The Avs Hockey Podcast

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

The Method Behind the Jersey Madness

by

The little details.  That’s what jerseys are all about.  Having an eye for and caring about the little details separates the strong from the weak in the jersey collecting game.  This applies in life as well, but that’s for another post on another blog for a different time.  I appreciate small jersey details and those of you that know me know that I love my jerseys.  My collection somewhat speaks for itself, but I also thought I would share a little bit about the process that I go through to get my jerseys looking the way they do.  Sure, someone can always go to my friends at Meigray and buy game worn jersey after game worn jersey, but buying Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy game worn jerseys can cost something well beyond a pretty penny.  Why not find blank jerseys and get them lettered?  They cost a fraction of the price and you can still, at least most of the time, get the quality of jersey the players wear/wore on the ice.  Do I have your attention?  Want to know more?  We’re going to get along just fine.  Thanks for being here.

Step one, find legitimate jerseys from legitimate sellers.  I hate to say what not to do so early in this post, but do NOT buy fake jerseys.  No one likes fake jerseys except your bank account.  In general, you will get what you pay for.  If a deal seems too good to be true, it is.  Do your homework and deal with sellers that have a good reputation.  eBay is my main source.  This is the toughest part of the process, especially with older styles or the style that’s worn on the ice right now.  They are pretty rare.  You will have to wade through a lot of fake jerseys.  Patience is definitely a key.  Good jerseys will show up eventually though.

Step two, do some serious research about your blank jersey.  Know of some reputable places where you can go to find pictures of players in the jersey you have.  Even better, find images of a game worn jersey that has been up for auction at one point in time.  Getty Images (searching by a particular year and/or particular player helps narrow the field quickly), gamewornauctions.net, and Classic Auctions are the big three that I use, but there are many smaller other options out there.  Google images helps as well.  Make something like this to send along with your jersey to the place that customizes your jerseys.

Again, the details.  Nameplate or not?  What material is the nameplate?  Does your customizer carry the material needed for the nameplate?  Buy a blank replica or a hopeless old authentic made with the same material if needed.  Sometimes something like this has to happen to make a new jersey look the way it should and that’s okay.  How are the numbers cut?  Did the player wear an alternate captain’s “A” or a captain’s “C” in this style jersey?  Adding a patch or two?  Do the research and find legitimate patches from legitimate sellers as well.  This is the same challenge as the jersey situation above.

The images in the example above are pictures of game worn Rob Blake jerseys that were auctioned off at one time or another.  Sometimes I simply include images of jerseys already in my collection like here:

With a sickness passion like mine having different versions of the same jersey in the collection with only the patch being different on each jersey is a fairly common thing.  The 2000-2001 Colorado Avalanche season was fun in the fact there were two versions of every jersey worn.  That’s jersey heaven right there.

And for one more example, the best that can be done at times is finding images of the style jersey in game action.

And:

Basically, anything that you can do detail-wise to help the customizer isn’t going to hurt and a little more detail rather than less is always the side to miss on.

Next, find some patches (if needed.)  And no, it’s not okay to put patches on jerseys that don’t need to be there.  Be historically accurate and do things right.

Then, prepare the patches.  Patches produced by National Emblem have a hard plastic backing on them to keep them from being placed on jerseys.  National Emblem also makes the best patches around.  So take the plastic backing off of the patches and get them ready to be placed where they were meant to be, on jerseys.

These are ready to go:

The next step in my process includes laying the jerseys and patches in the order out to double-check that all is accurate and I have absolutely everything I need.

Once everything looks good the patches are placed in baggies so they’re less likely to get lost, the jerseys are folded up carefully (make sure to not put a hard crease through the crest as they can be almost impossible to get out), and then each jersey (and baggie if needed) is put into its own larger bag.

The jersey bags are stacked in a tote so I can carry them all easily.

The lid is perfect to keep the elements out and the jerseys clean and dry.

Then we’re ready to make the trip to one of my favorite places on earth, Denver Athletic.  You probably don’t have the luxury of being able to drive to the place that letters your favorite NHL team’s jerseys, that’s just a special perk of living in Denver and loving Avalanche jerseys the way that I do.  I definitely don’t ever take this opportunity for granted.

Besides finding the jerseys the waiting is now the hardest part.  My friends at DA do phenomenal work, so the waiting is always well worth it.

Stay tuned for an update post coming at you in a few short weeks…hopefully.

 

Have questions?  Need more details?  Let me know.  Comment here,  “like” The AHP Facebook Page (if you haven’t already) and send me a message there or email me at avalanchepodcast at Comcast dot net.  I’m always happy to help you in any way that I can because getting jerseys done right is obviously a huge passion of mine.  Be in touch.  I would love to hear from you.

Sandis Ozolinsh 2000 All-Star Jersey: Poppin’ My Collar One Last Time

by

I popped my (hockey) jersey collar once, and then I popped it again, so naturally I’d like to pop it one more time because poppin’ collars is just plain fun.

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.

Joe Sakic: 2000 All-Star Jersey with a Mystery Signature

by

As a jersey collector there simply are some jerseys you just have to wait for and this was one of those jerseys.  This is a 2000 All-Star jersey that I purchased blank that was then customized by Denver Athletic into a Joe Sakic classic.

Why 91?  Back in 2000 Steve Yzerman was still playing for the Red Wings and was obviously a regular when it came to all-star games.  As tradition goes, the player with more career goals and/or seniority gets to keep their jersey number if there are duplicate numbers.  Sakic then switched the nine and the one and became 91.  Sakic had also done this in past international tournaments when Sakic and Yzerman were both on Team Canada.

Acquiring this jersey took a lot of patience and time, but it was worth it.  Blank jerseys in a style this old don’t pop up on eBay very often at all.  The eBay auction had a mystery attached to it though.  You can see on the back of the right shoulder that this jersey is autographed.  I usually don’t make a habit of buying jerseys that are autographed because I like to wear them to games, but I had waited too long for a blank version of this jersey to pass on it.  Here’s the autograph.

The seller didn’t list who the jersey was signed by and I had a really tough time figuring out who it was as well.  I did know, right away, that unfortunately it wasn’t Joe Sakic’s signature.  I won the auction for a decent price and waited for an explanation.  I didn’t have to wait long as details were within the confirmation email from the seller.  They notified me that, per eBay policy, they weren’t allowed to list who the jersey was signed by without proper documentation.  According to the seller the signature was from recent Hall of Fame inductee, number 93, Doug Gilmour.  Gilmour didn’t play in the 2000 All-Star game so I have no idea what his signature is doing on this jersey.  And on a quick side note, he really likes apples.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18zsScCM1kY[/youtube]

 

There are ways to get pretty much anything off jerseys, including signatures in Sharpie, but I think I’ll leave it on there.  Why not?  It’s not hurting anything.  Two Hall of Fame players represented on one jersey is a pretty good thing and plus, they’ll always have a special connection.

An All Star Classic

by

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.)