The summer doldrums of hockey. The I met a player thread.

[Porous Five Hole]

Let’s be fanboys. I’m hoping you’ll tell your story of when you met a Buffalo Sabres player. Fun experiences preferred. 

Here are mine: My college radio station (Brockport) had media credentials to many Sabres games. I was covering a regular season game for the station in 2000. While walking through the locker room post-game, Dominik Hasek said hello to me as he walked by and I said hello back. He was my hero. My world literally faded to black that moment. That was it, but I’ll never forget it. 
 

In 2001 or 2002, I was covering a game and I patiently waited for Martin Biron to ask my questions. It was just him and I and he was gracious with his time even though the scrum had already left.
My last question embarrassed me to no end.
After some good dialogue, my final question was what his next car would be (the Buffalo News recently reported his Hummer was stolen). I was trying to get some personality from him, but he did not take my question well. And I was too young to know why that question was problematic given he had never seen me before. He loudly said, “that’s not hockey” and tersely walked away. It felt like the entire locker room, players and reporters included, stared at me like I killed someone. I slinked away and still shudder at the thought.

Did you have a nice experience meeting someone? Any fun stories?

 

[PerreaultForever]

Let's see, in chronological order:

I met Danny Gare when I was young. He had a van parked outside the Aud where he used to take puck bunnies after games. He'd also hang around and sign autographs when that wasn't happening.  Nice guy, but he was clearly more interested in flirting with the girls than the teenage fan boys. 

I went to high school with Ron Roscoe (technically a Sabre).Big mean high school bully and his kid brother was a total a-hole who acted tough and then threatened you with his brother. Couldn't stand either one of them. 

Met Ric Seiling in a Hamilton mall one summer. It was kind of a "hey, you're Ric Seiling" kind of thing. Nice and friendly guy. I got no real story to go with this. 

Played a game of hockey with Dave Andreychuk. I worked with his Dad and he joined our Stelco charity game as a result. Man he was big.  I did manage to knock him off the puck once, but he zipped around me several other times. maybe not fast by NHL standards, but far above mine. Really couldn't move him much around the net either. Felt like cross checking him but decided against it at the last moment, it being a friendly charity game and all. Great guy though. Had a lot of fun.

Lastly, met Craig Simpson at the Children's hospital in Hamilton. Got to say hello and shake hands. Brief chat. Seemed like a nice guy. There for the kids obviously. My wife worked there so I got to help out and hang around. Martin Short was there same day. That was weird as the media handlers had him touring around in a whirlwind with "Marty over here" or "Marty face camera left" etc etc. so much so that at one point (there was catering all over the place) my wife as a joke goes "Marty hand me a cookie" and he does robotically and then pauses and says "hey, you made me do that, you're fun" smiled and moved on to "Marty over here". Craig Simpson, was somewhat ignored and soldiered on. Most kids not even knowing who he was. 

I think that's it. Unless I've forgotten somebody. 
 

[TheAud]

I saw Joe Juneau walking around campus a few times during the couple of years we overlapped at RPI. Never spoke to him. 

That's all I got. I need to meet some hockey players!

 

(I did meet and speak to Eric Clapton twice, so I'll hang my hat on that for now)

[Taro T]

Have met a bunch through the years but the 1st time meeting any happened a LONG time ago when Don Luce and Craig Ramsay came out to our new town park to hang out with our Cub Scout troop.  Believe they were only expected to stay 20 minutes or so, but stayed a good hour or 2.  Most everybody got to speak to them and everybody got their autographs.  (No friggin' clue where those 2 slips of paper ended up, sadly.)  Really great guys and will remember that day forever.

The other particularly cool one wasn't meeting a Sabre, but rather THE Voice of the Sabres.  In Middle School there was a career day the one year and somebody managed to get Mr. Darling to show up and talk about his job and tell some really cool stories about it.  That was another particularly fun one.

[ubkev]

I was teammates with Tim and Tom Sestito.

... baseball teammates.

 

Met a few guys with @Wyldnwoody44 when Vegas came to town a few years ago at the sabrespace meet-up game. Got pictures with Marchessault, and McNabb. They were nice. 

[French Collection]

It was a hockey card show in Toronto.

I brought my son and we met Perreault, Hasek and Lafontaine. Pat was really nice with my son.

