Rating NHLer's That I've Met 

Still over here with the big zero on the scoreboard for meeting NHLers 🤣

Imagine Jack Eichel seeing this video and reaching out to you specifically to improve his rating 😄

One day you'll have fans talking about how cool it was to meet the famous Melody Martin

I got to meet Brian Leetch as a kid. He was a great guy, took pictures with everyone, and even took the time to talk about hockey with me and give me some tips on my defense. Happy that such a great player is also a great guy.

When I was a kid I met Teppo Numminen, Randy Carlyle, John Druce, Mike Lalor, Kris King, and a few other former Jets. But last November I met Teemu Selanne. I waited most of my life to meet him, and I waited 3 and a half hours to meet him and get him to sign a copy of his book.

Teemu Selanne always will be my all time favorite. I've been to a few Ducks events where he was there and he almost always made time for people that wanted autographs, pictures, or just to briefly chat. A friend of mine was a near nervous mess and almost shy'ed away from meeting him until she heard how easygoing he is to talk to. An absolute legend.

So my dad was in the marines and when he got off the airplane the whole LA Kings team was there and he saw Wayne Gretzky’s and the whole team said thank you for your service

Sidney Crosby is an incredibly nice guy. Very humble, friendly and respectful. Kept calling me “sir” even though I’m just a few years older than he is. Was also very cool to my son. Gave him a hockey stick. Jordan Staal’s all class too. Also agree on Bylsma. Doesn’t surprise me to hear your encounter with him went. He is a genuinely nice guy.

I once met Joe Pavelski at a hockey camp. His son was one of my friends best friends, so I got to hang out with him a lot. 10/10

I met John Gibson when he was a Kitchener Ranger. He gave me popcorn and signed a hockey card of him. It was really cool.

I also have had great conversations with Jacob Slavin, Jordan Martinook, Jordan Staal and many of the other Hurricanes players. They've been very down to earth and have respected me for being a Rangers fan first, and Hurricanes fan 2nd since I live in their area! The odd player I didn't see to be very exciting was Justin Williams. I met him at the Canes Bash, he wasn't very social. When I walked up to him to hopefully start up a conversation, he walked away to go find a bigger crowd in the party.

i met justin williams once. he signed my holtby jersey at a caps practice, along with alexander semin. very nice guys.

On a Flyers game, I met Bobby Clarke and he gave me a signed hockey puck. Great guy!

Most NHLers I've met were long retired. Guys like Wendel Clark, Rick Vaive, Johnny Bower. Clark was awesome (and funny) but I liked Gordie Howe the most. He was 64 yrs old and I got to follow him around as he visited schools throughout the day leading up to a sports dinner that night. Soooo many stories to share, so friendly. Super patient, smiled all day and I think he talked to every single kid when he did autographs. Another 10/10 is Walter Gretzky, Wayne's dad. That guy is a legend, a true hockey ambassador.

Haydn Fleury is a sweetheart! I waved at him during pregame when he was in the AHL, and he skated over and made small talk with me. He has a great smile. Not as crazy as some of the stories in the comments, but it made my day :D

I met pommer at a stick and puck in WNY and grabbed a picture with him super geniune guy, easily the nicest sabre I have ever met.

Johnny Gaudreau is the nicest player I’ve ever met. He’s so nice

Lindy Ruff was a great coach. Good to hear he's a great person too.

I used to work at Honda Center in Anaheim and I used to intentionally walk down where the players walked in and out on game day and I'd bump into a bunch of them and chat them up. My friend said former Sabres player Brad May is really friendly.

Was at a hockey camp and was sitting on my own eating lunch amd gordie howe came and sat down with me , we talked for an hour and he ate with me every day that week

Met Mark Messier and Kevin Lowe they were exceptionally nice I got their autograph They were watching Toronto and Buffalo March 1990 both were cheering for the leafs!

Met Brendan Gallagher after his first year with the Habs at an autograph event in the Vancouver area. Got my Vancouver Giants jersey signed by him. Pretty cool guy.

