The front looked pretty good.  No huge problems there.  The back of the jersey is a completely different story.

There is absolutely no doubt as to the authenticity of this jersey.  This is THE jersey that Rob Blake wore during the NHL All-Star Super Skills Competition the night of Saturday, February 1, 2003 at the Office Depot Center, in Sunrise, Florida.  There is tagging and paperwork to prove that this is true, but that paperwork and tagging are pretty much the only things that would lead me to believe that this was worn on the ice by Rob Blake.

One would assume that this jersey, since it was worn by an Avalanche player on the ice, would be accurately customized like an Avalanche jersey from that era.  That assumption would actually be very wrong.

Let’s begin with the number font.  It’s wrong.  Here are a few Blake jerseys that we can compare the jersey above to.

The first is a game worn Rob Blake burgundy jersey from the 2005-2006 season.  Different branding, but it’s the same jersey.  Stay focused on the number.  (This photo compliments of a past auction on gamewornauctions.net.)

Here’s a couple of fours from a Bates Battaglia game issued jersey, from my personal collection, from the 2002-2003 season.

Now compare the fours in the previous two pictures to the four on the competition worn jersey.  Without splitting hairs and breaking out a measuring tape, it’s easy to eyeball things and see that the font is definitely different.

The manner in which the numbers are cut are different as well.  The Avalanche, prior to the 2005-2006 season, wore numbers that were “stacked.”  The numbers, from the top and going down towards the jersey, were a white layer of glacier twill (with the criss-cross design on it), on a blue layer of twill, on a layer on silver material that sparkled.  My Blake jersey’s numbers are cut in what is known as “kiss-cut.”  It’s a thin, maybe quarter inch of blue, on white glacier twill, on silver.  This is a trick used by customizing companies to save fabric while taking a little weight off the jersey at the same time.

The alternate captain’s “A” on the Blake is also off.  The font is close, but not perfect.  The cut, like the numbers, is wrong for that era of Avalanche jersey.  It’s kiss cut when it should be stacked.  The “A” on the competition worn Blake is a little too large as well.  I’d say it’s a quarter to a half inch too big.  Here’s the “A” from the Blake.

And here’s an “A” from a game issued Steve Konowalchuk, from my personal collection, from the 2006-2007 season.

Many curves on the Konowalchuk “A” while there are way more straight lines on the Blake’s “A”.

Last, but definitely not least, is the nameplate on the back of the jersey.  I’ve never seen close to anything like it on an Avalanche sweater.  From the picture in the auction I could have sworn that it was twill (the same material that the blue layer on the burgundy jersey numbers is made of), but upon receiving the jersey I was totally surprised to see that the nameplate was actually made of Starter mesh material.  It should be the material that the rest of the jersey is made of, a material called Air Knit.  In other words, it should match.

Here’s an example of a Starter mesh nameplate on a Starter mesh jersey from my collection.

Looks good.  Looks like they belong together and, ya know, matches n’ stuff.  Now check out the Blake, burgundy Starter mesh on Air Knit.

Not only is the font on the letters (compare to the pics above) off by a long shot, the material doesn’t match.  Here’s a closer look.

Yikes.

Like I mentioned early in this post, I’ve seen twill nameplates on jerseys when they shouldn’t be there, but I’ve never seen mesh on Air Knit.  The Starter mesh has actually gotten so rare that collectors, including myself, have had Denver Athletic, or their favorite customizer, take the crest off an older Starter jersey and then cut up the rest for nameplates for other mesh jerseys.  The end result looks a little something like this.

It’s a practice affectionately known as “cannibalizing.”  Not to worry though, most everyone takes a jersey, like the one above, that was in bad enough shape that it wasn’t worth getting customized anyways and re-purposes/sacrifices it for a greater cause.  It’s new lease on life!  How do you think that Forsberg Pro Player jersey (pictured above) got such a fantastic nameplate?

Bottom line, it would take someone who knows absolutely anything about Avalanche jerseys and/or has an eye for small details approximately a fraction of a second to figure out the this Blake jersey failed to come within 500 miles of Denver Athletic’s warehouse here in The Mile High City.  In this case though, it’s the details that make the Blake wrong that actually makes it very right.  This jersey really doesn’t fit in with all of the other Avalanche jerseys in my collection, either game worn, issued, or customized authentic jerseys that have visited Denver Athletic at one time or another, and that’s definitely okay by me.  That fact just adds to the story behind the jersey that I love to share with the people that read my posts.

