Posted on February 6, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt Penticton Vees set to Break Record
The Penticton Vees are ready to set a new BCHL record for consecutive wins tomorrow night in Chilliwack. As a proud sponsor of the Vees organization, we are very excited for the players and coaching staff for their opportunity to make history. They are only one game away from setting a new mark on the record books by winning 30 regular season games in a row.
The Vees have not lost since November 5th where they fell short in overtime against the Merritt Centennials.
On Friday the Vees defeated the Chilliwack Chiefs 5-1 in Penticton which tied the 1989-90 New Westminster Royals record of 29 straight wins to later take the BCHL title and Doyle Cup championship. With this win, and Merritt’s loss in Vernon, the Vees have now clinched first place in the Interior Conference.
We anticipate that many Penticton Vees fans will be making the trip over to Chilliwack to see history in the making. Regardless of the outcome, we as a sponsor, are so very proud of what the team has accomplished.
On Sunday evening, Vees Assistant Coach Steve Cawley caught up with Jason Bobbitt, owner of West Coast Authentic with news of a greater challenge laying ahead at tomorrow’s game. Five members of the Vees were hit by illness over the weekend and it could not have come at a worse time.
Despite recent news, West Coast Authentic is confident that the Vees organization will face adversity tomorrow night and rise to the occasion.
We wish all the players the best of luck!
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Posted on February 5, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt Cody Hodgson Not Your Average Rookie
If you have been watching Cody Hodgson handle the puck recently you were probably not surprised when has was named Rookie of the Month by the NHL for January 2012.
He definitely caught our attention even before he stepped on the ice for the first time wearing a Vancouver Canucks jersey in February 2011. Between his excellent performance representing Canada in International play in 2007-2009 and his recognition in the OHL as one of the top points leaders, Hodgson proved to be a top prospect with NHL scouts and managers.
Although Hodgson suffered a back injury in the 2009-2010 season, he emerged as a solid, two-way player in 2011 with the Canucks scoring his first NHL goal during his second game with the team.
It was a great fit for both Hodgson and West Coast Authentic to ink an exclusive deal for Hodgson’s autographed memorabilia. In October 2011 we did our first private signing with Hodgson in Vancouver where he autographed several photos, jerseys and pucks that soon became popular items on our website.
Hodgson went on to score 8 goals and 14 assists in Oct-Dec and then in January led all rookies with 6 goals and 4 assists in 11 games. He also led the Canucks in scoring in January.
Hodgson is definitely a candidate for the Calder Trophy, to be awarded to NHL’s top rookie but it will depend on how quickly Ryan Nugent-Hopkins recovers from a shoulder injury that has already sidelined him for over a dozen games.
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Posted on February 3, 2012 by
Jason Bobbitt NHL: The Next Generation
By Troy Hunnie
On February 1, 2012 we were privileged to attend the 2012 CHL Top Prospects game and it was an amazing experience to be amongst these young hockey players as they perform in front of a hundred or more NHL scouts and managers.
Similar to the NHL All-star event, it consisted of a skills competition and a game, the only difference is the NHL event is a more of a relaxed, get-together for the top NHL players. The CHL game on the other hand is serious stuff, fast paced, and body contact is not off-limits. You can see it in the faces of these young players the pressure they are under as they give it their all, and then some.
Although scouts do not put full emphasis on a player’s potential based solely on a two day event but a player can certainly stand out if he performs well against players of the same caliber.
The annual CHL Top Prospects game is normally coached by Bobby Orr and Don Cherry but this year’s event was coached by Pat Quinn and Mark Recchi. Many fans were disappointed that the Orr & Cherry Show did not attend this year but we did not mind, it was just nice that the event was held in our home town, Kelowna, BC. It was no surprise that the event was held here, Kelowna’s appeal as a destination is no stranger to CHLers and NHLers especially in the summer and that is one of the reasons Jason Bobbitt, owner of West Coast Authentic chose Kelowna as headquarters. Kelowna has it all, it’s dry, it’s hot and has plenty of golf, wine and skiing in the winter plus we are fortunate to have a great WHL team and a great venue, Prospera Place, to play in. In a typical Okanagan summer it is not uncommon to see Luke Schenn, Carey Price, Ryan Getzlaf, Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, Brent Seabrook, Jordin Tootoo, Jerome Iginla or Greg Adams on the golf course or boating on one of Okanagan’s many lakes.
Ok, back to the 2012 CHL Top Prospects game. The skills competition on day one resulted in a 15-9 win for Team Orr. Francis Beauvillier of the Rimouski Oceanic won the Fastest Skater event, and Nick Ebert of the Windsor Spitfires blasted a 94.7mph shot to take home Hardest Shot honors.
The Shooting Accuracy event went to Gianluca Curcuruto of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Radek Faksa of the Kitchener Rangers took away the Show-Down Breakaway Challenge.
