I've finally added a Montreal Canadiens player to my upstart 1963-64 Parkhurst set-in-progress. I purchased this card at the same time I purchased the Pete Goegan card. It has a few medium creases on the front, as well as some dirt (above his head, to the right).
But like the Goegan card, this Gauthier card cost me the princely sum of $3.24, including shipping (the dealer only charged me $2.50 to ship the two cards, then mailed them in a plain, stamped envelope).
Maybe when I'm rich, famous, or rich AND famous I'll be able to afford a near-mint version of this card. Until then, I'll just have to settle for this war-torn veteran.
And yes, for those keeping score at home, this is the 6th card in the set I started a year ago. Only 93 more cards to go.
Shellie and I arrived at the convention around 8:30 am. I headed off to the VIP signing session that I had won, while Shellie went to wait in line for Murray Bannerman.
At 9 am sharp, we finally learned who will be signing for us--Stan Mikita! While I did get his autograph last year, I don't mind getting it again this year. Mikita nicely signed this 8" by 10" photograph.
Look familiar? The same photo was used on a 1990-91 Pro Set card.
When I got up to Mikita, I said "Thank you for coming out today."
"Thank you for coming," Mitia replied. "Because if it wasn't for you, I'd still be in bed."
I laughed, and told him "And if it wasn't for you, I'd still be in bed too."
Mikita laughed too. He's got a sense of humor.
I then went back to the main autograph room, and got a card signed by Cliff Koroll.
Meanwhile, Shellie got an 8" by 10" signed by Murray Bannerman.
Bannerman also signed a painting for a fellow named Jeff, from Kankakee, IL. Jeff did the painting while in college in the 1980s, and finally got it autographed by his hero. Bannerman even "drew in" the eyes.
Bannerman signed this guy's painting,>and even "dotted" the eyes.
Up next was Eric Nesterenko. We waited probably an hour in line. Shellie got a card signed for me...
...and I got a 4" by 6" photo of Nesterenko from the film "Youngblood".
In that movie, he plays Blane Youngblood, father of Rob Lowe's character Dean Youngblood. While Nesterenko instantly recognized the photo as being from the film, he told me that he did not remember his character's name. Still, he has a very nice autograph.
Eric Nesterenko
The Blackhawks Convention was only running until 2 pm on Sunday. The autograph lines for Pierre Pilote and Cam Russel were ungodly long. No matter, I really wanted an autograph from Phil Russel.
Phil Russell
The line for Russel's autograph was short--he had also signed the day before, so many probably got his autograph then. But Russel's line also moved very slowly, as he likes to talk to fans.
Shellie and I each got a card signed by him.
He also asked me if I had a question for him. After a moment's hesitation, I asked "What was your most memorable fight?"
"Marc Tardif," Russel replied.
"Why?"
"It was my first fight," he said "I dragged Tardif to center ice and knocked him out in one punch. But when you heard [former Blackhawks announcer] Lloyd Petit call the play, I supposedly was throwing Tardif around like a rag doll and pummeling him. His telling of my fight was more exciting than the actual fight."
With the show closing soon, we headed to the dealer room for a few final purchases. Here are some of the cool things I picked up.
Autographed Bobby Hull hockey card for $10. Totally worth it--it's "The Golden Jet", and it's signed in gold ink.
Autographed 8" by 10" of Glenn Featherstone for $2. Well worth two bucks, Featherstone played in the NHL and also with the minor-league Chicago Wolves.
Limited-edition 11" by 14" print of Tony Esposito for $10. This was drawn by artist Tony Santiago. This Tony-O illustration was limited to 200 prints and hand-signed by the artist. I will frame this and hang it once I figure out where I can put it.
Here is a video of some highlights from the show.
I also got a few opinions from several die-hard Hawks fans. Zac Adams, Russ Tarvid and Roman Rokiciak sound off about the 'Hawks signing Marian Hossa and firing GM Dale Tallon.
Saturday, Shellie and I got to the Blackhawks Convention at 9 am. My first goal for autographs was to get my 2006-07 Young Guns card of Dave Bolland signed. We got in line, and each of us got a card signed by the 'Hawks center:
Next on my agenda was to get an autograph from Brent Seabrook, but the line was so long they cut it off. So, we headed over to get autographs from retired player Doug Jarrett.
Doug Jarrett played for the Blackhawks in the 1970s.
A very friendly fellow, Jarrett thanked us both for coming, and shook my hand.
