2008 IIHF World Championship - Canada vs. Russia

Tonight there was an exhibition game between Canada and Russia. It was the last exhibition game before the beginning of the tournament.

Unfortunately, after the game, it was raining, so there wasn't much I could get signed, since I mostly had cards... I caught Luc Robitaille in a Colisée entrance waiting for his ride, so I got his autograph on this card:

I then went to the back of the Colisée. I was surprised to see most of the players take the time to sign for the fans even though it was raining! I got Dany Heatley, who had just joined Team Canada, to sign a puck for me with my new silver marker, but the rain ruined the autograph... I also got this card signed:

The rain made the autograph fade a bit though... After that exhibition game, Team Canada immediately left for Halifax.

2008 IIHF World Championship - Team Finland practice

Today Team Finland held a practice that was open to the public. After their practice, I went to the back of the Colisée to get autographs. Here's what I got:

I did ok, but unfortunately I wasn't able to recognize Niklas Backstrom and Tuomo Ruutu... Also, a guy from New Brunswick recommended a brand of silver marker for me after I had told him how many autographs my silver Sharpie had ruined. He recommended I buy a ColorSharp Metallics marker from Wal-Mart, which I did later today. Let's hope it works better than my silver Sharpie!!!

2008 IIHF World Championship - Canada vs. Finland

Tonight I went to an exhibition game between Canada and Finland. Right before the game, I met Jari Kurri in the corridor. He was there as the GM of Team Finland. I got him to sign these 2 cards:

During the 1st intermission, a friend and I went to the section leading to the press gallery and saw Mathieu Garon hanging there. He wasn't dressed, but he was there as the 3rd goalie for Team Canada. He signed this card for me:

During the 2nd intermission, we went back to the section leading to the press gallery and saw Steve Yzerman about to go up on the press gallery. I asked him for an autograph and he agreed to sign both of my cards:

Right after the game, my friend and I went back to the same place hoping to catch Luc Robitaille and Steve Yzerman, cause my friend still hadn't got Mr. Robitaille's autograph. We did catch them both as they were coming off from the press gallery! While my friend was getting a card signed by Luc Robitaille, who was very friendly once again, I asked Steve Yzerman if he wouldn't mind autographing my Red Wings puck. He didn't look very friendly though. He didn't say a word, but he signed my puck!

I was happy to see that my silver Sharpie worked well this time! I really didn't expect to get 3 autographs from Mr. Yzerman in the same night, as I had heard he was a tough signer in person... After we got Luc Robitaille and Steve Yzerman, we went to the back of the Colisée to wait for the players to come out. Fortunately, the barrier configuration had changed and the barriers were now right next to the garage door where the players were coming out! We did really well! All the players stopped to sign! Here's everything I got:

Finally, I also got a Chicago Blackhawks puck signed by Jonathan Toews, but once again, my silver Sharpie acted up and the autograph is barely visible. I'll probably just remove the ink with lighter fluid and try my luck some other time before the end of the tournament...

2008 IIHF World Championship - Team Canada practice

This year the IIHF World Championship is held in 2 North American cities for the first time ever. 8 teams will be playing in Quebec City, QC and 8 will be playing in Halifax, NS. Also, Canada, Finland and Russia will be holding their training camps in Quebec City, although Canada and Finland will then be playing their games in Halifax. The semifinals games and the medals games will all be played in Quebec City too...

Enough about the tournament! Tonight's practice of Team Canada was open to the public, so I went. After watching the practice for a couple of minutes, I went outside the Colisée and saw Luc Robitaille visiting the installations. I got him to sign this card:

He was really friendly too, but since he was with other people, I only asked him to sign one card. I expected Steve Yzerman to be with him, but he wasn't around... After the practice, I went to the back of the Colisée and waited for the players to come out. The way it was set up, the barriers were maybe 150-175 feet from the players' exit! It really sucked, you really had to shout a player's name if you wanted him to come, so it was easy for them to ignore you if they didn't feel like signing. Pascal Leclaire came and signed for the few fans that were there (maybe 10-15 people?). He signed these 2 cards for me:

Shane Doan also came and was very generous with his time, signing for everyone there until the bus had to leave. Here are the cards I got autographed by him:

Finally, I got Martin St. Louis to sign a Tampa Bay Lightning puck for me with my silver Sharpie, but my Sharpie didn't work very well, so I didn't scan the puck. :oS

Pat Egan TTM

Pat Egan c/o home - 9 days - 3/2

He wrote me a note on one of my blank index cards wishing me good luck in my search for cards because I told him in my letter that I was collecting hockey cards and autographs!

Ilya Bryzgalov TTM

Ilya Bryzgalov c/o home - 102 days - 4/3

He kindly added another signed 2006-07 Fleer card! He signed them all with a silver paint-pen, so they look much better in person than on the scans...

Steve Bernier TTM

Steve Bernier c/o San Jose Sharks (before he got traded) - 78 days - 2/2