have any of you ever written to NHL players?

[amberlynn25 9]

my mom wrote a letter to the team for when I graduated to see if any of the players could come..got a letter back saying that since it was summer time most of them went back home...tho Got a autograph of Fedorov with a couple of other player cards...hey it was cool for me to get that.

[MacK_Attack 108]

I exchange e-mails with Curtis Joseph fairly frequently. Got to know him pretty good during his first run in Toronto.

[Kronwall55 0]

My son wrote Derian Hatcher a few years back and asked him a bunch of questions. We sent it to the 600 address, not a player box or anything he sent a SASE. A couple months later my son received the letter back with all the questions answered. It was 2 pages of questions. Anyway, I always thought it was cool that Hatcher wrote him back. Since at that point he was hurt I guess he had the time LOL.

My son also sent a couple cards to be signed to Mike Modano (he was also a Stars fan at one point) We got the cards back and it was post marked from Detroit which I found kind of strange (my son obviously sent the cards to a Dallas address)

[WingMachine91 0]

i used to write to nfl players when i was younger and never got anything back. it might be cool to try again. so let me make sure how this is done, you use the address given and just add the player name above it?

[soultrain 43]

i wrote to alexander mogilny when he scored 89 goals one year and he signed a card for me, and he sent an autograph on this cardboard card (that was a buffalo sabers pr thing)... i was like 10 yrs old, and it made my year...i couldn't believe that one of my favorite players would send stuff back to a fan...i tried that with some bands when i was the same age...got nothing.

[soultrain 43]

My son wrote Derian Hatcher a few years back and asked him a bunch of questions. We sent it to the 600 address, not a player box or anything he sent a SASE. A couple months later my son received the letter back with all the questions answered. It was 2 pages of questions. Anyway, I always thought it was cool that Hatcher wrote him back. Since at that point he was hurt I guess he had the time LOL.

My son also sent a couple cards to be signed to Mike Modano (he was also a Stars fan at one point) We got the cards back and it was post marked from Detroit which I found kind of strange (my son obviously sent the cards to a Dallas address)

i bet mike modano's family still lives in detroit

[WingsallTheway 383]

i sent hate mail to pierre mcguire no response though

[Kronwall55 0]

i bet mike modano's family still lives in detroit

they do. Not too far me.

[pinkprincess027 0]

i used to write to nfl players when i was younger and never got anything back. it might be cool to try again. so let me make sure how this is done, you use the address given and just add the player name above it?

It says to the attention and to the care of so I think you do it the following way.

ATTN: Pavel Datsyuk

C/O Detroit Red Wings

Joe Louis Arena

600 Civic Center Drive

Detroit, MI 48226

I'm not sure that this is the correct way but it's pretty close to the way they want it done I don't think it should really matter to much. To me the site sounded like you should use both the ATTN: and C/O but I think it should be with out the C/O. I put the link to where it talks about it on the site below, about 3/4 of the way down the page.

http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app?service=p...ge&bcid=261

[sputman 1,268]

my dad asked me when i was 13 years old (i'm 32 now) what i wanted for christmas, and i said "steve yzerman's autograph." he sent a letter with a pre-postaged christmas card to joe louis. the letter asked if it was possible to get steve yzerman to sign the card, and then have the card mailed back. he really didn't expect anything.

a week before christmas i got a christmas card from steve yzerman not only signed, but wishing me a merry christmas.

the card sits in a frame and hangs on my wall today.

[Guest Shoreline]

Dear Mike Modano:

At the next campfire in San Antonio, make sure to have Gary Bettman bring some salsa from New York City.

[drupha 0]

That must have changed over the years then because I sent 4 or 5 of Sergei Fedorov;s Upper Deck Rookies to him back in the mid 90's and every one of them was signed. You can't mistake his signature.

Autopenning is when a machine with a sharpie replicates a person's signature as many times as needed. So it looks just like a normal autograph would, with a normal sharpie and everything, but it's not regarded as a "real" signature.

As far as Fedorov, he was actually one of the first to get an autopenner. Check the cards together and compare the signatures. While most people can closely replicate their signatures, they don't get it exact, as the autopen machine can.

http://questforautos.blogspot.com/2007/08/...ei-federov.html

The Red Wings get deluged with requests due to their popularity, which is why the autopenning machine came about for them. I don't begrudge them this, because I don't mind if they spend their time worrying about their on the ice game. Some of the guys are even slightly dodgy if you spot them before a game. I was at game 6 in Pittsburgh, and saw Stevie run from a massive crowd of two Wings fans trying to get autographs an hour before the opening puck drop.

Good news though. Pasha's one of the friendlier signer in the game. Great player, great guy.

[octopusonice 0]

Autopenning is when a machine with a sharpie replicates a person's signature as many times as needed. So it looks just like a normal autograph would, with a normal sharpie and everything, but it's not regarded as a "real" signature.

As far as Fedorov, he was actually one of the first to get an autopenner. Check the cards together and compare the signatures. While most people can closely replicate their signatures, they don't get it exact, as the autopen machine can.

http://questforautos.blogspot.com/2007/08/...ei-federov.html

The Red Wings get deluged with requests due to their popularity, which is why the autopenning machine came about for them. I don't begrudge them this, because I don't mind if they spend their time worrying about their on the ice game. Some of the guys are even slightly dodgy if you spot them before a game. I was at game 6 in Pittsburgh, and saw Stevie run from a massive crowd of two Wings fans trying to get autographs an hour before the opening puck drop.