[Doohicksie]

I once went to play racquetball with my brother at some club on Transit Road.  Afterward we went into the sauna and Gil Perreault was in there.  HUGE.... calf muscles.

[Doohicksie]

I've told the story on Sabrespace several times, but in June, 2000, I was flying back from business from LAX to DFW and Brett Hull was on the plane.  I was in coach, he was in first class so I didn't want to bother him, but then I noticed he was waiting for his bag in baggage claim.

I walked up and started talking to him about hockey generalities, the recently completed season, etc... then I finally asked him about "the goal."  He rolled his eyes a bit and said the puck was there, he put it in the net, it just happened.  He said the following season, he'd be lining up for faceoffs and the player from he other team usually greeted him with, "That wasn't a goal, Hull!"  He would have preferred a "highlight reel" goal but it is what it is and once it was in he couldn't take it back.

I asked him if he could sign his boarding pass; I had him address it to my nephew who played youth hockey.  He wrote, "To Matt, Good luck in hockey" and signed his name.  I told Hull I would give it to my nephew when I went up to Buffalo to visit him that summer and he was all like, "OH!  A Buffalo fan!"  But it was all good.  He seemed like a pretty decent guy.

[That Aud Smell]

I’ve got several stories, but I’ll stick with this occasion:

I attended a few Chet and Muffy preseason STH/corporate sponsors luncheons at the arena’s club setting (what is it even called? Lexus Club? What was it called then? Harbour Club?)

The one I’m remembering is from a year that they had players and other notable personalities (RJ, Ray) sitting as guests at each sponsor’s table. We had an utterly morose young European goalie at our table, who, I predicted to colleagues after the event, would be back in Europe within 12 months or less. I’m pretty sure I was correct. I can’t recall his name. Not sure if he was Finnish, Swedish … .

As the event was dispersing, I asked for and got a picture with Nathan Gerbe. Nothing but basic pleasantries exchanged. What I remember is that, when I bro-clapped my hand on his back for the picture, I felt like that I’d slapped a slab of granite. A small slab, sure. But holy crap. Dude was a rock.

This was also the luncheon where I almost literally bumped into Kim Pegula outside the venue and, after she regally said “hello,” I said something to the effect of “DURR DURR HAHN MAHN NK NK.”

[That Aud Smell]

7 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I told Hull I would give it to my nephew when I went up to Buffalo to visit him that summer and he was all like, "OH!  A Buffalo fan!"  But it was all good.  He seemed like a pretty decent guy.

I feel like this must be the case. I say that because, when a local t-shirt company came out with a "BRETT HULL IS A CHEATER" t-shirt with a graphic of an icy crease, goal posts, intruding skate, and puck, Hull bought dozens of them (nearly 100, I think). He apparently distributed them to friends, former teammates at the charity golf tournaments he went to that summer. He also took a picture wearing one and used it as his first Twitter profile pic. He's a beauty for that.

[Zamboni]

Rob Ray

Mike Robitaille 

Matt Barnaby

Coach Lindy Ruff

Brad May

RJ

Dan Dunleavy

Larry Quinn

John Scott

Danny Gare

Larry Playfair

Nikita Zadorov

Chad Johnson

I am probably forgetting a couple

[#freejame]

There was a number of years with season ticket holder events that let me meet most of the late 90s-2000s players. I met Miller when he was lost on one of his first call ups in Montreal. I met Rob Ray when I was exited an elevator and he was a huge dick about trying to push in before us 9 year olds got out. Talking cheese with Jay McKee is probably the highlight or bubble hockey with Miro Satan. 

[shrader]

Somewhere in the ballpark of 15 years ago I almost hit now captain of team Canada Marie-Philip Poulin as she no look jaywalked in front of my car. 

[Stoner]

Come on Uncle Smell, tell the Dom story!

Pleeeeeeeeease.

[That Aud Smell]

7 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Come on Uncle Smell, tell the Dom story!

Pleeeeeeeeease.

he was wearing a silky bathrobe. not precisely this robe, but one very much like it.

Come to think of it ... maybe it was that robe.

