Rocky Mountain High

I could sit here all day and wax poetic about the past two days of hounding the Colorado Avalanche. Instead, I'll sum up the experience in one word: Fantastic.

Given that the Avs are my favorite Western Conference club, I carried high expectations going into the hounding adventure. And after adding another 75 autographs, including 25 pucks, I wasn't disappointed.

From the biggest names right down to rookies, the Avalanche, nearly to a person (Though he signed for a few people, Jose Theodore was a tad rough), were more than accommodating.

Want some proof? How about these exhibits:

~ Captain Joey Sakic, less than a month after hernia surgery, signed six items, including four pucks, over two days for us;
~ Top-shelf stars Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny were each good for a puck and a wallpaper photo;
~ Defenseman Jordan Leopold did a hat trick of pucks;
~ Twenty-three players and coaches made a little boy's day; and
~ Four players, including three rookies, were happy to sign cheap skates cards.

Highlights among the rest of the haul:

Top row, from left, of pucks: Tyler Arnason, Andrew Brunette and Peter Budaj;
Bottom row: Scott Hannan, Ian Laperriere and John-Michael Liles.

From left: Karlis Skrastins, Marek Svatos and Wojtek Wolski.

Top row, from left, of cards: Tyler Arnason, Andrew Brunette, Peter Budaj:
Bottom row: Brett Clark, Jeff Finger and John-Michael Liles.