November 2014: Falcons, Pirates, and Devils

I am slowly falling behind on these blog entries about getting autographs in Albany, so I am going to try and catch up as much as I can in one entry.

Springfield Falcons 10/29/14 

As Game 7 of the World Series was happening, I headed downtown to try and get some autographs from the Springfield Falcons, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets. I had gotten a bunch of them last season, but I figured I'd go again because they have a lot of new players. After the game, I waited outside with a couple other people that were getting autographs.

While players were coming out, it became apparent that both Brian Gibbons and Sean Collins had been called up to the NHL Blue Jackets. Both of them went on the bus, grabbed some food and then went back inside the arena to wait for their ride. Eventually, when their ride showed up, my friend and I opened the door and they went on their way to the NHL. I snapped the picture on the right when they were waiting.

I had nothing to get signed except for a team sheet. Here is the team sheet, along with a list of everyone who signed it and the number they wrote on the sheet in no particular order. I got pretty much everyone that played for the Falcons that night.

40-Domenic Monardo 13-Trent Vogelhuber 31-Oscar Dansk 11-Mike Hoeffel

3-Hubert Labrie 32-Frederic St. Denis 17-Sean Collins 22-Lukas Sedlak

12-Ryan Craig 36-Corey Cowick 18-TJ Tynan 8-Josh Anderson 37-Thomas Larkin

15-Kerby Rychel 9-Brandon Gibbons 29-Jerry D'Amigo 33-Scott Munroe

5-Austin Madaisky 28-???? (I wish I knew who that was. Anyone know?)

Also that night, Devils assistant coach and longtime NHL goalie Johan Hedberg signed two cards for me. I rarely have cards for people, but I've had two cards of Hedberg with me since March. It's nice to finally get these signed. He signed 16 cards for another person. Very nice guy. 

 

Portland Pirates/Devils Autograph Session 11/2/14

Shortly after getting Bridgeport, the Devils were having their first autograph session of the season after playing the Portland Pirates, the Phoenix Coyotes AHL affiliate. After the Pirates won the game in overtime, I headed out to my spot by the door armed with nothing but a team sheet for the Pirates. On my way there, I met someone who said hi and said that he reads his blog. I forgot his name, but if you're reading this, you know who you are. Thanks. Once I got back to the bus, the ink flowed. Here's the sheet and everyone I got. 

32-Tyler Gaudet 11-Francis Wathier 4-Andrew Campbell 49-Alex Bolduc

26-Darian Dziurzynski 38-Lucas Lessio 2-Dylan Reese 17-Jordan Martinook

56-Mike McKenna 28-Justin Hache 19-Henrik Samuelsson 14-Dan O'Donoghue

27-Evan Oberg 22-Phil Lane 37-Louis Domingue 

23-(???? on Bottom Left) 39-(??? on Top Right) Any idea who those are?

After the Pirates had gotten onto their bus, a Devils player walked out carrying all of his sticks and put them into his car. After someone else told me it was Steve Bernier, I approached him with a photo I had for him to sign at the autograph session. After asking him, he told me he just got called up to the NHL Devils, and was leaving immediately. He signed the photo I had of him and then went on his way to the NHL.


After I got back inside, I got all of the Devils that were at the game to sign my program. You can see that below. I wish Bernier had signed that, because I don't think he will be back in the AHL anytime soon. Click on those images or any of the others in this entry to make them bigger so you can zoom in.

At the autograph signing, I also got a few more photos signed, as you can see below.

Peter Harrold

Stefan Matteau

I took the photo of Kinkaid myself at the Islanders game at Barclays Center in September. That's it for this blog entry. I've gotten more autographs since then, but I'll get to those as soon as I can. Thanks for reading and good luck graphing!

Keith Kinkaid 

Albany Devils Autograph Signing 3/30/14

I went to the Albany Devils game back on March 30. It was followed by the last post-game autograph signing of the season, and I wanted to finish as much of the Albany Devils stuff that I had.

