Islanders Mini Camp 7/10/15

Recently, the Islanders held their annual Rookie Mini Camp at a local ice rink a few miles from my house. I didn't have to work on one day that the practice would be open to the public, so I figured I'd head out to the rink and see what I could get.

The Islanders prospects were divided into two groups of teams, and the first team was supposed to be on the ice at about noon. I got there a few minutes before the first team headed onto the ice. Here is a photo of the first group on the ice.

There wasn't much security, so people were free to roam around wherever they wanted. The whole atmosphere was very relaxed. Eventually, I saw Islanders assistant coach Doug Weight sitting in the stands watching the skate. I went up to him and got him to sign my yearbook from two season ago. I got Bridgeport head coach Brent Thompson and many other Islanders to sign that yearbook in the past year or two, so I figured I'd try and add some more autographs to it.  Weight also signed the blank Islanders logo sheet Bob Nystrom recently signed for me. You can see photos of all these autographs later in he entry. 

Another person that I easily found was current Islanders coach Jack Capuano. He was standing near Weight watching the practice. He also signed the yearbook for me and then I took a photo with him. If you look closely, you can see that Capuano is missing a toe on one of his feet. I really wish I knew how that happened. If you know why Jack Capuano is missing a toe, let me know in the comments. Here is the signed coaches part of the Islanders 2013-14 yearbook.

Another former player that I recognized was Ken Morrow. He was the first player ever to win Olympic Gold and the Stanley Cup in the same year. I've gotten autographs from him before. Click HERE to read about that. I approached him and asked him to sign the Islanders logo sheet and a blank puck, both of which he signed. He inscribed '1980 Gold' on the puck to commemorate the famous Miracle on Ice. I also took another photo with him. 

That was it for the former players, but it was a pretty good day to get the future Islanders as well. Nobody that was invited to the mini camp had played for the Islanders yet, so I was excited to see a lot of the new guys. While one squad was on the ice, the other team was just hanging out in the stands watching their teammates practice.

One player who I immediately recognized was one of the top prospects in the Islanders organization, Ryan Pulock. He is a defenseman who took a shot that was registered at 105 miles per hour at the Islanders scrimmage a couple days prior. He signed a puck and a roster sheet for me, then started signing for everybody that was there. I took a photo with him later. You can see the photos of the autographs later in this entry. I'm pretty sure that is Ryan Pilon photobombing in the background.

Pulock was the only person that I recognized that wasn't on the ice during the first practice session. Eventually, I saw a crowd form near one of the tunnels onto the ice. It was for one of the Islanders late round picks, Andong Song. He was the first Chinese born player ever selected in the NHL Draft. There was a Chinese camera crew following him around everywhere and the Islanders PR person wanted him to go back inside, but he signed my roster sheet before heading inside. I may have been on TV in China, I don't know. He signed his autograph in Chinese, and you can see that later in this entry.


After that, I figured out that the players would be leaving the rink through the lobby where I had originally entered, so me and a lot of the other people went out to the lobby while the other group was on the ice. As soon as I was in the lobby, I noticed someone signing for the people. I was told it was recent first round pick Anthony Beauvillier. He signed a team logo sheet and the roster sheet for me before taking a photo with me. He was friendly with everyone.





I have crazy luck when it comes to getting autographs. I had to go to the bathroom in the lobby, but I kept on telling myself that as soon as I left, the Islanders top prospect would walk out the door. Eventually, I couldn't hold off nature's call any longer. As I walked back into the lobby, I saw top prospect Josh Ho-Sang walking toward the crowd of people. I couldn't believe what was actually happening, so I rushed over to make sure I met him. He sat down on a couch and signed everything for everybody. I got him on the roster sheet and logo photo. He also signed the puck that Pulock previously signed for me. Here is that puck. Pulock's signature is on the top.

After that, I went back into the rink and watched the other group practice. After their practice, a bunch of people went into the tunnel that the players were leaving from. While there, Michael Dal Colle signed my logo photo, roster, and a puck for me. He was a nice guy, but I have to admit that his signature is absolutely awful. Take a look at the puck on the right for yourself.




