Recent Islanders Mail Successes

It's been a while since I posted about some mail successes that I've gotten. If you are wondering, I have a subscription to StarTiger, which has many addresses of celebrities, not just athletes. I've had it for a few years, and it is worth every penny. I've gotten a bunch of autographs in the mail since I last posted about it. A lot of them have came from former New York Islanders, so I am bunching all of those into one entry.

Starting off with some Islanders related people, I got 4 cards signed by a defenseman who played with both the Islanders and Rangers, Vladimar Malakhov. He also played for a few other teams, including the 1992 Unified Team that won the Gold Medal in Albertville.

The Architect, Bill Torrey signed an autograph card and a custom photo I printed out. He was President of the Florida Panthers for a few years, and is still living in Florida. He added his Hall of Fame inscription from when he was inducted in 1995.

Another person whose banner resides high over the Nassau Coliseum ice is Head Coach Al Arbour. He was the coach for all 4 Islanders Stanley Cup teams, and is one of the greatest coaches in hockey history. He even came back and coached the Isles to a win in his 1500th career game in 2007. (I was there, it was awesome.)  I mailed him an autograph card and two 4x6 photos, all of which he signed with his Hall of Fame inscription. He signed the autograph card on the back and added the date, which is something I haven't seen before.

 A more recent Islander and current Florida Panther, Brad Boyes signed some cards that I sent him. I mailed them to the Panthers arena, and they came back signed in less than a month.











A known fighter during his NHL career, Ken Baumgartner signed three cards in the mail for me. This one was a very quick success as well, taking about three weeks.

The last person for this entry is another recent Islander, Brian Rolston. I met him as well as all of the 2011-12 Islanders at an event a few years ago. I took a photo with him and Marty Reasoner, and after finding his address, I mailed it to him. He signed that photo, as well as another photo and a card.

 That's everything for this entry! 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 1/31/14

Last Friday, I went to see the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in Albany for the third time. Remember the first and second time I saw them? Those were fun. This time, during the game, I was involved in a little bit of controversy. If you want to read about it on my other blog, click HERE. I didn't get too much on this night, but I got enough.

After the game, I went to my spot outside the Times Union Center to see what autographs I could get.
With about six other people waiting also, I knew there wouldn't be many players walking by that we would miss.

One of the first guys out was Pierre-Marc Bouchard. He was sent down in December after struggling with the Islanders. After taking a picture with one of the Sound Tigers fanatics, he walked over to me. He signed my two cards, and then took my sharpie to sign one card each for the rest of people that had cards. I can't explain why I got two, but I'll take it because I don't get cards too often.

I was hoping to see Aaron Ness, I had some cool photos of him, but I'm pretty sure he snuck out behind me when Bouchard was signing for me. The next person out that I wanted to see was Anders Lee, and he signed a photo I had of him from his first NHL goal. 

Shortly after, the now-injured Ryan Strome walked out, with his injured hand in his shirt pocket. Thankfully for the autograph seekers there, he injured his non-writing hand. I had two pictures from when Strome scored his first NHL goal, a game I attended. He didn't say anything about his hand, and he signed two photos for me, pretty sloppily, and signed for others before running onto the bus. Hopefully he will be fine soon. 

The last member of the Sound Tigers that I got on this night was goaltender Anders Nilsson. He signed a photo and his page in the Islanders yearbook before telling the fans he was the last player to come out. Once he got on the bus, it drove away, bound for Bridgeport.

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