Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller

Currently with the Buffalo Sabres.

Fan letter sent: November 9, 2007.

Autographs received: September 24, 2008.

Sweet! Four cards signed by the superstar goalie--in blue Sharpie no less! It took a while, but the wait was definitely worth it.

Steve Yzerman

Steve Yzerman

Retired player. Currently the Vice President of the Detroit Red Wings.

Autographs purchased at a craft show / flea market on September 21, 2008.

One awesome thing about collecting is that you never know where you will find a gem for your collection. Sure, many times you see them in a shop or on eBay, and pay a lot of money for them. But other times, you find them in the most far-off places...and not for all that much.

This weekend, I went to Dwight, Illinois with my girlfriend to a "dog convention"--the "Basset Hound Bash", which is the largest gathering of basset hound enthusiasts in the U.S. Also in Dwight on Sunday was a craft show / flea market. A few vendors were actually sports card dealers, including one who had autographed cards. After the parade on Sunday, we decided to check out this other event.

"A buck each--anyone you want," the dealer told me, as I flipped through a binder of mostly autographed baseball cards. But then my heart skipped a beat as my eyes saw two autographed Steve Yzerman cards.

Now, the first thing we ask ourselves is "are these real?" Well, in my almost 20 years of collecting autographs, the signatures on these two cards look just like the three other Yzerman signed cards in my collection. In fact, I got a card from Stevie Y last month.

It's pretty cool when you've been in a hobby long enough that you start to feel really knowledgeable about it.

While Yzerman does sign through the mail, he takes a long time and he doesn't usually sign more than one item (back in the 1990s, he signed two of my four items; this year, only one of two). So you can no doubt understand my excitement as I paid a dollar each for these two cards signed by the (soon-to-be) Hall of Famer.

Denis Savard

Denis Savard

Retired player. Currently the Head Coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Autographs purchased at a craft show / flea market on September 21, 2008.

Wow! Not only did I get two autographed Steve Yzerman cards at this craft show / flea market, I also got two autographed cards of Denis Savard--all for a dollar each.

Savard was a great player and is doing a very good job as a head coach for the Blackhawks. While he does not seem to sign through-the-mail, he does do several appearances around Chicago during the season, giving us 'Hawks fans opportunities to get things signed by him (like I did back in March). But you can never have enough autographs from one of your favorite players, and I up until now did not have either of the two cards you see here signed by "Savvy".

Man, what a great day! In all, I got eleven autographed cards for 11 dollars. I picked up some other cool, non-signed stuff too, which I will eventually blog about over on Puck Junk.

Mark Recchi

Mark Recchi

Currently with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Autographs purchased at a craft show / flea market on September 21, 2008.

Man, Recchi has been playing in the NHL for a long time--since the 1989-90 season. I hear he does not often respond to through-the-mail autograph requests, so when I happened to find two signed Recchi cards, I snapped them up. The card dealer--who was one of a few at a craft show / flea market I attended--had a binder full of autographed cards, including some hockey cards. I had a few neat finds today, including these two, which were nicely signed in blue Sharpie marker.

I may write to Recchi this season, just to see what happens. I guess the two stamps are worth the gamble.

John LeClair

John LeClair

Retired player.

Autographs purchased at a craft show / flea market on September 21, 2008.

John LeClair had a pretty awesome career--most of it spent with the Philadelphia Flyers on their famed "Legion of Doom" line with Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg.

I know that LeClair is a very good signer through-the-mail, so why buy autographed cards when I can just send my own to get signed? Well, I've wanted his autograph for a while, but have kept putting off writing to him. Also, when I finally do write to him, I can send him different cards than the ones above.

I picked up this card--along with ten other various signed hockey cards--at a Craft Fair / Flea Market in Dwight, Illinios. For a dollar each, how could I go wrong?

Jeff Hackett

Jeff Hackett

Retired player. Currently the Goalie Coach for the Colorado Avalanche.