The players laced up their skates again for day two’s big game and we expected an offensive storm by both teams however the game resulted in the lowest-scoring CHL Top Prospects Game in history. There was no scoring in the first period, the players were too busy feeling each other out, besides, these guys have only played together on a couple days of practice.
Team captains Colton Sissons of the Kelowna Rockets (Team Orr) and Ryan Murray of the Everett Silvertips (Team Cherry) take to the ice while hundreds of fans and scouts look on, including a few notables that we spotted in the seats; Tim Hunter, Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe and Bob Nicholson, CEO of Hockey Canada.
Defenceman Griffin Reinhart opened scoring for Team Orr in the second period answered by Team Cherry’s defenceman Dillon Fournier midway through the third. In the final minute, Branden Troock of Team Orr put it between the pipes to take the win. Despite the slow start in the first period, the tempo increased throughout out the game and overall it was a great event.
We will definitely be interested in following the careers of these players. Maybe one day we will be organizing NHL appearances and signing sessions for Colton Sissons, Dalton Thrower, Mathew Dumba, Damon Severson, Matt Murray and having them autograph jerseys, pucks and photos.
Looking back at past CHL Top Prospects games we have seen players such as Patrick Kane, Eric Staal, John Tavares, Greg Nemisz and Barret Jackman use the experience from this great event to boost their draft ranking.
View additional photos on our Facebook Page
Posted on December 21, 2011 by
Jason Bobbitt It is less than one week away until the first puck drops at the World Junior Hockey Championships and the entire staff at West Coast Authentic is busy preparing autographed Team Canada memorabilia to be auctioned off at the 31 games played in Edmonton and Calgary.
Early last week we had received the news from Hockey Canada that we had been awarded the contract to host 62 auctions (2 per game) in the arena concourses in both cities. At each game we will have a silent auction in the upper and lower concourses and the items will consist of autographed jerseys and photos of Team Canada players.
The funds generated from the auctions will help ensure Canada remains at the forefront in the development and promotion of amateur hockey. If you are attending any of the games make sure to come see us and checkout the quality memorabilia we have on display. Open up your wallets and place a bid and help prepare amateur players to represent Canada in international competition.
Posted on December 20, 2011 by
Jason Bobbitt 
It was a feeling of déjà vu when boarding the plane to Toronto as it was only 7 months ago that we attended UFC129 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on April 30, 2011. Our inaugural UFC trip in April was an incredible experience, the fighters, managers and agents welcomed us into the UFC family and we got a taste of things to come.
The trip to UFC140 was just as memorable as we were greeted by familiar faces in the lobby of Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle. Before we had a chance to check in, we were asked by Lyoto Machida’s manager, Ed Soares, if we could do the private signing with Lyoto right away instead of the following day so off we went luggage and all down to the conference room where we met “The Dragon” for a one hour private signing of photos, posters, shorts, and cards. 
Just before the signing, the WCA team from Kelowna; Jason Bobbitt, Steve Naka and Troy Hunnie have a brief reunion with recruits from New Brunswick, Steve Bobbitt and Rob Hohmann. During the Machida signing, Ed nonchalantly throws down the gloves that Lyoto wore when he defeated Couture at UFC129. It was a no-brainer for us to purchase them on site and have Lyoto sign them along with the words “UFC129 vs Couture”. With goose bumps, we captured this moment on video.
Next up, Mark Hominick and Sam Stout! We can always check in to the hotel later, it is more important that we work with the fighters’ schedules as some of these guys have to fight in the Octagon in 48 hours in front of 20,000 fans at the Air Canada Centre and in front of millions more on Pay-Per-View. What a treat to have two great Canadian MMA fighters in the same room for a private signing. 
It was evident by the jokes thrown around between Mark and Sam that the two are good friends but it was hard not to notice that they still mourn the loss of their friend and trainer, Shawn Tompkins whom passed away suddenly in August at the young age of 37. At UFC140 this will be Mark’s first fight without Shawn and we could not even imagine how difficult this must be for him. Check out our private signing videos with Mark Hominick and Sam Stout.
Day one’s signings are done so we all head up to the lobby to check-in and we run into Octagon girl Chandella Powell for a quick chat, followed by Frankie Edgar, Jake Shields, Ben Henderson, Claude Patrick, Greg Jackson, Frank Shamrock and several other top UFC fighters, some on the UFC140 card, and some just here to promote upcoming fights or provide moral support to fellow fighters. It’s after 1am and finally time to check-in then get something to eat at the biggest sports bar we have ever seen, Real Sports Bar & Grill, while we watched rewind hockey on a two-story HD TV screen!
Day 2 has in store for us an entertaining, private signing with Jake Shields followed by a 10 minute walk down to the UFC140 weigh-ins at the Air Canada Centre. Soon after, it’s back to the hotel for a private signing with Rogerio Nogueira (Little Nog). View our private signing videos with Shields and Nogueira.
