Graphing the Ducks 2014-2015

I've made a few trips out this year to graph the Anaheim Ducks. They're a solid team pushing the pace for best in the NHL this season and have their usual standouts being stronger than ever. Team captain Ryan Getzlaf is playing like a beast right now and on pace to be leading the conversation for league MVP at the end of the season.

Each season I've worked on graphing the Ducks I've liked to get a team set of cards done. I made some progress on last year's Score set getting a few guys that I've missed and started this years O-Pee-Chee team set.

I added a few other nicer items getting a few pucks and some photos done to go along with the cards I got signed by the Ducks.

Ryan Getzlaf autographed puck.

Scott Niedermayer autographed puck.

Cam Fowler 2014 Olympics autographed 8x10 of him scoring the go ahead goal to beat Russia.

Ryan Kesler autographed 8x10 photograph from his time with Vancouver.

Scott Niedermayer autographed 8x10 photograph from when the Ducks won the 2007 Stanley Cup.

Cam Fowler 2014 Olympics autographed 8x10 of him scoring the go ahead goal to beat Russia inscribed "Go USA"

Ryan Kesler autographed 8x10 since joining the Ducks.

Ryan Getzlaf autographed 8x10 photo.

Corey Perry autographed 8x10 photo with the Ducks.

I got Sami Vatanen, Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler, Frederik Andersen, Ben Lovejoy, Devante Smith-Pelly, Bryan Allen, Patrick Maroon, and Kyle Palmieri started off my O-Pee-Chee set and finished off some of the active Score cards I needed.

 Kyle Palmieri, Patrick Maroon, Hampus Lindholm, Ilya Bryzgalov, Andrew Cogliano, Francois Beauchemin, Jakob Silfverberg, Corey Perry signed some of the inserts and team cards I needed for the team set.

 Matt Beleskey, Patrick Maroon, Cam Fowler, Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Getzlaf, Sami Vatanen, Frederik Andersen, Eric Brewer, and Ben Lovejoy all signed their team card for me.

The Ducks are a great team and the couple of days I've spent graphing them has really had me come away with some great signed pucks, photos and cards.

RBI (220) Alec Martinez...

I made another pretty random purchase recently. My family has never been the biggest fans of hockey but the past Stanley Cup caught some serious interest at my house. The Los Angeles Kings were Stanley Cup Champions with the final game winning goal scored by defenseman Alec Martinez.

I knew I was going to be in the area of a signing he was having and in case I had time I put it in my car. I ended up having just enough time to make my way there and I got my copy of the Alec Martinez Sports Illustrated autographed.

Martinez gave me a head nod when I said hello and offered my hand to shake. My interaction with him literally lasted less than 10 seconds from nod to signature to him moving onto the next person he was signing for. Glad I was doing this just because instead of being the biggest fan or I'd have been pretty disappointed in his personality.

I shelled out the extra few bucks to have my Alec Martinez Sports Illustrated authenticated by PSA, I figured he has a simple enough autograph that if I had the option and convinence for a few extra dollars I'd prefer to have it done.

Autograph Recap, Bernie Nicholls at the Offices of Dr. Alex Corbin Liu 7/12/14

Well as previously posted Dr. Alex Corbin Liu had an appearance scheduled with former LA kings great Bernie Nicholls at his practice in Rowland Heights. It was only my second time going to a signing held by Dr. Liu and it was a great experience for me once again. The line this time was longer than the Reggie Bullock signing, but it wasn't too bad especially considering the hype around the Kings winning the Stanley Cup this year.

First off I made a untypical mistake and printed out the wrong quality photo and didn't discover it until it was too late to arrange for another print. I went into Dr. Liu's office and was happy to see a variety of high quality items available for purchase at the event. There was a selection of 8x10s, 11x14s and different pucks all for a really reasonable price especially for being sold with the autograph included with purchase. I was honestly really impressed as I've seen other places host signings and player appearances with no items available or a poor selection of poor quality, but this is the second time I've seen nice items available at Dr. Liu's office.

Nicholls arrived early and spent some time inside chatting with a few guests before starting to sign for those in line. After he really started signing the line started to move pretty well and he allowed fans to take a photo with his ring from being on the Kings Stanley Cup championship.

