Avalanche Jerseys

The 2001-2002 Avalanche season was special for a few different reasons.  First, it was a chance for the Avs and their fans to call themselves the defending Stanley Cup champions for the second time in the team’s history.  Another reason…these jerseys.

This is a 2001-2002 Stephane Yelle game worn, set II, alternate jersey worn later in the 2001-2002 regular season.  It shows plenty of game use and represents Yelle’s style of play very well.  Some of the game use includes a nice burgundy board burn on the right sleeve.

There is also a very small hole on the left sleeve, along with a clean half-inch slice on the elbow.  The hole is just above the double elbow stitching on the black stripe on the left and the slice is on the right side of the thick burgundy stripe in the middle of the sleeve straight through that same double elbow stitching.  I think the only thing that could have caused a clean cut like that was a skate blade.

There is also more evidence of game use on the left side of the front of the jersey, with the mark that’s easiest to see being a stick mark on the white stripe.

An interesting thing about these jerseys is the way they’re tagged.  The Avs organization, at this time in history, tagged their own jerseys to prove they were game worn with tags that looked like this.

That tag can be found on the inside of the bottom hem on the back middle of the jersey.  If you look closely at the image of the front of this jersey (the very first picture in this post) you can see the set tag hanging out just a tiny bit on the middle of the bottom.  As far as I know, the first set of the 2001-2002 sets of jerseys were distributed by the Avs themselves.  The second set of the thirds, whites, and burgundy jerseys and third sets of the whites and burgundy jerseys were purchased by Meigray and that’s where the partnership with them began.  The paperwork I received with this jersey is all authenticated by Meigray.  That partnership, to the joy of one jersey collector in particular, still exists today.

Stephane Yelle is one Avalanche player that I’ve always liked and respected.  He’s never been one of my very favorites, but he is a big reason why fans have two seasons full of Stanley Cup memories.  He was one of the small handful of Avalanche players that was on both the 1996 and 2001 championship teams.  He was that solid guy on the penalty kill as well as that solid third or fourth liner that allowed the first and second lines to save enough energy so they could bury tons of pucks throughout the years.  On October 1, 2002, Yelle was part of the Chris Drury to Calgary deal.  On March 3, 2010 Yelle, who was then a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, was traded back to the Avs.   It was definitely exciting to see Yelle come back to Denver during last season’s trade deadline.  It kind of felt like old times.  It doesn’t look like Yelle will be back with the Avs for the 2010-2011 season, but that doesn’t mean that us Avs fans will forget about what he did for the organization during his two stays in Denver.

As far as the jersey goes, I’ve had a really tough time trying to find collectors and hockey fans that don’t like the design and look of the old Avalanche third jerseys.  Whoever was in charge of planning these jerseys and making them happen did an outstanding job.  The “throwback” feel is the main detail many people enjoyed about them.  The new third jerseys are okay, but they’ll never replace the look and feel of the original alternate jerseys, that’s for sure.

I know what some of you are thinking, “Seriously Jay?  Another Scott Parker jersey?  Do you really need two of them in your collection?”  Hang with me here, I can explain.  First, I am a stickler for small details.  The jerseys I love and prefer are the jerseys that are either worn on the ice or made for players to wear on the ice.  That way I know they are done right, and that’s a big deal to me.  Second, I am not only a jersey collector, but I’m also a jersey wearer.  My Dad and I go to about 25 games a season at Pepsi Center so I like to have options.  Third, I’m a big guy.  I’m six feet, four inches tall and I weigh 250 pounds.  Finding jerseys that fit me is tough.  In the old style of jersey, the Koho/RBK 6100 model, I was able to wear the same size as most of the players wore on the ice.  That was a size 56.  I also get along just fine with a size 58 as well.  With the new Edge jerseys, there are only three Avalanche players that I can wear because of the newer, more tapered style.  These three Avs wear a size 58+: Adam Foote, David Koci, and Wes O’Neill.  Scott Parker was another Avalanche player whose jersey fit me in the Edge style, but as you already know, if you’re an Avalanche fan or a loyal reader of my blog, Parker retired a couple of seasons ago.  His retirement wasn’t before he wore this jersey in a 2008-2009 preseason game though.

The Sheriff must not have played that much in the games when he wore this jersey because the only evidence of game use is this simple stick mark on the left elbow.

In the grand scheme of things a mark like that isn’t that big of a deal, but jersey collectors will say it’s pretty darn cool.  It’s the type of stuff we love.

