Worcester Sharks @ Albany Devils 1/24/15

I'm back in Albany, and within a week of moving back, I had a prime opportunity to get some good autographs after an Albany Devils game. They had just played the Worcester Sharks, AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks won the game 2-1 in overtime, and after the final goal was scored, the ink started flowing.

Way back in 2013, I met former Islander Micheal Haley after a game in what was one of my first experiences getting autographs after a Devils game. He was famous for being in the middle of the infamous Islanders/Penguins brawl in 2011.

Shortly after that game in 2011, I bought a Haley t-shirt from the Islanders team store. Shortly after, Haley wasn't an Islander and I had no use for the shirt. However, this past week, I found out Haley was on the Worcester Sharks, so I brought the shirt back to Albany with me. After watching a few other Sharks walk out the door, Haley walked out by himself. I immediately recognized him and called him over. First, I asked him to sign a photo of him fighting current Albany Devil Rod Pelley that Pelley already signed at an autograph signing last year. Then, after trading sharpies, I took the shirt out of my pocket and held it out. He signed it beautifully on the number nine. He didn't talk much, and I thanked him before going onto the bus.










Since the weather forecast was ominous, I didn't print out many things to get signed on this day. However, once I heard Tomas Hertl got sent down to Worcester, I knew I had to print stuff and try to get his autograph. Does the name not sound familiar to you? Click HERE and you will remember who he is. After nearly the whole team walked out the door, Hertl finally emerged into the sunlight. He immediately started signing before even he could realize what was happening. Here is a brief video that I took of him signing for some people.


Shortly after I turned off the camera, Hertl signed a photo for me. He also signed a Worcester Sharks team logo sheet that I had printed out. However, it wasn't a full size logo sheet, it was just a 4x6 logo sheet because I didn't plan on getting too many Sharks. After taking a selfie with Hertl that you can see on the right, Hertl kept signing for the mob of people that formed. After another minute or two, I grabbed a puck and silver sharpie out of my pocket and got Hertl to sign that as well. He was a humble, nice guy. He took every photo and signed every autograph. Class act. Hopefully he will stay that way.

 Below is the Worcester Sharks logo sheet with everyone that signed it in the space they signed it.

2-Dylan DeMelo  20-Matt Taormina 26-Willie Coetzee 

38-Mirco Mueller 12-Freddie Hamilton 48-Tomas Hertl

Soon after Hertl got on the bus, others got on and the bus tried to depart, but it couldn't because of a few obstacles. Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) were scheduled to play a college hockey game at the Time Union Center just a few hours after the Devils game ended. So, as the Sharks were leaving, the RPI bus showed up and their players were entering. Eventually, the RPI players left and their bus got out of the way so the Sharks could go home. As players from both colleges showed up to the arena, Devils were still walking out. 

I didn't get many autographs from the Devils, but I did get a few. The first one I got was of Pelley, who signed a pocket schedule from last season for me. I figure those could be good to get signed if I don't have anything else for a Devils player. The only other I autograph I got from a Devils player was from Seth Helgeson. Helgeson played 21 games for New Jersey so far this season, and I found a cool picture of him from Jaromir Jagr's hat trick earlier this season. As the sun started to set, Helgeson came out and signed the photo for me. He said he liked the photo. 

While Devils players were coming out, a couple other people getting autographs noticed Union head coach Rick Bennett walking towards the arena. Bennett coached Union to a stunning National Championship last season, and he also played 15 games for the New York Rangers during a brief NHL career. I stopped Bennett on his way in and he signed a blank autograph card for me before signing similar blank cards for others. One other person getting autographs told him, "No fights this year," in reference to the infamous Union/RPI Brawl in 2014 where Bennett got into a physical fight with RPI's coach. Bennett chuckled before telling us there would be no fight. In case you're wondering, there was no fight.

Then, it was just time to wait for the Devils coaches. Former New Jersey great and Stanley Cup Champion Sergei Brylin came out and signed a card that I had found while home for a month. It's always nice to get cards signed as I don't get many signed in person. 

Later, Johan Hedberg came out. After signing about 30 cards for someone else, he signed a card and photo for me. I then took a picture with him and thanked him for stopping. I may end up printing out the picture of me and Hedberg and try and get him to sign it. 

That does it for this entry. Thanks for reading. Good luck graphing. 

Bridgeport Sound Tigers @ Albany Devils 11/23/14

Before Thanksgiving, I went to one more Albany Devils game before going home for the break. Unlike a couple other times this season, I went to the game between the Sound Tigers and Devils on November 23. It was a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do, so my friend and I got some cheap tickets and were off to the Times Union Center. I had already met most of the Sound Tigers and Devils earlier this season, but this was likely going to be the last time I saw the Sound Tigers this season, so I figured I'd go.