Bernie Nicholls autographed this 8x10 photograph and inscribed "70 Goals 80 Assist 150 points" on it for me. I think it came out really well and I really like the vintage jersey he's wearing in it. Definitely a well chosen photograph to have available for people attending the signing.

This one wasn't as popular a choice with the Kings faithful but I also was able to get this photo of Nicholls playing for the New Jersey Devils signed.

Overall it was another great event run by Dr. Liu and his staff and I'm glad to have made the trip out to meet Nicholls. This has been a recent way for me to find autographs in the Los Angeles/Southern California area and I'm definitely liking how they're coming out. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next event and will be posting any information I find about a signing and recommend making your way out that way as well.

Autograph Opportunity, Bernie Nicholls July 12, 2014

Go Kings go.  At Dr. Alex Corbin Liu's practice in Rowland Heights there will be an appearance by NHL legend Bernie Nicholls for an autograph signing on July 12, 2014. The first 50 people in line will receive a free autograph so Kings fans looking for an autograph be sure to line up early.

I went to the last event when Reggie Bullock was at Dr. Liu's practice and it was a great well run event. I definitely recommend anyone looking to add an NHL autograph to check out the appearance. And if you're not in Southern California but still looking for an autograph contact him by email for mail order inquiries.

RPS (10) Graphing the Anaheim Ducks 10/19/13

With baseball in Southern California finished for the season I went with some friends to try graphing the Anaheim Ducks for the first time. I had heard of some good successes and big numbers by other experienced hockey autograph collectors so I figured it was worth a Saturday morning to give it a shot.

I wasn't sure what to bring along with me for my first attempt so I settled on a buying a 2013-14 Score team set of cards and printing an 8x10 photograph. When I got to the Honda Center to meet up with my friends I learned the Ducks weren't there due to a concert so we went to their back up practice facility.

I had heard hockey players were some of the nicest pros out there to collect and I always wondered if it was just an exaggeration. It's not. The Ducks are one of the nicest groups of professionals I've ever encountered and they had no hesitation to sign for us when we asked. The only guys who didn't sign for us on their way in were the players who didn't park by where we were standing to see them arrive. Everyone had a nice thing to say as they signed and were extremely polite to us graphers. I kid you not. Today I became a Ducks fan and decided collecting hockey autographs isn't too bad.

In no particular order here's how I did today.
Cam Fowler autographed Score card.

Kyle Palmieri autographed Score card.

Lucas Sbisa autographed Score card.

Corey Perry autographed Score card.

Daniel Winnik autographed Score card.

Nick Bonino autographed Score card.

Andrew Cogliano autographed Score card.

All-Star Saku Koivu autographed Score card.

All-Star Jonas Hiller autographed Score card.

Captain, Stanley Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Getzlaf autographed Score card.

If you're an autograph collector reading this post then you're probably used to seeing the cars athletes drive around in. Let me say this. Ryan Getzlaf has the sickest car I've ever seen a pro driving. A blacked out matte black luxury ride. While he was signing for us we couldn't even pretend to not be drooling over his car and I told him "You have the sickest car I've ever seen a pro drive. You win the Anaheim car game. Your car is cooler than Albert Pujols'." To which he hid a grin and said thanks while finishing my Ducks Team Leaders card also autographed by Corey Perry and Viktor Fasth.

After the Ducks came in we followed them into the practice facility and watched their practice. Something you can never do anywhere else, so one more reason I'll be a Ducks fan from now on. They worked hard and then finished up practice so we went back outside to wait for the man of the hour. Future NHL Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne came out and was nice enough to knock out autographs for everyone who waited and asked. First I got this Teemu Selanne autographed 8x10 photograph.

After he signed the photo I had Teemu to sign a puck I picked up from the team store during practice. He signed quickly but gave the nice items people had good signatures, signing in good spots and inscribed when asked. Definitely a class act from a hockey legend so I'm very happy to knocked out getting the "Finnish Flash" autograph before he retires, hopefully with another run at a Stanley Cup championship.

Basically I knocked out almost the entire Ducks team in one day. At some point I'm going to go back to try for more Teemu Selanne autographs and to finish my Score team set. It was a cool day spent with Rob, Al, Benson and Matt and I'm glad I went out to collect the Ducks and start collecting NHL autographs.