This is an Adam Foote game worn jersey from the 2003-2004 season.  It was the second white road jersey he wore on the ice that season.  This jersey was used for 19 road games between the dates of December 31, 2003 and March 12, 2004.  It represents, literally, what Foote was all about.  Take a closer look at the damage to this thing.

Adam Foote played a style all his own in the NHL, and that’s what makes this jersey special.  There are puck and stick marks, stains, holes, snot (probably from an Avalanche opponents who tried to drive towards the Avs’ crease), and who else knows all over this jersey.  The physical nature of Foote’s game is definitely on full display here.

Now, let’s play some match game, shall we?

Click here to view the embedded video.

No…not that Match Game you silly goose.

Since the jersey is trashed the way it is, it was time to think photo-matching.  It’s an entertaining “next-level” aspect of game worn jerseys.  Along with the jersey and the letter of authenticity from MeiGray, the seller sent along a 4×6 print of Foote wearing this actual jersey on the ice during a game.  Just by looking at the small picture, I was able to match at least four distinguishing marks on the jersey.  Check it out.

Mark one: Puck or stick mark in the gray area on the right sleeve.

Mark two: A hole punched in the gray area of the left sleeve.

Mark three: A hole/tear worn through a seam on the left sleeve.

Mark four: A blue mark just under the left side of the Avalanche crest.

There are game worn jerseys and then there are photo-matched game worn jerseys.  The former is cool, the latter is even cooler.

Needless to say, this style/brand of jersey is getting tougher and tougher to find.  The CCM (white away jerseys) and Koho (dark home and burgundy alternates) were worn by the Avs from the 2000-2001 season through the 2003-2004 season.  The Koho brand original alternates debuted during the 2001-2002 season and were worn through the 2003-2004 season as well.  In the grand scheme of things, and since it has almost been a decade since the team has worn these jersey brands and styles, they aren’t seen for sale that often at all anymore.  I was definitely fortunate to get this and I was also lucky to get it for the price that I did.  Either way, it’s one more unique game worn jersey for the collection and there can really never be enough of those.  Yep…famous last words.

This is the jersey that Peter Forsberg would have worn on February 16, 2011 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Pepsi Center.  Instead, he retired from the National Hockey League on February 14.

The interesting recent detail about this jersey is that it has now been officially documented that it was the ONLY one made for Forsberg to wear on the ice last season.  Normally the team makes two sets of alternates (and maybe one back up for guys that like to drop the mitts) for the players that are on the roster the entire season, but in Forsberg’s case, the team only made one since he would have worn it, had he been healthy enough to play, for only three games.

If a fan decided to have this jersey made on their own, via acquiring a blank jersey and having it customized, it would be considered a “jersey foul” since Forsberg never wore this particular style jersey on the ice during an official NHL game.  But in the case of this jersey, it’s the one and only Forsberg blue alternate that simply cannot be considered a jersey foul.  No other blue alternate Forsberg jersey has this distinction.

Thank you very much to my friends at MeiGray who made this jersey available to me.  Now my collection is just a little more unique and that’s always a great thing.  I couldn’t be more proud that this jersey now hangs in my closet.

This is a jersey made for Peter Forsberg to wear during the 2008-2009 Euro Hockey Tour.  Details about the Euro Hockey Tour can be found on Wikipedia here.  As any hockey fan knows, Forsberg’s health seems to come and go quite quickly, so I’m sure this jersey was made by the team “just in case.”  Again, it’s not game used, but was made for him to wear on the ice.  That keeps the price lower while still being uncommon.

Here’s the front.

And here’s the back.

The name below the numbers is always an interesting look.  Here’s a closer look at the nameplate.

Hemma, by the way, is a Swedish appliance store.  Their prices are very competitive too!  (I have no idea about that, just thought it would be entertaining to add.)

Each sleeve also has a Svenska Spel patch above the numbers.  This company is big in the regulated gambling business in Sweden.

The other advertising patches on the jersey feature a company called DnB NOR.  This is Norway’s largest financial service group.

Enough about the patches already, let’s talk a little more about the jersey itself.  One thing about international jerseys is that they have similar construction for the most part.  One, the numbers are made of a felt-like material.  Here’s a closer look.

Another thing is that these numbers aren’t stitched on the jersey at all.  I’m not sure whether it’s because the fabric is so light that stitching is not needed or because the jerseys won’t get quite as much as use as your normal NHL jersey, but this is seen often on international jerseys.  The letters on the nameplate are only heat pressed as well.

Another thing I noticed right away was the use of different fabrics.  There is a mesh material, a traditional Air Knit nameplate, and another Air Knit-like material that makes up most of the jersey.  Check out the specifics in this close up.

