Bryan Smolinski

Bryan Smolinski

Currently with the Montreal Canadiens.

Fan letter sent: September 20, 2007.

Autographs received: June 19, 2008.

Smoke! We hardly new ya. Smolinski played most of the 2006-07 season with the Chicago Blackhawks. It took him the entire season to get my cards back to me, but he signed all four in marker. You only see three here because the fourth one smudged badly--I did not remember to rub it down with a white eraser. Oh well, at least the 'Hawks team set card came out good.

Dion Phaneuf

Dion Phaneuf

Currently with the Calgary Flames.

Fan letter sent: December 22, 2006.

Autographs received: June 13, 2008.

Phaneuf Z Nuff! Hey-yo! This took over a year to get back, but who am I to commplain? Dion Phaneuf--who's name is pronounced "fa nuff"-- signed both cards nicely in blue Sharpie.

Does anyone remember the 1980s/1990s rock band Enuf Z Nuff? No one...? Then I guess my Phaneuf Z Nuff joke isn't funny.

Mika Noronen

Mika Noronen

Currently with Kazan Ak-Bars of the Russian Super League.

Fan letter sent: October 26, 2007.

Autographs received: June 2, 2008.

Back in October of 2007, I wrote to former Vancouver Canuck Mika Noronen and former Chicago Blackhawk Denis Arkhipov. Both are with the Kazan Ak-Bars of the Russian Super League. Most people--myself included--are wary of mailing autograph requests to Russia. We all fear that things are so ass-backwards there that our mail will surely get lost. Or perhaps that some Russian Military personnel are reading our fan letters before they get to the players, like they would in the old-school Soviet Union days.

I don't fear the latter, but I don't feel 100% confident that a letter that I send would get to a recipient in Russia. Whatever. For the cost of some stamps, I thought I'd give it a try. Arkhipov responded back in January, but Noronen waited until he was back in Finland before replying. He enclosed this note that you see here, which reads:

Sorry that took so long! I DIDN'T TRUST Russian post office! :) - MIKA -

Awesome! Noronen took the "better safe than sorry approach", and I totally appreciate it.

The 4" x 6" photos you see above were downloaded from the Kazan Ak-Bars website. I blindly clicked around (the site is in Russian) until I found some player photos. I then printed them out on my Epson Stylus printer on some glossy paper.