About a month ago, I attended the Albany Devils game on a Sunday afternoon when they hosted the Hartford Wolfpack. The Wolfpack were one of the first teams I ever got autographs from in Albany, so I figured I'd try my luck with them again.
The game was also scheduled as the last autograph signing for the Devils, which was good because I was looking to get a few photos signed from some players.
The game itself was a pretty good one, as the Devils scored four goals in the third period to come back and beat the Wolfpack. I got a few of them on video, as you could see HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Directly after the game, I went to my usual spot outside the Times Union Center and waited for the Wolfpack to come outside.
It was pretty cold, so I don't have any photos of the Wolfpack outside, but here's the quick story of what happened. Defenseman Michael Kostka came out and I instantly recognized him because of his long blonde hair. He quickly signed the photo on the right for me before boarding the team bus. Longtime AHLer Chris Mueller also came out and signed a photo for me. I rarely print out photos of people in AHL jerseys, but I liked this one so I got him to sign it.
Eventually, someone I actually recognized walked out the door. Dylan McIlrath signed a program for a kid, and I instantly recognized his signature from the last time I met him. He signed a nice photo for me. One of the last guys to walk out the door was Joey Crabb, and a fellow collector pointed him out for me so I could get him to sign the photo on the right.
I had printed out a Hartford Wolfpack team logo 4x6 photo to get a few random people to sign. I got a couple of players to sign it, but I'll get to them in a second. Assistant coach and 1994 Stanley Cup Champion Jeff Beukeboom walked out the door carrying some food, and when a couple collectors asked him to sign, he went on the bus and said he would be right back. A lot of people say that, but few live up to their word. But thankfully, Beukeboom but his stuff down on the bus and came back. He signed a cool 1994 Stanley Cup Championship puck that I had, as well as the Wolfpack logo sheet. Here are both items with the other people who signed the logo sheet.
Beukeboom signed it on the top right corner.
74-Nick Tarnasky 29-Danny Kristo
2-Mat Bodie 48-Carl Klingberg
After that, I went back inside for the Devils autograph signing. The first table I got in line for was that of the day's winning goalie, Scott Clemmensen. I met Clemmensen the first time he got sent down back in November, but he wasn't coming out the usual back door since then. I took a photo with him that first time, and I printed it out and tried to get it signed. When I handed him the photo, he said that we look like a couple of handsome men. Then, he said he liked the photo of him playing on the Cats, aka the Florida Panthers. Here are the two photos he signed for me.
The other Albany Devils' player who I had an individual item of was Joe Whitney. I printed out a photo from his first NHL goal in Detroit earlier this season. I told him that I've never seen anyone look so happy in a hockey photo, and he said he remembers how happy he was after putting the puck in the net. Judge how happy he is for yourself, the photo is on the right.
The giveaway at the game was a team poster. They gave posters out last year, and I was there for that game too. This year's poster was significantly smaller, which made it easier to carry around. After the game, I got everybody that was there to sign the poster. I don't have a specific list of names, but here are a few photos I took at the signing.And below is the team signed poster. I put pucks on the corners to hold it down. Click on the photo for a closer look.
That's all for this entry, I'll have another one coming up soon. Thanks for reading!
