Hounding Report: Stars Training Camp, Day 3, September 21

Day three was definitely more of a quick, tactical, hit and run mission.  I wanted to get out early so I could get across town to Browns Backers, so I was focusing on four players: Jamie Benn, Kari Lehtonen, Erik Cole, and Radek Faksa.

The good news is I got two of them.  Benn was part of a large group and so I decided not to bother with him.  I actually ended up skipping a number of guys I could use but sometimes it's good just to focus on a few and pass up on guys you've already gotten a ton or who obviously don't want to sign (such as the trio of Seguin, Garbutt, and Fiddler who all walked together).

I got Patrick Eaves one more time on one card.  I figure since I have like 30 cards of the guy, I'd better try to knock those out whenever I can.  I bought a bunch not knowing he's a one-per signer.  Oh well.

Sergei Gonchar also came through, signing five for me.  A guy rode up with a pretty awesome Stars-themed motorcycle, and had Sergei sign it as well.

Kari Lehtonen came through and signed the 8 cards I have of him.  I'm sure I've said it before but Kari is always a great guy when it comes to signing.

Erik Cole came through and signed five as well while on the phone.  I didn't have to say anything, he just came up to me and did it.  I try not to interrupt players when they're on the phone unless it's really obvious that they're doing it with no reason except to get me to leave them alone.  I remember one time in Boston when New Jersey came through, Martin Brodeur, Jim McKenzie, and Turner Stevenson all stepped out of a movie theater near their hotel and saw us waiting.  All three immediately reached for their phones.  We weren't fooled.  All three signed with their phones to their ears, trying to continue the charade (note that they weren't saying anything, so either they were listening to a phone lecture or they were full of it; I'm sure you can guess which is more likely).

So I skipped Benn, and never saw Faksa (there were several we didn't see besides him-- Spezza, Hemsky, Daley, and a number of prospects), but aside from that I hit two of my four targets for the morning.

If only Billy Cundiff could have done that this afternoon.  Goddammit Browns...

TOTALS: 19 autographs from 4 players

WEEKEND TOTALS: Meh, I'll tally it up later.