The game was a tough one for the Sound Tigers, they lost 5-2. I got one of the Albany goals on video.  
It was a rough night for Bridgeport. I'm pretty sure goalie David Leggio got hurt during that game. But, after the game, I was back outside in the usual spot to try and get some autographs before I went home.

One of the first guys going to the bus was recently sent down Colin McDonald. He was the captain of the Sound Tigers during the NHL lockout in 2012-13, and he was sent down a few games into the season. He signed two 4x6 photos for me before signing for everyone else and going on the bus. I also met him during Islanders clean out day in April.

One of the next Bridgeport guys to walk out the door was Harry Zolnierczk. He signed a photo for me last time, and I didn't really have much for him. Before he got on the bus, I got him to sign an index card because I figured I'd get him on something if I don't see him again for a while.



Shortly after was defenseman Ryan Pulock. He was called up to the Islanders for less than a day last weekend. He will be playing on the Islanders real soon. He signed a picture from his Barclays Center goal for me.


The last Sound Tiger whose autograph I got was that of starting goalie David Leggio. Like I mentioned earlier, he had a rough game in the loss. I took a picture of him at Barclays Center, and I was very happy to get him to sign it, even though the signature is very thin. He probably won't play a regular season game for the Islanders, but it was cool to get my own picture signed.

Since the weather wasn't too cold out, my friend and I figured we'd stay and get some Devils autographs as well. I had a photo that I took at the end of a Devils game last season, and I wanted to try and get that signed by some of the Albany players. I ended up getting eight Devils to sign the 4x6 photo that I printed out, as you can see below. It was signed by the following players:

15-Paul Thompson (He wasn't even on the Devils last year, oops.)
19-Mike Sislo
8-Dan Kelly 9-Joe Whitney
29-Raman Hrabarenka
23-Darcy Zajac
25-David Wohlberg
18-Stefan Matteau




That was it for the Albany players. We waited for the coaches as well. I got goalie coach Johan Hedberg to sign an index card. I also got assistant coach Sergei Brylin to sign a pocket schedule from last season. I have a bunch of those and that was the first one I got signed. That was it for this game.

Now, here's something I forgot to write about a few weeks ago when it actually happened. Longtime backup Scott Clemmensen was sent down to Albany in early November. I went one day after a game to try and get his autograph, and I got it. He was extremely nice, signed everything for everyone, and even took a photo with me. He signed the only 4x6 I had with me.

That's it for this entry. Thanks for reading and good luck graphing!

Adirondack Phantoms @ Albany Devils 2/15/14

This past Saturday, February 15, I went back to the Times Union Center in Albany to try and get some autographs. The Philadelphia Flyers AHL team, the Adirondack Phantoms, were in town, and I had some stuff for a few of those players. It was a good game for the Devils, as they got the win by a 4-1 score.

I barely got to the spot where the bus leaves behind the arena before the players started walking out. I didn't have stuff for everyone, but I did have my camera so I took a few photos of other players signing for a group of Phantoms fans that assembled outside. I wish I could tell you who these guys are, but I just don't know. If you know, any help would be appreciated.

The first person who I got was Oliver Lauridsen. One of the kids in the photos above knew who he was, and I know that he played a few games in the NHL. I had printed out a couple basic Flyers 4x6 photos for this reason, and he signed one of them before boarding the bus.

The next person who signed something for me was former Islander Bruno Gervais. He came out, signed a few photos for me, and then went on to the bus. One of the photos I got signed is from when I met him at an Islanders children's foundation event back in 2010. It was his birthday when that photo was taken, and he told me that he liked the old photo.

The only other player who I got from the Phantoms was another former Islander, goalie Yann Danis. He signed a photo which I also got Gervais to sign, and a photo I took with him earlier this season. He was the last Phantoms player to come out, he had a rough game in net and just wanted to get on the bus and go. I thanked him, and he went on the bus.


After Danis got on the bus, it drove away. There weren't many other people who I wanted to get on the night. One person I did want to try and get an autograph of was Johan "Moose" Hedberg. Keith Kinkaid was out with an injury, and Albany had signed Hedberg, 40, to a tryout contract.

After standing out in the cold and chatting with other players like Joe Whitney and Brandon Burlon, Hedberg came out the door with some other players. I asked someone else to make sure it was him, then I called Johan over. Right when he was about to sign the photo I brought, a gust of wind nearly blew it away. Thankfully, I kept it in place for him to sign it. He also signed a puck for me and a card for someone else before walking to the nearby parking garage. I asked Hedberg what it was like to be back in the AHL. He said he liked it and he was having fun. Hopefully I'll get Kinkaid to sign the photo as well, as it is from his NHL debut in relief of Hedberg last season.

I had brought my Devils yearbook with me to try and get some missing players on it. I didn't get any players to sign it, but I did get assistant coaches Tommy Albelin and Sergei Brylin to sign their pages in it. Albelin smudged it slightly before signing it, but it's good anyway.