One thing that’s fun about my collection is that I can attempt to wear a jersey to a game that I’m positive no one else will be wearing.  Sometimes the difference in my jersey is just a patch or an alternate captain’s “A”.  Saturday night, October 8th, 2011 (opening night against the Detroit Red Wings as well as the night the Avalanche retire Peter Forsberg’s number 21) I’m 100% positive that they’ll be other gold Tre Kronor (Three Crowns) Peter Forsberg jerseys at Pepsi Center.  I am also 100% that no other gold Team Sweden jersey will be just like mine.

Thanks for the jersey, your injuries (which led to this jersey being much more affordable), and the memories, Peter Forsberg.  Next stop for you, if many Avalanche fans had an actual vote, would  be the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

I ran across a rare 2000 World All-Star jersey blank on eBay a while back and knew there was at least one more Avalanche player, besides the players on the jerseys in the posts above, that would look great on it.  That someone turned out to be Latvia’s own (check out the left sleeve below)  Sandis Ozolinsh.  Ozo was known as one of the premier offensive defenseman of his day and had five great seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.  I won the jersey on eBay, bought a red Air Knit nameplate from a buddy of mine, and had Denver Athletic work their magic to create this jersey.

Why number 18 rather than his usual number 8?  Ozolinsh must have had a small discussion with then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim right wing Teemu Selanne prior to the game.  It’s the player with more career goals that usually gets to keep their jersey number if there are duplicate numbers for the game.  That was the case here.

Quick!  What’s the only thing better than one All-Star patch on an All-Star jersey?  Answer: Two commemorative patches.

The NHL 2000 patch, in various team colors, was worn by every team in every game throughout the 1999-2000 NHL season.  The All-Star patch was worn by the Maple Leafs all season as the All-Star game was played in Toronto at Air Canada Centre (I love spelling things that way) on February 6, 2000.

Ozolinsh’s claim to fame in this game didn’t come by way of a multi-goal MVP performance or even a large handful of assists, it came by taking the only penalty of the game, a hooking call, at 5:51 of the third period.  Oops.  You have to work VERY hard to get called for a penalty during an All-Star game.  Way to go Ozo!  Nicely done!

Based on the rosters from the 2000 and 2001 NHL All-Star games I believe I’m done poppin’ my collar when it comes to this style of jersey.  Only the World style of jerseys from those two games had collars on them.  I guess I could always venture outside my favorite team’s jerseys, but that would be a dangerous move for my collection, the extra space in my jersey closet, as well as my bank account.  That’s definitely not the plan for right now, but I guess you never know.  Stranger things have happened, like someone taking an actual penalty during an NHL All-Star game.  Thanks for the memories Ozo.

Why 91?  Back in 2000 Steve Yzerman was still playing for the Red Wings and was obviously a regular when it came to all-star games.  As tradition goes, the player with more career goals and/or seniority gets to keep their jersey number if there are duplicate numbers.  Sakic then switched the nine and the one and became 91.  Sakic had also done this in past international tournaments when Sakic and Yzerman were both on Team Canada.

Acquiring this jersey took a lot of patience and time, but it was worth it.  Blank jerseys in a style this old don’t pop up on eBay very often at all.  The eBay auction had a mystery attached to it though.  You can see on the back of the right shoulder that this jersey is autographed.  I usually don’t make a habit of buying jerseys that are autographed because I like to wear them to games, but I had waited too long for a blank version of this jersey to pass on it.  Here’s the autograph.

The seller didn’t list who the jersey was signed by and I had a really tough time figuring out who it was as well.  I did know, right away, that unfortunately it wasn’t Joe Sakic’s signature.  I won the auction for a decent price and waited for an explanation.  I didn’t have to wait long as details were within the confirmation email from the seller.  They notified me that, per eBay policy, they weren’t allowed to list who the jersey was signed by without proper documentation.  According to the seller the signature was from recent Hall of Fame inductee, number 93, Doug Gilmour.  Gilmour didn’t play in the 2000 All-Star game so I have no idea what his signature is doing on this jersey.  And on a quick side note, he really likes apples.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are ways to get pretty much anything off jerseys, including signatures in Sharpie, but I think I’ll leave it on there.  Why not?  It’s not hurting anything.  Two Hall of Fame players represented on one jersey is a pretty good thing and plus, they’ll always have a special connection.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And if you’re into remixes, you’ll LOVE this:

Click here to view the embedded video.

