The Autograph Seeker

from John Matisz of The Score, David Pastrnak was sipping a beer last summer, minding his own business on a sunny patio in his native Czechia when another restaurant patron approached his table. The man asked the Boston Bruins sniper to sign his forearm in black permanent marker. He claimed to have a friend nearby who could turn Pastrnak's scribbled name and jersey number into a tattoo within a couple of hours. "His girlfriend came and gave me her chest, so I signed her chest," Pastrnak recalled during All-Star Weekend in Toronto this past February.... Still, Pastrnak couldn't believe it when the couple returned to his table 90 minutes later, freshly inked. "They did it, and I buy them a round of beers and shots. Because I thought that was kind of crazy," Pastrnak said with a broad smile. "It was wild. Before I signed it, I was like, 'Are you guys sure? I wouldn't do it ...' There are three types of people who ask for autographs: the fan with a personal collection, the employee of a reputable corporation or charity, and the "seeker." That last type also goes by "hound" or "hunter" because they acquire autographs for the sole purpose of flipping them for profit, typically through online marketplaces like eBay and with the athlete not receiving a cut. Seekers anxiously wait at elevator banks at host hotels for the NHL's annual draft and All-Star weekends, hoping to corner a player. They camp out at airport terminals at all hours. They lug around large plastic binders stuffed with trading cards, index finger jammed between two pages for quick access when a player of interest exits the arena following a morning skate. For transcendent stars, it can feel a little like stalking. "You throw them out the door, they come from the window," is how all-timer Jaromir Jagr once articulated his distaste for the hardcore, persistent seekers. much more, a fun read