I met Brett Hull, Adam Oates, Dominik Hasek, Pierre Turgeon and several others

When I was in 5th grade, my buddy had told me that he was doing a project on P.A Parenteau and when he went up to do his presentation, I didn't think Parenteau was gonna show up cause at the time I was so used to when people would introduce people in class it would end up being a mascot. then at the end of my Buddy's presentation, he introduced him and Parenteau showed up and everyone in class had a holy shit kind of reaction and after answering a few questions, he sat down at a pupitre (idk what is it in English) and signed autographs for the entire class. Bonus famous people story...... So last year, I went to a WWE house show in Saint John, New Brunswick Canada and before the show my dad and I hung out at the mall connected to the arena and I went to order some food and when I was in line, I look around and I see this gorgeous woman walking, I'm like fuck, is that Alexa Bliss and It takes me a second to realize holy fuck! It is her goddamn she's beautiful! Then I said hi and she waved back and I was hesitant to go up to her cause 1. I'm nervous 2. I'm still in line for my food. And by the time I wanted to go talk to her, she was already taking pictures with other fans. Now I know how David Dobrik felt when he saw Natalie Portman walking by.

I’ve met countless AHL players that went on to the NHL (Vasilevskiy, Marchessault, Gudas, etc)

I went to Wild legend Wes Walz’s hockey camp for 4 years of my life and he knows my name now (don’t know if he’d recognize me about 10 years later though)

Mel I’m sure those 15 year olds were nervous talking to the cute girl at the counter. The coolest current NHL player I’ve met would be Dylan Larkin. He was in my store the afternoon following being shutout by Columbus. Wasn’t very talkative and I wasn’t interested in bothering him much besides cashing out and what not.

I met Tod Marchant when he played with the Oilers, nice guy and heck of a hockey player. Will never forget his game 7 OT goal in game 97 against Dallas. He is still a legend in Oiler land!

I remember during Ovechkins rookie year, my dad and I went to a signing at the DC Autoshow, I think I was 8 years old at the time, even then the line was super long and the security was going through deciding where the line was going to end, long story short, we were deemed the end of the line and I was the last kid to get autographs from the line of capitals including Ovie, Ben Clymer and a couple others!!! Jeff Halpern was also there but he ended up leaving early!!

Nicest NHL'er I ever met was Daniel Alfredsson, class act off and on the ice.

My mom: Dated Terry O’Reilly’s brother Got hit on by Eric Lindros (while articling at Rogers) Went to High School with Bobby Orr (He was a senior, she was a freshman)

I’m a Canes fan and I’ve been to a lot of meet and greets. The nicest player I’ve ever met was probably Eddie Lack. That’s a nice dude. 10/10. Also Elias Lindhom. It was my birthday and he gave me a signed puck AND stick!

Marty is exactly like that. Met him at the Arena after the Intermission show him and Duffer do! Great guys!

my personal ranking of NHLers I've met: 1.

When I was super little guy, I was skated on to McNicols Arena ice after a Colorado Rockies game. They had meet your favorite player night, slipped on the ice and busted my head open. I was picked up by Barry Beck. He took me to the locker room where a trainer patched my head up. Once finished Beck skated me (on his shoulders) to every player on the team. Wanted to be a player from that moment on.

Hey Mel, I've seen parts of several of your videos and just wanted to say I appreciate your wholesome content :]

Damn...you're so much fun to watch :) I'm not even a Sabres fan, but I love your videos. You're just so genuine and down right awesome. I love seeing someone geek out the way I do and just be happy or frustrated or sad or angry about something you genuinely care about. That is fantastic. You're very relatable, and I love that. Keep going, Melody....I'm a fan.

I met Campbell at a Q and A in Florida and he was so nice.

I’ve met most of the islanders back in like 2014-15 and I do remember okposo being a nice guy. I was pretty young at the time and was very shy so I don’t have the greatest memory but I remember Matt carkner and Eric boulton were really funny and nice

I’ve met a lot of awesome players! Favorites have been Chris Osgood of the wings, my favorite player of all time and Quinn and Jack Hughes they were awesome! I’ve actually been to that bar in Chicago! One of my friends, she from buffalo and we went there after a Hawks game! Awesome to hear someone else has been there that I watch lol

Scouting was also my dream too. When I interned for the Sabres I met quite a few Sabres personalities. Id say my favorite was Harry Neale. I got to meet RJ that night and me and Harry watched some of the game In the press box together. Everytime id see him around the arena he'd always greet me by name after that. I have so many stories from my two years of interning. Ill never forget it!

