Players you met who were jerks/nice guys.

[piroski]

I have never posted on these boards before, but this is a very nice thread.
My best story about meeting famous players was from Sept.2004 at the World Hockey exibition games in Columbus Ohio. My husband, son and I were eating at a resturant close to the arena, after watching the USA team practice. I left my family and went inside to go to the restroom, and sitting in a booth were, Chirs Chelios, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Keith Tkachuk. I went back to where I was sitting and told my husband and son. My son insisted that I go ask for a autograph. I really didn't want to because, I was worried that if I asked them and they were jerks, I would never feel the same way about them again, and especially Chelios has been my favorite for years. But I went anyway, and they were all very nice to me and signed my jersey, plus a youth hockey magazine I had with me.
Now I know I sound like a starstruck kid, but actually, I'm a grandmother, and they made my day.
Also I know Brian Smolinski, and Kirk Maltby, they both played on teams with my son and are both very nice guys.

 

[russianrocket24]

I only had nice meetings with hockey players so far.

Sergei Makarov:
Met him during the Larionov farewell game in Moscow in December. He had only spare time so we talked only for a couple of minutes. He thanked for the hompeage I made about him, we made some pics and he signed a jersey. Then he took the jersey, asked me to wait for a minute and went away. One minute later he came back with the jersey and it was additional signed by Fetisov and Larionov. At the end he gave me his number and told me to call him then I'm in Moscow next time.

Keith Primeau:
Met him last month during a sport show here in Munich. He was sitting behind his booth and we talked for about 30 minutes about the Lockout and hockey in general.
Quite a nice guy.

Olaf Kölzig, Jochen Hecht, Stefan Ustorf:
Met them at a Starbucks in Salt Lake City during the Olympics. I was in the same school class with Stefan Ustorf (former Washington Capitals), but we haven't met for about 15 years. That was a surprising reunion. Was talking with them for about one hour, the signed a jersey and we made some pics.

Alexander Ovechkin:
I went to the Dynamo locker room after a game last season. He was still dressed, but then I told him that I came from Germany to watch him he was quite positively surprised, we talked a little bit, made a picture and he signed a jersey for me.

 

[mattihp]

I have only met Marco Tuokko, pretty nice guy
.

 

[canadahockeygirl*]

I met DiPietro on a number of occasions and he was a nice guy to me...

He and I haven't been too fond of each other since about 1996.

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

I've met quite a few hockey personalities in my life. The four nicest guys would have to be Daryl Sittler, Stephane Quintal, Mike Komisarek and Tom Fergus.

Haven't met too many jerks, but when I met Mike Ribeiro, he came off as a bit of a dick. Not impressed with him at all and was suprised to see him puffing away. Wayne Gretzky and Cliff Fletcher came off as kind of cold.

 

[sidelines]

I met Wayne Gretzky and Rob Blake in 1998 in an airport. Gretzky came off as a real ass, didn't even say a word to us (I was with my family) even when we asked questions. However, Rob Blake and Gretzky's wife were VERY nice and kept on talking with us.

 

[gerbilanium]

I was at a wedding where Todd Fedoruk was at. Talked to him alot. We all continued drinking together at the local watering hole in good ole Redwater Alberta, he piggybacked me to another bar cause I was a little inebriated. Super good guy.

 

[hockeyfan125]

The only "bad" meeting I've had with a Canuck is Messier, when I saw him downtown he was too busy to sign my card, even though he was doing nothing.

I met Scott Niedermayer last summer, about 3 blocks from my house at a McDonalds...tried to convince him to play for the Canucks

Bertuzzi, Ohlund and Linden I saw golfing once at Richmond Country Club and I ran into them again in the clubhouse, talked for a few minutes, all great guys.

Saw Sami Salo and Danny Sedin downtown getting coffee once, seemed like nice guys too, both pretty shy.

But the best is two summers ago, I was biking to the beach, and I saw Joe Sakic at a gas stationon Arbutus. I decided to pull in and talk to him. He was a great guy, and took about 5 minutes of his time to talk to me and signed a piece of paper.

I have run into more, but those are the noteworthy ones.

 

[jacketracket*]

I met Kevin Dineen the night he announced his retirement.

I was leaving the arena after a CBJ game, and Dineen was coming out behind me, heading to a sports bar next door to do a radio interview with the CBJ broadcast team. He saw that I was wearing a Dineen CBJ sweater, so he caught up to me just to chat a bit.

Stories about how nice a person Dineen is are a dime a dozen in Columbus --- he's very popular here. But to take a few minutes out of what had to have been an extremely emotional and chaotic day, just to approach a fan to gab, speaks volumes about the guy.

 

[Higgy4]

I have never posted on these boards before, but this is a very nice thread.
My best story about meeting famous players was from Sept.2004 at the World Hockey exibition games in Columbus Ohio. My husband, son and I were eating at a resturant close to the arena, after watching the USA team practice. I left my family and went inside to go to the restroom, and sitting in a booth were, Chirs Chelios, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Keith Tkachuk. I went back to where I was sitting and told my husband and son. My son insisted that I go ask for a autograph. I really didn't want to because, I was worried that if I asked them and they were jerks, I would never feel the same way about them again, and especially Chelios has been my favorite for years. But I went anyway, and they were all very nice to me and signed my jersey, plus a youth hockey magazine I had with me.
Now I know I sound like a starstruck kid, but actually, I'm a grandmother, and they made my day.
Also I know Brian Smolinski, and Kirk Maltby, they both played on teams with my son and are both very nice guys.