Before the game, I went to the Albany Devils tunnel and got assistant coach Sergei Brylin to sign a card I recently found. Unfortunately, it got smudged when he passed it back to me, but it is still a good autograph from a Stanley Cup Champion.

During the game, I got a good video of Reid Boucher scoring a goal. Check it out below. That's me with the play by play.

The game was a good one, that went to a shootout. Unlike the New Jersey Devils who are 0-11 in shootouts, Albany is pretty decent in the shootout. Captain Rod Pelley scored the only goal, and Scott Wedgewood didn't allow a goal. The Albany Devils look like they are going to the playoffs, and they got the win on this day 3-2.

After the game, I got in line for the 45 minute signing. The first table I went to had Chris McKelvie, Keith Kinkaid, Kelly Zajac, and Mike Sislo. I took a picture with Kinkaid, Sislo, and McKelvie last time, and they all signed a 4x6 that I printed out of it. Kinkaid also signed the photo of him and Johan Hedberg that Hedberg signed in February.

The giveaway for this game was a very large Albany Devils poster, and I got everyone to sign that as well. The next table I went to had Reid Bocuher, David Wohlberg, Scott Timmins, and Corbin McPherson. They all signed my poster, and I got Wohlberg to sign the program I started getting signed in October. I got a few more people to sign the program throughout the afternoon. Here is a photo of Wohlberg signing a hat and Boucher signing a program with Timmins and McPherson in the background.

When I reached the table featuring Stefan Matteau, son of Stephan Matteau, I stopped for a minute to grab a puck out of my bag. Matteau is one of the Devils top prospects, and has the potential to be a regular in the NHL in the next year or two. He signed the puck with my gold sharpie, the poster, and his photo in the program, which you can see at the bottom of this entry. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of Matteau signing, but the evidence is good enough.

I also got to a table that had winning goalie Scott Wedgewood, Reece Scarlett, Harri Pesonen, and a fourth player whom I can't remember right now. They all signed the poster after what seemed like a long wait. Of all the Devils autograph signings I've been to, this one was by far the most crowded.

Another table had shootout hero Rod Pelley, Cam Janssen, and another player who I can't remember. I wish I had the list of who was at what table, but I didn't get one for this day. I just walked in a circle and got everything signed. They signed my poster as well.

That's all the pictures I have from the signing. Here is the poster. You can see who signed it under the picture of the poster. The two hockey pucks are shown for scale. Everyone that was at the signing signed the poster.

Here's everyone that signed the poster. The number next to their name is the number that is on they jersey they are wearing, not the number they signed with. It's easier to identify them that way.
8-Mattias Tedenby 1-Keith Kinkaid 22-Cam Janssen 26-Mike Hoeffel 32-Alex Urbom
7-Brandon Burlon 23-Darcy Zajac 28-Dan Kelly 19-Mike Sislo 14-Reid Boucher
10-Rod Pelley 18-Stefan Matteau 33-Corbin McPherson 2-Seth Helgeson
17-Scott Timmins 29-Raman Hrabarenka 16-Chris McKelvie 11-Kelly Zajac
15-Harri Pesonen 34-Reece Scarlett 25-David Wohlberg 31-Scott Wedgewood

Lastly, here is my updated signed program. I got a bunch of people to sign it at the signing. The names are near the photos and signatures, so there isn't a need for another list.  Click on the photos to get a bigger look.

Overall, another well organized signing by the Devils. If you are in Albany, go to a game and try to get some autographs, you won't be disappointed. The AHL playoffs start in a few weeks, and some players currently on New Jersey should be sent down once the Devils are out of NHL playoff contention. That's all I have for now. Best of luck graphing and thanks for reading!

Bridgeport Sound Tigers @ Albany Devils 12/13/13

Just about a month after I first saw the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in Albany, they were back again to play the Devils, and I was there once again on a chilly Friday the 13th. After the game, a 6-1 Devils rout of the Sound Tigers, I was back outside the Times Union Center. However this time, it was cold. A ski mask, winter hat, coat, and gloves couldn't keep me warm on this night.

