03-04 Marc Staal Sudbury Wolves Jersey

February 24th, 2008

This is the game worn 2003-04 road Sudbury Wolves jersey of defenseman Marc Staal.

The jersey is a Maska Ultrafil knit jersey manufactured by CCM. It’s a size 54 and shows no customizations. There are stick marks all over the front hem and the sleeves are littered with board burns, small un-repaired holes, and slices.

There is one large unrepaired 3+ inch horizontal slice just below the “W” on the front crest. In fact, there aren’t any repairs on this jersey, though it could definitely use some work.

The front crest is all sewn. On the chest are the OHL’s league patch on the right side and the CCM patch on the left size. The back has the CCM patch again sewn to the back of the neck and the CHL logo is embroidered to the lower left side hem. The fightstrap is stained blue.

Marc Staal wore this jersey for his first season in the OHL in 2003-04 when he scored just one goal, along with 13 assists, over 61 games. Hardly league leading numbers, but his defensive ability lead him to be drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

I originally purchased this jersey from long time Sudbury Wolves employee Curtis Hall in January of 2006, a few months before Staal would take the ice for my hometown Hartford Wolf Pack during the 2006 Calder Cup playoffs.

As memory serves, Staal was terrible his first 12 games at the professional level and essentially cost the Wolf Pack a playoff series, but another year in Sudbury for the 2006-07 season was just what he needed as he’s holding his own on Broadway these days…

Posted in Ontario Hockey League, Sudbury Wolves | No Comments »

93-94 Scott Humeniuk Springfield Indians Jersey

February 24th, 2008

This is the game worn 1993-94 home Springfield Indians jersey of defenseman Scott Humeniuk. It may also have been worn during the 1992-93 season.

The jersey is a Maska Ultrafil knit jersey manufactured by CCM. It’s a size 50 and shows no customizations. The wear isn’t exactly light, but it doesn’t show tons of wear as stick marks tend to wash out of maska knit jerseys with repeated laundering.

There are numerous small holes on the sleeves and board burns on the elbows and shoulders. The neck line exhibits DTG’s classic “general filth”. I hate that term, but sometimes it’s the best way to say it.

Everything is sewn on and the name is sewn on to a knit nameplate. The CCM logo on the back hem is embroidered in navy with white letters.

The crest is really unique for a hockey jersey. It’s made of the typical tackle twill that you see on most jerseys, but the detail on the indian, most noticeable on the hair and the feather, is embroidered with chenille, giving it some definition reminiscent of old high school varsity letters.

Springfield Indians jerseys don’t come up too often in the market, especially the few seasons that they wore the Hartford Whalers‘ color scheme before becoming the Springfield Falcons, so this is one of my favorites in the closet. I acquired it from collector Dennis Arnold on March 18, 2007.

Scott Humeniuk was an undrafted defenseman who was signed by the Hartford Whalers prior to the 1990-91 season. Never reaching the NHL, Humeniuk’s best pro season came during the 1993-94 season in Springfield when he scored 15 goals and added 42 assists over 71 games.

After his time in Springfield, he bounced around a bit for 2 seasons at the AHL/IHL level playing for the Minnesota Moose, Portland Pirates, Rochester Americans, and Providence Bruins before heading to Europe where he spent one season in Finland and another in Germany.

Humeniuk returned to North America for the 1998-99 season and found a spot on the blue line for the ECHL’s now defunct Baton Rouge Kingfish.

Unfortunately, Humeniuk’s season was cut short that season after suffering injuries, including a stroke, in an automobile accident. It also marked the end of his hockey career. Later, the Kingfish would retire his number.

Posted in American Hockey League, Springfield Indians | No Comments »

07-08 Greg Moore Hartford Wolf Pack Jersey

February 23rd, 2008

This is the set 1 game worn 2007-08 road Hartford Wolf Pack jersey of Greg Moore.

It’s actually my second Rbk Edge jersey, but the first that I’m featuring on the site. The first difference I noticed on the Edge jersey was not the sizing that many collectors have been complaining about.

