The Avs Hockey Podcast

Two Fan's Perspectives on Colorado Avalanche Hockey...and jerseys too.

Another One Game Wonder

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Just for the record, I have written about “one game wonders” before.  These are jerseys that were patched for one NHL game and one NHL game only.  The Avalanche have worn jerseys like this on a handful of occasions during their existence.  Here are examples from two of those games:

Ben Guite’s game issued jersey that was made for him to wear during a game against the Lightning on January 5, 2007.

The story behind this jersey was covered in a previous post on my blog found here.

Quick side note… I had a couple of authentics made into jerseys worn that night as well.  Here’s the Paul Stastny for reference:

There’s this patch as well, worn only on October 1, 2009 to honor the greatest Avalanche skater we’ve all known.

I have three of these patches just waiting for jerseys to go on, and for my next trick, I’m going to track down some blank Reebok Edge jerseys to put them on.  It may be a while before those jerseys end up in my collection, but believe me when I say that this is simply a matter of time.

This jersey though, is another type of one game wonder.

Charlie Stephens played in exactly six games in his Avalanche career and all of those games happened fairly early in the 2003-2004 season.  The most important of those six games, when it pertains to this particular jersey, was the game against the Minnesota Wild on November 4, 2003.  By process of elimination in my research, this is the only game this jersey was worn in.  As I searched my media guides and images sites, such as Getty Images, I came across this search which excited me as soon as I got there.  There is NOTHING like seeing the jersey you own in action on a website or in a YouTube video.  The only thing I can’t match is this stick mark on the front right side of the jersey.

I guess that mark must have been made a little later in the game.

The one thing that’s pretty pleasing about this jersey is the amount of game use it shows for only being worn in one NHL game.  There are the marks on the bottom front of the jersey.  Check those out on the image of the front of it earlier in the post.  And also notice the game use on the sleeves as well.  Here’s the right sleeve:

And here’s the left sleeve:

So in the grand scheme of things when it comes to all of the players that have worn an Avalanche jersey, Charlie Stephens is pretty much just a blip on the radar.  But when it comes to my collection, I was excited to add a different type of “one game wonder” to the old jersey closet.

Third Jersey’s a Charm

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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.

The Sheriff’s in Town…Part 2

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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.

The Old Switch-er-oo

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Paul Stastny’s rookie year in 2006-2007 provided jersey collectors with a rare opportunity.  When he switched jersey numbers during the first half of the season he gave “jersey heads” like me  twice as many options when it came to making rookie jerseys.

Early in the season his jersey looked like this:

About 25 games into the ’06-’07 season he made a number switch and his jersey ended up looking like this, and it still does:

I covered the story behind the entire number switch with John-Michael Liles in a previous post on my site found here.

These two jerseys are blank authentics that I had lettered into Stastnys.  In this Avalanche jersey era, during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons, fans had three styles of jerseys to get customized: the white, the burgundy, and the alternate.  Since Stastny decided to switch numbers this gave fans six options instead of the normal three options to have jerseys made.  Since this is a rookie jersey it makes things even more fun and interesting.

So when people come up to me and ask, “What’s going on with your Stastny jersey?  He never wore number 62.”  I am more than prepared with an explanation for them.  And if other collectors choose to get a number 62 Stastny rookie jersey in any of the three versions available at the time, they will have a few things too: a pretty cool jersey, the respect of knowledgeable and die-hard Avalanche fans, and an explanation for the people that ask you about your jersey.  How can anyone possibly go wrong with those options?