51st Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 5th Outing

Today my plan was to go to the tournament with a friend mostly to watch some games and help him get a few autographs. I still brought my little box of cards with me in case I were to come across someone who I hadn’t gotten an autograph of thus far...

When I arrived at the Colisée, the Burnaby Winter Club team, which I hadn’t had a chance to see yet, had just finished playing. I looked around and found Cliff Ronning, whose son was playing for that team. He signed these 3 cards for me:

Later on, the St. Louis Blues were playing. During an intermission, I headed to the section where their parents were sitting and I finally found Jeff Brown, who I had been looking for at every Blues game I had been to. He nicely signed these 3 cards:

My friend was only able to join me later in the afternoon and he had forgotten his cards in his car, but when we saw Philippe Boucher sitting in our section, he went to the Quebec Remparts shop, bought a Dallas Stars puck and had him sign it. That was it for the day autograph-wise (and probably for the tournament too, as I don’t think I’ll be back for the finals tomorrow).

51st Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 4th Outing

Today I started the day by heading to the Aréna des Deux-Glaces, where the St. Louis Blues were scheduled to play an exhibition game. I looked around for Jeff Brown, but once again, he was nowhere to be found. I saw Keith Tkachuk, but he decided to go behind the bench and assist the coach for that game, so I had to wait until the end of the game to get these signed by him as he was coming off the ice:

I then headed to the Galeries de la Capitale to catch Mark Messier before the New York Rangers’ exhibition game. I asked him if he wouldn’t mind signing my cards. He didn’t say a word, didn’t use the blue Staedtler Lumocolor I offered, pulled a black Sharpie out of his pocket and signed this card:

When I thanked him and asked him if he could sign my other card, he shook his head and once again didn’t say a word. Maybe he thought I was some sort of dealer, I don’t know... At any rate, he was friendlier than that in previous years, but I’m still stoked with the card he did sign! I think his autograph in black ink probably looks better on that card than it would have in blue ink anyway...

51st Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 3rd Outing

I took the day off today and got to the Galeries de la Capitale in time for the St. Louis Blues' exhibition game. Right off the bat, I was able to get John Wensink, the Blues' coach, to sign these 2 cards:

Afterwards, I started looking for Jeff Brown and Keith Tkachuk, whose sons are both playing for the Blues. I never saw Mr. Brown, but I found Keith Tkachuk preparing to watch the game from the side of the rink. He signed these 2 cards for me:

I stayed and watched the game for a little while, then checked out a sports apparel store nearby and saw they had official St. Louis Blues pucks. I picked one up and went back near the rink to ask Mr. Tkachuk if he wouldn't mind signing this puck I had just bought. He did and I'm very happy with how it turned out!

I then drove to the Colisée. Once inside, I saw Philippe Boucher watching games. He's the manager of a local team that plays in the tournament and his son is in that team. I went up to him and he signed my 3 cards:

Later on I waited for the Atlanta Fire's game to end so that I could get Scott Pearson to autograph this card:

Finally, as I was taking a walk around the Colisée, I came across Patrick Poulin who was with his son, who was to play in the tournament later in the day. I asked Mr. Poulin if he had a minute to sign my cards and he did:

51st Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 2nd Outing

Today I got to the Colisée rather early to catch Mark Messier before the New York Rangers' game. As usual, he was here as the assistant coach of the team. As he walked into the building, I got him to sign this puck:

After that, I knew I had plenty of time to get to the Galeries de la Capitale, a shopping center about 10-15 minutes away from the Colisée, to be around before the New York Islanders played an exhibition game at 10:10. When I got there, they were still in their dressing room, but their coaches were hanging out near the rink, so I was able to get all these cards autographed by Bryan Trottier and Benoit Hogue!

Afterwards, I drove back to the Colisée to try and catch Mario Lemieux as he arrived to the arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins' game at 12:40, but I soon found out from his brother Alain that Mario wouldn't be accompanying the team this year... :o( I then went and sat in the arena to watch some hockey. That's when I saw Dave Babych sitting alone and watching some games too. He was here to see his son play for the North Shore Winter Club team. I went up to where he was, sat beside him and asked him if he would sign my cards. He was surprised that anyone knew he was here (although there was an article about him being around in a local newspaper) and said he'd be happy to sign my cards:

A bit later, I went back to the Galeries de la Capitale right after the Atlanta Fire's exhibition game, since Dan Bouchard was their assistant coach and Scott Pearson was their coach. Both were nice enough to autograph my cards:

That Sharpie mark on the left of the 2^nd Scott Pearson card is the continuity of Dan Bouchard's autograph, since he was holding the Scott Pearson card right under his when he signed it... :o)

After that, I had one stop left to my busy day. I had to go to the Arpidrome, an arena where teams who had lost a game at the Colisée were relegated. I got there during the Blainville Bastions 2's game and sat in the arena. That's where I noticed Éric Desjardins sitting a few rows higher. He was there to see his son play. I went up to him at the intermission and had him sign these 3 cards:

I then waited for the game to end to get the team's coach's autograph: Stéphane Matteau!

That's how my day of hounding ended, with a respectable total of 20 new autographs!

51st 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.

I knew Petr Klima was supposed to be here to see his twin sons, Kelly and Kevin, play for the Detroit Red Wings. Someone told me where he was sitting in the Colisée so after the 2^nd period, I went up to him and asked him if he would sign my cards. Here's the result: