What is the best way to get a photo of Connor McDavid autographed?

[Rerun]

I recently bought a framed photograph of Conor McDavid and I would love to get it autographed.


Now before I get ravaged, this is a Christmas present for my Grandson who's a huge McDavid fan. I got it at Costco for $50 which is a reasonable amount to pay for a 10 year old boy but the autographed ones were 3x the amount that I paid for the unautographed photo.

Just a little background... my Grandson loves to play hockey but unfortunately he'll be unable to play this Fall as he will be undergoing a couple of surgeries in October and November. In October he'll be getting a fairly routine tonsillectomy and in November he'll be undergoing a major surgery where he'll be getting a new ear. You see, my Grandson is deaf on his left side as he was born without an ear there. They will be removing cartilage and skin from his body and molding it in the shape of an ear and surgically implanting that new ear on the left side of his head.

He won't be able to hear out of the new ear but at least he will look more like all his friends and hockey buddies.

So anyways I'm trying to do my best to give him the best Christmas present ever. I wrote the Oilers to see if I could get the photo signed by McDavid when he's here on November 17 for the Flames Oilers game, and explained why I wanted to do this, but they replied back saying they were unable to accommodate my request.

So I guess now I'm at the point of waiting around somewhere hoping to see McDavid and hoping he will be kind enough to sign the photo... just don't know where the best place to do this would be.

Any suggestions?


Here's a pic of the framed photo... its really quite nice and I'm sure my Grandson will be thrilled to get it.... autographed or not.
https://flic.kr/p/MF6Qo6

[Charsiu]

First of all, all the best to your grandson, I hope that the recovery is swift.

Second of all, dick move by the Oilers organization.

Not sure where the best place to hang around and wait would be, but have you thought about tweeting at someone in the organization? That said, if you don't have much of a following it will probably fall by the wayside and get ignored pretty quick. I'm sure if they shut you down through email channels, you could still find a way through some form of social media.

Might also be worthwhile making an account over on the Oiler's HF board and asking there.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

When I was a kid if you wrote a letter to the team and ask for an autograph or picture they would usually have stock that they’d send back to you automatically. Some of the ones I have are legit signatures and some are just prints but I can’t recall any team ever saying no. But that was also 25 years ago.

[Textcritic]

I also would like to echo that while I am unsurprised by the Oilers's response I continue to find their entitlement quite repulsive. What a clown college.

I wonder if they might be goaded into accommodating you with some media exposure? There are a tonne of local media who read this site—is there a way to draw their attention to this in an effort to effect a change in the Oilers?

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Charsiu

First of all, all the best to your grandson, I hope that the recovery is swift.

Second of all, dick move by the Oilers organization.

Not sure where the best place to hang around and wait would be, but have you thought about tweeting at someone in the organization? That said, if you don't have much of a following it will probably fall by the wayside and get ignored pretty quick. I'm sure if they shut you down through email channels, you could still find a way through some form of social media.

Might also be worthwhile making an account over on the Oiler's HF board and asking there.

Good suggestion. I will try that. Thanks.

[kukkudo]

Not surprised Oilers organization gave you that response. That is one big difference between the Flames and Oilers.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

When I was a kid if you wrote a letter to the team and ask for an autograph or picture they would usually have stock that they’d send back to you automatically. Some of the ones I have are legit signatures and some are just prints but I can’t recall any team ever saying no. But that was also 25 years ago.

My kids were still doing this as recently as 2012/13.

One of my sons has a Jarome Iginla autograph that he got in the mail after writing a fan letter. My youngest wrote a letter to the Sedins, and asked for their autographs—providing sections on the letter for each of them to sign. He waited nearly a full year, but received back his original letter with signatures from both of them.

I don't see why anything would have changed so dramatically in the past five years to prevent the Oilers from performing similar charitable actions.

[Hockeyguy15]

Why don't you send him the letter on Twitter? Be sure to mention that you sent it to the Oilers and they declined to help you.

[Robbob]

They stay at the Sheraton Eau Claire so if stalking is the last resort there is that. That being said, I here the Oilers are pretty covert going in and out using the side door. I have heard stories where kids are waiting in the lobby for a chance encounter while they slide in the side door.

[Jason14h]

Does McDavid have a twitter account ? Maybe tweet him and see if he can sign after warmups

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Robbob

They stay at the Sheraton Eau Claire so if stalking is the last resort there is that. That being said, I here the Oilers are pretty covert going in and out using the side door. I have heard stories where kids are waiting in the lobby for a chance encounter while they slide in the side door.

Pretty sure they have banned people from hanging out by the side door along 2nd ave where the bus parks. The collectors seem to be standing across the street now.

[EM11]

When I was a kid I cut a picture of Wayne Gretzky out of a magazine and sent it to the Los Angeles Kings, asking for an autograph. About a year later I got the picture back with his signature on it. And that was at the height of his stardom.

