| IN PERSON |
| Legends of Hockey Old Timers tour - March '04 The annual fund raising tour came through Winnipeg. This marked the last time the tour would play in the Winnipeg Arena. After the game there was a autograph session that I attended. I received the following on various items. Ron Hoggarth, Ray Neufeld, Bryan Trottier, Bobby Hull, Gilbert Perreault, Dale Hawerchuk, Ulf Nilsson, Joe Daley, Jimmy Mann, Tiger Williams, Richard Brodeur, Kirk Muller, Craig Levie and Steve Shutt, |
| Last Game at the Winnipeg Arena - November 6, 2004 To celebrate the closing of the Winnipeg Arena, the Manitoba Moose (AHL) brought back many of the legends of the past. A very short (30 minute) autograph session followed the opening ceremonies. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the front of the line, four of the bigger names had left to go drop the puck for the opening faceoff. One of them, we were able to track down during the game (Thomas Steen), anther (Teemu Selanne) we were able to get at the airport the next day. All autographs were placed on a Jets jersey. Fran Huck, Scott Arniel, Dave Babych, Bob Essensa, Dallas Eakins, Mike Ford, John Ferguson, Randy Gilhen, Pat Elynuik, Joe Daley, Thomas Steen, Peter Sullivan, Ab McDonald, Dave Ellett, Bill Lesuk, Teemu Selanne and Ed Olczyk |
| Team Canada World Junior Camp - December 17, 2004 We travelled to a small lake side community an hour north of Winnipeg, hoping to get some of the Canadian Junior team player's autographs, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Two skates were scheduled for the day, so we felt we had a good chance of tracking the players down. After the first skate, an impromptu autograph session was arranged for the 100 or so people in attendance. I was able to get a complete team signed stick, as well as signed pucks by Dion Phaneuf, Rejean Beauchemin, Patrice Bergeron and Sydney Crosby. Crosby also signed a copy of the Beckett magazine with him on the cover. All players who signed are listed below. Jeff Glass, Rejean Beauchemin, Dion Phaneuf, Anthony Stewart, Cory Perry, Sydney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Nigel Dawes, Ryan Getzlaf, Colin Fraser, Andrew Ladd, Clarke MacArthur, Michael Richards, Jeff Carter, Stephen Dixson, Shawn Belle, Jeremy Colliton, Shea Weber, Danny Syvret, Brent Seabrook, Kyle Quincey, Braydon Cobourn and Cam Barker. |
| Manitoba Moose Childrens Carnival - Feb 20/05 The kids love the annual Moose Carnival for the games and snacks. The old man doesn't mind going, because it's the easiest way to get items signed all season. As usual the players were all very accomodating, and the crowds were surprisingly light. As I only had 1 1/2 hours because of a work commitment, I had to hustle to get everything signed. Here are my successes. Alex Auld 2 cards + puck Wade Flaherty 2 cards + puck Joe Dipento 1 card Ryan Kesler 1 card + 1 puck Jason King 1 card + Puck Nolan Baumgartner 2 cards + puck Justin Morrison 1 card Brandon Nolan 1 card Jesse Schultz 1 card Jimmy Roy 1 card Peter Sarno 1 card Randy Carlyle 1 Puck Josh Green 1 card Kevin Bieska 1 card Tomas Mojzis 1 card Kent Huskins 1 card Tim Smith 1 card Jeff Hereema 1 card Nathan Smith 1 card Lee Goren 1 card + 1 puck Wade Brookbank 1 card Jonathan Aitken 1 card |
| CANADA vs RUSSIA 2005 Legend Classic Tour - Nov 2/05 Unfortunately this event was very poorly advertised, and the line-up was not announced ahead of time, so I headed to the event with only a few pucks in tow. Luckily a local card store had a booth with cards, 8x10's and pucks available for purchase. Even with picking up a few more items, I was woefully under prepared. I ended up with Bobby Hull, Dale Hawerchuk, Jimmy Mann and Craig Muni on my Jets jersey, Thomas Steen on a puck and card, Rod Langway on a puck, Billy Smith on a puck, Valeri Kamensky on a puck, Dale Hawerchuk on puck and lanny McDonald on puck. If I had been prepared, I would have had many, many more autographs of tough to get retired Russian players, like Vladimir Krutov, Alexei Kastatonov, Dmitri Khristich and more. Oh well.. |