Petr Klima

Petr Klima

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: December 22, 2008.

Autographs received: December 31, 2008.

Petr Klima signed all five of the cards I sent him. He used a black Sharpie marker, and added his uniform number with his autograph.

Like many other hockey fans, I'll never forget the goal that Klima scored in triple-overtime of Game One the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals. I was 15 at the time, and had to get up early the next day, as I was in high school...but there was no way I was going to go to bed before the game was over. The newspapers wouldn't have the score to a game that ended so late. There was no internet back then to look up results. Not only did the game go into three overtimes, but the lights went out at Boston Gardens for a while, causing a further delay in the game. I remember Klima finally scoring that goal, and actually being relieved because I could finally go to bed.

Patrick Lalime

Patrick Lalime

Currently with the Buffalo Sabres.

Fan letter sent: October 24, 2008.

Autographs received: December 31, 2008.

I've always liked Patrick Lalime as a player, and I was sorry to see him leave the Blackhawks over the past summer. This is the third time that I have written to him; the prior two times were also successful.

Martin Havlat

Martin Havlat

Currently with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fan letter sent: November 7, 2008.

Autographs received: December 27, 2008.

It's always cool when you get autographs from a star player like Martin Havlat. The few times I've gotten Havlat's autograph was in-person. I decided to take a chance and write to him for autographs, and it has paid off. Havlat signed all four of the cards I sent in thin blue marker. It took around seven weeks to get these cards back.

Valeri Zelepukin

Valeri Zelepukin

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: December 12, 2008.

Autographs received: December 23, 2008.

How about that? Two guys named "Valeri" in two days? Yesterday, I got four cards back from Valeri Kamensky, while today I got four back from Valeri Zelepukin. But unlike his fellow countryman/Valeri, Mr. Zelepukin opted to use ballpoint pen (boo!) instead of Sharpie marker. Ah, well. A very quick turnaround time--eleven days.

Ryan Kesler

Ryan Kesler

Currently with the Vancouver Canucks.

Fan letter sent: November 7, 2008.

Autograph received: December 22, 2008.

I sent Kesler four cards in November, but he signed only one; the other three cards were sent back unsigned. So, apparently Kesler signs only one item per request. I will try writing to him later on in the season to get his 2005-06 Parkhurst card signed.

Valeri Kamensky

Valeri Kamensky

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: December 12, 2008.

Autographs received: December 22, 2008.

I remember this guy when he played for the Central Red Army. Back during the 1989-90 season, the Soviet teams would tour the U.S. and Canada and play the NHL teams. I recall going to a Blackhawks vs. Central Red Army Game that year. A year later, O-Pee-Chee would issue cards of the Soviet teams in their 1990-91 set, and soon many of those guys featured (Kamensky, Fedorov, Irbe, etc.) would leave their Soviet teams and come to play in the NHL.

Kamensky neatly signed atch card in black Sharpie marker. Unfortunately, I forgot that I already have his Central Red Army OPC card signed--I picked one up at a card show over the summer. So, if anyone is interested in this card, I've got an extra to trade.

Radek Bonk

Radek Bonk

Currently with the Nashville Predators

Purchased at a card convention (last month) for $1.

BONK! What a fun name / sound effect to say over and over: BONK! BONK! BONK!

Anyway, I picked this BONK card up at a card convention last month for the whopping price of $1. I am slowly buying cards from the 1998-99 Be A Player signed insert set. Some of the cards are expensive, but most of them can be found for $1 or so if I look hard and wait long enough.

Pat LaFontaine

Pat LaFontaine

Retired player. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.

Purchased at a card shop for $1.

I got both of these cards for $1 at a card shop recently. Quite an awesome price for two autographs from this Hall of Fame player. I especially like the Upper Deck Legends card, as it is a "hard-signed" pack insert--not that I have anything against sticker autographs.

Mattias Timander

Mattias Timander

Currently with Modo Hockey Ornskoldsvik of the Swedish Elite League.

Purchased at a card shop for $1.

Why the hell did Upper Deck make a card of Mattias Timander in their 2005-06 Be A Player set if Timander hasn't played in the NHL since 2004? During the lockout, he went home to Sweden to play hockey, and never came back. So, it seems kind of strange to make a card of a dude who was a year-and-a-half removed from playing in the NHL. Maybe Upper Deck had extra stickers with his autograph lying around, and figured that they should put them to use. Whatever...it was only a buck.

Scott Gomez

Scott Gomez

Currently with the New York Rangers.

Purchased at a card shop for $3.

While I focus on getting autographs through-the-mail (TTM), I purchase signed insert cards when I can find them on the cheap. I purchased this Gomez card for $3. Gomez won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year in 2000.

