Bringing the Heat- Dany Heatley Book Signing

It is fairly well known that my favorite hockey player is Dany Heatley of the Ottawa Senators. Ever since he was acquired from the Atlanta Thrashers for Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries. I admired his play before that as a 2nd overall pick in the June 2000 Entry Draft and his winning the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the year in 2001-2002 with Atlanta but it wasn’t until he came to Ottawa that I truly became a big fan.I have tried in the past at other events to meet Dany in person but come up short. I managed to get a co-worker to get a jersey signed by him at a closed door event in Kanata the first year he was with the team and that still is the highlight of my collection. I would have loved to have met him but acquiring the jersey was the next best thing.

Last weekend I got the opportunity to finally meet Dany in person at his book signing. I knew that he was involved in producing a book authorized by him and written in the first person. I found out when he was having his official book signing at 2 local Chapter’s in the Ottawa area. So Sunday I got up and made my way to the east end and went to the Chapter’s in Gloucester. I got there about 1:30 for the 2pm event. I was given a copy of the book at the door and was told to get in the line and pay for the book, next I was moved to another line where I filled out a ballot for a jersey and a post-it note for how I wanted the book to be inscribed and got a wristband to ensure that I was “entitled” to get the book signed. I was then directed to a third line where i would wait and eventually move through the store serpentining through what felt like 70% of the store, isles and velvet ropes. Then I reached the pinnacle and the promised land. Since i was again by myself I was forced to convince an employee to take my picture with Dany and he did a half ass job and managed to get a great shot with Heater’s head down, but I digress. I got the picture, I got the book signed and personalized and even managed to shake his hand which made the entire endevour worth while. So after all that it was 3pm and 1 1/2hours later i came away a very happy hockey fan.

As for the book itself it is an 80 page autobiography that is aimed at young readers and is more light then perhaps it could have been. The book only briefly touches on the accident that he was involved in that took the life of friend and teammate Dan Snyder but that is to be expected in a book style like this. Hopefully sometime down the road or after his playing days he will write a more comprehensive autobiography that will encompass his entire life and career that may include how one can cope with such tragedy and be able to move on.

Draft Day Vol. 2

5:10 rolls around and it is time to head out back to Scotiabank Place to get in line for the autograph signing. When we arrive there is a decent line, not huge but still a little imposing. We go to the back and begin the waiting game, and wait we did as the top prospects that were to be part of the session were caught in traffic. Since they were only to be there between 5 and 6 and then they would have to be shuffled inside to change for their big day time was a factor and the clock began to work agents us. Mummers from Sens staff went from guarantee autograph to if there is time, we are behind because of the traffic, we may not be able to guarantee. It was at this point that i began to feel that everything was a little too easy at this point and we were due for disappointment. Maybe no autographs and were we somehow going to be denied access due to some kind of oversell. Not too long after that the boys showed up and finally the line began to move and we began to make good progress! we managed to get to the table in near record time and had I not been an idiot and forgot my camera i could have got some good shots. I was forced to settle for my call phone camera to take some quick shots (that actually turned out better then i thought). Great success as we managed to get Doughty, Schenn & Bogosian. Draft Day is underway and things are looking up!

Next up was to get in the building and into a seat, this was my other concern as priority went to season ticket holders. We got through the first line of defence on the stairs as they scanned us in...phase 1 complete. We grabbed out free pom-pom and draft flyer, checked the Upper Deck Vendors setup, grabbed a pint and headed toward the stairs in hopes of a good seat, or at least a seat. 6:30 came and in went the season ticket people, so we worked our way around until we saw a line that was moving right in so we followed the herd and in we went... Phase 2 complete! We managed to get some pretty decent seats in the 300 level with a good angle to the stage. We had a good view of the NHL officials table which allowed us to see any movement from the teams. When there was a group of people at that table you knew that a trade was imminent. Despite the length of the first round it was still a great experience. We got to see Stamkos drafted #1 and got to know 40 of his closest friends as he hugged every one of them, What felt like forever he worked his way through every aunt and 3rd cousin. Sure it was his day but it was a little drawn out.After that it was pretty much a hurry up and wait. Hear a name clap and wait for the next one. Sure there was the series of boo’s every time the screen showed Cliff Fletcher to break things up and unluckily Luke Schenn being boo’d like any Leaf should be.

Despite the record number of trades and the excitement of the draft experience it was testing for any fan. Without the tv coverage and their video and breakdowns it made for a lot of downtime between picks.All in all it was a great experience, it is something that i always wanted to do and with it being so close i figured that it needed to be done. Sure it didn’t have the flair of a live high paced event but it was compelling for other reasons and it was fun to see...even if it did take 4 hours for the round plus the time we put in before it officially began.I may not rush out next year to Montreal to see it, it may have been a 1 time thing but after the beginning bumps and some unnecessary anxiety it turned into a great time.This concludes my draft day experience!

July 1 is closing in and it will soon be Free Agent time!