Iowa Wild @ Adirondack Flames 2/4/15

A couple weeks ago, I got to go back to Glens Falls again. This time, the Iowa Wild were in town to play the soon to be moving to California Adirondack Flames. I'll just jump right into all the fun.

While walking down the stairs while the Flames were skating, I noticed a puck in the stands. After picking it up, I noticed it was an Adirondack Flames official game puck. Once I looked at the ice, I saw that most of the pucks used in the skate were official game pucks. Maybe they figured that since they are leaving, they might as well use all the pucks while they can. Here's the puck near where I found it, it's a beauty. I don't know about everyone, but I'm a big fan of the classic Atlanta Flames 'A' logo that Adirondack adopted for this season

When I got over to the Flames side, I was able to get a few autographs from players as they were heading off the ice near the locker room. I got five players (Drew Shore, Max Reinhart, Mark Cundari, Mathiu Tousignant and Garnet Hathaway) to sign a basic Flames 4x6 logo sheet I had printed out. Here it is with the people that signed it.


I also got Shore to sign a 4x6 photo that I pritend out. Shore was recently traded to the Flames from the Panthers and promptly got sent down to Adriondack. I wouldn't be surprised if he's back up with Calgary real soon.

Later, assistant coach Todd Gill walked off the ice and came over to me, and I asked, "Mr. Gill, can you please sign?"
He joked, "No because you called me mister."
Then, he signed for a couple other people before coming over to me again. This time I called him Todd and asked him to sign.
He said, "No because you called me Todd."
Then he took my sharpie, signed the photo and said, "Call me mister because I'm older than you"
That was an interesting moment to say the least, but I'm happy to say Gill was just busting my chops.

The last Flames person who I got an autograph from was Trevor Gillies. I met Gillies earlier this season, but a friend gave me a couple cards of Gillies, so I tried to get them signed. Eventually, Gillies walked right over to me and signed all the cards. He's a nice guy.

That was all I got for the Flames. I missed a couple guys that I was hoping to get, but I'll give it another try later in the season. Eventually, the Iowa Wild came out for the morning skate, but they were missing a couple players I was hoping to meet. Former Islanders Ruslan Fedotenko and Joel Rechlicz both didn't make the trip to Glens Falls, and no reason was specifically given for why. That was disappointing, but there was nothing anybody could do about it. I took this picture during the Iowa skate.

The Wild had a rough morning skate, as a scuffle broke out in the middle of it. A couple players dropped their gloves, curse words were yelled, and a couple players had to be restrained. Ultimately, nothing too serious happened and the skate continued without incident.

The first one off the ice was starting goalie Darcy Kuemper. He was sent down because Devan Dubnyk has had a strong season for the Minnesota Wild. Kuemper walked off the ice, handed his blocker, glove, and stick to an equipment manager and started signing. I got him to sign a 4x6 photo and an Iowa Wild team sheet. He signed for everyone then went on to get a shutout in the game that night.

Later on, fellow goalie John Curry came off and also signed a 4x6 and my team sheet. He was a nice guy. I don't usually get AHL photos signed too much, but I didn't have much else for him so I figured I'd print out something cool. Curry was with the Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup a few years ago in 2009 even though he didn't play in a playoff game.

While the former Islanders weren't present for the Wild, the former Rangers were there. I had printed photos of Stu Bickel and Justin Falk to get signed, and as I was reorganizing my stuff, Bickel walked off the ice. I barely had enough time to fumble the picture of Bickel so he could sign it, but it his signature smudged onto Falk's photo as well. Falk later signed the photo as well as the team sheet. Here are both signed photos. You can see where Bickel's signature went onto Falk's photo. Falk's photo is on the right, Bickel's is on the left.

Those were all the photos I got signed. To the right is a photo of a player that I just can't remember signing for everyone. I'm a fan of the Iowa Wild practice jerseys. They have a good color scheme. If anyone knows who this player is, let me know.



Below is my signed team sheet along with a list of everyone that signed it and the number (if any) that they signed with in no particular order. I'm pretty sure I got every player that was on the ice except Bickel to sign the team sheet.

