Ayuh, I've been to Maine

With Team USA and Sweden opening training camps in and around Portland, Maine, later this week (April 24-30) for the upcoming World Championships, I'm going through a rather severe case of hockey homesickness. And it's not just because of the missed hounding opportunities.

No, I'm a big fan of Portland. It's a cool city. Old, brick and granite buildings. Lots of 'em. Commercial Street separates a working waterfront and a bustling downtown. Expect trendy gift shops and the requisite prices. The restaurants could be better, but there are some brew pubs, namely Three Dollar Deweys, worth visiting, too.

My favorite thing to do in Portland, and this should come as no great surprise, was hockey hounding. Many a winter's night, after making the 45-minute, mostly back-road ride to Portland to take in the game, I stood outside the Cumberland County Civic Center, snagging autographs from then-AHL stars Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Jason Spezza and Eric Staal.

Portland is, by far, the easiest place I've ever collected autographs. The players' entrance fronts Spring Street. At game time, most walk down from the hotel or parking garage. Post-game, the bus parks right outside the doors.

Who's worth hounding? How about these players?

Team USA: Buffalo's Jason Pominville and Drew Stafford, Carolina's Tim Gleason, Chicago's Patrick Kane, Edmonton's Tom Gilbert, Los Angeles' Dustin Brown and Patrick O'Sullivan, New Jersey's Zach Parise and Phoenix's Peter Mueller and Keith Ballard.

Team Sweden: Ex-Islander Kenny Jonsson, Los Angeles' Erik Ersberg and Vancouver's Alexander Edler. It's too bad such players as Vancouver's Markus Naslund and the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik declined their invitations.

Even though I can't be there, here's hoping that someone takes advantage of this opportunity. I'll bet that some of Boston's hounding crew will be there. If not, they'll miss out.

Caught by surprise

First of all, I must admit that my motivation level for the Edmonton Oilers was only a fraction of what it was for the Colorado Avalanche. I made only one hounding trip, rather than three. We didn't have tickets. And I, worn down by a nagging cold, simply wasn't that motivated.

That's why it amazes me that I quickly and quietly added another 33 autographs to the collection Tuesday as the team made its way to the morning skate. And despite the fact that I never saw the Oilers coaching staff (apparently, they rode the team bus), I won't even dare utter a complaint about the players' efforts.

Among the highlights:

~ Ales Hemsky signing an Oilers puck and wallpaper;
~ Snagging a trio of pucks from Mathieu Garon;
~ Dustin Penner, a former UMaine Black Bear, on an Oilers puck;
~ Fernando Pisani and Jarret Stoll adding to Colin's collection; and
~ Sheldon Souray, basking in Florida's glow, signing two pucks.

I marvel, too, at the diversity of the day's efforts: 16 pucks, taking the collection to 1,499; four wallpaper images; eight cards; four cheap skates cards; and a game-used Denis Grebeshkov stick.

I'm thinking that had I stayed until after the Oilers morning skate, the numbers would have been significantly higher, even approaching the magical 50. Who knows, maybe someone from the Oilers coaching staff would've signed puck No. 1,500.

Oh well, I'm happy with what I got.

Pucks, shown above, from left:
Top row: Shawn Horcoff, Ethan Moreau and Fernando Pisani;
Bottom row: Joni Pitkanen, Ladislav Smid and Jarret Stoll.

Cards, shown below, from left:
Matt Greene, Steve Staios and Patrick Thoresen.

My bad

No trip to hound the Edmonton Oilers would be complete without adding at least one autograph from the team's biggest name: Ales Hemsky.

As you can see, he signed a pair, getting him a wallpaper from the team's Web site as well as this puck.

For some reason, I thought it might be difficult getting him to sign these items. In fact, he was the opposite.

It's one of the times when I don't mind being wrong.

I earned this one

Add Edmonton goalie Dwayne Roloson to the list of NHL players who apparently doesn't like to stop and sign autographs.

Oh, sure, he'll sign. This University of Massachusetts-Lowell puck is a testament to that. Thankfully, I'm able to walk backwards.

Just expect him to sign while walking (he's a brisk walker, too) and be prepared for only one item.

Another three

As promised, here's another hat trick of pucks from an NHL player. This time, Edmonton goalie Mathieu Garon signed the trio.

And, yes, the Quebec Citadelles puck caught his eye.

He's familiar with Florida

You can always tell the NHL players who have made frequent trips to Florida by the clothes they're wearing.