Right after the Nogueira signing we were surprised to get a call from Frank Mir’s agent Malki Kawa wanting us to do a signing in Frank’s hotel room. Surprised because it is after 11pm and Frank has to fight Big Nog the very next day. With pens, photos, gloves, and camera equipment in hand, we head up to Frank’s three bedroom hotel suite where we are greeted by Frank’s wife and thirteen of Mir’s family members. Also in the room, Frank is on a massage table and his therapist is working on his upper body. 
At first we were not sure how we were going to do the signing in such a small area full of distractions but it turned out to be one of the best autograph sessions we have ever done. We have never seen this kind of chemistry and support from any other fighters’ camp, it was truly amazing. Frank did most of the signings with his young son on his lap while he and his wife shared funny stories with us. We have captured some of these moments on video.
Back to the lobby again and we meet up with Kelowna’s own, Rory Macdonald and then quick photos and autographs with Arianny Celeste, Matt Mitrione, Herb Dean, Brian Ebersole, Krzysztof Soszyński, Dennis Hallman, John Makdessi and Patrick Cote. At 3am the Carolina Hurricanes walk into the lobby to check in and WCA’s Steve Naka notices right away. 
As we get several Carolina hockey players (Cam Ward, Jeff Skinner, Eric Staal, Anthony Stewart) to stop for photos and autographs, the UFC fans in the lobby are confused…. are these guys in the UFC?… are these guys fighters? I guess technically some of them are “fighters” and it certainly did lead to questions from people asking us who they were.
Game day is always the most exciting day. Again in the lobby we network with fighters, agents, managers, trainers and the media. We notice a young boy getting autographs from some of the fighters so we decide to chat him up. It turns out that earlier that day he had won a pair of autographed Tito Ortiz gloves from Dana White on the street. On game day, Dana often announces giveaways on twitter and if you are in the right place at the right time you win memorabilia or UFC tickets. It was also the kid’s birthday and weeks earlier he was promised by a friend of the family that he would be going to UFC140 but at the 11th hour the family friend bailed and left the kid hanging. 
It was obvious that he was a big UFC fan as he knew all the fighters and all of their stats. The kid asked us if we had any spare tickets and he was willing to trade the gloves that he won in exchange for them. Well, being the great guys we are, we made it our mission to get the kid free tickets so we started tweeting plus we told pretty much everybody in the lobby about the kid’s plight. The hotel manager got wind of it and told a UFC executive then the next thing you know the kid scores a ticket for himself and for a friend!
Another 10 minute walk to the Air Canada Centre and we are at UFC140 just in time for the prelims. Tonight West Coast Authentic sponsors 5 fighters on the fight card, Frank Mir, Mark Hominick, Claude Patrick, Dennis Hallman, and Rich Anttonito. Troy Hunnie, Marketing Director for West Coast Authentic is also sponsoring Claude Patrick through his web media company Spincaster Productions Inc. One of West Coast Authentic’s exclusive fighters Jon “Bones” Jones is in tonight’s main event vs. Machida and it is expected to be a war.
If you watched UFC140 you know what we are talking about when we say it was a great card! It was certainly one of the most memorable ones we have been to. Near the end of the event, the kid that scored the tickets earlier came up to our seats and thanked us. What a great kid!
Ok, back to the hotel after the event and the lobby is buzzing. Things get wild when remaining light heavyweight champion Jon Bones walks in, there is big mob around him and no one can even get close but he sees WCA owner, Jason Bobbitt and the rest of the WCA team and gives Jason a big kiss on the cheek and says “We did it!”. Later Tito Ortiz walks in and a new mob forms and then begins chanting his name “TI-TO!, TI-TO!, TI-TO!” Definitely a fan fave.
The toughest day is the day after the event and it means traveling home with only a few hours of sleep. 
Before heading out we had a 10 minute meeting with Jon Bones followed by a quick chat with Tito Ortiz, this time without a mob of fans. After that it was off to the airport with our collection of autographed photos, gloves, posters, shorts, trading cards and more. Check our website soon for these new autographed memorabilia items!
What a fantastic trip! Next trip is UFC 145 in Montreal… can’t wait!
Posted on November 20, 2011 by
Jason Bobbitt 
A personal appearance by a high profile athlete can turn any event into a “special” event. Athlete appearances are a proven marketing vehicle for generating publicity for fundraisers, trade shows, autograph signings or grand opening.
West Coast Authentic has been arranging personal appearances by well known athletes for many years. We are well known in the sports memorabilia industry therefore we have access to hundreds of athletes whom we’ve established relationships with in the past. Several of these athletes have exclusive contracts with WCA giving us premium access for personal appearances.
For more info, visit our Athlete Appearances page
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