I met Marty Biron at my local hockey rink once. He was just sitting there probably watching his kid and I asked for his autograph and he was really nice about it. The worst thing about it was I was the first one on my team to ask... then everyone asked him so that might have been a little annoying for him.

Not that anyone will ever believe it, but the nicest NHLer I've ever met is Tom Wilson 😂

Love this video Mel. I actually met Former Sabre, Dean Kennedy, many years back at the old Aud, he was signing autographs and actually chatted with me for a few minutes. He was a really cool guy and I was in my early 20s at the time but he was very cool and very friendly. Mike Ramsey was also very nice and very classy!

Love listening to your stories as you clearly love being a Sabres fan. I'm up on Toronto and am naturally a Leaf fan (sorry - lol). I've met a few hockey players briefly to get autographs including Don Cherry and the Leafs Hound Line (Wendl Clark, Russ Courtnall and Gary Leeman - got their autographs as a gift for a friend who played hockey). As an adult, I have been following my nephew's career (currently playing Junior A) and have met Johnny Bower (very brief encounter) and he was really nice and Eddie Shack who told us stories and was extremely nice to everybody. Have seen a few others in passing but no real interaction. Anyway, love watching you follow you team. Keep up the great work as you do it so very well.

I met Briz at my hockey rink, Jim Watson was my coach, I had dinner with Bob Kelly and met Sabres Legend Danny Briere after my hockey game

My sister used to work at an retirement home (10+ years ago) anyway, Daniel Alfredsson used to visit his grandmother (who lived there), whenever he was back home in Sweden. And my sister said that he was really nice to everyone, every time he came by to visit.

My dad played softball against Gordie Howe a few times in the late 1980s

Pretty damn cool freaking video, Mel. Really special. Thanks.

My uncle is Tyler Toffoli so I met him along with a few other La kings players

My mom went to grammar school with Eddie Olczyk, and I met Rocky Wirtz and got a picture with him at the UC.

I met Jason Robertson, Jack Studnicka, Akill Thomas when they were in Niagara. I got to skate with them and get autographs it was pretty sweet. I also got a puck from Brendan Gallagher at a habs game

Cool content Mel, thanks for sharing. Loved the Mom stories, especially the Hamburger story. Met Wayne Gretzky before he really hit it big at our Minor Hockey Banquet, think he had just signed with the WHA at that point? Met and talked to Walter Gretzky, if you have ever lived in Brantford and went to an arena you have probably met Walter many times. Both incredible men the apple didn't fall far from the tree on that one.

When I was a kid we used to go to the player dressing room exits to get autograph at the skydowme, saw Deion Sanders when he was playing for the Yankees, was really nice and signed my card. 10/10. He had all the hype but had the time for the kids.

My first job out of high school was as a sportscaster in Vancouver the year Vancouver went to the finals in '82. That year they played Chicago in the playoffs and I got to interview my idol, Tony Esposito. Great interview and super nice guy. Your channel is fun. Love your music.

I’ve been fortunate to meet hundreds of players, but the ones I have the fondest memory is The French Connection. 1973, Cheektowaga High School...Those guys were rock stars. Lindy is great too! So many to mention.

i got drunk with mario lemieux in 2010 lol

I've sadly yet to meet any NHLers, despite going to several Sabres games as a kid, and now living in a hockey town (Nashville). But my brother worked at a bar when he first moved down to Nashville, and Lindy Ruff was a regular there! I guess he's a big Stella Artois fan :)

I've met a handful of players and was lucky enough to tag along with a friend to an alumni game once where I got to meet a few legends and its always a treat.