Good news though. Pasha's one of the friendlier signer in the game. Great player, great guy.

You could probably tell if something is autopenned by sending two copies of the same item separately and seeing if the autograph was an exact duplicate. I always thought a lot of celebrities, including athletes, had an assistant sign autographs for them. Never heard of the autopenner.

I once mailed a letter of sympathy to a former MLB player, Pete Harnisch, who pitched for the NY Mets. He was on a leave of absence from the team because he was trying to kick the addiction to chew tobacco and was suffering from depression as a result.

A few weeks later, I get a letter back postmarked from somewhere in Florida with no return address. Inside was an autographed card from him along with the word, "Thanks!". I'm pretty sure this was not autopenned or signed by an assistant.

[egroen 384]

Yeah my good friend sent hate mail to Chris Pronger and Chris sent him an autographed picture that said "thanks for being such a fan." It was really funny.

Lol, that is pretty damn funny. Crap, I just thought something positive about Pronger... need to watch some youtube and get the hate mojo flowing again!

I've thought about writing Konstantinov a ton of times, but have never done so. I talked to someone who knows him abd he does not sign too much nowadays.

Edited July 20, 2008 by egroen

[Holmstrom96Screens 0]

Thanks Drupha. I guess for the two wings fans at that point it was the wrong time to ask for his john henry cause it was like an hour before game time and he was like, getting ready to play. I am sure stevie is a good person classy but I know theres a right time to ask for an autograph and a wrong time.

so an auto pen looks like a real autograph, like a real pen wrote on it and stuff?

just wondering cause when i met Guy LaFleur back in like 1999 and got two his john henry on cards the ink shines differently with a different shine than the card does.

Same with the other ones I have. The ink just shines differently.

Just wondered if the autopen looks like that.

Dont blame Fedorov maybe like if he got one though. IN the '90's he was a very popular player and i guess didnt have time to sign all of them autographs he was probably asked for.

Edited July 21, 2008 by Holmstrom96Screens

[55fan 5,133]

I sent Kronner a get well card last year during the playoffs. I didn't get an answer, but it was at the time he re-joined the team for practices, so he was probably busy.

That's ok, though. I had never sent a fan letter in my life, so I just rambled on and on about my hamster, Nik. Looking back, it was probably a pretty stupid letter, so maybe it's better if he never read it.

[drupha 0]

Thanks Drupha. I guess for the two wings fans at that point it was the wrong time to ask for his john henry cause it was like an hour before game time and he was like, getting ready to play. I am sure stevie is a good person classy but I know theres a right time to ask for an autograph and a wrong time.

It was game six of this year's series against the Pens, haha. I think he was a healthy scratch for that one.

[Holmstrom96Screens 0]

It was game six of this year's series against the Pens, haha. I think he was a healthy scratch for that one.

yes

i know he was.

[JayUp88 1]

When I was young I sent out a lot of letters to players. I also would send a hockey card with them and ask for a signature. Almost every single player sent me something back with the autograph. Most of the players sent even more stuff back. If you have younger kids that are hockey fans I would recommend having them send some out. It really made my day when I would get them back. On a side note, before us Wings fans hated the Aves, I sent some out to a couple of their players and they were the fastest and best of the people I sent stuff too. They each set packages back to me complete with stickers, multiple autographs and personal letters.

[mtuhockey7 23]

I still do this and have gotten quite a few back recently. Some of my recent successes include: St. Louis, Kopitar, McCarty (sent to him in GR a few months ago), Tony Granato, Briere, and Theo Fleury. I have about 100 various autographs I have obtained thru the mail and there are only 2 that are autopenned (Cheli and Jagr) but besides that I am pleased with the success rate, I receive about 70% of them back.

[JayUp88 1]

only 2 that are autopenned (Cheli and Jagr)

what does that mean?

[weGotTheCup89 41]

read the earlier posts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopen

[CAWingsfan25 0]

Thanks for this info everyone. I have never written NHL players, but my daughter is a big Cheli fan, so I think I will try to send a card and see if I can get it signed before he retires.

[mtuhockey7 23]

Thanks for this info everyone. I have never written NHL players, but my daughter is a big Cheli fan, so I think I will try to send a card and see if I can get it signed before he retires.

Cheli will send back 90% of the time but it is autopenned if you send him a card. He for some reason, will sign anything else normally and autopen cards. Don't ask me why, I've just heard that's how he does it. Successes with Cheli come from writing him c/o his restaurant Cheli's Chili too, just a little FYI for ya.

[octopusonice 0]

Cheli will send back 90% of the time but it is autopenned if you send him a card. He for some reason, will sign anything else normally and autopen cards. Don't ask me why, I've just heard that's how he does it. Successes with Cheli come from writing him c/o his restaurant Cheli's Chili too, just a little FYI for ya.

Maybe he has a line of authenticated collectibles and that there is an agreement that his genuine signature can only appear on those pieces of memorabilia. It may be a personal thing where he doesn't want to provide memorabilia dealers with articles of value. Signed memorabilia is always going to be worth more than his signature on a plain piece of paper and it's more likely to come from a fan rather than a dealer out to make a buck, so that may be why he signs mail, but not cards.