The Ken Dryden Experience (Part One)

I have been collecting autograph's since I was a kid. Whenever I spoke to anyone about who they wished they had in their collection or who was impossible to get, the answer was always the same. Ken Dryden. The man has never done a sit down autograph session in his life and I was told he was tough to get even in person. Most of the time when you hear things of this nature the rumors are often false and the athletes are usually fairly good with autographs. Well the rumors are true to a certain degree. My sister was nice enough to let me know that Ken Dryden was a guest teacher at her University (Mcgill) this semester and this was most likely my best chance to ever meet him. My first thought was I had picked the wrong university to attend (Concordia) and second was I could add Ken Dryden to my monopoly project which was really a once in a life time type deal (Super nerd excitement). So my sister being the kind younger sibling she is, agreed to come with me and show me where his class was taking place. We waited until the class was completely over and the room only had Mr. Dryden left. We approached him and explained we are big fans and politely asked if he could sign for us. He really seemed taken off guard and explained "Well...why don't we start with just one autograph...you know I don't sign at shows and things of that sort." He was very polite but seemed to be against autographs. I presented him with a Sports Illustrated that he was on the cover of and he responded 'Oh no! See guys I really can't sign that, I don't sign anything that could have monetary value'. This was extremely disappointing to me as it came off as he believed we were in it strictly for resale which could not be further from the truth. He also declined to sign the monopoly board(From the Monopoly Project post). I was left with my last hope, as you could see in a previous post I was able to find a mint condition replica cardboard mask given at his jersey retirement ceremony. He kindly agreed to sign this and wanted to personalize it to me. To some collectors that maybe something that they don't like but in all honesty this was something that made it that much of a better conversation piece. This is why I am really into collecting so this was actually a bonus for me.

Overall Mr.Dryden was a very nice person and was very polite, in the end great experience!

Ken Dryden Piece

Close up-"To J-M With Best Wishes"

Here is the completed piece framed with the program from the retirment of Ken Dryden's Number at the Bell Centre.

The Ken Dryden Exprience (Part 2) Ft. Mike Komisarek

I get a phone call from my grandfather early in the morning. He is a great guy and a big fan of my hobby so he gives me the heads up when he can. He explained to me that he saw in the paper that Ken Dryden was doing a book reading at the Indigo in downtown Montreal. After my lack of success last time around I wasn't sure if I wanted to try again. I came to the conclusion that this maybe my last chance so I decided to go ahead and try. When I arrived I was told Mr. Dryden would sign at the end of the reading. There was proximity 100 people or so at the event. It was very well setup and snacks were passed around during the reading (I was starving so this was a huge win).

A view of the set up at indigo during the reading (Dryden on the right).

 Once the event was coming to an end Mr.Dryden addressed the crowd. He explained he had to catch a flight in about 1 hour so he would stick around to sign for about 30 minutes. I was in a good spot in the line so I wasn't too worried about getting cut off. When he started signing I really was unsure if he would sign outside items or only his book. I noticed a few pucks so this gave me a bit of relief as I waited.  Ahead of me was a man holding a massive framed lithograph. I told my girlfriend "If he signs this I'm in the clear with the Monopoly!". Well that idea went out the window when Mr. Dryden kindly informed the gentlemen that he would not be signing his lithograph. I needed a plan b. When it became my turn I immediately asked Mr Dryden a question you would only really know if you read his book.  "Correct me if I'm wrong Ken but  wasn't the pavement you played on with your brother as a child a red color?" He explained the reason for the red pavement and gave me my chance to ask him to sign the monopoly board. This was my one chance, "Also Mr. Dryden do you enjoy Monopoly?" He seemed confused with the question as I presented him with the Monopoly board. Well not only did he sign it he didn't even ask to personalize! For those who know how he signs this is next to impossible! This coming only a week after he explained to me that he could never sign the Monopoly board as it had resale value.

Ken Dryden on Monopoly project.

I also purchased a retirement ceremony puck with all of his stats earlier in the day. My girlfriend was nice enough to get that done for me. This time he did personalize but I really enjoy personalization for the most part so I was extremely pleased with the outcome.

Puck Also Autographed at the event.

As a bonus I went to the Canadiens Practice today in hopes of getting Andrei Markov on a signed photo with Carey Price (previously signed at a free signing in Montreal). To my surprise there was 40-50 people waiting for autographs today. I gave up as soon as I saw the crowd but remembered that the Maple Leafs were also in the same facility today. The photo I had for Markov also included Mike Komisarek. He was one of the first to come out from practice so he signed the photo and added a comment "I'm sure the leafs scored on that one." A funny comment from a traitor..err I mean former Canadien. He also signed a wooden jersey that I happened to have. Nice guy and a total of about 10 minutes work.

Komisarek/Price Duel Signed 8X10 (Missing Markov to complete)

Wooden Canadiens jersey signed by Mike Komisarek.