Ryan O’Byrne

My Virtual MeiGray Expo Table

August 21, 2013 by Jay Vean - The AHP

Not too long ago the 10th annual MeiGray Expo took place and for the tenth straight year…I didn’t attend. I always come up with reasons for not going from it’s during my summer vacation, to how expensive it is to fly into Newark for just one day, to now having two young girls at home, to how I would ship the jerseys I’d want to share there, and the list goes on and on. I would love to go to one of the expos in the future. It looks like a blast. This year I started to think about what I’d bring with me to show off at my table if I did make it out there.

So without further ado, and in order of age (beginning with the oldest), here are the jerseys I would showcase at my MeiGray Expo table. Thanks for stopping by. Let’s scroll, shall we?

(Feel free to click on any hyperlink below to learn more about the jersey and its story.)

1999-2000 Aaron Miller Game Worn Jersey

1999-2000 Chris Dingman Game Worn Jersey

2001-2002 Stephane Yelle Game Worn Jersey

2003-2004 Adam Foote Game Worn Jersey

2004 Rob Blake All-Star Skills Competition Worn Jersey

2004 Peter Forsberg Game Worn Jersey (Photo Matched)

2005-2006 Andrew Brunette Game/Playoff Worn Jersey

2005-2006 Dan Hinote Opening Night Game Worn Jersey

2006-2007 Paul Stastny Rookie Year Game Worn Jersey

2006-2007 Ben Guite Game Issued Teammates for Kids Jersey

2006-2007 Milan Hejduk Game Worn Jersey

2006-2007 Scott Parker Game Worn Jersey

2008-2009 Joe Sakic Game Issued Jersey

2008-2009 Ian Lapperiere Game/Playoff Worn Burgundy and White Jerseys

2009-2010 Adam Foote Game Worn Jersey

2010-2011 Peter Forsberg Game Issued Burgundy and Alternate Jerseys

2011-2012 Ryan O’Byrne Peter Forsberg Retirement/Opening Night Game Worn Jersey

2011-2012 Milan Hejduk Game Worn Jersey (Photo Matched)

So, until I actually do travel out for the expo, this “virtual table” will have to do. Thanks again for stopping by.

Gabriel Landeskog NHL Debut Jersey: At a Fraction of the Cost

March 7, 2013 by Jay Vean - The AHP

Game worn jerseys are generally expensive. This is definitely not breaking news or anything. I have my limit on what I’ll spend on them. I’m not one of those people that will ruin my credit or skip a mortgage payment to buy a jersey for my collection. This limits my options at times and that’s okay. More money for more jerseys is always a good thing.

With that said, I have spent pretty good amounts of money on some pretty sweet jerseys in the past (if I don’t say so myself.) For example, there’s this Joe Sakic game-issued jersey (with plenty more details here):

There’s these Peter Forsberg game-issued jerseys (with plenty more details here and here):

There’s this Peter Forsberg game worn and photomatched jersey which was worn in one game in 2004. Plenty more details here.

And last, but definitely not least because it’s most relevant to this post, Ryan O’Byrne’s game worn Peter Forsberg retirement night jersey. More details here.

The jerseys above were not cheap by any means. In order to have nice jerseys in the collection it’s essential that money is spent. On the other hand though, there are some ways around this. It involves some creativity, some patience, and some strategy, but it’s definitely possible to create a model of the same jersey that a player wore on the ice for a fraction of the cost. One of the newest jerseys in my collection is an example of this. Check it out:

The jersey above is modeled after the jersey that Gabriel Landeskog wore during his first game in the NHL. Landeskog began his Calder Trophy campaign on October 8, 2011 at Pepsi Center against the Detroit Red Wings. The The Ryan O’Byrne jersey pictured above was the actual jersey O’Byrne wore during the actual game (details to come.) The game worn Landeskog from that same game went for $3,521. That price was obviously a little much for me, but that doesn’t mean that I couldn’t create something just like the game worn Landeskog for my collection. Here are the steps I took in order to make that happen.

Step One: Get a Peter Forsberg night patch.

These patches were on sale at Altitude Authentics (the retail store at Pepsi Center) during and after Peter Forsberg night. No problem. I got three so I still have two that are waiting for jerseys to go on.

Step Two: Get a jersey to put the patch on. Blank 2011-2012 jerseys in the same style the players wear on the ice are no easy find. They aren’t sold at retail and don’t show up on eBay really ever. The game-style jerseys on NHL.com aren’t very close to what the players actually wear on the ice. I like the real thing, so I have to work a little harder to make jerseys happen.

Small aside, and as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the neck tagging on the 2010-2011 jerseys was different than on the 2011-2012 (and current) jerseys.

The back of the neck on the 2010-2011 jerseys looked like this:

While the back of the neck on the 2011-2012 (and current) jerseys look like this:

I pay attention to the small details on jerseys and I want every detail on the jerseys in my collection to be correct. This is one of those small details.

In late spring of 2012 my friends at The MeiGray Group began listing a game issued jerseys from earlier in the season. Included in these game-issues were a couple of Patrick Rissmiller jerseys. (The other Rissmiller jersey I purchased was a blue alternate that I also had made into a Landeskog.) To my advantage, Rissmiller is a big guy. He wore a size 58+ jersey. That’s the size jersey I like to wear to games. Rissmiller wasn’t signed to a contract in Lake Erie during the 2012-2013 lockout so I went ahead and made the decision to purchase the jerseys and have their nameplates and numbers stripped off of them. If Rissmiller was still in Lake Erie, in other words, if he ever had any chance of ever playing for the Colorado Avalanche, stripping the jerseys would not have been an option.

Step Three: Get the patch and the blank jersey to Denver Athletic so they can put the patch, “Landeskog”, and “92” on the jersey. Denver Athletic letters the jerseys the Avalanche wear on the ice so that’s obviously a no-brainer.

Those three steps took a while from start to finish, but the finished product is beautiful and is definitely ready to be worn to a game at Pepsi Center. And after doing all the math, I paid less than 5% of what the game worn jersey went for at auction to make the jersey myself. Not bad at all.

Sometimes the jersey game is about having money available at the right time. Sometimes it’s seeing an auction that others have overlooked. Sometimes it’s about being patient and taking your time for the entire process to run its course. The patience and time it took to get through the process of making my Landeskog rookie debut jersey is one of the things that helps me feel really good about having this jersey hanging in my closet.

The Avs Hockey Podcast, Episode #76

February 4, 2013 by Jay Vean - The AHP

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In this podcast, James “Tapeleg” Gralian from “The Rink Podcast” and I break down the first eight games of the 2013 season, we read yet another “apology” letter, we discuss Brad Stuart’s contraversial hit on Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, and we also give our thoughts on why taking a puck off the face isn’t always a bad thing. Those topics and a lot more Avalanche stuff in episode number 76 of The Avs Hockey Podcast. Thanks for the listen Avs fans!

Links/resources from this show:

Matt Duchene shot off the chin:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyM-Dl0RpwU[/youtube]

John Mitchell shot to the face:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFXlM62bAak[/youtube]

Puck Daddy: Five facts about Greg Zanon’s beard

Jay’s thoughts on the Brad Stuart hit on Gabriel Landeskog.

Avalanche/Sharks, My Thoughts

January 27, 2013 by Jay Vean - The AHP

I began to make a Facebook post regarding my thoughts about yesterday afternoon’s ~~disaster~~ ~~whooping~~ hockey game in San Jose, but quickly realized I what I wanted to say would be more appropriate in a blog post. So here goes.

The Hit…

There was a turning point to yesterday afternoon’s contest and every Avalanche and Shark fan knows when it was. The hit itself? It was in that gray area where everyone is going to be upset about whatever happens to Stuart.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VFDc6gbFPU[/youtube]

The facts:

The first point of contact was definitely the head. Avalanche and Shark fans can agree on that point. We are all very much aware that the NHL doesn’t like that kind of hit. Also, Brad Stuart didn’t lead with his elbow and that’s good.

Past that, as I said before, fans of either team are going to be sad and angry at whatever is decided about Stuart’s pocketbook/near future.