That's all I have for this entry. Thanks for reading! Good luck graphing!

Bridgeport Sound Tigers @ Albany Devils 11/11/13

The Islanders' affiliate in the American Hockey League, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, have played in Albany agains the Devils a few times this season. I went to two of those games. Here is the story of the first one of those.

The first time the Sound Tigers were in Albany, it was early November. After the game, a 5-2 Devils win, I went to my usual spot outside near where the bus leaves. Very quickly, players started coming out. I didn't take many pictures of the Sound Tigers, they were leaving as quickly as they could and didn't wast time.

One of the few people I recognized walking out was the now recently called up Ryan Strome. He signed my team photo, a 4x6 I took of him at Islanders training camp this past January, then walked onto the bus after signing for other people. I realized that I forgot to ask him to sign the Islanders puck I brought with me. Fortunately, he went out to make a phone call, and he signed the puck for me before he walked onto the bus.

Some of the players thanked me for being an Islanders fan, while others just wanted to get on the bus as soon as possible. One of the people I've seen many times in an Isles jersey is Jon Sim. Sim agreed to a 25 game tryout contract with Bridgeport. I met Sim a few years ago at an Islanders charity event, and I had a picture taken with him. I printed it out, and Sim signed it for me on his way to the bus, as well as my team photo. 

That same day a few years ago, I met Calvin de Haan. He was recently called up, but he was in Bridgeport back in early November. As he walked out to the bus, he signed the photo I took with him and Andy Hilbert. Unfourtunately, he signed it in blue right on top of his blue jersey. Oh well, it still looks fine. He also signed another 4x6 photo that I found online. The pictures is of him and current Devil Tim Sestito battling during the 2009 preseason. Sestito also signed it for me after the game.

One of the other players I was able to recognize was 6'5'' goaltender Anders Nilsson. When he came out, other people had him sign, then he signed my 4x6 photo and team photo. He looks taller in person than he does when watching on TV. Shortly after Nilsson went on the bus, I asked another player walking out what his name was. He responded by saying, "Anders Lee." He  signed a 4x6 photo from his first NHL goal and my team photo before boarding the bus.



While all of this was going on, most of the other players signed my team photo before boarding the bus. The last person to sign it was Sound Tigers head coach Scott Pellerin, a former NHL player. Here is a picture of him right before he got on the bus.

Here is the team photo I got signed that day, along with a list of everyone that signed it in no particular order.

11-Jon Sim 21-Dallas Jackson 18-Ryan Strome 3-Andrey Pedan
10-Scott Mayfield 26-Mike Halmo 17-Nick Larson 14-Greg Miller
39-Joe Diamond 2-Mike Dalhuisen 12- Calvin de Haan
72-Jason Clark 45-Anders Nilsson 5-Mike Keenan 22-Alan Quine
19-Riley Wetmore 9-Anders Lee 49-Justin Johnson
Scott Pellerin's signature is right under Anders Nilsson's.
Assistant coach Eric Boguniecki signed on the Islanders logo on the top.

That same day, I got some Albany Devils autographs as well.

At the time, Rostislav Olesz was recently sent down to Albany. Since then, he has went back to Europe to play there for at least the rest of this season. Olesz signed a 4x6 photo for me and also signed my Albany Devils team photo. Probably one of the few Albany Devils items Olesz signed in his time in the AHL.

Devils assistant coach Sergei Brylin signed a puck for me in gold.

Stefan Matteau, son of Rangers great Stephan Matteau signed an autograph card for me, as well as my team photo.



I was also able to add to the Albany Devils team photo I started getting signed on 10/25. Now it is signed by the following players in no order:
26-Mike Hoeffel 28-Dan Kelly 9-Joe Whitney 32-Riley Boychuk
29-Raman Hrabarenka 14-Reid Boucher 12-Tim Sestito 20-Rostislav Olesz
19-Mike Sislo 18-Stefan Matteau 2-Seth Helgeson 15-Harri Pesonen 10-Rod Pelley
34-Reece Scarlett 17-Scott Timmins 31-Scott Wedgewood 1-Keith Kinkaid
16-Corbin McPherson. Sergei Brylin signed it under the word Devils in the photo.

I went to another Sound Tigers game in Albany, and should have another blog entry on that shortly. Thanks for reading. Happy Holidays!

Hartford Wolfpack @ Albany Devils 10/25/13

As I mentioned HERE, going to Albany Devils game is fairly cheap, as well as fairly easy for me. Recently, I went to the Times Union Center for a game between the Devils and the Hartford Wolfpack,  AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers.

I went with one of my friends, and we had gotten tickets right next to the tunnel where this visitors would walk onto the ice. Since the game was on a Friday, tickets were only $10 each because we are college students. Included with the tickets was a voucher for a $1 hot dog and $1 soda.

