With no Avalanche player, that I could find at least, wearing 69 during the regular or preseason, here’s what I have for you.  :30 second mark in this trailer for the win.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chuck Kobasew discreetly asking David Jones to go grab the puck after Kobasew’s 100th career NHL goal during the Avalanche’s game against the Ducks on December 31, 2011. Kobasew needed that one for the mantel. Well done Nicholas! (That’s Kobasew’s given name. I could have sworn it was Charles.)

Links related to our discussion in the show.

Our early favorite for Avalanche goal of the year:

More on the art of the backhand from Justin Bourne from the Backhand Shelf Blog.

Also from the Backhand Shelf Blog, Bourne talks about gap control for defensemen.

Get your Love for Lokomotiv bracelets here and support the families of those lost in the plane crash on September 7, 2011.

This podcast is brought to you by the number 68.  For example, Radim Vrbata’s 1999-2000 preseason game worn jersey.  Photo courtesy of eBay seller: flyingsquid.

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.

For some background regarding the topics discussed in our show click here and here.

Episode #67 of the show, the 1999-2000 pre-season Anders Lovdahl game worn white jersey edition of our show.

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.

It’s not a word that’s thrown around when it comes to sports.  It’s a name that’s undoubtedly earned.  Chris Drury earned being called clutch, ask any Avalanche fan and they’ll tell you.

Here are some examples as to why no Avs fan will ever hesitate in calling Chris Drury clutch.  There are some HUGE playoff goals in here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If that montage doesn’t bring back some good memories Avs fans, I really don’t know what will.  That Forsberg/Drury combination was lethal to the Avalanche’s opposition.

Chris Drury created great memories and brought the Avs faithful, including myself, to our feet many, many times.  And it can be argued that the Avs haven’t been quite the same since he left.  Many fans will never forgive Pierre Lacroix for trading Drury to the Flames back in October of 2002.

Chris Drury will never have his number hanging in the rafters of Pepsi Center and he won’t be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but those two facts won’t keep Avs fans from having a special place in their hockey hearts for him and his uncanny knack of scoring big goals in big games.

Thanks for the memories Chris Drury.  You have always been missed here in The Mile High City for all of the right reasons.

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.