While in the tunnel, young goalies Stephon Williams and Eamon McAdam signed the 2013-14 yearbook for me. They were the only players that signed the yearbook for me on that day.

Here is the logo photo sheet that I got signed by Ho-Sang, Beauvillier, and Dal Colle. 

Here is the roster sheet that I got signed by Ho-Sang, Pulock, Dal Colle, Beauvillier, Song, as well as Sebastian Collberg and Japanese star Yuri Terao. 

Song's signature is in the middle on the left side. Terao's is the one on the top right side. 

That's all for this entry. Thank you for reading and good luck graphing!

My Last Game at Nassau Coliseum 4/19/15

Before this season started, I said that if the New York Islanders made the playoffs, I would come home from Albany to go to a playoff game. I've never been to an NHL playoff game, and I didn't want to live my life without going to one at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Islanders had a successful regular season, and while they didn't get home ice advantage for their first round series against the Washington Capitals, they did get a home game at a time I could attend: Sunday April 19 at noon.

Autographs were the last thing on my mind for this game, but I always come prepared just in case I see somebody.

The game itself was an amazing one. It was everything I could have asked for my first (and last) playoff game at Nassau Coliseum. In case you don't know what happened, here's how the game ended.


After the game, I didn't have my voice for a few days.

But during the game, something cool happened. At the second intermission, I went to go use the bathroom, which can be a difficult and time consuming task at the Coliseum, which may be one of the reasons they are leaving. Instead of trying to find one on the concourse, which is impossible during an intermission, I headed down to the lower lobby.

The lower lobby is where I've met many Isladner greats by the MSG studio. This season alone, I've met legends Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, and Denis Potvin. But since this game was televised live nationally on NBC, there was no show at the studio today.

While in line for the men's room, I noticed someone familiar walking toward me. After someone took a selfie with him, I realized it was Islander great Clark Gillies. I had left my bag with my sharpies and stuff to get signed at my seat, so the only option I had was to go for a photo. I went to ask for it, but he said he would be right back before walking down a VIP tunnel.

A few minutes later, Gillies emerged and was walking through the crowd quickly. After signing an autograph for someone else, I took my phone out and went next to him for a selfie. He smiled and I took the photo on the right. I think he was sitting in the stands and had to go to the bathroom at the intermission. Since his name is in the rafters, he can do whatever he wants. I got his autograph a few times before, so I wasn't upset about missing out on the chance for the autograph. It isn't the greatest selfie, but it is a selfie with a Hall of Famer, so I won't complain.

That was a pretty cool moment, and another one happened at the end of the game. As everyone was leaving, I was in no rush. I just sat in my seat and absorbed the Nassau Coliseum atmosphere one last time. When I finally left my seat, I walked down toward the concourse to go outside.

Once I entered the concourse, I noticed a group of people just standing around. After walking toward that area, I noticed it was another Islander legend, Bob Nystrom. Nystrom isn't in the Hall of Fame, but he scored the greatest goal in Islanders history to give them their first Stanley Cup in 1980.

Unlike Gillies, Nystrom was in no rush. He was shaking every hand and taking every photo with anyone who asked. I brought a puck with me and asked him to sign it. He signed it, but my silver sharpie was dead and the autograph is barely visible, as you can see on the right. He then used my sharpie to sign a woman's hoodie and a couple tickets, which came out better than my puck.

Since the puck came out bad, I wanted to get another autograph. Nystrom was still busy taking pictures so I had a minute to dig out an Islanders team logo sheet from my bag. I previously got Rick Bowness and Butch Goring to sign the sheet with a black sharpie. I had no black sharpie with me, and I grabbed the first one I could find out of my bag. That one turned out to be orange, which was fine because it's an Islanders color. Nystrom signed the logo sheet with the orange sharpie, adding the third signature to my sheet.


Before Nystrom left, I took a selfie with him and thanked him for his time. That photo turned out to be the final one I ever took inside Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. A selfie with the man who helped put the Islanders on the hockey map.

That's all for this entry. Thanks for reading. Farewell Nassau Coliseum. 

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! 

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!