Autograph purchased at a craft show / flea market on September 21, 2008.

I picked this up at that Craft Show / Flea Market that I went to in Dwight, Illinois.

I liked Hackett as a player--especially for the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.

By the way, Hackett does sign through the mail--he signed four cards for me back in February.

Bryan Marchment

Bryan Marchment

Retired player. Currently a scout for the San Jose Sharks.

Autograph purchased at a craft show / flea market on September 21, 2008.

Another "Be A Player" signed insert card from the 1995-96 set. This one is of former NHL defenseman / tough guy Bryan Marchment. I liked Marchment when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks--he was a good open-ice hitter, and was always willing to fight. Heck, I remember Marchment once dropped the gloves when he was still nursing a broken cheekbone--he was wearing a half-cage to protect his face, and he removed his entire helmet so that the fight would be more "fair". Well, it was kind of unfair, as the other guy still had his helmet on, but you see my point. I know Marchment was seen as a "dirty player", but that was after the Blackhawks traded him to Hartford for some magic beans.

I also got this card at that Craft Show / Flea Market for a buck.

Brian Savage

Brian Savage

Retired player.

Autograph purchased at a craft show / flea market on September 21, 2008.

Ah, good old "Be A Player" insert autographs. Unless it's a signed card of Gretzky, Brodeur, Lindros or Messier, you can usually snag them for a buck. That's the case here with this card of Brian Savage, a veteran of 11 NHL campaigns. Ironically, I purchased this card two years to the day of Brian Savage's retirement. He announced his retirement on September 21, 2006, and I purchased it on September 21, 2008. A sign from the Heavens, no doubt...but of what?

I picked up this card--along with ten other various signed hockey cards--at a Craft Fair / Flea Market in Dwight, Illinios. I got the eleven autographed cards for a dollar each. Some were better than others, as you will see.

Cam Ward

Cam Ward

Currently with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Fan letter sent December 6, 2006.

Autograph received September 13, 2008.

Yeah, that's right. I sent this request out in December 2006, and it came back in September 2008--just over 21 months later.

Even worse, Mr. Ward only signed one of my three cards. He sent back the other two cards--2005-06 Parkhurst and 2006-07 Fleer--unsigned.

Oh well. I wish he didn't sign this particular card--I tossed in an insert "Hockey Headliner" card as an afterthought, but really wanted the other two signed.

Wow...I sound kind of ungrateful. Maybe Cam Ward gets a ton of fan mail--he did win the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup MVP two years ago. That said, I'm still glad to have something signed by him.

I'll have to try writing to Cam Ward again--this time, I'll only send one card.

Patrick Kane

Patrick Kane

Currently with the Chicago Blackhawks

Fan letter sent January 14, 2007.

Autograph received September 12, 2008.

YEAH BOY-EEEE!!! Seven months after writing, Patrick Kane sent my card back, signed in blue Sharpie marker. The envelope was postmarked "Rochester, NY", so apparently Kane took all his fan mail home and has been answering it over the summer.

Kent Nilsson

Kent Nilsson

Retired player. Currently a scout with the Edmonton Oilers.

Fan letter sent May 5, 2007.

Autographs received September 6, 2008.

Kent Nilsson is currently a scout with the Edmonton Oilers. I wrote to him back in May 2007. Since he presumably scouts Europe, I figured it'd be a good idea to write to him c/o the Oilers right before the 2007 Entry Draft, thinking that he'd make a trip to North America for the Draft.

Well, sixteen months later, I got my cards back! They were sent from Sweden--Mr. Nilsson put a Swedish stamp on my return envelope (I put a Canadian stamp on it, thinking he'd get the letter while in Edmonton and send the cards back right away). Nilsson signed all of my cards in thin black marker.

By the way, I sent two copies of the '81-82 Topps card, and thus have an extra one signed that I don't need. It is available, if anyone is interested in trading for it,