Game Issued Jerseys

I received some outstanding news recently about this jersey.  (By the way, there are many, many more details regarding it and another Forsberg game-issued jersey that I acquired at the same time here.)

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.

I have two other Peter Forsberg game issued jerseys in my jersey collection, but the one featured in this post may just be my favorite.  It’s unique, it has quirks, it has a story, and it’s international.  That’s a good combination.

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.

If any Avalanche fans blinked late in the 2002-2003 season or very early in the 2003-2004 season they might have missed Bates Battaglia’s stay here in the Mile High City.  24 games total isn’t a long time to spend with a franchise, but that was the length of Battaglia’s tenure for the Avalanche.  Battaglia arrived in Denver late in the 2002-2003 season when the Avs sent Radim Vrbata to the Canes in exchange for Battaglia.  In 13 games played during the regular season Battaglia had one goal and five assists.  He also added two assists in the seven playoff games the Avalanche played in that post season.  Then, after one assist in four games played in the 2003-2004 season, Battaglia was traded to the Washington Capitals as part of the deal that brought current assistant coach Steve Konowalchuk to the Avalanche.  This late season arrival and early season departure led to extra Avalanche jerseys that were never used in games, and many of you should know by now where those end up.  (***Small hint—In my closet.)

Here is an old style alternate jersey that was made for Bates Battaglia to wear during the 2003-2004 season.

And here is a dark jersey that was made for Battaglia to wear during the 2002-2003 season.

When I received these jerseys (I bought them from the same seller at the same time on eBay) everything looked fine.  The name or the numbers look a little off center on both of them, but that’s just your eyes playing tricks on you.  Fours tend to do that on jerseys.  They seemingly throw everything off on the back of a jersey, especially when the number on the back is 41 or 44.  It’s just one of those things.  If you look hard enough, you will see that everything is pretty much centered.

The thing that did stick out was on the dark 2002-2003 jersey.  As I checked it out I ran across this on the inside of the neck tag.

It’s a piece of solid black nylon twill and it’s sewn all the way through the Koho tag on the back of the neck.

I had never seen this modification on an Avalanche jersey and decided to ask around and see if anyone had any idea what it was.  The seller told me that the Avalanche did this to all of their game issued jerseys from that season.  I wasn’t sure about that at all.  I’ve seen a ton of Avs jerseys over the years, and, as I said before, I had never seen anything like this.  No one else has really had a good guess that made sense as to what the patch is all about.

So the patch remains and the mystery grows.  It adds to the story behind the jersey, but it’s tough not knowing exactly what’s going on with the black mystery patch.  I guess it makes it easier to write a post about it, but having the real story would be really nice too.  I’ll continue to check around and see what I can come up with.  If I hear anything solid I’ll let you guys know!

Just over one year ago, as I type this, Steve Konowlachuk was hired as an assistant coach of the Colorado Avalanche.  Many people, by then, had forgotten how quietly his playing career ended with the Avalanche in late September of 2006.  Konowalchuk was forced to retire due to a heart condition just before the 2006-2007 season was to begin.  He played 97 games with the Avs and scored 54 points in those games.  He was a true power forward and played with a lot of heart, no pun intended at all.  His retirement created space on the roster for a young second round pick from the previous year’s draft named Paul Stastny.  I suppose everything that came from Kono’s retirement wasn’t bad, but it was still sad to see a career like his end like it did.  Most players say that ending things on your own terms is all they ever want, but sometimes things just don’t work out.

Konowalchuk’s retirement also led to this jersey making its way to my collection.

This is one of the jerseys that was made for Kono to wear during the 2006-2007 Avalanche season, a season that he wasn’t healthy enough to play in.  I love the fact that it was the first size 58 Avalanche jersey in my collection and I also love the alternate captain’s “A” on it.

These aren’t given to just any player on hockey rosters, they are given to players that earn them.