[mjd1001]

I'm in my late 40's.  Attened probably over 100 Sabres games in my life. Used to be a Bills Season ticket holder, probably close to 200 lifetime Bills games. Followed the teams since I a little kid (like 6 or 7 years old).  Other than going to a Hills Dept store in Depew when i was a kid and getting a Frank Lewis Autograph there, never, NEVER met a Bills or Sabres player, or walked by one, seen one in public in any way.  I would have thought just randomly I would have, but it just never happened to me (unless I am really not that observant and never noticed).

As a matter of fact the ONLY athlete of any fame I saw while not participating in their sport was Tony Stewart (Nascar). He was doing an autograph signing at a Home depot about 20 years ago (Auburn Massachusetts maybe?).  I was a vendor at the time in Home depot and I was workign on a Saturday and had to use the managers office to look up something, and he happened to be in the office sitting down before going to the signing.  10 seconds. Said Hi, he said Hi back. 

Again, other than that, I really tried hard to think of this but despite all my time following and going to sports, no casual encounters with any Sabres, Bills, other hockey players, or any other athletes at all.  Now I'm kinda dissapointed in myself.

[Stoner]

45 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

he was wearing a silky bathrobe. not precisely this robe, but one very much like it.

Come to think of it ... maybe it was that robe.

Yes yes. Can you get to the concave chest part?

[RangerDave]

26 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I'm in my late 40's.  Attened probably over 100 Sabres games in my life. Used to be a Bills Season ticket holder, probably close to 200 lifetime Bills games. Followed the teams since I a little kid (like 6 or 7 years old).  Other than going to a Hills Dept store in Depew when i was a kid and getting a Frank Lewis Autograph there, never, NEVER met a Bills or Sabres player, or walked by one, seen one in public in any way.  I would have thought just randomly I would have, but it just never happened to me (unless I am really not that observant and never noticed).

As a matter of fact the ONLY athlete of any fame I saw while not participating in their sport was Tony Stewart (Nascar). He was doing an autograph signing at a Home depot about 20 years ago (Auburn Massachusetts maybe?).  I was a vendor at the time in Home depot and I was workign on a Saturday and had to use the managers office to look up something, and he happened to be in the office sitting down before going to the signing.  10 seconds. Said Hi, he said Hi back. 

Again, other than that, I really tried hard to think of this but despite all my time following and going to sports, no casual encounters with any Sabres, Bills, other hockey players, or any other athletes at all.  Now I'm kinda dissapointed in myself.

I'm older than you by quite a few years and we are in the same boat.  Other than watching my then-6-year-old brother getting OJ Simpson to sign his arm cast before a training camp practice, I don't think I have ever bumped into a professional athlete.

Although, one time while flying from Buffalo to Salt Lake City, my wife and I were seated near some players who were in the prospect tournament.  I have no idea who they were, but one of them was trying to stuff a huge leather duffel bag into the overhead compartment.  I asked him if that was the bag of pucks we traded for him.  His buddies sure got a laugh.

[Doohicksie]

I remember seeing Dallas Mavericks player Shawn Bradley in a restaurant with his family.  It's hard for basketball players to hide in public.  I just googled him to make sure I spelled his name right and learned that two years ago he was riding his bike and was hit by a car and is now a quadriplegic.  😞

[Wyldnwoody44]

21 hours ago, ubkev said:

I was teammates with Tim and Tom Sestito.

... baseball teammates.

 

Met a few guys with @Wyldnwoody44 when Vegas came to town a few years ago at the sabrespace meet-up game. Got pictures with Marchessault, and McNabb. They were nice. 

That was fun, Tatar was looking for us after the game, he was a cool dude. 

I need to get back to Iceland, my cousin plays semipro hockey there and keeps inviting me out, a lot of NHLers go out there to play just for fun in the off season 

[Marvin]

My first time meeting a Sabre was in the 1973-4 season when Jim Schoenfeld had an autograph signing after breaking his leg.

My youngest sisters went to elementary school with numerous kids of the Sabres and Bills and met many more of them than I have.

