Going Postal- Nov. 99 by Dave Sliepka I never take for granted how lucky I am to hove in-person access to an NHL team here in Dallas. The opportunity to interact with players on a daily basis is a dream come true for any autograph hound. Of course, not every hobbyist has that chance. In fact, most rely on the mail to build their collections. With that in mind, lets take a look at what's happening lately on the postal scene. Its not news to point out that it's tougher than ever to get a response to a written request. One obvious byproduct of the increasing popularity of signature collecting is the growing demand on players and their time. Before you write to a superstar, think about the sort of time crunch he faces. Do you think Patrick Roy or Jaromir Jagr could possibly answer all their mail even if they wanted to? When they have to draw the line, it doesn't make them bad guys. But when you recieve more than 1000 pieces of mail per week, it's going to happen. If you choose to write the big guys, don't expect your item to be authentically signed. You're more likely to have it returned ghost signed (that is, signed by someone other than the player), rubber stamped, or autopenned (a real ink auto- graph created by a machine meant to duplicate a players signature). Consider these possible outcomes before you put your stamp on your letter. Our sugg- estion: aim for younger or lesser known players if your goal is a genuine signature. So what if your heart's set out on a superstar? What are your chances of success? I don't have all the answers, but thanks to our network of Signing Session correspondents, I can list a few players with established mail patterns. Keep in mind that there may be exceptions to the rule in each case. A player who typically ignores requests or rubber stamps, may enjoy a particular request so much that he'll actually sign an item or two. But in general terms, these results are consistent accross the board. Stars who used a rubber stamp or autopen last season include Dominik Hasek, Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan, Chris Osgood, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Theo Fleury and Rob Blake. Players who return stamped or preprinted postcards along with your unsigned items includ Martin Broduer, Teemu Selanne, Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy, Ed Belfour, Mats Sundin and Tie Domi. Paul Kariya also sent an unsigned postcard. Some players don't have time to answer all of their mail personally, but don't want to dissappoint their fans. In these cases, players tend to return any items you've sent unsigned, but they'll also include an authentically signed team-issued postcard. Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk, Mike Johnson and Magnus Arvedson each went this route last season and satisfied many colle- ctors. Guys who were sent requests but have yet to respond include Pavel Bure, Al McInnis, John Vanbiesbrouck, Pavol Demitra, Mark Messier, Jaromir Jagr, Tom Barrasso and Eric Lindros. Its safe to say that most of those guys will fall into one of the first two categories above (although Lindros and McInnis have been known to sign legitimately through the mail occasionaly). Signing habits can change. If you recieved anything from these stars in the last few months, be sure to pass along your results. So who is signing? The good news for collectors is that everybody not listed above has shown a willingness to respond through the mail. Among players who consistently answered the call included Joe Thornton, Joe Nieuwendyk, Valeri Bure, Ron Francis, Saku Koivu, Doug Gilmour, Jarome Iginla, Keith Primeau, Trevor Linden, Bryan Berard, Roman Hamrlik, Pierre Turgeon and Derian Hatcher. While each of these players was contacted through traditional snail mail, collectors should start thinking about taking advantage of the technological revolution. Like so many other aspects of our lives, the internet will revolutionize autograph seeking before you know it. Some teams already have links on their websites allowing you to send email directly to a players attention. I sincerely doubt that all players read these messages themselves, but it's likely that some do. And it's a genuine effort by teams to bridge the gap between the fans and the stars, which is to be applauded. Not every request is met with a signed response, but teams such as the Avalanche and Coyotes are known to at least to send back a player postcard. Not a bad deal considering how little time and expense an email requires. We'll be reporting on e-mail requests in a future column, so let us know if you've gotten results. Special thanks to correspondents Derek Carden and Ian Henderson of Ottawa, Mark Neufeld of Niagara Falls, and Scott Dorough for their input.