Even though “Parksie” didn’t skate very much in this jersey during the small handful of preseason games that it was worn in doesn’t mean that it wasn’t designed to withstand some serious action and abuse.  I had no idea this modification on the the neck was there until I unfolded the jersey from the box it came in.  Check out the stitching on the NHL shield.

Here’s what that stitching is holding in place.

That’s a piece of elastic that’s sewn on to keep the jersey from tearing down the middle when it’s stretched during fights.  The same precaution is found on two game worn Ian Laperriere jerseys in my collection found here and here.  These are the “small” details that I love when it comes to collecting jerseys.

I hope my explanation at least makes some sense as to why there are so many obscure players in my collection.  I’m always looking for great deals on jerseys that I can wear to Pepsi Center while I cheer on my favorite NHL team.  As for why I need so many of said Avalanche jerseys?  Don’t ask.  I really don’t have an answer to that question.  It’s a sickness that I’ll admit to someday, but that day’s obviously not today and tomorrow’s not looking so good to be that day either.

Playoff overtime goals are kind of a big deal.  Ask any Avalanche fan about Joe Sakic’s heroics throughout the years.  His eight overtime game winning goals in the playoffs are a record for a career and that’s two more than the next player in NHL history.  That’s why Sakic’s name and the word clutch end up in the same sentence so often.

The Avalanche had another clutch player that played here in Denver for a few seasons and his name was Andrew Brunette.  He has two playoff game winners that I can easily remember off the top of my head.  Here’s one.  (Avalanche fans, I apologize in advance for bringing back memories like the one in the video below.)

That was April 22, 2003, game seven of the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals against the Minnesota Wild, otherwise known as Patrick Roy’s final game in the NHL.  And as my man Forrest Gump would say, “That’s all I have to say about that.”

Fast forward through the 2003-2004 season and the 2004-2005 season that didn’t exist because of the strike and Andrew Brunette is now a member of the Colorado Avalanche.  Brunette played in all 82 regular season games for the Avs that season and recorded 24 goals and 39 assists for a strong season of 63 points.  He finished third on the team in points for the regular season behind Joe Sakic (87 points) and Alex Tanguay (78 points.)  The Avs entered the playoffs as a seven seed and played the second seed Dallas Stars in the first round.  The series went five games.  The Avalanche won three of those games in overtime including the fifth and deciding game at 13:55 of the first overtime period.  Andrew Brunette scored the series clinching goal and he was wearing this jersey while he did it.

Just before the shot…

(Photo courtesy of AP/USA Today)

Just after the shot…

(AP Photo/ Donna McWilliam)

This video will show you how to get to the highlights of game five through the Avs’ main site.  The embed functions on the highlight page aren’t working like they should, so we’ll go the long way.  Just open up another window and follow my lead!  Game five was on April 30, 2006, just for reference.

The Avs were swept by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the next round so this was the final time that Avalanche fans were able to celebrate a win that playoff season.

Now let’s get to the jersey specifics.  It has a patch.  That’s always a good thing in my book.  Just adds to the story.

This jersey is what collectors like to call hammered.  In non-jersey collector terms that simply means that it’s very easy to tell that it was used during a game.  Here are a few pics that detail that game use.

Right sleeve:

Left sleeve:

The back left side of the jersey.  Sticks marks all over the place.  I especially like the one just left of the “B” in Brunette.  It continues on to the nameplate.

Here’s the front of the jersey which includes a mark on the Avalanche crest.

And check out the mark/burn/snot just below the “5″ on the left sleeve.

That mark looks very similar to the mark that’s on my alternate that Brunette wore during the same season.  I still haven’t figured out how marks like that get on a jersey, but I do know they add some character and that’s a good thing.  The rest of the marks are from sticks and pucks.  Holes are always a nice touch too.  The evidence of game use represents the way Brunette plays the game as well.  He’s never been afraid to enter those high traffic areas on the ice and pay the price to make things happen.  I’ve always respected that about Bruno.  He was a pleasure to watch when he played here for sure.

So overall it’s pretty clear what Andrew Brunette does in the Stanley Cup playoffs, he prefers to score series-ending overtime goals.  I remember one of those goals like it was yesterday.  As far as that other goal, me, along with pretty much any other long-term Avalanche fan, we’re just trying to forget that one.  I’m obviously very happy that I now have the actual jersey from the good memory in my collection.