21-Brady Brassart 3-Jason Gregoire 29-Marc Hagel 27-Brett Sutter 

4-Tyler Graovac 25-Danny Syvret 2-Guillaume Gelinas 25-Darcy Kuemper 

19-Stephane Veilleux 17-Brett Bulmer 36-Michael Keranen 24-Alex Gudbranson 

44-Justin Falk 33-John Curry 39-Kurtis Gabriel 7-Jonathon Blum 

28-Raphael Bussieres 51-Zack Phillips 18-Zack Mitchell

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

Jack McKeon and Multiple Jets: What a Weekend

Some weekends are more fun than others, and this weekend was one of them. Three straight days of graphing opportunities arose, and I took full advantage of all of them, and covered a wide variety of different sports while doing so.

Friday 1/30
Last season, the St. John's IceCaps knocked out the Albany Devils in the first round of the AHL playoffs. I met some of the IceCaps, the Winnipeg Jets AHL Affiliate, after game one last season. They were nice. This year, they were coming back to Albany, and I figured I'd try and get some more autographs.

Since I had some extra time on Friday, I went down towards the Times Union Center before the game, something I rarely do. I didn't have too much stuff, so I printed out a couple 4x6 photos to get a bunch of people on.

I didn't have much individual stuff, but one person I did have stuff for was Carl Klingberg. He came walking out and signed a 4x6 photo I had printed out of him. He is one of the Jets top prospects and he should be in the NHL again real soon. He also said that his hometown is Sweden is closer to St. Johns than we thought it was.


Many other players were walking toward me, and I got most of them to sign one of two other photos I had printed. One was a basic Winnipeg Jets 4x6 logo paper, and the other was a photo I took before game one of last year's playoffs. Here are both photos and everyone that signed them.

34-JC Lipon 16-John Albert 25-Blair Riley

8-Brenden Kichton 48-Carl Klingberg 7-Kris Fredheim

19-Kyle MacKinnon 26-Nicolas Blanchard 50-Austen Brassard

7-Keaton Ellerby 49-Julien Brouillette 9-Ryan Olsen 

That was all I got from the IceCaps on Saturday. The IceCaps then beat the Devils on Friday, and lost to them on Saturday. 

Saturday 1/31

A friend of mine works for the Amsterdam Mohawks, a collegiate summer-league team. Every year, the Mohawks have a winter hot-stove dinner with a guest speaker. Doc Gooden was one of the speakers a few years ago. My friend invited me to join him for the dinner, and I was happy to accept the invitation. This year, former Marlins manger and World Series Champion manager Jack McKeon was scheduled to be the guest speaker, as he played in the Amsterdam area in the 1950s. 

After getting a little lost on the way there, my friend and I made it to the event during the cocktail hour. An autograph signing with McKeon was scheduled for the cocktail hour, but my friend and I missed that portion of it. Eventually, we sat down for the dinner. A few people gave speeches, and food was served. I was able to grab photo that he already signed at the signing during the dinner. So, at least I wouldn't go home empty handed. 

Eventually, I noticed McKeon go into a room where a silent auction was being held. He was taking pictures with a couple people who were honored at the event. After the photos were over, I walked up to McKeon while he was standing by himself and asked him if he could sign a couple cards for me. He said he would and I handed him a sharpie. I put the cards on a nearby table and McKeon leaned over and signed them all beautifully. I then thanked him, shook his hand, and told him I was looking forward to his speech. Here are the cards he signed for me.

His speech was pretty funny. My favorite moment is when he recalled his playing days and said, "I hit three ways, right, left, and seldom." That drew a large applause from the crowd. He talked about his managerial days, his time in the Amsterdam area, and many other topics. He was pretty funny and one of his main messages was to follow your dream. He said his dream wasn't accomplished until he was 72 and managed the Marlins to a World Series title. He is the oldest manager in MLB history to win the World Series. On our way out of the dinner, my friend and I stopped McKeon and asked if we could get pictures. He happily obliged, and we left the dinner in a good mood. 

