Stephane Waite

Stephane Waite

Currently the Goaltending Coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fan letter sent: October 14, 2008.

Autographs received: October 29, 2008.

Stephane Waite is the Goalie Coach for the Blackhawks. After signing my card, he took my letter and wrote "Thank You! Ste Waite" on it, then folded my letter around the card to keep the card in good condition--he did the same thing the last time I wrote to him, which was at the beginning of last season.

Mike Haviland

Mike Haviland

Currently an Assistant Coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fan letter sent: October 14, 2008.

Autographs received: October 29, 2008.

Mike Haviland was the coach of the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate over the past few seasons--first with the Norfolk Admirals, then with the Rockford IceHogs. This season, he was promoted to an assistant coach of the 'Hawks after Mark Hardy left to be an assistant coach for the L.A. Kings.

Haviland signed these cards with what appears to be a gel pen. Unfortunately, the autograph did not "take well" to the cards.

Joe Thornton

Joe Thornton

Currently with the San Jose Sharks.

Fan letter sent: February 14, 2007.

Autographs received: October 22, 2008.

One year, eight months, one week, one day...just over 20 months. That's how long this request took to get back to me.

Recently, I've received a lot of cards from guys I wrote to a long time ago, including Cam Ward (21 months), Kent Nilsson (16 months), Braydon Coburn (20 months), Steve Yzerman (18 months) and Colby Armstrong (21 months).

Thornton apparently will sign two cards per request, as the third card (a 2006-07 Upper Deck card) was not signed. That's fine by me, as I prioritize the 2005-06 Parkhurst and 2006-07 Fleer sets. I now have 110 signed cards from the Parkhurst set, and 50 cards from the Fleer set.

Antoine Vermette

Antoine Vermette

Currently with the Ottawa Senators.

Fan letter sent: November 9, 2007.

Autographs received: October 22, 2008.

This request took almost one year, as I wrote to Vermette one month into the 2007-08 season. The day I sent my letter to Vermette, I also wrote to Wade Redden, Jason Spezza, Patrick Eaves and Daniel Alfredsson--only Alfredsoon has yet to reply.

Colby Armstrong

Colby Armstrong

Currently with the Atlanta Thrashers.

Fan letter sent: January 3, 2007.

Autographs received: October 20, 2008.

It took one year, nine months, two weeks and a few days (give or take) to get these cards back from Colby Armstrong. I wrote to him when he was still with the Penguins and had pretty much given up on seeing these signed--especially after he got traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2008. A traded player, many times, takes forever to get caught up in answering fan mail. This is understandable as things get packed, unpacked, forwarded, lost(!) and so forth.

Armstrong nicely signed all three cards I sent him. However, this was before I knew the "white eraser" trick, so the autograph did not adhere well to the super-glossy Upper Deck card.