Québec Remparts Autograph Session

Earlier tonight, Remparts season ticket holders and members of their fan club could skate on the ice of the Colisée Pepsi for free. That skating session was followed by an autograph session by the whole team. You had to wait in line for each player. Obviously, some lines were longer than others: Patrick Roy's (duh!), Dmitry Kugryshev's, Mikhail Stefanovich's, Kelsey Tessier's and Charles Lavigne's come to mind. The players didn't sign long enough for me to get everyone's autograph, so I had to make choices, but overall I'm pretty happy with the quantity and quality of autographs that I got! Every player had their own 3½" X 5" team-issued cards they were signing and handing out, but I also got cards from my team set as well as other cards signed. Here are the highlights:

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - Final Day

Today I went to the Colisée to watch some games and see who would win the Tournament. I wasn't planning on hounding since I was going with my girlfriend, but I still brought cards with me, just in case I'd come across an ex-NHLer... :o)

As my girlfriend and I were watching the Inter B finals between the Colorado Avalanche and the Hershey Bears, I noticed someone resembling Pierre Turgeon sitting a few sections from ours. When there were only a few minutes left to the game, I headed to that section and sure enough, it was Pierre Turgeon, who I had missed during my 1^st outing of the tournament! I went to his seat when the game ended, asked him if he would sign a few cards for me and I got these signed:

I also offered 2 extra cards so that he could give them to whoever else would request his autograph that day. He thanked me, signed them and gave them to the guy who was sitting with him, who appeared to be an assistant-coach for the Colorado Thunderbirds.

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 3rd Outing

Today I arrived at the Colisée early to get Joé Juneau's autograph, since he's here as the coach of the Nunavik Nordiks. It took a while for him to come out of the locker rooms after the game, but he eventually did. Mr. Juneau only signed these 2 cause his players and some of their parents were waiting for him inside the Colisée.

Soon after, I caught Doug Brown as he was entering the Colisée. He was here as the coach of the powerful Detroit Belle Tire team. He took the time to sign the 2 cards that I had:

I was really surprised when I saw Mr. Brown rubbing the 2 cards before signing them to ensure that his signature would stick on those usually glossy cards! I didn't bother telling him that I had already removed the gloss on the cards with a white eraser...

I then waited for the Blainville Bastions to finish playing, as their coach is ex-NHLer Patrick Poulin. He signed these 2 cards for me when he and his team left the building:

Soon after, a bus arrived at the Colisée and it turned out to be the Penguins, who were arriving an hour and a half before their game. I got Mario Lemieux to sign this card in silver:

After getting Mr. Lemieux's autograph, I went and took a walk inside the Colisée and stumbled upon Brian Bradley, who's here as the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He signed all 4 cards I had very nicely, adding the appropriate jersey number to each autograph:

I then headed back to the players' entrance where I was able to get another autograph from Al MacInnis to end my day of hounding beautifully! :o)

Peter Forsberg TTM

Peter Forsberg c/o Forspro AB - 118 days - 5/3

My first success sending to Europe! In addition to my 3 cards, Mr. Forsberg also signed 2 of the index cards used to protect my cards!

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 2nd Outing

Today I went to the Colisée hoping to get autographs from Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier. Mr. Lemieux is here as the coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Mr. Messier, as the assistant coach of the New York Rangers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were scheduled to play first, so I waited for Mario Lemieux to arrive for the game with his team. He arrived a little over an hour before the game and I was able to get him to sign this card beautifully:

Then, while the Penguins were playing, I waited for Mark Messier to arrive, since his team was scheduled to play right after the Penguins. He eventually got to the Colisée about 30 minutes before the time their game was scheduled to start. He hastily signed this card for me:

I thought he must have signed only one because he was in a hurry, as he's always been a very generous signer here at the Colisée in the past.

Soon after, the Penguins began coming out after their game and Mario Lemieux emerged from the locker rooms once again. I asked for another autograph, but he recognized me from before the game and he didn't want to sign another one for me at first, but I convinced him by telling him that I had only brought 2 cards for him to sign and that this was the last I had, so he agreed to sign it. I expected him to be a tough signer, since that's how he was last year. I understand that he must get asked hundreds of times every day though, so he probably doesn't enjoy signing twice for the same person in the same day... Anywho, here's the 2^nd card he signed for me today:

Next, I waited for the Rangers game to end so I could get a chance to get more cards signed by Mark Messier. When he came out after the game, it didn't seem to be a problem for him to sign for me once again, but he only signed this one, even though I had handed him 3 cards:

I guess that means he'll only sign one at a time during this tournament... At least he signs! :o)

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 1st Outing

The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament is held in Quebec City every year at the Colisée, about 10 minutes from where I live.

When I arrived at the Colisée, I waited for the game between St. Louis Blues and the Montréal Junior to end because I wanted to get Al MacInnis' autograph. He's here as the coach of the St. Louis Blues Pee-Wee team, for which his son Ryan plays. After the game, I caught him as he was about to leave the building and got these 2 cards autographed very nicely by him:

After that, I waited at the players entrance of the Colisée in case Martin Brodeur would show up for his son Jeremy's game, who's goaltending for the Pee-Wee team that represents the New Jersey Devils. I figured there was a chance Mr. Brodeur would show up, since he was injured, but I later found out that he had resumed regular training with his team, so he wasn't able to attend the tournament today. While I was waiting for him, Pierre Turgeon and his Colorado Thunderbirds entered the building, but I didn't want to go after him because I didn't want to risk missing Martin Brodeur. I also figured that I'd probably be able to locate Mr. Turgeon and his team sitting somewhere in the Colisée later. I did try that later on, but to no avail, as the Colisée was jam-packed and I just couldn't find him and his team...

Tomas Holmstrom TTM

Tomas Holmstrom c/o home - 14 days - 6/3

In addition to my 3 cards, Mr. Holmstrom also signed 3 of the index cards used to protect my cards! He tried signing the 2008-09 Upper Deck card with a pen or a Sharpie that didn't work with the card, so he signed it again with another Sharpie. The other 2 cards look great though! :o)