The Avs Hockey Podcast

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

The Avs Hockey Podcast, Episode #58

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In this show James “Tapeleg” Gralian, from “The Rink Podcast”, and I break down the eight games since our last podcast.  We also talk about the big pile of injuries that is your 2010-2011 Colorado Avalanche, we describe the night when the Avs played a little game of “Who’d like to play some goaltender tonight?”, and we also discuss yet one more comeback for everyone’s favorite Swedish-born Avalanche legend.  These topics and much more Avalanche stuff coming up in episode number 58 of The Avs Hockey Podcast.  Thanks again for joining us Avalanche fans!

***We discuss Scott Parker and his brief stint of wearing number 29 with the 2006-2007 Avalanche in this show.  I have one of his game worn jerseys from that season in my collection and have written about it in a previous blog post.  For the post and the story behind this jersey please click here.

An All Star Classic

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The 2004 NHL All Star game, the 54th edition of the mid-season classic, was hosted at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Minnesota.  It was a memorable one for Avalanche as well as jersey fans for a few different reasons.

The first reason for me, and be sure you’re sitting down because this is going to shock you beyond belief, was the jerseys.  Classic style and color.  There’s just something about the diagonal lettering on the front of jerseys that people enjoy and prefer.  The patch on the shoulder that indicates the player’s team is something that has been lacking the past few years.  Many fans, myself included, miss that small but very noticeable touch.  Here’s a 2009 Western Conference All-Star jersey that I’ll eventually have made into a Milan Hejduk.

2009 Western Conference All-Star Jersey

2009 Western Conference All-Star Jersey back

Throughout the years I have been able to find two of the 2004 Western Conference All-Star jerseys in a size 56.  One was a Joe Sakic (two huge shockers in one AHP post!  Are you kidding me!) that I found on eBay which as already customized.

Sakic 2004 All Star

Sakic 2004 All Star back

The other was a blank jersey that I had made into a Rob Blake.

Rob Blake 2004 All Star

Rob Blake 2004 All Star back

If I ever find another blank in a size 56 I have the option of making it an Alex Tanguay.  Once again, there are always jerseys to make and that’s the fun part of collecting.

Another reason why this particular game was memorable was Joe Sakic’s MVP performance.  The Western Conference lost the game, but Sakic scored one goal in each period to steal the show.  Just another trophy for the old trophy case and another honor to add to his already impressive resume for our beloved Joe Sakic.

So these jerseys have that clean classic look to them and they’re associated with some good memories.  Ask any jersey collector about that combination and they’ll tell you that jersey is sold (or it’s already in the collection anyways.)

Something Borrowed, Something Burgundy (and Blue)

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The magic that was the Avalanche’s 2010-2011 opening night had its impact on me.  The 15 year reunion of the 1995-1996 team had the crowd excited.  The introduction of the team that was going to battle this season was great as well, but it was the link between the two that had me sold…literally.

After the fans were reacquainted with the team that brought the first world championship ever to Denver, the newest Avs team was introduced.  The introductions were in numerical order, and there was one exception.  Adam Foote was left to be the last player, and for good reason, as he’s the only player left playing in the NHL from that 1995-1996 team.  Check it out.  (Thanks to YouTube user BroncoRamAvs26 for the video.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atemxOq6SlU[/youtube]

The tribute and ovation was really cool to be a part of.  It’s very clear that Adam Foote is a fan favorite.  His style of play and longevity have led to that well-deserved admiration.  The pre-game ceremony was special and memorable.  I thought being there was as close as I was going to get to everything that went on.  Upon further review, I was wrong, and that’s a very good thing.

The jerseys that the 1995-1996 team wore were signed by the players and then auctioned off to benefit Kroenke Sports Charities.  As one can imagine, these jerseys went for a pretty good chunk of change.  The history behind these jerseys and the names associated with that team contributed to some of these ending prices.  Here’s the Sakic, the Forsberg, and the Roy.  Even the Adam Deadmarsh and the Claude Lemieux jerseys went for over $1,000.

I did a little research and found out that the company that sells all of the game worn jerseys for the Avalanche were conducting their pre-sales for the first set of jerseys that are currently being worn by this season’s team.  I went to the site, took a look at who was still available, and found out that Adam Foote’s jersey, the same jersey that Milan Hejduk handed to him in the above video, was still available.  But don’t worry about going there and trying to buy that jersey now because I already did just that about a month ago.

So that’s why I said, on my Twitter feed and my Facebook Fan Page for my podcast, that Adam Foote is simply borrowing that jersey from me until he’s done using it in early to mid-December.  That jersey will then be sent back to MeiGray, I’ll pay the rest of the balance I owe from pre-ordering it, and then they’ll send the jersey to me.

So obviously there are a few reasons that I can’t wait for Adam Foote to return from his recent head injury.  One, this team is better when he’s on the ice.  And two, I want him to use this jersey as much as possible before it’s sent to me.

I’ll post part two of this story, along with plenty of pictures, after I get the jersey sometime in December.  To be continued…

The Avs Hockey Podcast, Episode #57

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In this show, my co-host James “Tapeleg” Gralian from “The Rink Podcast” and I break down the first eight games of the 2010-2011 Avalanche season.  We also describe how Kings forward Wayne Simmonds went totally nuts with the butt end of his stick against the Avs and we tell you all about Adam Foote’s “senior moment” against the Rangers.  Those topics and much more Avalanche stuff in episode number 57 of The Avs Hockey Podcast.  Thanks for joining us Avs fans and welcome to hockey season!

Here’s a link to Shane Giroux’s blog where he linked to CBC reporter Jeff Marek’s background on the Zenon Kenopka/Chris Stewart fight.  Thanks for the post Shane!

Here’s a link to James’ hockey podcast aggregator.  This is the place to bookmark if you’re looking for more shows like ours.  Enjoy!