Sunday 2/1 

Super Bowl Sunday, always a fun day. Long story short, a few of the football coaches at my college played in the NFL, and I heard they were doing an autograph signing during a basketball game. I had found a card of longtime New York Jets center Jim Sweeney at home a few weeks ago. I was happy to get that card signed and a friend gave me a card of Nate Byham, a new assistant coach, which he signed. 

That is it for this entry. It was a fun weekend and I should have some more stories up soon. Good luck graphing and thanks for reading! 

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. 

Islanders Hall of Famers 1/16/15

The weeks at home flew by so quickly, but now I'm back in Albany getting ready for another semester. However, I had one last chance to get autographs while I was home, and I capitalized on it.

The Islanders played the Penguins last week in one of he last games before the NHL All-Star break. On this day, the Islanders were honoring Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier. I had met fellow Hall of Famer Denis Potvin when he was honored earlier in the season. Now, I tried to meet Trottier before he was honored.

After getting to the MSG TV studio in Nassau Coliseum's lower lobby, I tried to squeeze my way into a decent position. This was my view as I waited for Trottier to show up for his interview with Shannon Hogan.

While waiting, one of the producers informed everyone that another Hall of Famer, Mike Bossy, would be on the broadcast also. That made the excitement build even more. Eventually, a murmur grew in the crowd which only meant one thing, the Hall of Famers were coming. 

Trottier and Bossy showed up at the same time, and Trottier immediately started signing while Bossy got some directions from a MSG producer. Eventually, Trottier hit a rut while signing. By a rut, I mean he ran into a bunch of people who didn't have pens. (Tip: If you are trying to get autographs, bring sharpies. That is very simple, but it's amazing how many times people don't have sharpies. Bring more than one in case you lose one or one dries up.) Since I saw he was stopped, I held up my sharpie and called Bryan over. He came right to me and signed a card and a photo I took with him many years ago. 

I told Trottier that he could keep my sharpie for a few minutes, and he did. When he came back toward me, he signed a puck for me as well. The puck was a special puck commemorating the Islanders Stanley Cup Championship in 1980. Eventually, Bossy started signing as well, and I got him to sign the puck as well. Thankfully someone else had a blue sharpie to make my life easier. After signing for 5-10 minutes, Bossy and Trottier got on set and did the interview with Shannon Hogan. 

After the Islanders won the game, I went home to see if I had made it on TV during the MSG+ pre game show. Thankfully I had put the pre game show on DVR, and when I turned on the DVR, I was delighted to see this. (That's me in the blue beanie in the middle.) 

Here are the autographs I got from Trottier and Bossy. That should do it for this entry. Thanks and good luck graphing! 

Top 10 Autographs of 2014

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great one like I did. I did a Top 10 Autographs of 2013 post last year, and it's time to do it again for 2014.

I'm making this list with the following rough guidelines. 

• How good the person is. (All Star, Award Winner, Hall of Famer, etc.)
• How much the person means to me. 
• How I got the autograph. (Through the mail, in person, etc.) 
• Any fun story behind getting the autograph. 

With that, let the countdown begin. 

10. Harrison Barnes-Golden State Warriors Forward

One of the finest young players in the NBA today, Barnes did something few athletes do in today's world. Early in the summer, Barnes posted THIS message on his Facebook page. He invited fans to send him items for him to sign with specific guidelines. The day I saw that message, I sent out a 4x6 photo. A couple weeks later, I got the photo back signed in silver. He is now having a pretty good season playing for one of the top teams in the NBA. This was a great success from a class act to say the least. 

9. Trevor Gillies-NHL/AHL Hockey Player 

Up until this point, the NHL career of Trevor Gillies has been brief and full of controversy. He only has two NHL goals, but he is more known for his fighting skills. He was one of the main players in the famous brawl against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2011. Now, he is playing for the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Flames. I went to see their morning skate a few weeks ago, and Gillies was as nice as could be. Click HERE for the full story. He might not be a great player, but I saw him with the Islanders and he will always be a fan favorite for me. Also, how can a guy who draws a mustache on his autograph not be on this list? 

