucks for most big-name player on the roster. I changed my approach when I saw that the players were only signing one item each.

Still, after getting, from left, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom, there's little room to complain.

Oh, yeah, I nearly forgot. The Holmstrom is puck No. 2,250 of the collection.

Adding depth

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

Some of the first autographs we ever added to the collection came from the Carolina Hurricanes, back when the team moved from Hartford to North Carolina. At the time, we watched them play at the Greensboro Coliseum.

A few years later, when we were living in New England, we got to watch some of the Hurricanes top prospects, including goalie Cam Ward, play in Lowell, Mass., during the NHL lockout of 2004-05. As a result, we've added quite a few from him.

We don't let that stop us, though, from deepening the collection. During Carolina's recent visit to Hockey Bay, Colin scored the 8x10 wallpaper image, shown above, from one of his favorite NHL players.

I took it upon myself to add these pucks, the 10th and 11th (all but one are different) that Ward has signed for us. It'll take another All-Star Game or a trade to make it an even dozen.

Putting in the time

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

Don't let long lines get in the way of adding to your hockey autograph collection. Scoring these two pucks from Tampa Bay's Steve Downie at a recent appearance at a Hockey Bay motorsports store was well worth the 45 minutes we stood in line.

We haven't mad much luck over the past few seasons getting to to stop after morning skates, so we took full advantage of this opportunity to add a few more pucks to the collection.

Only days earlier, we added some pucks from Lightning teammates Adam Hall and Nate Thompson at another public appearance.

Change in plans

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

One desirable trait among hockey hounds is flexibility. Though it's always good to have a plan, you also need to be willing to stray from it anytime opportunity presents itself.

Take last Tuesday, for instance. I had every intention of offering Buffalo Sabres captain Craig Rivet this Montreal Canadiens puck with the hopes of getting it signed. That plan, though, changed.

When I recognized former NHL defenseman Brian Engblom walking down the sidewalk, I called an audible and had him sign it instead.

Engblom was in town with the Versus hockey broadcast crew, which would later televise the Buffalo Sabres-Tampa Bay Lightning game. In a first for the network, Engblom, serving as an analyst, worked the game at ice level, standing between the team's benches.

Whole new world

By J.R.
Hockey Hounds Universe correspondent

What a contrast between hounding outings. The “big top” was gone, I didn't see anybody on the trapeze and, most importantly, there were no clowns present (although I did see a woman wearing really bad makeup rushing to work). The last time I hounded an NHL club was when the Buffalo Sabres were in San Jose to play the Sharks and it was a circus.

Fast forward a few weeks and you have a totally different atmosphere. Apparently, the Phoenix Coyotes don't have anybody on their roster worth arriving at the hotel before the morning skate. I say this because for quite some time I was the only person there.

Generally speaking, if someone affiliated with the opposing team wants to take a cab to the arena, a hotel employee stationed outside the lobby doors will call for them. A taxi then appears within a moment or two. However, head coach Dave Tippett and two other staff members walked over to where the cabs park.

I raced over to him and he signed three cards for me. After I thanked him, I noticed assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson about 15 paces behind Tippett. I bolted back to my bag to grab a puck, raced back to the taxi area and caught Samuelsson just in the nick of time. He signed it, but I unfortunately missed Sean Burke, who was behind him, and I didn't have another puck on my person.

Many minutes passed before another collector finally arrived at the hotel. We made small talk while waiting and he was disappointed to learn that the coaches had already left.

Soon after, Shane Doan came out of the hotel with six of his teammates. This is where having additional collectors on site could have helped, as we couldn't stop everybody. I had to make a quick judgment call and approached Doan, allowing his teammates to stroll to the bus parked on the street.

This was my first time meeting him and I can honestly say that he is the nicest player I have encountered thus far. He willingly signed a puck for me, a team photo for the other collector, then two cards for me. And he did it with a smile. Therefore, I tip my cap to you, Mr. Doan, for being such a fan-friendly player.

Other players to sign for me were Michal Rozsival, Kyle Turris and Jason LaBarbera.

As LaBarbara finished signing two cards for me, I noticed that television analyst Tyson Nash had already climbed the first two steps of the bus. I called him and he immediately turned around and signed a pair of cards. I also apologized for asking him to sign after technically being on the bus. He said it was not a problem and was glad to do it.

I am also glad I packed an extra Rangers puck just in case general manager Don Maloney made the trip to San Jose. He did and kindly signed the puck.

On the other hand, I must admit I did not recognize Keith Yandle (absolutely no excuse) and Ilya Bryzgalov (tiny excuse, he had a beard). Lee Stempniak also walked right past me while I was searching for something in my bag. Oh well.

All in all, it was a fun and relatively successful outing. Although I am sorry I did not see any elephants or "The Human Cannonball."

Signing pucks, shown at top, were:

Top row: Michal Rozsival and Shane Doan; and
Bottom row: Ulf Samuelsson and Don Maloney

Signing these cards were:

Top row: Dave Tippett; and
Bottom row: Kyle Turris and Shane Doan.

Also signing cards were Jason LaBarbera, top row, and Tyson Nash.

Born in the U.S.A.