I proudly wear this jersey to games at Pepsi Center for two big reasons.  First, Steve Konowalchuk is actually in the building.  That’s always cool.  And second, I watched Konowalchuk play hockey plenty long enough to know that he would have worn it with pride if he would have had that opportunity.

I’ve made it clear so far that every jersey has a story.  Things that help tell that story can include, but aren’t limited to: game wear, patches, a jersey style, etc.  Here’s a jersey that tells its story with its number.

You may be thinking, I thought Johnny “Hot Pocket” wore number 4.  He does, and has for the past few seasons.  John-Michael Liles wore jersey number 26 for his rookie season in 2003-2004 and for his sophomore season in 2005-2006.  Rob Blake wore jersey number 4 for the Avalanche for those two seasons and in seasons prior for the Avs.  During the 2006 offseason, Rob Blake signed with the Los Angeles Kings.  Then, a fellow by the name of Paul Stastny joined the Avalanche in 2006-2007.  Stastny wore number 62 for the first handful of games during his rookie season.  His optimal situation would be to wear his Dad Peter Stastny’s number 26 which he wore when he played for the Quebec Nordiques.  John-Michael Liles called Rob Blake to make sure taking Blake’s old number 4 was cool with him and Blake had no issues with it.  Then the big number switch was made.  This jersey was made for Liles to wear during the middle part of the season, as indicated by the markings on the tag below.

The two markings on the top of the tag mean that this is a set 2 jersey.  It’s also a game issued jersey.  Game issued jerseys, most of the time, become available when a player gets injured and cannot play for an extended amount of time or if a player gets traded from a team.  This is a rare game issue because players don’t change their numbers in the NHL very often at all.  I’m happy this jersey is hanging in my closet and also excited it has such an interesting story to go with it.

Yes jersey fans, there are particular reasons why huge fans like me like it when Hall of Famers get hurt.  There aren’t many reasons, but jerseys are one.

Let’s start with pricing.  Joe Sakic is a lock for the Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility.  He is one of, if not the, best clutch playoff performer of all-time.  Any questions?

And let’s just add an 8th to that overtime game winner list.  Why not?

He is, without a doubt, one of the most respected leaders of his hockey generation.  As a result of these reasons, these statistics, and many, many other tangibles and intangibles, his game worn jerseys sell for a TON of money.  (Examples here, here, here, and here.  I think you get the point, they’re kind of expensive.)  Not just anyone has the chance to purchase a game worn Joe Sakic jersey too.  These are for the serious collectors with the serious money, A.K.A. “The Big Boys at gameworn.net.”  As much as I love jerseys, I have a tough time spending over $1,000 on one.  That’s a lot of money.

When Joe Sakic left the game with a back injury against the Phoenix Coyotes on November 28, 2008 little did we know that would be the last time we would all see him on the ice as a player.  But what’s shown below is a direct result of that back injury.

This is the jersey Joe Sakic would have worn in his last NHL games if he would have been healthy enough to play in them.  It is a game issued, set 3 jersey.  For the past few seasons the team has worn three sets of their burgundy and white jerseys during the season.  Here is one other image of one of the huge highlights of my jersey collection.

The three tick marks, made with black marker, on the top of the size tag on the back of the neck indicate “set 3.”  And the Captain’s “C” speaks for itself.  They’ll be other captains for the franchise, but they’ll never be a Joe Sakic.

As far as the game wear, there obviously is none.  This was made for him to wear and he was never healthy enough to wear it in a game.  Lucky for me too because if he played one shift in this jersey I would not have it hanging in my jersey closet right now.  Game issued jerseys sell for a fraction of game worn jerseys, no matter who they’re made for.  That’s another reason why I like game issues jerseys so much.

The story behind this jersey is interesting as well.  The company that sells the Avalanche game worn jerseys has had a summer sale the past few years.  People from all over the U.S. and Canada make their way to New Jersey to take advantage of the sale and to talk and deal with other people with jersey sicknesses remarkably similar to my own collectors.  Just days before the 2009 summer sale this Sakic and the white version of the same jersey became available on their web site.  I knew with the summer sale coming up that collectors would jump all over this piece of history.  I’m happy I saw it when I did because the white version of the jersey was gone the morning of the sale.  Quite simply, I got lucky.