8. Matt Kemp-MLB All Star

The first in-person autograph I got at Citi Field last season was that of MLB All-Star Matt Kemp. He was playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time. He was recently traded to the San Diego Padres. He signed for a few minutes before the game, and I was lucky to get his autograph on the sweet spot of an official MLB ball. There was a huge mosh pit of people, and I was very happy to get this autograph. 

7. Al Arbour-Hockey Hall of Famer, Former Islanders Coach

The Islanders have had many legends over their 43 year existence. Few are greater than coach Al Arbour. He was the Islanders coach for all four Stanley Cup Championships, and was the coach for exactly 1,500 games over his career. I attended game number 1,500 in 2007. It was an amazing experience, and the Isles got Arbour his 740th career win that night. I have autographs of pretty much everyone whose banner hangs in the Nassau Coliseum rafters, but Arbour's has been hard to find for a long time. I sent him a couple photos and an autograph card in hope of getting a response. To my delight, I got everything back signed in the mail. It was great to finally add his autograph to my collection. 

6. Dwight 'Doc' Gooden-Former Mets and Yankees Pitcher

One of the most celebrated pitchers in recent baseball history, Dwight Gooden is also one of New York's beloved baseball stars. He won a World Series for both the Mets and Yankees during his time in the MLB. However, he also had problems with drugs and alcohol during his career. Over the summer, he appeared at the Nassau County Health and Fitness Expo to give a speech on how his addiction made his life difficult. He also did an autograph signing that day, and he signed three cards for me and took a photo with me. One of the cards was previously signed by Wade Boggs. It was great to meet him and hear him admit his mistakes. 

5. Darryl Strawberry-Former Mets and Yankees Outfielder

Similarly to Gooden, Strawberry is also one of New York's beloved baseball stars. He was Gooden's teammate for many years on both the Mets and Yankees. Over the summer, he was a part of the Meet Mr. Met Tour, a Mets sponsored tour of Citibank locations that featured various Mets alumni. I met Strawberry twice over the summer, and I took a photo with him and got three autographs from him over the course over the summer. He was a nice guy, and I was happy to get his autograph.

 4. Curtis Granderson-Mets Outfielder
A man who made this list last year returns again. I got his autograph in the mail last year and said I hoped he would be in a Mets jersey next time I saw him. It turns out I was correct. Granderson didn't have the year I hoped he would, but he's a Met and he's here to stay. He has a reputation for being one of the nicest current players in baseball, and he lived up to that reputation over the summer. I met him two separate times over the summer, and got five autographs from him. He is truly a class act, and I hope to meet him again next season. He also gave my aunt a shoutout, as you can see in the video below.

3. Jadeveon Clowney-Houston Texans Linebacker
Although Jadeveon Clowney didn't have the rookie season anybody planned on, I had a good experience with him before the season started. I had won a free ticket to meet Clowney at the Steiner Sports Store on Long Island. I got him to sign a photo I printed out. He was a funny guy, and if you want to read the full story from that day, click HERE. Hopefully Clowney will be ready to star for the Texans next year, or he could end up being another top draft pick bust.

2. Dave Coulier-Actor/Comedian
I very rarely get autographs from people that aren't related to sports. However, the perfect opportunity arose when I found out Dave Coulier would be doing a free comedy show on my college campus. Since I grew up watching Full House, I knew I had to get his autograph. After his hilarious comedy show, I went to try and find him. Long story short, I did get his autograph and a picture with him. HERE is the full story from that night. He is one of my favorite actors now, and one that I will always remember. 

1. Denis Potvin-Hockey Hall of Famer, Former Islanders Captain
As I mentioned earlier in this post, I have autographs of nearly every Islander who has a banner hanging in the Nassau Coliseum rafters. The one player that eluded me for most of my life was Denis Potvin. He was one of the league's top defensemen and the captain of all four Islanders Stanley Cup Championship teams. I finally met him in November when I was home for Thanksgiving. HERE is the full story from that night. The fact that I was finally able to meet him after many, many years puts him in the number one slot as my top autograph of 2014. 

Thanks for reading and good luck graphing! Happy New Year!