[will]

i grew up with mike hurlbut who had a cup of coffee with the sabres.  everybody in town also knew the bogosians (family sold furniture).

the nhl legends tour came to town, and i filled my mom's autograph book by meeting perreault, the richard brothers, guy lafleur and others.  mom got muhammed ali's autograph in there when she was younger, i think a few of the players actually noticed it and commented on it.

when i was in college, i found myself in a car being driven by a 14 year old girl (only one who was sober) through downtown lake placid with 7 passengers as well as craig conroy and ed heinrich in the trunk with a case of beer (clarkson was in the ECAC tournament).  of course, the town cops stopped us within 100 feet of our destination, and after about 10 minutes of pleading by the girl's mother in freezing temperatures, they let us go.

i ran into steve yzerman and brendan shannahan behind home plate at the '99 mlb all-star post-game at fenway.  i asked my buddy to get my picture with steve, and after he obliged, he asked if i wanted one with shannahan, too.  i told him "nah, i can't stand that guy."  i wish i could have gotten a photo of the look on steve's face.

finally, i met a few of the rangers after a practice at matthews arena (northeastern university, boston) when my roommate had a job working the ticket window there.  no autographs, but shook hands with wayne, messier, and a few others.  brief, but memorable.

Edited July 26, 2023 by will

[Randall Flagg]

11 minutes ago, will said:

i grew up with mike hurlbut who had a cup of coffee with the sabres.  everybody in town also knew the bogosians (family sold furniture).

the nhl legends tour came to town, and i filled my mom's autograph book by meeting perreault, the richard brothers, guy lafleur and others.  mom got muhammed ali's autograph in there when she was younger, i think a few of the players actually noticed it and commented on it.

when i was in college, i found myself in a car being driven by a 14 year old girl (only one who was sober) through downtown lake placid with 7 passengers as well as craig conroy and ed heinrich in the trunk with a case of beer (clarkson was in the ECAC tournament).  of course, the town cops stopped us within 100 feet of our destination, and after about 10 minutes of pleading by the girl's mother in freezing temperatures, they let us go.

i ran into steve yzerman and brendan shannahan behind home plate at the '99 mlb all-star post-game at fenway.  i asked my buddy to get my picture with steve, and after he obliged, he asked if i wanted one with shannahan, too.  i told him "nah, i can't stand that guy."  i wish i could have gotten a photo of the look on steve's face.

finally, i met a few of the rangers after a practice at matthews arena (northeastern university, boston) when my roommate had a job working the ticket window there.  no autographs, but shook hands with wayne, messier, and a few others.  brief, but memorable.

Love the baseball game story

[KC Scouts]

Gilbert Perrault, Rick Martin, Lindy Ruff.....know Patrick Kaleta and Patrick Kane very well (many stories - but that is for another time)

Lived on same street with several Buffalo Bills players and coaches, Antoine Smith - great guy would play catch in the street with my kids.      Fred Graves (Bills receivers coach in Wade Phillips era - yep met Wade too). Graves used to host a street party/BBQ got to meet Eric Moulds (physical specimen) and Peerless Price (nice guy)

Sat next to Jim Harbaugh waiting for a plane in San Diego (nice guy)

Josh Allen lives a block away,  saw him this past Sunday morning

However....by far....the most famous athlete.....Joe Montana  

I managed to get tickets for 2005 USC v Notre Dame famously known as the "Bush Push" game where Matt Leinart pushed Reggie Bush across the goal line with 3 seconds to go for the win. Actually, it was tickets to the game, the coaches luncheon and the pep rally on Friday night, also managed to get into the Notre Dame Hockey game on Friday evening as well. Anyway, My brother and I were checking into the Inn at St Mary's across the street from the campus and as we turned away from the front desk Joe Montana was walking down the stairway from the mezzanine. As God as my witness, he walked right up to us, introduced himself (like we didn't know who he was 😆), shook our hands and struck up a conversation for a few minutes and wished us a good evening and a great weekend. Well, I don't think we wiped the look of astonishment from our faces the whole weekend. What an amazing guy!.... it gets better... on Friday at the coaches luncheon the luminary that sat at our table was none other than Jerry Tarkanian "Tark the Shark" (he was freaking hilarious) and Chris Berman came by to say hello to our table . The next morning the breakfast buffet at the Inn included helping Regis Philbin work the waffle maker so he could get back to his table next to us with his friends Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas. I've lived 55+ years and have never had a weekend like that and probably never will again.

Edited July 26, 2023 by KC Scouts

[will]

45 minutes ago, KC Scouts said:

However....by far....the most famous athlete.....Joe Montana  

cool story.  also, the true GOAT.