Piroski? Are you related at all to Tony Piroski? He was a goalie back in the late 70's-early 80's for the Toledo Goaldiggers.

Just curious.

 

[Stammer Time*]

Rob Ray cussed at me and then signed my hat in 1994 when I was 8. He didn't realize I was alittle kid till he turned around, once he did he smiled, shook my hand and signed my hat.

 

[Wondercarrot]

While i hate Yashin. I've heard a lot of nice things from people who have met him. Patient with fans, and generally nice to everyone.

Too bad about the contracts, and lazy a$$ play.

 

[Hawker14]

most of the hockey players i've ever met have been really good guys, however...

the great:

charlie simmer, class act all the way. met him in the summer of '81 when i was 9 (he was my favourite player). still have the signed stick !!! probably one of the best experiences of my childhood. came to my grandma's house (families were friends) and stayed a couple of hours. it also didn't hurt that he brought his wife at the time, terri welles (yes the '80 playboy centerfold).

teemu selanne, another great guy. met him twice and just a super guy.


the VERY, VERY bad:

jeff finlay, never met this guy personally, but here's what happened. at a canucks/coyotes game at gm place near the end of the '97 season i believe, roenick came out early before the pre-game skate, flipped pucks to all the kids in the stands, and signed autographs for every kid. don hay also signed for all the kids. i was pretty impressed with both, especially roenick. to be honest, i was never a fan of roenick's up to that point, but now i'm a huge fan.

anyway, finlay was in a suit standing on the bench, not because he was injured, but because he was a healthy scratch. my brother (13 at the time) and a couple other kids, asked him for his autograph, and the dick just shook his head no.

it disgusted me and my dad, and i'll never forget the nerve of this fringe NHLer to do this, when a superstar like roenick went out of his way.

 

[piroski]

Piroski? Are you related at all to Tony Piroski? He was a goalie back in the late 70's-early 80's for the Toledo Goaldiggers.

Just curious.

No Higgy, But Tony lived with us for all the years he played for the Goaldiggers.

 

[leafaholix*]

eric lindros - great guy.
mats sundin - great guy.
jonas hoglund - great attitude.
doug gilmour - nice guy.
lanny macdonald - super nice, he asked his companion to take my picture with him.
alex steen - your average 18 year old teenager, stood outside the ACC on draft day and we talked.
matty stajan - great guy.
wayne gretzky - i'm thinking he's gotten sick of it... not a bad guy though.
brad boyes - nice guy
carlo colaiacovo - good friends with boyes, nice guy
nik antropov - was with his sexy wife... not a bad guy.
harold druken - inbred monkey.
wade belak - nice guy.
mikael tellqvist - meh, okay guy... not very talkative.
scott stevens - big guy, he was nice.
ron maclean - super guy.
mike johnson - kind of like that jock from high school that all the hot chicks want... meh.
alyn mccauley - great.
curtis joseph - great human being.
dan markov - nice guy.
bret hedican - in a hurry with yamaguchi, but still signed an autograph.
dom hasek - after the loss to dallas, signed... but very disappointed.
walter gretzky - the best.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

I passed Bob Cole in a corridor after a Leafs game in 2001. He didn't even make eye contact, let alone say hello back.

 

[Kritter471]

I've gotten autographs from a bunch of the Stars, mostly when I was younger. Here's a quick summary of the more memorable encounters.

The good:
Jere Lehtinen (courteous, quiet read:never talks, but always, always stopped)
Aaron Downey (you can tell he loves what he does, always great)
Mike Keane (horrible autograph, great guy)
Brad Lukowich (see above)
Brenden Morrow (happy-go-lucky, easy to talk to)
Daryl Sydor (had a smile for everyone, took his time making eye contact)
Steve Ott (very much like Downey)
Derian Hatcher (if only for the way he had a full-fisted grip on the pen and was squeezed into a tiny BMW convertable)
Ken Hitchcock (loves to talk hockey)

The meh:
Mike Modano (would stop when there weren't many people around. great with little kids)
Ed Belfour (had a reputation for being standoffish, but made me feel like the most special 14-year-old ever)
Jason Arnott (courteous but never looked up from his shoes)
Jamie Langenbrunner (had to be guilted into coming over)
Bill Guerin (depended on the day of the week and what mood he was in. Fabulous sometimes, quiet and standoffish the others)

The ugly:
Sergei Zubov (has more or less redeemed himself recently, but used to lie and say he was coming back, then take off)
Darryl Reaugh (Stars color commentator. comes off really arrogent)

 

[Buffaloed]

Most of the older guys are approachable while it's hit or miss with the younger ones. I think a lot of them dont think they have to be nice to the fans unless it's an even scheduled by the team. Overall most of the players are nice. Pat Lafontaine, Darryl Sittler, and Rob Ray are exceptional. Paul Kariya tops my list of nasty SOB's although I'm told his agent is making him be nice to people now.

