Jon's Autograph Tales

"I drove out to the New Jersey Devils Training facility on a chilly spring morning in 2000. It was right after my favorite player, Alex Mogilny, had been traded to the Devils, and Larry Robinson had taken over coaching duties from Robbie Ftorek. The practice was great. Very fast paced, one player, I think it was Stevens, even shattered the glass right behind Martin Brodeur. Three things I will always remember about the practice, 1) Martin Brodeur's skill playing the puck, 2) watching Assistant Coach Bobby Carpenter jump up onto the top of the dasher boards, in his skates, to help fix the glass pane that had just shattered, and 3) watching the line of Arnott, Elias, and Sykora spend an extra 30 minutes after practice working on plays. What a treat. After practice just about all the players signed my jersey, guys like Stevens, Brodeur, Arnott, Elias. One guy that would not sign for anybody was Claude Lemieux. It was a great day, especially since they won the Cup a few months later."

Fall: 2000

Team: Colorado Avalanche

Location: Wilkes Barre/Hershey

Mission: Get Avalanche Jersey Signed

"The Colorado Avalanche visited Wilkes Barre and Hershey for 2 Pre-season games against the Penguins. I drove up to Wilkes Barre to see the practice and get some autographs. The practice was great. As the players came off the ice they signed for us at the tunnel. I could not get any of the star players because some guys, after getting their autographs, would hand them these plaque's with some of their cards on it. Their hands were too full to sign for anyone else. Fortunately the next day, all the star players visited the Hershey Country Club, where I was working at the time, for a round of golf. They all signed for me their, in the pro shop. Drury, Sakic, Roy, Bourque, and a few others. It was dark when they finished. They seemed to have had a pretty competative round. At the end of that season I, along with millions of others, watched them hoist the Stanley Cup."

Fall: 2002

Team: Edmonton Oilers

Location: Nassau Coliseum Long Island, N.Y.

Mission: Team Signed Oilers Jersey

"The Oilers were visiting the Islanders, so I tried to get them before and after their morning skate. Most of the players were great signers. Guys like Tommy Salo, Eric Brewer, Ryan Smyth, Georges Laraque, and Coach Craig MacTavish. Dan Cleary would not sign my jersey, he said he would see it on ebay that night. I told him I do not sell autographs on ebay or anywhere, that I was a big fan that had just driven from Pennsylvania. He looked at me and said "Man you guys are pro's". It was at that point that I realised how much ebay was hurting the joy of autograph collecting. Anson Carter walked 100 yards talking on his cell phone with a hound walking along side him holding a clip board with a photo. He totally ignored him the whole way."

Winter: 2003

Team: Toronto Maple leafs

Location: Toronto Maple Leafs Practice Rink

Mission: Get Mapleleafs Jersey Signed

"I found out the Leafs would be at their practice rink instead of the ACC, so I drove up to Toronto in a snowstorm during the AM rush hour to their practice facility by the lake. After a stop at Tim Horton's I headed to the rink, parked, and walked in with Coach Pat Quinn. They had security at the door and they asked to see my media credentials. I told them I was a fan who had just come to watch the practice. I explained that I had driven up from Hershey, PA. and would really like to watch the practice. After a little more talk, they agreed to let me in. The practice was great. There were alot of media there. After practice I stood in the falling snow with two other guys and approached the players as they exited the building. Most players were great, guys like Belak, (ex-Hershey Bear) Tucker, Corson, Kidd, and Roberts were personable. My favorite player, Alexander Mogilny, exited the building. I stood next to him as he unlocked his SUV and politely asked for his autograph. He said "NO", and got into his vehicle and shut the door. I wonder if he knew that I had been a fan of his since I first heard of his defection to the US in 1988, and spent the last 10 years amassing over 1100 of his hockey cards, thirteen pro weight jersey's, and numerous figurines, cereal boxes, bobbleheads, coins, hat's, t-shirts, magazines, photo's, game used sticks, skates, gloves, pants, and a bunch of other stuff? Thousands and thousands of dollars invested. That spring I decided to call it quits. I stopped buying hockey cards, and ended my quest to possess the biggest most comprehensive collection of Mogilny memorabilia."

Winter: 2005

Team: Carolina Huricanes

Location: Huricanes Practice Facility,

Mission: Get Huricanes Jersey Signed

"I flew down to Raleigh, rented a car and headed out to the Huricanes practice rink. The practice was great. Saw some great goals. The players were great about signing autographs. The first one out was Erik Cole. He came out in his shorts and t-shirt. Signed for everybody and thanked them for being there. He said he was going back in to work out but wanted to make sure he got autographs for everyone first. Cam Ward came out with his hands full, told us he was heading to his car, but would come back and sign for everyone. (Heard that before). He did though, came back and signed for everyone. The rest of the team took their time and signed for the few of us that were there. The Carolina players are one of the classiest bunch of players I have encountered in my travels. A few months later they won the Stanley Cup."

Fall: 2006

Team: St. Louis Blues

Location: St. Louis Blues Practice Facility

Mission: Get Blues Jersey Signed

I flew out to St. Louis and took a short ride over to their practice facility. It is a beautiful rink that is connected to a huge mall. The practice was great. Fast paced, saw quite a few nice goals. Especially from Kieth Tkachuk and Doug Weight. Also in attandance was GM Larry Pleau, Al MacInnis, and Kelly Chase. After practice just about every player signed my jersey, guys like Tkachuk, Weight, Legace, Brewer, and I even had a nice conversation with ex-Hershey Bear Dan Hinote. He asked how the "Old Barn" was doing. I told him it's great and still has the best ice and atmosphere in the area. He also asked about the Giant Center. He, and all the other players were great. It was also an interesting trip for me in that I ran into a cousin of mine who I hadn't seen in about 30 years. It was a great trip, and great practice.

Fall: 2006

Team: Washington Caps

Location: Hershey Giant Center (pre-season)

Mission: Get Alex Ovechkin Photo signed

I was very excited to see the Washington Capitals were bringing their training camp to my home town of Hershey, PA for 3 days. I bought 4 tickets to the pre-season game between the Devils and Capitals here in Hershey, and took the next day off of work to attend the practice. The practice was O.K., after the practice I waited outside with about 6 other autograph seekers. All the Capitals were nice and signed autographs for the other seekers. I was only waiting for Alex. He was the last one out. I was the first one he encountered and I politely asked for his autograph. He gruffly said "NO" and kept walking, ignoring the few others who wanted his autograph. A representative of the Cap's explained later to me that "Alex does not like signing autographs for grown men because he thinks they will sell them on ebay".

WINTER 2007:

Team: NHL All Star Game

Location: Dallas, Texas

Mission: Autographs at my first All Star Game

I happened to be in Dallas for business reasons during the All Star week. I was able to purchase a ticket to each event, Open Practice on Monday, Skills and Young Guns Game on Tuesday, and The Game on Wednesday. My weekend started out at the airport where I met Ryan Smyth, who gladly signed a photo for me and I had the honor of meeting and talking to Ron Maclean from Hockey Night in Canada. He gladly accepted one of our pink pucks. The practice was great. After strolling the hallways with players like Malkin and Radulev, the thrill was watching Gordie Howe view the Eastern All Stars from the Zamboni entrance. The Skills and Young Guns Game was great, I was 5 rows above the Western bench surrounded by VIP's. I even had the chance to sit and chat with Bob Hartley. I took alot of great pictures. Unfortunately that evening I came down with a serious stomach flu and did not make it to The Game.