While most every other Edmonton Oiler wore a suit (sans a tie) as they walked over to Tuesday's morning skate, defenseman Sheldon Souray, an Eastern Conference regular before joining the Oilers, showed his veteran status.

Souray dressed down and took a more relaxed approach -- sporting a T-shirt and jeans as well as a sport jacket.

For Colin's collection

Though Colin couldn't come hounding with me Tuesday morning, that didn't keep him from adding a few Oilers to his collection.

Instead of team sheets, though, I opted for wallpaper images. Edmonton's Fernando Pisani (top image) and Jarret Stoll were kind enough to oblige.

Denis Grebeshkov also signed a game-used stick (pictures and post coming soon) to Colin.

My first option

One of the tricky toe-drags about NHL rookies is finding items for them to sign whenever their teams come to Tampa.

I try to hold off from using rookie cards in a player's first NHL season, because you never know if their first few cards are better left unsigned.

Team items, from jersyes to sticks to team logo wallpapers, work well, too.

But, as long as I'm hounding, I'll stick with my so-called cheap skates cards. These two examples -- base cards for Edmonton's Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner -- worked just fine.

Another Black Bear sighting

Can you name the former University of Maine Black Bear who signed this Oilers puck earlier today before Edmonton's morning skate, among the 16 added to the collection?

Need a hint? Look in the Vault.

For those keeping score (like me), that takes the collection up to 1,499 autographed pucks. It looks like an Ottawa player, not someone from Vancouver as I predicted, will sign the 1,500th.

Sunday morning homily XVII

For those of you who have followed my hounding adventures this season, it's safe to say that recent weeks have proved rather productive. Fifty autographs in one day from the Montreal Canadiens. Four pucks signed by Colorado's Joe Sakic. Three pucks from Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff. Heck, even the Maple Leafs, a team I associated with grumpiness, proved to be willing signers.

Not too long before that, though, I was experiencing the flip side of hounding, running into virtual brick walls and repeatedly testing my mantra that one autograph is better than none.

From time to time, readers comment about the luck I seem to have when it comes to hounding. With all due respect, though, luck has very little to do with it. Preparation and perseverance are my keys.

I won't apologize for my preparation efforts. Because my work schedule provides idle hours early in the day, I put that time to good use by compiling exhaustive puck lists and stacks of team sets that number more than 75 cards. I memorize players faces, making little flash cards of those I don't initially recognize.

Perseverance comes easily, too. If I'm going to make the effort to be prepared for teams, then putting myself in the right position at the right time is the easy part. In my book, anything less than that is a waste of time and effort.

Over the past 10-plus years of hounding -- from the early days of asking "Who's that?" in Greensboro, N.C., to too many freezing February mornings in downtown Boston -- I've had my fair share of more good days than bad. And, for that, I'm thankful.

Luck, I'm afraid, had nothing to do with it. We all make our own opportunities. Effort is usually rewarded. Laziness, I'm afraid, is not.

Something to think about

Down here in Florida, we've started to notice that players who not only sign for us, but also interact in a positive fashion, seem to enjoy a bit of good luck in their games against the Lightning.

The most recent example was Colorado defenseman Jeff Finger. Though he's not exactly a household name, one of my hounding buddies, Gary the Swedish Big Dog, made a point of sharing their mutual connections to Michigan's Upper Peninsula before last Tuesday's game. Finger's recognition that someone knew his hometown brought a giant smile to his face.

Later, during warm-ups, Finger noticed a sign of encouragement (Yooper Power!) that Gary had made for him. We weren't surprised then, when Finger scored Colorado's first goal against the Lightning. It was just his third of the season.

Now, I'm not suggesting that autograph hounds serve as conduits of good fortune for NHL players. Still, though, I guess it shows that good things happen to nice people.

5 Big Sigs

With Western Conference teams continuing to make stops in Tampa, one might think that I'd focus my efforts entirely on the Edmonton Oilers this week. While I will devote a considerable amount of attention to the Oilers, I can't forget that Ottawa is coming to town, too.

With a little hustle and good timing, here's what I hope we add to the collection this week:

~ Edmonton general manager Kevin Lowe on Oilers (old school) and Rangers pucks;
~ Winger Ales Hemsky on an Oilers official game puck and a wallpaper image;
~ Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov on one of his game-used sticks from his days with the AHL's Manchester Monarchs;
~ Goalie Dwayne Roloson on Oilers, Sabres and University of Massachusetts-Lowell pucks; and
~ Ottawa's Jason Spezza on the Young Guns stick.