After we each paid $2 for our hot dog and soda, my friend and I went to our seats just in time to catch the end of warm-ups. Once there, we were in a good spot to watch all the players run down the tunnel toward the locker room. As recently demoted Arron Asham was heading to the locker room, a fan asked him to sign something, and to my surprise, Asham obliged. I've never seen a hockey player in full uniform and skates sign something for someone after warm-ups, but Asham signed a card for the fan, as you can see on the right, and went on his way. If you are wondering about me, I'll get to that later.



As for the game, Hartford took an early lead and then Albany responded against a goalie that had never played an AHL game before. After one period the score was tied 1-1. When the Wolfpack took the ice, I took blurry photos of them running down the runway like the one on the left.


In the second period, the Albany offense exploded, scoring three goals against Hartford goalie Jeff Malcolm. The Devils maintained a 4-1 lead going into the third period.

In the third period, Hartford put up a good fight, scoring two goals to cut the lead to 4-3, but they couldn't get the equalizer and the Devils got the 4-3 win. Harri Pesonen had two penalty shots for the Devils, but couldn't put either one in the net.

Earlier, one of my friends had told me where the players exit is at the Times Union Center. Sure enough, I walked to where he told me it would be, and the bus was waiting for the visiting Phantoms. I had printed out 8.5x11 logo photos for both the Wolfpack and Devils. I walked to within 10 feet of the door where the players would be leaving, and the waiting began.

The first player to walk through the door was Darroll Powe, a healthy scratch for the Wolfpack. He signed my team photo and also signed an index card for me. I brought the index cards for random players that I would want more than one of and for people I didn't print a photo for. You can see the index card on the left.



I also got index cards of Brodie Dupont and Danny Kristo, top Rangers prospects playing for the Wolfpack.

After Powe, one of the first players to come out to the bus was Arron Asham himself. Asham had left the game in the middle of the third period, and I was worried that he had been traded or injured and wouldn't be there. But, when I asked him why he wasn't there, Asham said he pulled his groin. He signed two 4x6 photos for me and then took a very blurry picture with me. I met him about a decade ago when he was an Islander and I was a member of the Islanders booster club, and it was good to meet him again. I also got a photo of him on the Flyers, where he is fighting Cam Janssen, who is now playing for Albany. You can see that photo below. I didn't get Janssen's autograph on this day, but I should get it another day.



After that, another former Islander, Aaron Johnson, came out and signed for everyone. I had his headshot from when he was an Islander many years ago, and he signed that as well as my Rangers logo photo. I had a new gold marker and wanted to try it out, and it doesn't look that bad.

Shortly after Johnson got on the bus, the person I had been waiting all night for walked out the door. Micheal Haley, current Ranger and former Islander, came outside with a few of his teammates. If you don't recognize his name, maybe THIS will help remind you. And if that doesn't trigger your memory, click HERE. I wasn't sure if it was him, so I asked, "Micheal?" He responded by walking right over to me and signing a few photos that I printed out, as well as a puck. One of the photos is of Haley fighting Cam Janssen. A big assist goes to my friend for getting the puck signed for me. Haley also took a photo with me. You can see the other Haley autographs I got at the bottom of this entry.

As the night went on, many players from both teams came out and signed for the four or five people that were there. I wish I could remember who the player on the right is, but I can't. I know it is a Devil, but I can't put a name to the face. After a while, my friend and I thought it would be time to go, but we wanted to wait another two minutes in case someone else walked out. As we took our first steps away from the arena, Sergei Brylin came walking out the door. He signed for everyone, as you can see in the video below. Brylin is a special assistant for the Devils organization, and he was watching the game.

After getting Brylin, my friend and I took the bus back to campus and called it a night. Here are the autographs I didn't already picture.












Here are the team photos I got signed.

Albany Devils:
#31 Scott Wedgewood #14 Reid Boucher
#9 Joe Whitney  #10 Rod Pelley
#26 Mike Hoeffel #12 Tim Sestito
#26 Dan Kelly #15 Harri Pesonen
#16 Chris McKelvie #2 Seth Helgeson
Sergei Brylin Signed under the word Devils in this photo.



Hartford Wolfpack:
#6 Andrew Yogan #17 Darroll Powe #16 Oscar Lindberg
#22 Andrew Rowe #44 Aaron Johnson #29 Danny Kristo
#5 Tommy Hughes #24 Brendan Nash #91 Brodie Dupont
#4 Conor Allen #8 Dylan McIlrath #26 Ryan Borque
#3 Sam Klassen #25 Danny Syvret #15 Marek Hrivik
#18 Michael St. Croix
Former Ranger Jeff Beukeboom signed on the bottom. His signature is sideways going onto the bottom of the word Rangers.

I'll be back at the Times Union Center in a few weeks. Thanks for reading. Good Luck Graphing!