Scott Hartnell

Scott Hartnell

Currently with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Fan letter sent: October 25, 2008.

Autographs received: December 20, 2008.

Hartnell nicely signed these cards in black Sharpie marker. The last time I wrote to him, during the 2006-07 season, was also successful. I like the way he adds his uniform number when he signs the cards; on the Future Prospects card, he wrote 63 next to his name, as that year he wore the "scrub" number of 63 before switching to the more "regular" jersey number 17.

Although Hartnell is no longer with the Nashville Predators, I must point out that I seem to have the best successes with the Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Forbes Kennedy

Forbes Kennedy

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: November 21, 2008.

Autographs received: December 20, 2008.

Forbes Kennedy played from 1956 to 1969 in the NHL. The teams he played for were the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Peter Budaj

Peter Budaj

Currently with the Colorado Avalanche.

Fan letter sent: November 7, 2008.

Autograph received: December 19, 2008.

Today I got back my three cards from Peter Budaj--all three were unsigned. However, I did get the following:

-- A signed 3 1/2" by 5 photo signed in black marker

-- A Colorado Avalanche sticker

-- A form letter

While the signed photo is very nice--and Budaj has a cool signature, I am a bit dissapointed in Avalanche players when writing to them. Last season, I got the same form letter from Tyler Arnason, 'cuz, you know, he gets "many letters, and unfortunately cannot respond to each and every one of them over the course of the season."

Budaj's "form letter" is word-for-word the same as Arnason's. But while I can't resist ripping on Arnason, I can almost forgive Budaj, as he has had a very busy season as the Avalanche's number one goaltender--getting next to no help at all from his defense. I went to a Blackhawks game this season against Colorado, and they lit up Budaj for six goals. I had to explain to my girlfriend that no, Budaj is not as bad as the stats indicate.

In fact, I've always liked Budaj, and want him to do well (except against the Blackhawks, of course). So, I'm actually kind of bummed that he could not sign my cards--especially the 2006-07 Fleer card.

Rick Nash

Rick Nash

Currently with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Fan letter sent: October 14, 2008.

Autograph received: December 13, 2008.

Although Nash only signs one card per request, he is usually a very quick turnaround. The past three times I have written to him, he has signed the card in blue Sharpie marker. Unfortunately, this time he signed it in a black marker that seemed to be running out of ink. I was sure to rub the card with an eraser before I sent it out, so it wasn't a "gloss" problem.

Leo Boivin

Leo Boivin

Retired player. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1986.

Fan letter sent: November 21, 2008.

Autographs received: December 10, 2008.

Rule the school! Retired Hall of Fame player Leo Boivin nicely signed all three cards in blue Sharpie marker! One of the cards was from the Hockey Hall of Fame set that uses portrait painted by Carlton McDiarmid. Unfortunately, the blue marker does not show up well against the black of the Bruins uniform (not that I'm complaining). On the other two cards, though, it looks awesome.

Kimbi Daniels

Kimbi Daniels

Currently with the Phoenix Roadrunners (ECHL).

Fan letter sent: November 28, 2008.

Autographs received: December 8, 2008.

I was not aware that Daniels was still playing pro hockey until I read a short write-up about him in a recent issue of The Hockey News. He currently plays for the Phoenix Roadrunners in the ECHL.

Daniels nicely signed each card in black Sharpie marker, and added his uniform number--#46 on two of the Flyers cards, #14 on the third Flyers card and #14 on his card from the World Junior Championship.

By the way, I find his portrait on the back of the Parkhurst card funny for some reason...

Tom Poti

Tom Poti

Currently with the Washington Capitals.

Fan letter sent: November 7, 2008.

Autographs received: December 4, 2008.

Ed Giacomin

Ed Giacomin

Retired player. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987.

Fan letter sent: November 7, 2008.

Autograph received: December 3, 2008.

Ed Giacomin signed one of three cards I sent him--the other two cards were from 1970-71 Topps and 1972-73 Topps. That's OK, as the Fleer Greats of the Game card was my first choice of what I wanted signed by Mr. Giacomin.

I heard that he usually charges for signing cards. I'm not sure where I heard that, so don't quote me as being 100% accurate on that. Either way, I'm glad to have gotten one card signed by him.

Bert Olmstead

Bert Olmstead

Retired player. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.

Fan letter sent: November 21, 2008.

Autographs received: December 1, 2008.

YES! Another awesome card from the Hall of Fame set--very nicely signed in blue Sharpie by Bert Olmstead. Mr. Olmstead signed all three cards I sent him, and folded my fan letter to him around the cards so that they'd say nice and flat in the mail. On my note, he wrote Thanks for the nice letter Sal. I wish all "Original Six" era players signed in blue Sharpie like Mr. Olmstead. What a great autograph!