 

[nucks2win]

Haven't met many players, but they've all been great. Tiger Williams, Garth Butcher and Gino Odjick from the Canucks, and Osgood, McCarty, Shanahan, Yzerman and Scotty Bowman from the Wings. Bowman and Williams stand out as 2 guys who were great to talk to.

 

[WhitePony]

The Good:
Alexi Yashin-- For all the crap this guy takes from the media, he is defintely the nicest and most humble guy around. Met him twice, first in the parking lot of a bakery, he was kind enough to wait while I ran next door to purchase a disposable camera, and then allowed my friend to take a few shots of me and him. Second time was at the isles season ticket holder meet and greet, once again a spectacular demeanor.

Garth Snow: Friendly dude, firm handshake, talked a bit about how he felt he fit in(was his first year on the island).

Radek Martinek: Friendly guy, didnt know a word of english, just smiled and took a photo. Definitely looked happy to meet the fans though.

Rick Dipietro: Nice guy, but you can definitely see the arrogance in him. He thinks he is the sh*t and definitely has that aura about him. Still, he talked to me for a good 20 mins on how to improve my playing.


The Bad:

Michael Peca: Wow..what a d***. Had the most unhappy look on his face at the meet in greet. Did not smile in anyones picture, and his "signature" was little more than a line. Defintiely not the type of player I want as my captain. Maybe it was a bad day, but this guy was a joke.


Chris Osgood: Not so much bad, as he was very meek and timid with the fans. Kept mumbling and fumbling his words. He was just picked up in the waiver draft and during our short convo did say he was feeling stressed having his family holed up in a hotel. So i'll give him a pass and say he's probably a good guy, just bad timing.

 

[IkeaMonkey*]

The Good:
Alexi Yashin-- For all the crap this guy takes from the media, he is defintely the nicest and most humble guy around. Met him twice, first in the parking lot of a bakery, he was kind enough to wait while I ran next door to purchase a disposable camera, and then allowed my friend to take a few shots of me and him. Second time was at the isles season ticket holder meet and greet, once again a spectacular demeanor.

Yashin REALLY gets a bad rap, but he does a ****LOAD of charity work and donations. I hear he skates with little kids often too.

 

[Poignant Discussion*]

Wilf Paiement - Was signing things at the Whitby Mall. I made it at 5:15 and he was supposed to be done at 5pm. He actually took off his coat and came back to sign the pictures. What was funny is, he was a Toronto Maple Leaf at the time and I have the V neck Canuck jersey on. He laughed about it

Larry Robinson - I was at Baskin and Robbins and saw this really really tall guy walk inside. I was about 9 at the time. When he came out I shyly asked him if he played for the Montreal Canadians. He nodded and talked to my friends and I for about 20 minutes as he was drinking his shake. The next night his Canadians beat my Leafs 5-0. A truely amazing man

Doug Gilmour - Walking down Yonge Street in May of 1993 Doug and Amy were walking behind me and I saw him ignore quite a few hellos from fans. I never bothered.

Dave Reid - While he was playing for the Leafs he owned a card shop in Ajax. This is another class act that would just shoot the **** for hours with fans and kids. He never treated a kid like a kid, but treated them like a hockey fan

 

[wedge]

wow.. very interesting post... I'm really impressed by Dineen, in your writings.

The only player I met was Daigle, when he was in junior. He was going out with the daughter of my neighbor. I was around 14 yo in those days. He just went to his car, not listening to me when I asked if he was Alexandre Daigle. His girlfriend told me a few days later that it was him and that he didn't like speaking to fans.

But I saw him another time, at a game. He was suspended and signed autographs during the game. That time, he was nice.

 

[octopi]

I just want to say that I would personally not come off as the friendliest person on earth if I couldn't go for groceries, movies or a
walk without having to talk to several people each time. How some of these players (according to what I'm reading) seem to always have time for strangers is a mystery.

 

[Roughneck]

I remember meeting Robyn Regehr before he spoke a our school. And talk about a gentle giant (when he's not playing anyway). He was so much bigger than me, but he's so soft spoken, polite, it was a pretty cool time really. He talked to our school about the things he had to overcome and what not.

And Theo Fleury back in the day was usually good to the fans, especially the younger kids.

Me and a friend were responsible for escorting guests at a house party out in Windermere to their cars because they had to park a ways away and were pretty wasted too. That's when we picked up Mike Vernon and his wife (and kids). Mike was sloshed, but I've never had a better conversation with a hockey player ever. Holding in my laughter, listening to his wife trying to stop him making a fool of himself, asking us how our night went, the basic small talk kind of stuff, but considering his mindset, it made it that much better. Then as he got to their car, basically forced a tip into our pockets ($20 each, which neither of us deserved really, we screwed around with a golfcart all night). He was the only person to give us a tip that night, and I almost wish I had asked for his autograph, but I'm not sure how it would have come out.