Immediately afterward, we got into line to wait for Tony Amonte. It wasn't even 10 am yet--and Amonte wasn't scheduled to appear until 11:30. But I have always wanted to get my 1992-93 Upper Deck Rangers checklist signed by Amonte, as it features a painting of him. I'd gladly spend a few hours in line to get that card signed.
As you can see, I opted to get the Rangers card signed in black, which was a mistake since Amonte's marker was running out. I thought the black ink would look better against the blue background, but in retrospect I should have asked him to use my new, blue marker instead. Oh well. I also kind of regret not getting an 8" by 10" autographed by Amonte, as he was one of my favorites of the 1990s.
I complimented Amonte on his hair--which is shorter than when he was with the Blackhawks, but still shaggy and brown. Amonte smiled and replied "I'm just still trying to look young."
"Me too," I chuckled.
Later, I heard that Tony Amonte signed for four hours straight--two hours in his line, and another two hours as a substitute for former teammate Steve Smith, who couldn't make it to the convention.
Next, we headed over to get autographs from the Blackhawks head coach, Joel Quenneville. Quenneville has, in the past, signed autographs through the mail. However, when getting an autograph in person, you can always ask the person to sign in blue, whereas in through the mail requests you get what you get. That and I told fellow blogger Shane Diaz that I'd try to get a Quenneville card signed for him.
Quenneville made a comment to Shellie, expressing surprise at seeing a Hartford Whalers card. When he next saw my card, he exclaimed "All right, another Whalers card! The Whale lives on!"
Joel Quenneville was happy to see Hartford Whalers cards.
Tired of standing in lines all morning, Shellie and I headed to attend a panel discussion called Road to the NHL. Attending the discussion was Kris Versteeg, Jack Skille, Jordan Hendry and Kyle Beech. However, I was hoping to get an autograph after the panel by the host, Steve Konroyd. A former Blackhawk and Whaler, Konroyd appeared on the box cover to the video game "NHL Hockey", which was the PC-version of "NHL '94". I thought that it would be pretty rad to get this signed...
Unfortunately, none of the people at the panel stuck around afterward to sign anything, including Konroyd.
The panel discussion itself was pretty cool. Here is some video of Kris Versteeg--who was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy--explaining how he made it into the NHL. Versteeg is a pretty funny guy, so enjoy:
It was almost 2 pm now, so we grabbed lunch and then headed to catch the end of another panel--this was of Blackhawks play-by-play announcer Pat Foley and color commentator Eddie Olczyk.
A fan requested that Foley re-enact his famous "Bannerman!" call from the 1985 Norris Division Finals.
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a video of the original call:
Fortunately, both Olczyk and Foley were willing and able to stick around and sign autographs after the discussion.
We spent some time in the dealer room. Since I did not know which VIP would be signing at 9 am on Sunday, I hedged my bets and purchased 8" by 10" photos of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Tony Esposito and Stan Mikita. I already had a photo of Bobby Hull.
The last thing we did that day was get autographs from 'Hawks rookie Jordan Hendry. By the time we got to his line, it was pretty much empty, so it was a short wait.
I was hoping to get Ben Eager's autograph too, but the line for him was ridiculously long. So, at about 5:30, we headed home. We'd have to be back early on Sunday for the 9 am VIP signing.
July 17 to 19 was the Second Annual Chicago Blackhawks Convention. Sure, it's the middle of July, but for 10,000 of us, all we thought about for the next three days was hockey.
As is my luck, Shellie and I were running a bit late, as we got there just before 5 pm. We could not get into the Grand Ballroom because to see the "Opening Ceremonies", where they introduce the players who are attending the Con.
Not only was the ballroom full, but so was the lobby, as hundreds of fans tried to see what was happening on a large TV that was broadcasting the ceremonies. We couldn't see anything but the backs of people trying to see a large TV. That was boring, so we went and checked out the dealer room.
Last year, more dealers were on hand selling their hockey wares. This time, there were maybe 25 vendors or so. I was kind of disappointed with the lack of selection, though I did pick up this cool illustration of Chris Chelios for $5.
The artist's name is Jerry Tibstra, and he does commissioned work for the Chicago Blackhawks. He also gave me this black and white print of Tony Esposito.
We also picked up our convention swag, which included a goodie bag and a scratch-and-win game piece (more on that later). Last year's con bag was a nifty tote with the 'Hawks logo. This year, they gave out cheaply-made drawstring bags.