Great video! Have had very brief run-ins with a few NHLers in Edmonton here. Right before Kessel was traded out of TO I went up to him drunk at a bar and said I was the Oilers GM and I was trading him for Eberle. Got a laugh out of him, seemed like a good dude. Said he couldn't take a pic because of the bar's rules. One night in 2010 I believe a bunch of Habs and Oilers were partying together at a club, I was at the bar next to Hal Gill and a very young Carey Price. Heard Gill introduce Carey to some girls at the bar as "his friend Cory" lol.

I worked for a company that got material from another company that had Billy Smith as a supplier rep. I got to spend quite a bit of time talking hockey with him. I got a picture of me wearing all 4 of his cup rings. I also went with him in a private box to the game Alfi came back to Ottawa with the Wings for the first time. Very cool sitting through a game just talking hockey with a guy like that.

Met a handful of Hurricanes players at PNC Plenty of Caniacs will tell that Jeff O’Neill is a douch Kevyn Adams is the nicest dude on the planet, walked the autograph line after almost every game, signed plenty of autographs and took pics, super nice and down to earth. Met Luc Robitaille at the Raleigh civic center during allstar weekend, super nice but still in a hurry, took a photo with me but asked me not to advertise.

I write for a Dallas sports blog and have met Connor McDavid, Max Pacioretty, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Ben Bishop, Brendan Morrow, and Marty Turco through covering various events. Had a good experience with all of them

I worked at a homegoods store two years ago and I helped Brian Dumolin from the penguins load a dresser into the bed of his truck. Was a cool experience although I was awkward as hell most likely I also saw penguins post game guy Jay Caulfield at Costco. I didn't go and bug him but I do remember he had a shopping cart completely full of fireworks

I went to the Sabres Road Crew party in DC in December 2018 before the Sabres played the Caps (The shootout loss where Eichel scored that ridiculous toe-drag top-shelf goal, that was fun to see in person!). I met Marty Biron (my favorite Sabre of all time), Rene Robert, Rob Ray, Danny Gare, Brian Duff and Rick Jeanneret. They were all super nice and quite personable.

Great video. When Marty Biron's son played hockey they would come play our tournament in Fredonia. One of our Mite coaches wife was pregent so I asked Marty to sign the card we got for them. Ended up talking to him for 15 minutes during my son's game. Marty is a great guy and yes he can talk forever. Had some nice things to say about my son too. My son's mite team shared locker rooms with Razors sons team at a tournament at Riverworks. Most of our players really didn't know who he was but the kids were all happy to beat Amherst 2-1 in overtime to win the tournament.

I have a few from when I grew up in Buffalo! - Saw Daniel Briere with his family at a subway. It was right before he became a star so probably before 05-06. Didn’t interact with him because wanted to respect his time with his family. Little did I know then he’d become my favorite player. - Saw Lindy Ruff and Mike Ramsey multiple times at a pool we swam at as kids. They’d sit with a book and hat/glasses beside the pool trying not to get noticed - Mike Peca at Peca pickles signing. Seemed really nice and got pictures with him. - Tim Connolly at a signing. Also seemed nice and had a conversation with us. - BEST: We had a neighbor who was Eric Bolton’s agent, so we got to play street hockey with him and JP DUMONT who came a couple time. I literally played street hockey with JP. He was super nice, got along great with us kids and I remember being blown away by how good he was with his stick and seeing him just mess around in real life and make us kids look just silly. - Our neighbor also had Brian Campbell come over one time to give autographs, I don’t think we played with him but i remember him signing things for us.

That's kool , I remember the French connection line of the Sabres , that's some history !!!!!

Good to hear you had such nice experiences we europeans don’t have that luxury!

Having my brother playing rep hockey in Ontario, got to meet a few future NHLers. I actually grew up with Rick Nash. His brother was on my brother's team, We would mostly play mini sticks at the rinks. My brother was also drafted to the OHL but didn't make it. But a few former NHLers were there also including Joe Thornton, Don Cherry, Bobby Orr. Also got to meet Walter Gretzky at a few of the rinks.

I've met Doug Gilmour before. He was just sitting at a cafe and got a cool picture with him. We talked for a little too. It was pretty awesome!

