Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Alex Galchenyuk TTM Success

Mailed:  12/01/2012
Received:  12/19/2012
Days:  18
c/o: Sarnia Sting

The Montreal Canadiens drafted Alex 3rd overall in last year's NHL draft.  Some people think this was the steal of the draft.  I tend to agree.  This kid is on an absolute tear in the OHL this year. 27 goals and 61 points in 33 games!  

Follow him on twitter @AGally94.  

I didn't expect to get this back this soon.  He is slated to play in the World Jr. Champhionships in Ufa, Russia for team USA.  Yes, Alex was born in Wisconsin, then moved around Europe, following his father's professional hockey career.  If and when the NHL ever gets back to playing, I am excited to see him in a Habs' uniform!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Dan Hamhuis TTM Success

Mailed:  01/31/2012
Received:  12/12/2012
Days:  316
c/o: Vancouver Canucks

I honestly had written this one off.  With the lockout, I figured that if I hadn't received it by now, I never would.  So, a pleasant surprise.  Dan had 37 points with the Canucks last season, which is great for a defenceman.  He was also a plus 29.

Mark Dekanich TTM Success

Mailed:  11/21/2012
Received:  12/12/2012
Days:  21
c/o: St. John's Ice Caps

What a cool response!  He included a hand written letter on Ice Caps' letter head, thanking me for writing him.  He has had a great minor league career thus far.  He holds the Milwuakee Admirals records for Save Percentage and GAA.  He signed a 2 way deal with the Jets over the summer, so if the NHL gets back, he may be up there.  So far, he has a 2.98 GAA this season.


Monday, December 10, 2012

NHL Alumni Game 2012

The NHL Alumni tour came through Napanee, Ontario at the Strathcona Paper Centre, last week.  It is a more low key tour than the Oldtimers Hockey Challenge Tour that comes to Kingston, Ontario every year.  We got a deal on the tickets through my daughters' school, which was cool.  If you want to check out the tour schedule, go to www.benefithockey.com for more information and to see if the tour is coming near you. Walter Gretzky was the ambassador for the event and he signed autographs for the entire 3 hours.  He really is a cool guy.  He was joking around with people and posing for photographs and signing tons of autographs.  I got him to sign a puck for me, and he also signed this notepad type of paper for me.


Marty McSorley was the last guy to come out.  I was there with 2 friends and ran into another guy I knew, so there was only 4 of us getting autographs.  He went over to a chair and sat down to sign.  He said he had both hips replaced and the plane ride from LA, left him really sore.  He always takes his time signing the autographs, but he was chatting with us about the lockout and also about the 1993 Stalney Cup Finals where he got targeted for having an illegal stick.  It was interesting to get his take on that as I am a huge Habs fan and I watched every minute of those cup playoffs.  It was just so cool of him to sit around and chat with us for about 30 minutes at the end of a long day.
Dave Reid also spent a bit of time with us.  He used to own a card shop in Whitby, Ontario, so I asked him if he collected his own cards.  He said they always got a bunch of the base cards by the company that produced them, but he didn't go after the memorabilia or autographed cards.
Gary Leeman.
Bill Derlago.
Brent Gretzky.  I watched him play junior with the Belleville Bulls.
Mike Krushelnyski.
Brad Marsh.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Paul Ranger TTM Success

Mailed:  11/16/2012
Received:  12/05/2012
Days:  19
c/o: Toronto Marlies

Paul was sort of retired.  He left the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2009 after only 8 games for undisclosed reasons.  He surprisingly signed with the Marlies in the summer, in a bid for a comeback.  He has 8 points in 17 games so far this year with the Marlies.

Mike Gartner TTM Success

Mailed:  08/15/2012
Received:  12/05/2012
Days:  112
c/o: Arena in Ajax

This is another addition to the 01-02 Fleer Greats of the Game set that I have been working on.  I sent the one card, to be sure that I got that one back signed.