Like I mentioned before, this is obviously one of the highlights of my collection.  I have been a huge Sakic fan through the years as anyone would see with my hockey card collection that features him, along with many customized jerseys that I’ve turned into Sakics throughout my jersey collecting career.  It’s safe to say this jersey isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.  I don’t, and never have, collected jerseys for the money, I collect them for the stories and the memories.  This jersey brings up plenty of both for me.

…And this jersey represents the ONLY reason why I’ll always be grateful that Joe Sakic hurt his back.

If you follow me and a few of my friends on Twitter you’ll know the significance of my title.  A few of us made it an ongoing thing to guess what David Koci does during the game rather than play hockey.  We can obviously all agree that his role this year was one that would be classified as “limited.”  I’d link to some examples of the beauties that people posted, but I found out the hard way that Twitter only saves searches for a short amount of time.  Thanks so much Twitter.  You’ll just need to trust me, it was entertaining.  In fact, our list was way more entertaining, and much less painful, than watching David Koci actually play the game of hockey.

Anyways, I didn’t care at all for the new thirds when they were debuted earlier this season.  In a word, I thought they were ugly.  The color, the shoulders, the way the Avs played in them for the most part this season, all yuck.  Then, not too long after the season ended, I got the chance to get one in my hands…

…And everything changed.

I suddenly loved the color.  They were sweet in person.  The accents between the Airknit and the Xtrafil are outstanding.  It shows best underneath the arms.

The pipe that divides the two different fabrics is an awesome touch.

The only part I ended up deciding I could live without was the back of the neck.

I really don’t think that anyone who follows hockey would see the back of this jersey and wonder, “Which NHL team was this again?  I already forgot.  I sure wish there was some kind of way to tell which team this was when I was looking at the back of this jersey.  I’m so confused!  It needs the team name on the back of the neck or something.  That would be a great touch!”  Whatever.  I’ve had a few people comment that this makes it look a little like a soccer jersey.  I have to agree with that.

Back to the details on the jersey itself, this is the jersey that David Koci would have worn late in the season if he was healthy enough (or good enough…zing!) to play for the Avs at that point.  He did return for a  game or two late in the year, but they weren’t games where the team wore this style jersey.  It is labeled as a game issue and they are my favorite.  They are made by the player for game action, but not worn by that player during a game at any time.

I know you might be thinking as well, “Why in the heck did you get a David Koci jersey?”  I can answer that and am definitely ready for the hate that comes with adding a Koci jersey to my collection too.  I wear a size 58+ in the game worn/game issued jerseys the Avalanche wear on the ice.  That limits me to three Avs players that suited up for games during the 2009-2010 season: Adam Foote, David Koci, and Wes O’Neill.  Wes O’Neill dressed for exactly two Avs games this season.  If I wore his jersey to a game people may think that I put my own name on my jersey.  In my book, putting your own name on a jersey is a HUGE no-no.  My explanation for that is a different topic and for a future post.  (***Quick side note, I’ll probably add the O’Neill to my collection eventually though.  Yes, I have a jersey sickness and it’s a lot of fun.)  Adam Foote’s jerseys are all game worn and list for over twice as much as I paid for the Koci.  I like Footer a lot, but not enough to drop that kind of money on his jersey right now.  So…for the price, the name, and the size, Koci was my best bet.  (Boy, I never in a million years thought I’d ever utter that phrase verbally or type it either.)  I hope you find it in your heart, as true Avalanche fans, to forgive me.

I’m looking forward to adding more of the alternate style jerseys to my collection in the future.  Liking them all of a sudden was weird, but it was a welcome surprise as well.  As I said earlier, this is the first Avalanche alternate jersey in my collection, and it won’t be my last; famous last words if you’ve seen how many jerseys I have.