I've met LaFontaine, Perreault, Robert, Gordie Roberts(amerks), Jim Lorentz, also met Jim kelly, and I am meeting Tom Draper in a week, but by far the coolest meet for me was RJ. I had the same experience, met him in the broadcast booth during a game, he signed his game notes for me. Amazing experience.

My favorite encounter with an nhl player was with Daniel Briere. When I arrived to canada from Europe my neighbors made me discover hockey by showing me the buffalo sabres saying that one of the players in that team had a family name similar to my first name (Daniel Briere), because of that I would always watch the buffalo sabres games and consider them my favorite team despite living in montreal and Daniel Briere was my favorite player in the NHL. I would buy new shirts of him every time the jersey would change or when he signed with Philadelphia as well. Anyway while he was playing with Philadelphia he attended a hockey event in my hometown and I went to see him play, I was wearing A Daniel Briere jersey while watching the game, after the game the players were separated by gates with the audience in the parking lot, I stayed there with my dad the entire time Daniel Briere was still there, after a while all the other audience members left but I stuck around cause Daniel was still there talking to other players, anyway he saw me there wearing his jersey and he came and opened the gate and invited me over to the player's side, he offered to sign the shirt I was wearing and take a picture with me, we had a long chat and it was great, at some point my dad made a joke saying he was hoping that Daniel wouldn't keep changing teams too much because it was starting to get expensive for us to always buy new shirts and then Daniel looked at me and said don't worry if I ever change team now I'll make sure to sign with your home team. A few years later he signed with the Montreal Canadians and being a kid at that time it made me so happy to actually think that he signed there for me, obviously he didn't signed there for me as Montreal is literally his hometown and he had said for years that he wanted to play there, but in my child's mind it was still incredible.

Great stories!

@MelodyMartin I once met Shane Doan really great guy!

As always your awesome love the shirt

Mario lemieux stepped on my foot when I was a kid I also road up the elevator with him the day he was rewarded the penguins franchise also Paul Coffee stayed and talked with us and my dad for an hour one night after a game before he went to hospital to have surgery back in the 80/90's you could go wait by the Parking garage at the old igloo and get autographs and talk with the players my brother has a picture in his living room of him as a kid with Paul coffee blown up it's funny Hockey players are Good Guys

I met Rick Jeanneret in the 1990's and to this date he's my favorite NHL personality to have met. Not trying to let my Sabres fan bias creep in here but he's the best NHL commentator/announcer there is. I can still hear perfectly in my mind: LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-fontaine scorrrrrrrreeeeesss!! Love Rob Ray as well...his humor and dedication to the team has been legendary. Funny that now days ''tough guys'' isn't even a thing but back then each team had at least one. Thanks for sharing your stories! 👍

Also when I worked at sportchek (Canadian sports store) I use to run into players from time to time. Including a few future NFL players, the coolest was being allowed to try on the grey cup ring(Canadian super bowl) of one of the players and being able to almost fit 2 of my fingers in the ring. Running Jarome Iginla and his puppy in a PetSmart was also pretty cool lol no one had a clue who he was but me.

I love your positive attitude here. I'm swiss, so not many chances, I did meet Auston Matthews for like 30 seconds, and I do know Sven Baertschi's primary school teacher, if that counts ; )

Canadian here, leafs and blue Jay's fan...melody! I love your shirt!!!!! Awesome 💯

I won tickets for a Wayne Gretzky book signing in 2016. He was really great. I thought he might want to rush us through since we were near the back of the line, but he was super nice and friendly. I've also got to meet a lot of players through the Hometown Hockey events in the Edmonton area like Mark Messier, Lanny McDonald, Grant Fuhr and Glenn Anderson (twice). I also went to an autograph session at West Edmonton Mall back in February and got to meet most of the current Oilers (minus Connor and Leon) and the one player that really stood out in a good way was Oscar Klefbom. He just has a very warm smile and he genuinely seems happy to see you.

