Olaf Kolzig TTM

Olaf Kolzig c/o home - 17 days - 3/3

Québec Remparts IP

My friend and I stayed after tonight's Remparts game at the Colisée to get some autographs. Here's what I got signed:

Brendan Shanahan TTM

An amazing success for me today (after 3 failed attempts through various addresses)!

Brendan Shanahan c/o National Hockey League (in NYC) - 13 days (!) - 1/1

Thanks for the early Christmas present, Mr. Shanahan! :o)

Québec Remparts IP

Tonight the Remparts played against the PEI Rocket at the Colisée and I stayed after the game to try and get a few autographs from players and ex-players from both teams. I wanted to get Joel Champagne to sign a Heroes & Prospects card I had, but I wasn't able to recognize him... I also wanted to ask Corrado Micalef, an assistant coach for the Rocket, if he could sign my 3 OPC cards, but one of his players told me he wasn't in the bus and had left right after the game with family members.

Of the Remparts, Mikhail Stefanovich signed a Heroes & Prospects card for me, but my Lumocolor marker didn't work the first time around, so he signed the card twice (and it looks pretty bad, so I didn't scan it). Fortunately, I was able to get nice autographs from both Dmitry Kugryshev and Danick Paquette on their team set cards:

I then waited for Patrick Roy, as I wanted to ask him if he would autograph a few cards for me. I waited until 11:45 PM and he still hadn't come out, so I abandoned and left... Pretty crappy night autograph-wise, but at least the Remparts won the game! :o)

Doug Gilmour

Today the guy at my local hobby shop told me that they had bought a lot of cards signed IP in the early 90's. After going through them, I couldn't pass up on this autographed rookie card of Doug Gilmour for only 8 bucks!

Nikita Filatov TTM

Nikita Filatov c/o Columbus Blue Jackets - 35 days - 2/2

Now these could be fake, since Mr. Filatov left in mid-November to play for CSKA Moscow, but the autographs looks very similar to some that he signed for someone who got his autograph in person last October, after comparing my cards to his, so my guess is he probably signed his mail before leaving Columbus and asked someone to take care of the mailing (since the letter was postmarked from Columbus)... So, until someone proves to me that they're fake, I'm very happy with these! :o)

Scott Gomez TTM

Scott Gomez c/o Montreal Canadiens - 43 days - 2/2

Kari Lehtonen TTM

Kari Lehtonen c/o home - between 36 and 49 days - 5/3

I'm not sure exactly when I received it, since I was away on vacation... In addition to my 3 cards, Mr. Lehtonen also signed the 2 blank index cards I had used to protect my cards!

Johnny Oduya

My brother-in-law is a travel agent and when he ordered over 40 tickets from the New Jersey Devils for a sports trip he was organizing, the Devils sent him this autographed 8" X 10" photo of Johnny Oduya:

Since he doesn't collect autographs and he didn't even know who Oduya is, he asked if I wanted it... Of course I wanted it! :o) Thanks Brian!

Jason Spezza TTM

Jason Spezza c/o home - 12 days - 1/1

Only my 2^nd attempt (and success!) sending a puck TTM! I didn't ask for the personalization, but I don't mind it! It looks pretty cool on a puck!

Rod Gilbert TTM

Rod Gilbert c/o New York Rangers - 35 days - 0.5/1

Mr. Gilbert didn't sign my card (a 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee card), but he sent it back and he added a signed (and personalized) 3.375" X 8.5" Rangers Alumni card. I'm happy with it, even though those kinds of odd-sized cards are a pain to store!

Doug Gilmour TTM

Doug Gilmour c/o Kingston Frontenacs - 13 days - 3/3

Mr. Gilmour also signed a 3^rd card, but he signed it with a dry erase marker, so I was able to remove the autograph with only a dry tissue. I didn't care much about the 3^rd card anyway, so I'm happy with the 2 cards above! :o)

Daniel Alfredsson

As part of a trade with an Ottawa hound, Beth, she got this card signed for me by Daniel Alfredsson on September 25th, after a Senators practice:

I'm very happy to get this card, as Mr. Alfredsson is my 2^nd favorite player in the NHL (after Alexander Ovechkin) and he doesn't sign TTM (from my experience, at least)! Thanks Beth! :o)

