Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

Wow, it's been a very long time!

Let's get started then.

Recently, I've been fortunate enough to help out at AJ's Sportsworld's autograph signings. Volunteering there, had been both fun and rewarding to me. I've got to work with some very famous athletes, AJ's excellent staff, and have gotten to meet alot of cool customers. I've helped out with the mail order/private stock signings "in the back", and worked "in the front"...dealing with the public, as they get to meet the athletes. I've taken tickets, handled markers, taken pictures, answered questions, and many other jobs...with the public! In the back, I've helped with moving photos, moving jerseys, grabbing fresh markers, taking pictures, handling signed items, and many other cool jobs.

In the 3 or 4 months, I've had a chance to be privy to many cool conversations, heard awesome stories, and helped out with the athletes requests.

Here are some cool factoids that I've witnessed, and decided to share with you all!

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"













Gordie Howe's appearance at the Expo, I'm taking tickets, Vito's handling makers, and Richard is taking photos of customers!

Mike Keane wore his poppy on his hat! Dave Andreychuk has a foundation in his own name, and donated his entire appearance fee to his charity! A customer had a game-worn Canadiens jersey, and Steve Shutt verified that it indeed was his former jersey! ...Shutt then signed the Habs logo on the front! Mike Keane ran a charity hockey game, in Winnipeg, the night before his recent Expo appearance! Steve Shutt (claims) to have scored the winning goal, at Keane's charity game! ...Keane claims he, himself, scored the game winner! Mike Keane let his son bring one of 3 Stanley Cup rings to school for 'Show & Tell'! Dave Andreychuk resides in Florida, and works radio telecasts for Lightning games a few times during the season!

With 3 time Stanley Cup winner, Mike Keane!

















Doug Gilmour is a quiet guy, in the back. Curtis Joseph thoroughly examines each photo he's about to sign, publicly...and will tell you if he likes the photo! During a signing of photo, where Doug Gilmour was pictured with blood on his face and jersey, Corinna (my wife) said; "That's an awesome shot, I like the determination!"...to which Gilmour respeonded; "I wasn't happy at the time, just look at my bloody face!". Gordie Howe is a prankster! Cujo has no problem signing photos of "The Gilmour goal"...he says he understands how important it is to Leafs fans! Mike Keane doesn't sign the "Canadiens Captains" Upper Deck card! Ray Bourque was, also, very quiet in the back!

With Hockey Hall of Famer, Doug Gilmour!












Anton Stastny said to me, while signing a photo of him as a Nordiques rookie; "Look Chris, here I was young and good looking...now I'm just good looking!". Peter Stastny works for the United Nations! Anton Stastny resides in Slovakia! Marion Stastny, surprisingly signed alot of Leafs items...even though he played 70 games for the Blue & White! There is acutally 4 Stastny brothers...Vladimir, never played in the NHL! When the 3 Stastny brothers appeared at the Expo, in November, it was the first time all 3 former Nordiques were under the same roof in over 10 years! Marion Stastny currently resides in Quebec! Gordie Howe's son Marty, was in attendance for Gordie's Expo signing!

With former Quebec Nordique, Anton Stastny!

















Ilya Kovalchuk likes light beer! So does, his teammate, Martin Brodeur! Gordie Howe signed his rookie card for a customer...I was shocked to see one! Ilya Kovalchuk prefers Iphone! Again...so does Martin Brodeur! Dan Bouchard, former '76 Canada Cup goalie, puts a happy face in the "D" of his 1st name when he autographs an item! Martin Brodeur says he'll never sign another "exclusive" autograph contract again! Dan Bouchard says; "If there's no happy face in my autograph, then it's a fake!". Ilya Kovalchuk didn't put his "number 17" on the private stock...just his name!.

With legendary goaltender, Martin Brodeur!













At 83 years of age, Gordie Howe still has a beautiful signature, and will not rush it...he takes his time for each and every autograph! While at his Expo appearance, Curtis Joseph had many of his "Cujo's Kids Charity" recipients, in the autograph line...they all thanked him for his charity, to which...he thanked them for talking to him about the charity! (That was awesome to witness!). Drew Doughty was in Guelph this past summer, visiting his Guelph Storm billets! Ilya Kovalchuk asked me whom all the Russians were on the Toronto Maple Leafs currently!

With Olympic Gold Medal winning defenseman, Drew Doughty!

















Jonation Quick, goalie for the L.A. Kings, chewed tobacco during his appearance! Dan Bouchard adds a Bible verse to his autograph! Mikhail Grabovski introduced himself to me, pronouncing his first name as "Michael"! Nikolai Kulemin was very quiet in the back! Ilya Kovalchuk said that Nikolai Kulemin is a great hockey player, and is one of the best Leafs on the team! My friend Adam had Game-used skates of Mikhail Grabovski for him to sign...they turned out awesome in silver paint pen! When I asked Mike Keane, Dave Andreychuk, and Ilya Kovalchuk, what city has the most autograph hounds? They all responded the same...Montreal!

With Russian superstar, Ilya Kovalchuk!












The first person Ilya Kovalchuk ever asked for an autograph, was Viacheslav Fetisov! Doug Gilmour's appearance at the Expo in November, sold an incredible amount of tickets...3rd most in the history of AJ's! Bryan McCabe has the number 1 spot in tickets sold! Ilya Kovalchuk collects his own jerseys, and says one of his all-time favourites is his Atlanta Thrashers draft day jersey, when he was taken first overall in 2001! When Martin Brodeur signed a 16x20 for my son, as a Christmas gift, he inscribed "To Josh, Thanks for being a fan!, Martin Brodeur"!. Dan Bouchard said that the 1976 Canadian team of the Canada Cup, is the greatest team ever assembled...there are more 50 goal scorers on that Canadian squad than any other ever put together!

With Toronto Maple Leaf, Mikhail Grabovski!













I wrote an entry a few years back, about Curtis Joseph's appearance in Guelph...after signing autographs in Guelph, he played road hockey with some kids. I found out, after working with him, that the equipement he used...was NHL game-used! The bible verse that Dan Bouchard adds to his autograph is Psalm 139, and is too long for me to add here...look it up, it's beautiful! Although he doesn't live in Hamilton anymore, Dave Andreychuk donates alot of hockey equipement through his charity to youth hockey programs in the Canadian city! None of the athlete's that I've had the chance to work with, have worn their Stanley Cup ring to their signing! Surprisingly, in the back, Doug Gilmour signed alot of non-Toronto items! Anton Stastny's favourite memory was scoring 8 points in one NHL game, brother Peter added 8 points in the same game...what a night for the Stastnys! Dave Andreychuk is the biggest man, that I've had the chance to work with...also one of the friendliest!

With Stanley Cup winner, Dave Andreychuk!












Well, that's about it! Thanks for the read! Hope you enjoyed it! I hope to have alot more entries this year, than I did last year...sorry about that! I hope to write about; an update on my Hockey Hall of Fame 16x20 project, a Blue Jays prospect, and a special trip! When time permits it...I'll give my focus back to my blog! Thanks again for checking out my blog!

C

PS; Many thanks to Andrew Goldfarb, owner of AJ's Sportsworld, for trusting me enough to come out and help his business, during special events! Please check out www.ajsportsworld.com for their upcoming signings. I hope to interview Andrew soon, for an up close and insider's look into the world of promoting public autograph signings.