Oh my god you must have worked at Dave and adams! I worked there too for like 3 years and obviously met a lot of athletes who did signings there and I will say for sure that Eichel has changed a lot. About a year or 2 ago, he did a signing there and We used to do a thing where kids could enter a raffle to be his signing assistant where they’d sit with Jack and this Kid talked to Jack about how he gets bullied all the time at school, and Jack asked him if he’s ever been to a hockey game where the kid answered no and Jack gave him tickets and a locker room tour after the game. He also talked the kid up, gave him a hug, gave him a speech and said if someone bullies him again to give him a call and he’d be at his school lol. There’s a lot about Jack being kind of a jerk but he really is a nice guy

I met a lot of NJ Devils players back when they were good and still had HOF goalie Martin Brodeur. Kenny Daneyko, and a few others. Also met the coach whose name escapes me at the moment. Got them to sign a program which I can’t find. They won the Stanley cup that year. Yeah I’m old. This was way back in the 90s

I worked for the Capitals in the off-season for a summer, and I also worked for the University of Wisconsin athletic department, so I ran into some people. Mark Johnson from the 1980 USA olympics is incredibly nice. Cole Caulfield once stopped a work out and came out of a weight room to talk because he thought I wanted to ask him something, he’s a great guy. Peter Bondra is awesome, he’s the kind of person that can talk about anything with anyone.

Thank you for putting Derek Roy on the thumbnail. Not enough people talk about him. He was a frickin legend. Edit: Pominville seems like he would be a super sweet guy. I mean, judging by his PIM total he’s a total softie.

I met Steve Valiquette on the street in NY back when he was still playing for the Rangers. I was back home from school for the summer and he was walking the other direction and I stopped him. I imagine he wasn’t expecting to get recognized as a back up goalie to Lundqvist. He was really nice and we had a short conversation about Toronto since I was going to school there and he’s from the GTA. A few years later I went to an early stick and puck session cause I hadn’t been on the ice in while. It was like a 6 am to 9 am session, and I basically stay till they kick me off the ice. I get back to the locker room and there’s this guy sitting there in street clothes with his equipment bag and sunglasses on who looks vaguely familiar to me so I give a small head nod and go to my bag to get undressed. The guy leaves to check on something, and while I’m left alone for a moment I realize he looks familiar cause it’s Carl Hagelin! So he comes back and starts getting his gear on and we make some small talk. I ask him if he’s sticking around here for a little bit before going back to Sweden (the Rangers had been eliminated like a week before this). He says he’ll head back in a couple weeks, but he’s actually getting shoulder surgery tomorrow and wanted to get one last skate in. At this point I’m done packing my equipment up and tell him good luck and head out. the next day the team announces that Callahan and Hagelin both had surgery, I had a scoop and didn’t even know it!

Half a year too late, but who cares :) I met Brian Leetch at a rink in Boston a few years ago. Most genuinely nice person I've met. Felt like I was meeting an old friend or something. Just like when you met Bylsma, he asked me where I'm from. When I told him I was from Iceland his eyes just lit up and he told me about his trip there a few years prior and everything. You'd never think he was a hockey deity just by talking to him. I've idolized him for years, but after this meeting I just absolutely worship him. 222 out of 10. Also met MacKenzie Blackwood at the 2018 Global Series over in Gothenburg, so he was the third string goalie at the time. Don't have much of a story, but he was nice too.

HahA! Thanks for sharing your stories...very cool! Rob Ray...not surprised you got his autograph. One time after a game between the Canucks and the Sabres in Vancouver, back in the early 90s, I was waiting around with some other fans hoping to get some Sabres autographs. I remember Ray got into a fight against Gary Valk that night, and Valk really held his own. After the game, the Sabres emerged from the dressing room and every single one of them rushed passed the fans, including LaFontaine. LaFontaine pulled his hat down with the lapel of his trench coat covering his face. They all jumped onto the team bus. Mogilny came out with Pavel Bure and they both jumped into a waiting cab. I guess they were going out for dinner together. Just before he jumps in, I say to Mogilny, Could you please sign this? Mogilny signs my card, and jumps in the cab and they speed off. The only Sabre willing to stick around and sign was Ray. He held up the entire bus. He was so great with the fans. While Ray was signing, someone from the bus yelled out, "Hey Ray, hurry up will ya?" And Ray yells back, "Hold your horses, I'm signing for my fans!" He was sporting two black eyes and looked like a raccoon but he made sure everyone got an autograph before he got onto the bus. The guy was a prince. Definite 10. Thanks Melody!