My collection includes three Colorado Avalanche practice jerseys, all of them are different colors and all have their own “personality.”  These jerseys are made of Ultrafil (which the Avs have never worn during game action in their history in Denver) and they all have fight straps.  When it comes to getting one of these jerseys, there are practice jerseys available through retail dealers, but they won’t be the same style as these jerseys.  The retail versions of the jerseys are more of a replica than they are an authentic jersey.  And just for the record, I have never seen an authentic practice jersey available through any retail seller.

The first practice jersey I added to my collection was gray.  Apologies for the glare in the images.  I guess Reebok wanted NHL hockey players to be able to be seen by drivers when they’re riding their bikes and running near busy roads late at night while wearing this jersey.  Mission accomplished.  *FLASH!*

The next two jerseys I acquired at the 2010-2011 Avalanche annual equipment sale at Pepsi Center.  This was the first sale that I knew was going to include player used jerseys of any kind so I made it a point to be there early and I wasn’t disappointed.  When I walked in I was greeted by a whole rack of practice worn jerseys, in sizes 56 and 58, with various numbers on the backs for $50 each.  That was an easy sale there.  I picked up a black jersey:

And a blue version, which people comment on in a positive way pretty often.  There’s something about the color of this jersey I guess.

As far as the numbers, don’t even ask.  I have no clue who wore these in action and there’s pretty much no way to confirm it even if I did have some kind of a clue.  One thing is for sure, they were used at one point or another by the team.  They don’t show a lot of wear, but there’s enough to know they were worn on the ice.

Speaking of the numbers, they distracted me so much that I missed a detail that I usually pick up on right away on any other jersey.  The NHL shields are different on the two jerseys I picked up at Pepsi Center.  The blue jersey has the “old” NHL emblem on the front of the neck, as shown here:

This shield debuted in the late 90s.  It has a sparkle that the newer version doesn’t.  The black jersey I purchased featured a “new” NHL shield with the letters in “NHL” going up.

The league changed to this emblem after the lockout of the 2004-2005 season and they’re still using it.  The lesson here, pay attention to your emblems.  They make it simpler to tell which era an NHL jersey is from.

Overall, I’m happy with these jerseys.  They’re a nice change from jerseys we see all of the time on the ice.  They are also perfect to wear to stick and puck sessions.  I don’t have to worry about damaging these jerseys if I happen to totally wipe out lose an edge.  An extra mark or two won’t make any difference at all.

So…Allen Iverson may not be able to make his teammates better by practice, but I can definitely make my collection better with practice…um…jerseys.

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You can comment on The Avs Hockey Podcast’s Facebook page found here.  If you leave a comment there please include the favorite hockey jersey in your collection (if you have a collection.)

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Or you can email James and me at avalanchepodcast@comcast.net.

Check out a few of James’ jerseys on his jersey blog, Jerseys and Hockey Love.  Check out the whole blog as well as some of the stories about his jerseys on “The Jerseys” tab.

Check out the stories behind some of my jerseys on my blog here under the categories section on the right.  And here are pictures of most of the hockey jerseys in my collection.  Bookmark my gallery as I post pictures every once in a while.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you and are looking forward to the show as well.  Keep an eye out on Twitter and Facebook for details about when the show will be posted.  Thanks Avalanche fans!

I guess this smile doesn’t hurt things either.  Here’s an image right after he scored his first NHL goal.

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images and avalanche.nhl.com

Here’s some video of the goal as well.  One of the many things that Avalanche fans loved about Mauldin during his stay with the big club was his speed.  Watch closely as Mauldin simply smokes Blue Jackets defenseman Kris Russell as Russell attempts to back check before this goal.  It’s a beautiful thing if you’re the type of person that prefers Avalanche goals.

And would you care for a little icing on your cake? Mauldin’s first NHL goal proved to be the game-winning goal in the Avalanche’s 5-1 victory against the Blue Jackets that night.

Breaking things down a little further, just because it’s fun, I guess a secondary assist could be given to Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek for missing his big drive on the short side of the Avalanche’s net and actually initiating the Avalanche’s two on one, but that would just be being plain picky right?

Mauldin continued to earn his spot on the Avalanche’s roster, even as players began to get healthy and return to the lineup.  The 28 year-old rookie had eight points in his first 14 games with the Avs which included a four point (two goals and two assists) effort against the Wild at Pepsi Center on November 27.  That performance earned him Puck Daddy’s first star of all 11 games played that night in the NHL.  The ten other NHL games even included a hat trick by Penguins star and league poster boy Sidney Crosby.  When someone chooses your performance over a Sidney Crosby hat trick, it’s safe to say you’ve done pretty well.