Boston Bruins vs. Montréal Canadiens Pre-Season Game

Earlier today, a pre-season game was held at the Colisée in Québec between the Boston Bruins and the Montréal Canadiens. The day started with a Canadiens practice which was open to the public. It was scheduled to run from 11 AM to 1 PM, so I got there shortly after 9 AM, hoping to catch the Habs as they arrived to the Colisée. They only arrived around 10:35 and their bus parked inside the Colisée, so they didn't sign for anyone. I stayed for the practice, then went back outside after the practice, hoping some players would take a few minutes to come out and sign a few autographs, but once again, they got on their bus which was parked inside the building, then left without signing for anyone. Apparently, security said to someone that the players might take some time to sign a few autographs when they got back to the arena around 4 PM. I came back around 4 PM and was there when the Canadiens got back to the Colisée, but once again, their bus parked inside the building and they didn't sign any autographs. The Bruins arrived soon after though and they parked outside. Unfortunately, most of the people who were there waiting for autographs didn't see them in time, as they parked on the West side of the building, instead of the players' usual entrance on the North side. Still, when some kid alerted us that the Bruins were getting off their bus on the side of the building, I managed to get there on time to catch Mark Recchi as he was about to enter the Colisée and I got him to sign this card:

Later, during the 1^st intermission of the game, I went near the entrance to the press gallery and got Doug Houda to sign this card before he was gonna get back on the press gallery for the 2^nd period:

After the game, I went back to try and get autographs from both teams as they were leaving the Colisée, but once again, the Canadiens' bus was parked inside, so even though we could see the players through the window of the garage door, only one player from the Habs opened the garage door and came outside to sign a few autographs: Guillaume Latendresse:

On the other end, the Bruins' bus was parked outside, so each player had to walk out of the Colisée to get on the bus. Here's who I was able to get autographs from:

Éric Gagné IP

The Quebec Capitales were playing against the Brockton Rox tonight and Eric Gagne was pitching for the Capitales, so I waited for him after the game. Members of his family were also waiting for him, so I stayed around them to make sure I wouldn't miss him. When he came out of the stadium, he signed autographs for the few people that were there and he signed this card for me:

Éric Gagné IP

Tonight I went to see the Quebec Capitales play against the New Hampshire American Defenders at Quebec City's Stade municipal. I brought some cards of Eric Gagne as I knew he was scheduled to be the Capitales' starting pitcher. I had brought them when I went to another Capitales game last weekend, but Eric Gagne had been ejected during the 4^th inning for arguing a call made by a referee, so I hadn't bothered waiting for him at the end of the game, not even knowing if he would still be around. So tonight, I arrived early to catch him coming out during batting practice, but it turned out most of the team didn't even practice on the field before the game, as the other team hadn't arrived yet and nobody knew when they would arrive. A player for the Capitales told a kid next to me that Eric Gagne never signs anything before the games for which he's scheduled to pitch though. I then decided I was gonna wait for him after the game instead. The game was delayed an hour, but it eventually started. Unfortunately, after 5 innings, the game was rained out. I waited around in the stands for a good half hour for the rain to ease up, but before finally leaving for my car, I decided to go and take a look in the Capitales' dugout to see if there were any players left, and there were Eric Gagne and another player still waiting for the game to be officially rained out. I asked him if he wouldn't mind signing my cards and he did. I slipped him the cards carefully under the roof of the dugout to ensure that they wouldn't get wet and the autographs turned out awesome!

Connie Dion TTM

Connie Dion c/o home - 22 days - 3/1

In addition to the custom index card I had sent, Mr. Dion also signed 2 blank index cards!

Québec Remparts Training Camp

This afternoon I went to the Québec Remparts training camp in Val-Bélair, just north of Québec City. Here's what I was able to get signed at the end of the afternoon:

Patrick Kane TTM

Patrick Kane c/o his parents' - 66 days - 2/2

Cam Neely TTM

Cam Neely c/o Boston Bruins - 38 days - 2/2

Mr. Neely signed my 2 cards and enclosed a donation envelope from The Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care so that I can make a donation.