There was nothing special inside the bags--just the typical assortment of coupons and fliers for the convention's sponsors and advertisers. There was one cool thing in the bag, though...
This black Sharpie marker has the motto "ONE GOAL" printed on it, along with the 'Hawks logo. "One Goal" was the team's slogan/marketing campaign during the last season. I think this marker says it all, because for most fans at the show, their "one goal" was to get some autographs.
Speaking of autographs, we decided to go wait in the signing line for Bob Probert. We got in line at 5:30, and Probert was not signing until 7. As was the case last year, there was some confusion as to which line was for who. There were two separate lines--the people in each line both claimed that they were in the "right" line for Probert. At 6:20 pm everyone in both lines merged in a mad rush towards the gate of the "official line".
And then we waited. I pulled out the three scratch-and-win game pieces we got, and one of them said "WINNER". I later exchanged it for this:
It did not tell me who this signing session was for--I would not know until 9 am on Sunday.
Bob Probert smiles a lot more now that he's got teeth.
Anyway, back to the wait. Bob Probert showed up at 7 pm sharp, and started signing. He seemed to be having a good time--he was even reading text messages between signing stuff. Around 7:20 we each got an autograph from him. Shellie got this 8" by 10" Red Wings photo signed for my Aunt Gayle...
...while I got this photo of Probert as a Blackhawk signed for my "Wall of Fame".
Probert dug this photo. "Wow! Look at that! No gray hair," Probert said.
"And you're almost smiling," I replied.
"Ah, I probably didn't smile because I probably didn't have any teeth back then," he remarked.
Bob Probert reads a text message.
After getting Probert's autograph, we headed to see a hockey-themed improvisational comedy ("improv") show by some performers from The Second City. The Second City has turned out some great comedians, such as Harold Ramis, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert. (I also went through their improv program in 2008, but am not yet quite as great of a comedian).
Brent Seabrook (left), Patrick Sharp and Adam Burish.
Last year's improv show at the 'Hawks Convention was hilarous, as the actors were joined on stage by 'Hawks players Brent Seabrook and Adam Burish. This year, Seabrook, Burish and Patrick Sharp joined The Second City players for the show.
I've put together some video highlights from the show. Enjoy!
I've still got more video and pictures that I plan on having up by the end of the week (hopefully). Check back in a day or two for my recap of the second day of the Blackhawks Convention.
As you all know, I attended the Second Annual Chicago Blackhawks Convention this past weekend. After a long three days, I am now in the process of scanning all the things I got signed, sorting through all the photos I took and editing the video that Shellie and I shot.
I did get one video clip together, where I interviewed several fans to ask them what they thought of the Blackhawks signing of Marian Hossa and firing of Dale Tallon. You can see that clip here at my college newspaper site, DePauliaOnline.com.
But I have what is probably the worst video editing software--Roxio VideoWave--so I think today I'm going to break down and purchase a copy of Adobe Premiere Elements 7 for $100. I really don't want to spend the money, but I can no longer stand to edit in a software that only has one video track and does not allow L-cuts.
The Blackhawks fired General Manager Dale Tallon on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I received my passes to the Chicago Blackhawks Convention. What do these two things have to do with each other? Nothing and everything. Read on and learn.
As most of you know by now, Dale Tallon was removed from his position as GM and reassigned to be the team's "Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations". Assistant GM Stan Bowman was promoted to GM. Stan is the son of Scotty Bowman, who also works for the Blackhawks in an advisory position.
This seems to be a strange move for the Blackhawks. Tallon was well-liked by the players, and actually did build a team that made it to the Conference Finals. The players' respect for Tallon was so great that in December, they made a detour on their road trip, sacrificing several days off to instead attend his father's funeral.
Sure, as a GM Tallon made his share of bad moves. He signed and overpaid Adrian Aucion. He signed and overpaid--and gave a no-movement clause--to Brian Campbell: $7 million a season for eight seasons. He signed Christobal Huet, who ended up being a $5 million per year backup goalie behind Nikolai Khabibulin last season.
Tallon made good moves too that usually canceled out the bad ones. He drafted Jonathan Toews and Cam Barker. He traded forgettable players and got guys like Martin Havlat, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg in return.
And then there was the whole Marian Hossa signing, which counts both as a good thing and a bad thing.
But Tallon made a crucial mistake. Apparently, the Blackhawks were too late in tendering qualifying offers to eight restricted free agents by the deadline date of June 30. That technically makes them unrestricted free agents, according to a grievance filed by the NHLPA. The 'Hawks signed all of the players in question, but it is believed that they had to overpay to keep them.