One detail I almost overlooked with this jersey was that I got to see it in action in person at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on December 3, 2010 as the Avalanche took on the Hurricanes.  I didn’t have much to cheer about during the game as the Avs lost 2-1 in overtime, but when I did cheer it was actually documented.  Milan Hejduk scored the lone Avs goal 12:51 into the third period.  The fan they show clapping at the end of this clip is yours truly.

Good times!

Greg Mauldin’s hot streak inevitably cooled off.  He failed to record a point for 12 straight games between December 17, 2010 and January 12, 2011 and was sent back down to the Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland.  Mauldin was not recalled for the remainder of the Avalanche’s season.  He is an unrestricted free agent and Avs fans will find out in the fairly near future whether he will remain with the Avalanche organization for the 2011-2012 season.  So Greg Mauldin may or may not be back with the Avalanche next season, we will see.  If he does return though I know it will make many, many Avs fans (including myself) very happy.

I think Mike Haynes, Avalanche television play-by-play man, put Adam Foote’s style of play in perspective for me best when he said that if a young player who is getting drafted is described as an “Adam Foote type player” that team knows exactly what kind of player they’re scouting.  Adam Foote had his own style, there is little doubt about that, and Colorado Avalanche fans will always love him for it.  There really isn’t a word or adjective that would accurately describe Adam Foote’s style of play, but Avs fans know it when we see it, and that’s plenty good enough for us.

I worked hard to get Adam Foote’s jersey from opening night of this season, but as I described in this past post that didn’t work out.  I continued to keep an eye Foote during the season and still felt that having one of his jerseys would be a great addition to my collection.

As the 2010-2011 season rolled on it became evident that this may be about it for Foote as well.  He still had the leadership skills, but it was obvious that physically he was having a rough time.  Those tough times got even rougher in Vancouver on March 16, 2011 when he was hit on the left ankle by a slap shot late in the third period.  Referee Stephen Walkom shouldn’t have blown the whistle to stop play because Foote wasn’t hit in the face with the puck or in a vulnerable position because of his injury, but Walkom did.  I truly believe that it was simply a sign of respect from Walkom to Foote.  I’ll always remember Foote thanking Walkom discreetly as he was assisted off the ice by linesman Thor Nelson.

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images and avalanche.nhl.com

Little did us Avs fans know at the time that that was the last time that we would see Adam Foote on the ice until the season finale on April 10, 2011.  It was later revealed that Foote played that final game on a fractured ankle that was still healing.  Foote is a hockey player and that’s what hockey players do.

Let’s back up a day or two though.  During an April 9, 2011 press conference at Pepsi Center, Adam Foote announced that he was going to retire and that, surprisingly, he would play in the last game of the season against the Oilers the next afternoon.  That’s when I went to work.  I called my friends at MeiGray Group that Friday afternoon and tried to reserve his burgundy set III jersey that Adam Foote would wear in his final NHL game.  MeiGray employees told me that he was going to keep that jersey and give it to his sons.  (I later found out that he wore two game jerseys during the game against the Oilers and gave one to each of his sons.)  Since the burgundy jersey he wore wasn’t available I chose to pre-order the jersey that he was wearing when he got hit on the ankle against the Canucks on March 16.  That fact made this Adam Foote’s final game worn jersey that was available to the public.  That makes it very special to my collection and to me.

Considering the type of game that Foote plays the jersey has very little wear on it.  I’ll definitely need to check MeiGray’s population report when it comes out.  It will indicate exactly when the Avs moved from their set II white jerseys to their set III jerseys.  I imagine this jersey wasn’t worn in more than just a few road games.  The only marks on it at all are a few stains near the end of each sleeve.

I had MeiGray work on a photomatch for the jersey to be positive that it was the jersey that Foote wore that night in Vancouver, but due to the lack of marks on it they said they couldn’t do that.  But that fact in itself was a photomatch because the set II white jersey that Adam Foote wore earlier in the season had identifying marks that worked perfectly for a photomatch.  So this jersey is actually photomatched due to the lack of marks on the jersey.  That was definitely a first for me.

Also, here is a picture of the neck tagging and the famous captain’s “C”.  This looks great next to my Joe Sakic game issued jersey.  The three marks above the Canadian flag on the neck tag indicate that this jersey was the third white jersey worn during the season.

So another game worn or game issued jersey of an Avalanche legend has found its way to my collection.  I, along with many Avalanche faithful, expect to see the number 52 hanging from the rafters of Pepsi Center within the end of next season.  I feel he’s definitely earned that honor.  And of course, and as I think you’d expect, I’ll be wearing this very jersey to the game where the Avalanche organization retires the number 52.  I’m definitely looking forward to that game already.