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

Though NHL lineups are dominated by Canadian-born players, there's a growing presence of American-born players. Down here in Hockey Bay, the Lightning have quite a few, including Adam Hall and Nate Thompson.

Hall, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Thompson, out of Anchorage, Alaska, signed these two U.S.A. souvenir pucks last Wednesday following a live radio show at a McDonald's in Tampa.

Three-for-three

By Puckhound
Hockey Hound Universe editor

Every NHL team has what hockey hounds would consider, at the minimum, its Big Three. Not only are they a team's best players, but they all reside atop any hound's wish list.

In the case of the Philadelphia Flyers, in town to play the Tampa Bay Lightning, it would be Jeff Carter, Chris Pronger and Mike Richards. I was lucky enough to have them sign this trio of Canada-related pucks.

Brag Book: Anaheim Ducks

Hound: Al, Hockey Hounds Universe's senior Toronto correspondent
Hounding opportunity: Anaheim Ducks practice
Where: MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence, Toronto
When: January 2011

Let the bragging begin:

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.

Nice souvenir

By Colin
Hockey Hounds Universe correspondent

When we hounded the Atlanta Thrashers last Sunday, I did a team sheet. But I also got a puck signed by Andrew Ladd, who flipped it to me over the glass before the game the last time they were in.

I told him that he gave me the puck and asked him to personalize it for me. I had to tell him how to spell my name.

Then, some dealer said "That won't end up on eBay." I'm not sure why he said that because we keep all of our pucks. That was weird.

We still had fun and a great time.

Circus comes to town

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.

Plenty to use

By Puckhound
Hockey Hounds Universe editor

It's easy to never get caught shorthanded, so to speak, anytime an NHL rookie comes to town. Using a puck from a player's NHL draft year and creating a card are two simple autograph platforms that hockey hounds can use.

Both worked just fine yesterday when Atlanta's Alexander Burmistrov, taken eighth overall at the 2020 draft, signed before heading to the St. Pete Times Forum with teammate Nik Antropov before the Thrashers' games against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Over the years, too, I've come to appreciate the neat Cyrillic signatures of most Russian-born players. Aside from Washington's Alex Ovechkin, most take their time and lay down a pretty sweet sig.

Expect a crowd

By Keith
Hockey Hounds Universe correspondent

Growing up a Chicago Blackhawks fan, I make just about every effort to see them in action when they play my Nashville Predators. And while I’m always decked out in Preds gear and rooting for a Preds win, I still consider myself a Hawks fan and am always trying to add to my ever-growing collection of autographs.

This year was no different, but with them being the defending Stanley Cup Champions, my wife, myself and a good friend left Memphis super early to secure a place before the team made its walk over to the arena for the morning skate.

Upon arrival, we knew our hunches of a crowd had proven true. Coupled with their Stanley Cup victory was the added complication of this being a weekend game. In short, a LOT of people had shown up, including numerous dealers with boxes (BOXES!!) of blank souvenir sticks, 16x20s and pucks in hand.

I’m told by others that Nashville is one of the most hound-friendly situations in the league, and I think the word is getting around, as there are an increasing number of dealers actually traveling into town for these opportunities with the hotter teams in the league. The crowd was large enough for hotel staff to take numerous trips out to reinforce rules that are usually overlooked.

This trip also brought about an aspect to hounding I had yet to encounter—team-employed security personnel. The team began trickling out a few at a time, with most of the players being escorted by a gruff-looking gentleman in a nice suit with a Blackhawks logo pin on his lapel. Every player stopped and signed on their walk over to morning skate, but the quantity of signatures varied greatly by player.

Very few players signed for anyone on the return walk from the arena (security personnel made it very easy for the players to avoid the hounds). And because most players rode the bus from the hotel to the arena at game time, the afternoon was even less fruitful for hounds.

Luckily, this season is more of a cherry-picking endeavor for us, so we’re not necessarily shooting for every player or even every superstar. We were able to get signatures on pucks from Marty Turco, Corey Crawford, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Tomas Kopecky, coach Joel Quenneville, and former player/current radio color man, Troy Murray.

The primary goal of the day was accomplished, with my wife getting team captain Jonathan Toews to sign a replica of his Team Canada jersey with one of the nicest signatures I’ve seen from him. Duncan Keith continued to serve as my white whale, as I was once again unable to secure him on a Team Canada puck.

Of course, that just gives me a goal for their next visits in January and February.

Brag Book: Toronto Maple Leafs II

Hound: Mike, Hockey Hounds Universe Toronto correspondent
Hounding opportunities: Ontario Hockey League games, personal appearances and the MasterCard Centre of Hockey Excellence
Where: Various locales in Ontario
When: September and October 2010

Let the bragging begin:

Leafs legend Doug Gilmour on a couple of Tall Boy cards;

Wendel Clark, another Leafs legend, on a handout card;

An 8x10 signed by Doug Gilmour, left, and Wendel Clark;

An 8x10 from Phil Kessel;

Pucks signed by Francois Beauchemin and Jean-Sebastien Giguere;

Wendel Clark on a McFarlane base; and

Goalies Jonas Gustavsson, top, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere on McFarlane bases.