Welcome to a new section of Penalty Shot dealing with something fans of all ages enjoy...Autographs! you no doubt have a favorite player and you want to get his autograph. If you don’t know what to do, or if you would like to see what a Canucks players’ signing habits are, this is the place!

Where Do I send To?

To write to your favorite Vancouver Canuck, use the format seen above, writing your favorite player’s name where indicated. Rates are as follows: Canada to Canada 46 cents; Canada to USA 55 cents; USA to Canada 55 cents; USA to USA 33 cents.

Okay, great, I have an envelop ready, what do I do next?

Well, writing a letter would be a good start. (hehe...) Don’t make the letter too long, a page maximum. If it’s more than that a player might not take the time to read it, so say what you have to say. (I once wrote a 3-page letter to Dave Scatchard...he must have read it on a flight back from the east coast!) Now what should be in the letter? First off, tell him who you are, and where you are from. Most players like to know who’s cheering for them. Tell the player what you like about him, weather it be his super speed, booming shot, big hits, whatever, but just let the player know what you like about him. Ask politely for his autograph towards the end of the letter, and in closing be sure to wish him good luck.

What should I send?

The most popular item, is and always has been hockey cards. If you don’t have any of your favorite player, head over to your local hobby store and pick up some single cards. The most important thing is, don’t send cards that are valuable or that cannot be replaced. Send him a card that you might have 2 or 3 copies of, just in case it doesn’t come back! Another popular item these days is the index card. You know those little cards you use for oral presentations in school, well (in my opinion!) we’ve found a better use for them. Enclose an index card or two for your favorite player to sign, they usually sign them. Pictures of the player are also popular, but they are hard to send, because if you have a nice 8 X 10 of the player that you want signed, its tough to send in the mail, because it will be a big envelope and probably cost you more. More than that, it could get damaged or lost. So what should you send? I would recommend you stick to Trading cards and index cards. But be sure not to send more than 2 or 3 items, even though I have heard of some players signing 14 (Patrick Marleau, SJ) and 15 (Kirk McLean, FLA) cards. Stick to a low number.

How can I protect my items?

Your best bet is to put them in a "top-loader" plastics, you can pick those up at a local hobby store for about 10 cents a piece. But remember, the more of them you enclose, the heavier the envelop, the more it’s going to cost you.

Anything else?

The most important thing about writing to a player is including a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). That means that with your letter, enclose an envelope with your name and address written on it as the recipient, and include the correct amount of postage. Postage Rates may be incorrect above, so check out Canada Post and United States Postal Service.

That’s it for mailing a player, so good luck to you with that! If you use the info here, and are successful, please, e-mail us and let me know! VCPenaltyShot@yahoo.com

Other Ways To Get Autographs!

If you are in Vancouver, the best place to get autographs is the Annual Canucks Family Carnival. This annual event lets fans interact with all the players at GM Place. For more information on the Family Carnival, contact the Canucks at canucks@orcabay.com

According to all the autograph hounds in Vancouver, many players sign autographs after the game at Gate 9. I don’t know much more information regarding this, so if you have any information about this, let me know!

The Canucks practice rink is 8 Rinks in Burnaby. The address is 6501 Sprott Street in Burnaby. Phone # is (604) 291-0626, so call them see if you can get any info.

If you live out of town and the Canucks are visiting a team near you, you might want to call your local team to see if you can find practice times, and the hotel where the team is staying. Also, you can call the airline to see when the team is coming in. But the one thing to remember when doing this, is that hockey players are people too, and they deserve their privacy, so if you see a player in a restraunt eating, or with his family, give him a wave and let him carry on. Another thing is that if the player is nice enough to sign for you, please don't go off and sell the autograph. It is for that reason that many players don't sign autographs anymore. I hope these tips help you build a great collection!