i find a lot of Famous people tend to be stand offish due to the fact that everyone is always asking for attention from them. so when Athletes/actors wrestlers etc meet staff people where they're attending an event they can often seem rude due to the fact that they think the staff should be professional since its their job. they forget that staff can be fans as well. I would say the nicest famous person I've ever meet is Margaret Atwood (yes the author) when I was in High school. we talked after for a good twenty mins since i had to stick around after school and she didnt have anywhere to go.

Lindy Ruff is local to my area. My uncle grew up playing hockey with him. I've always heard great things.

I've met Eichel twice and he was nice both times, but I get it.

Met Brian Elliott when we trained at the same goalie camp. Awesome dude. recently been able to help with some youth camps in Raleigh. Shane Willis is an awesome dude and great with kids.

I’ve met one nhler back when he played ushl. Played for the team that was like 30 minutes away from where I live and I don’t remember much of him but certain games you could skate with the players after the game and I got to skate with Neil pionk. Great guy.

I go to The Bruins fest and meet all sorts of players and the announcers as well. I like having conversations with Andy Brickley. He talked more than me. I met a couple players but missed my chance to meet McAvoy. I could have met Danny Briere but it was the exact day I went to the Bruins fest. He was in a small hockey rink in Connecticut watching his son play in juniors I assume.

I have had two experiences that I remember, meeting NHL players (I've probably met more but It's been a really long time since I've been to a meet and greet). 1) I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 and the CBJ were holding a player signing. At the time I was the biggest Rick Nash fan and I was super nervous to meet him. When my grandma and I went up to the table I forgot to ask him to sign my jersey but then the person standing behind us called us back over. Nash laughed it off and didn't act like we were wasting his time. To this day it is my only signed jersey but I love it. 2) My brother plays in the same league (and last season the same select team) as Jody Shelly's son so I had seen him around, but during the first tournament of the season, he flew into Pittsburg in between two Jackets games to see his son play. When the Shellys would pass us on the way back to our hotel room my parents would talk to him. He was always so genuinely nice during the conversations but damn is it scary to stand next to him in an elevator. Over the years my dad and brother have met a few NHLers through hockey programs and my aunt has met and is even friends with a few guys. I seem to always stay home when everyone else meets players.

Interesting topic, Melody. Thanks. Hockey people are generally great, I think, and aside from having the honor of getting beaten up by Rob Ray in a fake fight in the charity game, an encounter with Jim Schoenfeld ranks as the best. Four Sabres are eating dinner in a nice restaurant when 9- or 10-year-old me walks up and interrupts them for some unknown reason. Three of them ignored me but Shoney pulled his chair back, placed his napkin on the table and talked to me as for as long as I wanted to talk, even though his food was getting cold. What a nice guy.

Nothing will beat the day I got to meet Sidney Crosby and Mario lemieux (who I’ve met twice) together the company I work for did work for Mario at his home while Sid lived there!!’ A dream come true they were both beyond nice and personable!!! And former bruins and sabers player Fred Stanfield is a close personal friend of my family (his daughter and my sister are best friends)

This is going way back but in 1996 I worked at a movie theater in Boston that was a popular place for movie stars who are making movies in Boston. That year the Bruins had Rick Tocchet who was a franchise player with the Flyers. He was at the theater to see "The First Wives Club" (which starred Goldie Hawn, whom i waited on earlier in the year with Kurt Russell coming along). I usually give celebs their privacy but I figured since some people thought or Hockey as a provincial sport so I called him Mr. Tocchet. He was really cool for an aggressive player. I showed him my Don Cherry impersonation and had a laugh.

Meeting Blake Coleman( when he was with the devils) and Zach werenski was the coolest thing ever. Zach was the nicest person you would’ve ever meet and Blake was a chill dude. Both posed for pictures and it was a cool experience