54th Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 2nd Outing

This morning I started by going to the Galeries de la Capitale for the Atlanta Fire's exhibition game. Like last year, one of Tom Glavine's sons plays for the Fire. Mr. Glavine signed these for me before the game:

I then set off for the Colisée Pepsi. Just as I arrived, I noticed the Buffalo Sabres' coaches chatting together in the concourse. One of them, ex-NHLer Rory Fitzpatrick, signed the one card I had of him:

Mr. Fitzpatrick's friends made sure to make fun of him for the mullet he sported on that card. :o)

A few moments later, after the Nashville Predators' game, I was able to get J.P. Dumont's autograph on 2 cards as he was leaving:

The next team I looked for was the Chicago Mission, coached by former NHLers Martin Lapointe and Michal Pivonka. I had also heard of Denis Savard's godson playing for team, so I brought 2 of his cards with me, just in case, but I had no great expectations about his coming to the tournament. I spotted Martin Lapointe as he was half-watching a game. He signed these 2 cards:

I looked for Michal Pivonka and Denis Savard, but didn't see either one of them... until I was about to leave for lunch and came upon Denis Savard in the concourse, who was wearing a Chicago Mission jacket! He signed the 2 cards I had brought:

Later today, after lunch, I went back to the Galeries de la Capitale, where I was able to catch Michael Peca watching his son's exhibition game. His son plays for the Buffalo Sabres. Mr. Peca signed all these for me during an intermission:

I know, I had way too many, but he said he didn't mind signing them all...

I ended the day by heading to the Colisée Pepsi once more. When I got there, the Colorado Thunderbirds were almost done playing their game, so after the game, I finally met Adam Foote and he signed my 2 cards:

When Joe Sakic came out of the stairs leading to the Colisée's concourse, he was immediately surrounded by people who wanted his autograph or a picture with him. As he didn't seem to mind signing everything in sight, I was able to get his autograph on one more card:

Once again, Joe Sakic was very generous of his time, signing for pretty much everyone when he could have just as easily avoided the crowd!

The next autograph I got was Sylvain Côté's, who's here coaching Team Maryland:

Finally, I looked for Mike Richter before the New York Rangers' game (he's one of their coaches) but I couldn't find him. I watched the game from the stands and I could see him behind the Rangers' bench, but I couldn't wait for him after the game, I had to leave early. I sat next to the corridor that led the team from the ice to the locker rooms and I asked Mr. Richter for an autograph from there, as he was leaving the ice. He signed this card for me:

He wouldn't sign more than one though... That's too bad, since he was the player whose autograph I wanted the most, the Rangers being my second favourite NHL team. I'm still very happy that I got him to sign his nicest rookie card (as far as I'm concerned)!

54th Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament - My 1st Outing

If you've already been on this blog and have read my posts from the previous years, then you probably already know about the Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament. In addition to being a great event for its participants, it's also a nice opportunity to get autographs from some former pro players who come here as parents of players, as coaches of a team, or as both!

Today I went to the Galeries de la Capitale for the Colorado Thunderbirds' exhibition game. Among others, the sons of former NHLers Sergei Krivokrasov, Adam Foote and Joe Sakic are playing for that team! Unfortunately, I didn't see Mr. Krivokrasov nor Mr. Foote around, but Joe Sakic, who's an assistant coach for the team, signed 4 cards for me before the game!

As you might have noticed, I smeared the autograph on the 1990-91 Upper Deck card by holding it by the wrong end before the ink had dried... At least the others look great! Mr. Sakic was very generous with his time before the game, signing autographs and having his picture taken with those who asked.

Nordiques Postcards

At one of my local hobby shops, they were selling a bunch of autographed Nordiques team-issued postcards. I bought 2 signed by Peter Stastny, 1 by Joe Sakic and 1 by Bryan Fogarty (deceased in 2002).

Guy Lafleur's Farewell Tour IP

Earlier today, Guy Lafleur played his last alumni game ever at the Colisée in Quebec City. It was a game between the Québec Nordiques alumni and the Montréal Canadiens alumni. For the occasion, the 3 Stastny brothers (Peter, Anton and Marian) played together for the first time since 1994 and Joe Sakic also played for the 1^st time since he announced his retirement in 2009. I had a great time at the game! Guy Lafleur was very emotional during his speech after the game...

Even though the game took place in the afternoon, I arrived to the Colisée early to catch the players as they arrived to the arena. It allowed me to get autographs from a few players who didn't sign after the game, such as Joe Sakic, Peter Stastny and Guy Lafleur! Here are scans of all the autographs I got today:

And here’s who I missed: Anton Stastny (wouldn't sign before or after the game), Marian Stastny (same), Guy Lapointe, Claude Lemieux and others who I didn't know would be there, such as Donald Brashear and Mario Roberge...