Although the teams were the same, there were plenty of different faces. The Islanders just sent down Pierre-Marc Bouchard to make room for Ryan Strome. Matt Donovan had been sent down as well to make room for another player. The Islanders were in the midst of a long losing streak, and things were changing.

When I was home for Thanksgiving, I bought an Islanders yearbook and planned to get that signed by as many people as possible. Some of the players had full pages, others had portions of pages in the prospects section, and others didn't have any mention in the yearbook.

The first player to come out was someone I have met a bunch of times and easily recognized. Jon Sim was in the midst of a professional tryout contract that he has since been released from. He signed a page in the yearbook that had the Bridgeport Sound Tigers' schedule on it. I used that page to get a bunch of people.

After Sim, the next person out was fighter Justin Johnson, who was thrown out of the game. He also signed the page that Sim had just signed. I asked him what the referee told him as he left, and he responded by going on a rant, saying f**k at least three times, and complaining that the referees were, "their (the Albany Devils) daddies." That was interesting to say the least.

As players were coming out, I got more to sign that page in the yearbook. I asked pretty much everybody, "What's your last name?" as I couldn't recognize almost everyone. When one of the guys said, "Bruton," I realized it was the captain of the Sound Tigers and a person who had a section in the yearbook, Chris Bruton. If his name sounds familiar, THIS may be why. He signed his part, said he hadn't seen it before, and boarded the bus.

Shortly after Bruton came out, I thought I recognized someone. I said, "Matt?" And it turns out I was right. Recently sent down Matt Donovan was standing in front of me. I flipped to his page in the yearbook, and he signed it along with two 4x6 photos I had of him. I asked if he could write 'First NHL Goal' one one of them from his first NHL goal, and he was happy to oblige. I told him how I was watching that goal live in my dorm room, and he seemed amused by it. I thanked him, and he went on the bus.

I didn't recognize too many other players right off the bat. But one player who I recognized pretty easily was Pierre-Marc Bouchard. The Islanders surprised the hockey world by placing him on waivers, he went unclaimed, and he was playing in his first game for the Sound Tigers. Whenever he was on the ice, he didn't look too happy to be playing in the AHL, but who can blame him? After the game, I recognized him because he is completely bald. Like many other stars on the Islanders, (Tavares, Okposo, Nabokov) Bouchard had a two page spread in the yearbook. It was mostly black, and I couldn't dig out my silver sharpies in the cold, so Bouchard signed his page on the top part of the page as well as two 4x6 photos. He signed a few cards for someone else, then went onto the bus. 

One other player who has had a good stint of NHL time is Anders Lee. After I figured out who he was, he signed his page in the yearbook for me along with a 4x6 photo. He also took a minute to take a picture with me, unfortunately it was dark and there was something wrong with my iPhone camera, but it is still a picture with Anders Lee, and it shows you how cold I was. If you want to see the picture I took with Anders, click HERE or scroll down to the bottom of the entry.

The last Bridgeport player I got was Alan Quine, a 6th round pick from this past year's draft. He had a part in the yearbook and he signed it after he said that his hometown was listed wrong.


Here is the page that I got a bunch of the Sound Tigers to sign, listed in no particular order.

24-Sean Wiles
21-Dallas Jackson
49-Justin Johnson
11-Jon Sim
44-Brett Gallant
17-Matt Lowry
19-Riley Wetmore
35-Kenny Reiter
I think I got everyone but there is a chance I might have missed someone.








I also got a couple of Albany Devils autographs. After the Sound Tigers bus left, a few Devils season ticket holders showed up and started handing out holiday cupcakes to the players. That helped me recognize some of them. Goalie Keith Kinkaid signed a 4x6 photo for me, and here is a picture of him talking with some of the other fans.



I also got Harri Pesonen to sign a 4x6 photo from his brief stint with the New Jersey Devils.

That is all I have for this entry. Here is the picture I took with Anders Lee. Good luck graphing and remember, you never know who you are going to run into. Thanks for reading!