One of the main targets for this trip to Glens Falls was Devin Setoguchi, who was recently sent down from the Calgary Flames. I'm pretty sure this was his first skate with Adirondack since being sent down. After a few other players went off before him, Setoguchi stepped off the ice and started signing for everyone. He used someone else's dying Sharpie for all the autographs, but I got him to sign two photos anyway, which is always fine. Right out of the gate, I had one of my main targets.
One of the other targets for this day was Max Reinhart, older brother of Griffin, an Islanders prospect who I met recently. Max wasn't playing in that night's game, so he was getting some extra work in after the formal skate ended. Eventually, he came off the ice and signed a 4x6 photo for me. He's been up and down from the NHL, and it looks like it will stay that way for the near future.
The last player left on the ice for the Flames was former Islander Trevor Gillies. He is one of few enforcers and fighters left in professional hockey, and HERE is a great article about him from a few weeks ago. He was doing some drills with one of the coaches to improve his hand-eye coordination. I took the photo on the left a few minutes before he came off. Once he left the ice, he signed the picture I took with him last time. That was the last Flames autograph I got.
Shortly after the Flames left the ice, the zamboni came on, and I relaxed in the stands. During that time, I got an autograph from Vincent Riendeau, who is the Assistant GM of the Bulldogs and a former NHL goaltender. He signed my team sheet while sitting in the stands. Also before the skate started, assistant coach Donald Dufrense and player Connor Crisp sat down in the stands to talk before the skate. While a few people including myself wanted them to sign, we didn't want to interrupt their conversation. After about 15 minutes, they headed back into the locker room, but not before signing first. Dufrense signed a card that a friend had given me, and I got Crisp to sign the team sheet. The skate eventually started, and I took the panorama you see below.
The first player to come off the ice was former Islander Joey MacDonald. I met him many years ago when he was still playing for the Islanders. He was very nice, and he signed a photo, a card, and my team sheet for me before going into the locker room. When someone told him I was an Islanders fan, he joked about it a little bit. 
Another former Islander came off shortly after. Standing at 6 feet 8 inches tall, it is hard to miss Joe Finley. When he came off the ice, he walked right over to me and signed a 4x6 photo that I actually printed out last season when he was on Bridgeport. Good thing I didn't throw it out. He also signed his page in last year's Islanders yearbook. He made a joke about Evgeni Nabokov's face in the yearbook photo, which is pretty funny when you see it.
Davis Drewiske and Drayson Bowman also came off the ice at about the same time. Drewiske won the Stanley Cup with the Kings a few years ago, and Bowman recently played for the Hurricanes. I had some trouble figuring out who was who, but I figured it out well enough to get both of them to sign a photo and my team sheet. Drewiske said he likes signing the photo on the left, with good reason.The last photo I had was of Canadiens top prospect Nathan Beaulieu. I hadn't heard of him before reading through the Bulldogs roster, but I figured I'd print out a photo and see what happens. When someone else recognized him coming off the ice, I went over to him and got him to sign the photo. That was the last photo I got signed on the day. That night's backup goalie Mike Condon came off after, and he signed my team sheet. I also took a photo with him after he took photos with a few other Canadiens fans.
One of the last autographs I got on the day was that of assistant coach Stephan Lebeau. I was given three cards of him, and he had no problem signing all three. A couple other people had about 20 cards each of him, and Lebeau had no problem signing them all and talking to us about his favorite card, one of him bumping into Wayne Gretzky, and telling us about his personal collection. I don't think he could have been any nicer.
And lastly, here is my Bulldogs signed team sheet with everyone that signed it and the numberer they put on it.
19-Christian Thomas 15-Drayson Bowman 21-Nick Sorkin 18-Jake Dowell
9-Mac Bennett 24-Jack Nevins 39-Joey MacDonald 23-Connor Crisp
2-Greg Pateryn 5-Jarred Tinordi 11-Daniel Carr 1-Mike Condon
4- Davis Drewiske 8-Nathan Beaulieu 20-Jacob de la Rose
TJ Hensick (center right) and Vincent Riendeau (bottom left) signed without numbers.
That will do it for this entry. Thanks for reading. Happy Holidays!!
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