[Rerun]

Here's a copy of my e-mail to the Oilers (I used the Contact Us form on the Oiler site) and their response.
To be honest, I'm disappointed in their response. I have deleted names from the e-mail that I'm posting here


From: XXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: September 25, 2018 8:58 AM
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: Edmonton Oilers - Contact Us

Good morning Mike,
Thank you for your email. I am very sorry to hear of your grandson’s situation, and I would like to wish him a speedy recovery!
Due to the large amount of requests we receive we are unfortunately unable to accommodate requests for autographed items.
If there are any opportunities for upcoming autograph sessions, it will be posted on our official website and social media channels. If you have any further questions please let me know.
Kindest regards,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx | Ticket Services Representative
Oilers Entertainment Group
300 10214-104 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 0H6
T: 780-409-3704│ E: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.edmontonoilers.com

From: noreply@formstack.com [mailto:noreply@formstack.com]
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2018 4:41 PM
To: Info Edmonton Oilers <info@edmontonoilers.com>
Subject: Edmonton Oilers - Contact Us

Formstack Submission For: CONTACT US FORM ON EDMONTONOILERS.COM: 2016-17 SEASON
Submitted at 09/24/18 4:41 PM:

Name: Mike Haidenger
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Department: Other
Your question or comment::

Hi there. My name is Mike Haidenger and I'm contacting you on behalf of my 10 year old grandson XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX who resides in Golden BC. My grandson is a huge Oiler and Connor McDavid fan. For Christmas I've bought him a framed Conor McDavid photo which I know he'll love. Unfortunately I couldn't afford to buy him a signed Connor McDavid photo the signed ones were 3x the price of the unsigned ones.
The reason I'm contacting you is to find out if it would be possible to get Connor McDavid to sign the photo I bought. My grandson would love this. He doesn't know I've bought this picture for him for Christmas.
I'm trying to give him a pretty nice Christmas for him this year because he's unable to play minor hockey this fall because he has to have two surgeries this fall. The first is to remove his tonsils and the second is to have a prostetic ear implanted where his left ear should be. Caeden was born without a left ear and he's deaf on that side. On his left side he only has a deformed nub. They will be removing this nub and taking cartilage from his body and shaping it into the form of an ear and then inserting it into the left side molding skin over it. Its strictly a cosmetic procedure so he will look more normal as he's getting to the age where stuff like that is more important to him. He'll still be deaf on that side though.

I'm wondering if it may be possibel for me to come down to meet Connor McDavid on November 17 before the Flames Oilers game here in Calgary. I live in Calgary and would love to get the photo signed by Conor before I send it to my Grandson for Christmas.

If you want, I can send you a photo of my Grandson and a photo of the picture I bought him... its framed and I got it at Costco.


Anyways, thanks for listening to me and I hope you can help me.


Best wishes

Mike Haidenger

[Iceman90]

Connor McDavid is managed by the Orr Hockey Group. Perhaps contact them and see if they can get it done? http://orrhockey.com/offices/

Or contact him directly via Twitter?

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I also would like to echo that while I am unsurprised by the Oilers's response I continue to find their entitlement quite repulsive. What a clown college.

I wonder if they might be goaded into accommodating you with some media exposure? There are a tonne of local media who read this site—is there a way to draw their attention to this in an effort to effect a change in the Oilers?

I bet that the majority of teams, even the flames generally say no.
think of how many sob stories teams get from people asking for something special.
what makes one sad story better than another? you can't help everyone, especially if you want a legit signature and not a fake or some autosign pen sort of thing.

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Pretty sure they have banned people from hanging out by the side door along 2nd ave where the bus parks. The collectors seem to be standing across the street now.

Sometimes they stay at the Westin. You can tell which hotel it is by which one has the autograph collectors outside, though.

[ForeverFlameFan]

It would be hard to get a signature of the best player in the world. I’m sure he gets thousands of requests a day.

That said it’s not impossible. I think the HF idea is best.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Here's a copy of my e-mail to the Oilers (I used the Contact Us form on the Oiler site) and their response.
To be honest, I'm disappointed in their response. I have deleted names from the e-mail that I'm posting here



I'm wondering if it may be possibel for me to come down to meet Connor McDavid on November 17 before the Flames Oilers game here in Calgary. I live in Calgary and would love to get the photo signed by Conor before I send it to my Grandson for Christmas.

Best wishes

Mike Haidenger

so you not only wanted an autograph, but you wanted to meet him too.

not take your grandson to meet him, but only you?

I can see why they'd say sorry for your grandson but no.
they must get a ton of requests like this. no way he could fill them all.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

I bet that the majority of teams, even the flames generally say no.
think of how many sob stories teams get from people asking for something special.
what makes one sad story better than another? you can't help everyone, especially if you want a legit signature and not a fake or some autosign pen sort of thing.

But the majority of teams don't. My kids have received autographed items from NHL players before—I can't imagine why a request like this is more difficult for the Oilers to accommodate.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

But the majority of teams don't. My kids have received autographed items from NHL players before—I can't imagine why a request like this is more difficult for the Oilers to accommodate.

that I can't speak to.

did the kids write asking for an autograph to be sent to them? or did you as an adult ask to meet a player before the game to get one.