Tallon took responsibility for the fact that these offer sheets were not sent out on time. And that, according to Team President John McDonnough, was the main reason Tallon was removed from his job.
Changing the subject...last week Wednesday (July 8), I called the Blackhawks and asked if my Blackhawks Convention passes were mailed. They claimed that the passes were sent out on July 3, and that I should have them any day now. A week later, I call the team again on July 14, and their agent informs me that the passes were mailed out on July 10, and again I should get them any day now.
Finally, on July 15, I received my Convention passes, which were mailed out via UPS Next Day Air on July 14. So obviously, the passes were not sent out on the 3rd or the 10th.
The point is--in my ramblings on Tallon and the Convention--that mailing things out late seems to be a problem with the entire Blackhawks organization, not just with their GM. Yeah, the RFA thing was a bit more important, but sending out passes--that I paid for in March--three days before the convention seems a bit haphazard, wouldn't you say?
But speaking of the Blackhawks Convention, look for my report about it here on Puck Junk. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some scans of the stuff I get autographed--along with some video--in a timely manner. Not sure if I'll do updates over the weekend, or if I'll just do one big update on Monday...but yeah, stay tuned.
Finally, along with my three passes, here's a fake form letter from Blackhawks team captain, Jonathan Toews, thanking me for purchasing three (3) convention passes. Enjoy.
Back in April, I purchased a box of 2008-09 Champ's Hockey. It was somewhat of a weak moment. I had just received my income tax return, and I went to a new card shop that I had never visited before. The dealer told me that he'd sell me a box of Champ's for $100, including tax, if I paid him in cash.
Now, normally I don't buy high-end stuff. I'm the guy who's on the sidelines, watching some other schlub open up expensive packs and boxes and getting the good autograph cards, while I seldom buy anything more expensive than regular Upper Deck. For once, I wanted to open an expensive box of something, and I was intrigued by this Champ's product, with all the dinosaur bones and whatnot.
So, like the beer drinker who for once had enough to buy a bottle of fine scotch, I bought a box of Champ's. I meant to post this box breakdown sooner, but got sidetracked and then forgot. Today, I found the post-it note that listed what was inside this box:
As you can see, I got three "hits" in this box. First the autographed cards:
How about that? I got a hard-signed autograph card of Steve Stamkos, who was probably the most anticipated rookie from the 2008-09 season. No, he did not win the Calder, but getting a Stamkos 'graph is pretty awesome, and preferable to an autograph of, say...
...Jon Filewich. Don't feel bad if you haven't heard of this guy. I sure didn't until I got an autograph of him. He played 5 games in 2007-08 for the Penguins, and has been in the minors ever since. Maybe in 5 years he'll become the next Maxime Talbot. Or not.
But speaking of Penguins, I got a pretty rad jersey card:
I nearly lost it when I got this Mario Lemieux jersey swatch card. I normally detest jersey cards, because I never get any good ones. Well, I think this one is pretty impressive.
Getting a Stamkos autograph and a Lemieux jersey card made this a worthwhile break. Too bad the other autograph was not of a more, ahem, significant player--but 2 out of 3 ain't bad, right?
As for the other cards (base, minis, etc.) nothing really stood out in my break. Overall, I like the set, but wonder why the mini set has more cards than the standard-sized set.
For those of you collecting Champ's, here is my Want List and Trade List. Help a brother out in completing his set.
I still need quite a few base, rookies, mini rookies and Natural History--yes, I am crazy enough that one day I will own the entire mini set, including all 191 of the Natural History cards. (Plus, I need an extra copy of C295 African Wild Dog to give to my girlfriend, who did a report and presentation in college recently about the wild dogs).
I'll write a set review once I complete the standard-sized set.
Until then, I leave you with a card of arguably the second greatest goalie ever. Arguably.
I've finally added a Montreal Canadiens player to my upstart 1963-64 Parkhurst set-in-progress. I purchased this card at the same time I purchased the Pete Goegan card. It has a few medium creases on the front, as well as some dirt (above his head, to the right). 
Doug Jarrett played for the Blackhawks in the 1970s.
Joel Quenneville was happy to see Hartford Whalers cards.
As for the other cards (base, minis, etc.) nothing really stood out in my break. Overall, I like the set, but wonder why the mini set has more cards than the standard-sized set.
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