Depending on which angle is/was available for your viewing pleasure, Stuart started the hit low and ended high. Those hits can get ugly.

Also, as Stuart followed through on the hit he left his feet. Did he jump? Not really, so it couldn’t be classified as a charge. But both feet definitely were off the ice at one point during the action of the collision.

Stuart was also not penalized for the hit.

Gabriel Landeskog returned to the game during the second period after being evaluated in the locker room. If he hadn’t returned and was going to be out for a while I’d put my money on Stuart getting at least a few games. But Since Landy is seemingly going to miss no time, I’m prepared for pretty much anything the league decides to dish out, including nothing. I’ve found it simpler to not expect much from the ShanaBan. It’s just simpler.

Overall, I’m simply relieved that Gabriel Landeskog looked like he was alright for the rest of the game. Avs fans know my feeling well. The Avs can’t afford to lose someone like 92 for an extended period of time.

The Aftermath and the Lappy Factor…

Ryan O’Byrne made it clear that hits on the young Avalanche captain would not be tolerated. Sometimes this happens in hockey, but don’t tell the Sharks television announcers that. (I’m sure their thoughts would have been different is it was Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau who was on the receiving end of a similar hit from Ryan Wilson. But I digress.) Does Ryan O’Byrne make anyone nervous because of his toughness? I like Cody McLeod, but has it ever been his role to be somewhat of an enforcer? Patrick Bordeleau is listed a 6’6″, 225 pounds, but is anyone not going to think twice about taking liberties with any Avalanche player as a result of a large rookie in his first few games in the NHL? This game, and a handful of Avs games during the past few seasons, needed some Lappy.

This is a concern I’ve had ever since Ian Laperriere departed the Avalanche for the Flyers. Granted, Lappy was one of the best in the business at things like this, I’m beginning to get a little nervous that the Avalanche are considered a “soft” team because that’s how I have seen them be treated over the past few seasons. Opposing forwards have hacked on Avalanche goaltenders with not much or enough consequence. During the 2013 home opener, and a good two or three seconds after the whistle, Drew Doughty shot the puck into an unattended Avalanche net. For those of you that know hockey at pretty much any level, this is a definite unwritten no-no that gets addressed especially that long after the whistle. It’s more about respect than anything. The Avalanche players on the ice barely even looked at Doughty twice. I don’t want or need fights or thugs in every game, but accountability is a must in this and every sport.

The Avalanche, and every NHL team, has their fair share of players that simply won’t fight or get in people’s faces. Guys like Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene (with one fight in his three plus NHL seasons), Mark Olver, Chuck Kobasew, and David Jones (although I believe he has one NHL fight and one NHL “fight” on his resume) are examples of players like this. And believe me, I don’t have a problem with players in this category. My worry though is that the Avalanche have a few too many of these guys, especially after losing Steve Downie for the season to a knee injury early last week. This team is young, but young doesn’t have to equal soft.

The remainder of yesterday’s game after the hit bothered me. And believe me, I didn’t need a bloodbath. They aren’t cool. Besides, Avalanche fans are especially sensitive to bloodbaths. The Avalanche had a choice though after the hit on one of their franchise players of the future and, in my opinion, they ended up laying down. The Sharks are hot, there is no doubt about that, but the Avalanche also showed what they were made of yesterday. It wasn’t much. Sure, this was only one game, but I’ve noticed this trend for a little while now.

One other question was could Shane O’Brien have helped the Avalanche’s cause yesterday afternoon in San Jose? My guess is yes, but for various reasons he has been a healthy scratch for the first four games of the season. I can imagine yesterday’s happenings served as motivation for O’Brien and I’m hoping he’ll be back on the ice for the Avalanche shortly. He has contributed positive things to this team since he has been in Denver.

Joe Sacco likes to bring up two things on a consistent basis to the media. One is “starting the game on time.” The other is being a team that is “tough to play against.” I’m having a difficult time deciding whether “tough” means scoring more goals than the opposition or actually being “tough.” I’m looking for some more of the latter from this season’s team.

Let’s Go Avs.