Recently, I ruffled a few feathers on one of the forums when another collector was complaining that his size 58 was too small for him and that he’d need a size 64. Perhaps it was in jest, but I’m standing my ground — if you can’t fit into a size 56 Rbk Edge jersey, you have a serious weight problem. Plain and simple.

Besides, wearing a hockey jersey anywhere else other than a hockey game or to go ice skating or something, on an adult, just looks silly. My opinion.

Anyway, the first thing I noticed that was very different with the Edge jerseys was the weight. They’re heavy. And they’re all different — the seams and the fabric selection on the Wolf Pack jersey are totally different than on the Binghamton Senators jersey.

The striping on the hem, sleeves and the shoulder area are all a knit material. The side panels are a sort of an airknit/mesh combination fabric.

The front/back panels and the sleeves (excluding the stripes) and cuffs are the new Rbk Edge material. This is where the weight comes in. The Edge material is super stretchy, both vertically and horizontally, unlike airknits which only stretched one way. So even if you’re too fat to fit into a size 58 — I’m sure it’ll stretch out to a size 64 — um, if you really need it to.

The Edge material shows some nice wear — that’s for certain.

Of course, on a road jersey, it’s most noticeable on the white areas, but the jersey shows a lot more wear than anything I’ve received from any pro league since the late 1990’s. No complaints there. Makes for easy photomatching when you happen to be the team photographer as well.

There is tons of piling around the cuffs, on the underside, and on the hem. Un-repaired holes litter the forearms and elbows — even when the material switched over to knit.

The front of the jersey features a sponsor patch for the Hartford Insurance Company sewn on to the left side. There is also a ton of glue residue from the assistant captain’s “A” just to the left of the sponsor patch.

The Wolf Pack rotated the “A” for the first half of the season, and Moore happened to be up with the Rangers for the last couple of road games in this set, so the “A” was removed.

On the back, Rbk felt the need to label their work at the top and on the bottom with sewn on patches.  Can you say overkill?

The name is sewn on to a nameplate that’s made of the same airknit/mesh material that the side panels are made of. Numbers are sewn on, white the bottom level white, red trim on top, followed by navy trim on top of that.

The fightstrap is unaltered, as Moore isn’t exactly known as a brawler, but it’s pretty stretched out, and the velcro on it had torn up the Edge material quite a bit. Next to the Rbk logo sewn into the hem, the AHL’s secondary logo is sewn on a well.

On the inside of the rear hem is the Meigray patch which, quite honestly, I wish they wouldn’t bother with…

The 2007-08 season is Greg Moore’s third season with the Wolf Pack. He earned his first call-up to the NHL this year and has led the Wolf Pack in scoring for most of the season. He was also the lone representative of the Hartford Wolf Pack at the 2008 AHL All-star Classic in Binghamton, NY.

Originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 5th round, 143rd overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Greg Moore was acquired by the New York Rangers along with Jamie McLennan and Blair Betts on March 6, 2004 in exchange for Chris Simon and a draft pick.

Posted in American Hockey League, Hartford Wolf Pack | No Comments »

Nike sells Bauer Hockey for $200 Million

February 21st, 2008

Nike Inc. has sold its Bauer Hockey subsidiary for US$200 million to an investor group led by Montreal businessman Graeme Roustan and U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg & Co.

The American athletic-goods giant, which acquired what it describes as hockey’s leading manufacturer in 1995, said Thursday it is pleased to have struck a deal with “strategic buyers who have a passion for hockey and are committed to continue to invest in Bauer’s long-term growth and brand leadership.”

Roustan, through private holding company Roustan Inc., places equity investments primarily in the arena business and aviation industry.

Kohlberg & Co., with offices in New York and California, has invested US$2 billion across six private equity funds.

Bauer, in business since 1927, is said to have developed the first skate with the blade attached to the boot, and it claims a No. 1 position in the hockey market.

Nike did not release specifics Thursday on Bauer’s sales and profitability, but CEO Mark Parker said “its team has done an incredible job.”

The sale, after a strategic review of Nike’s subsidiaries, “was a tough decision but one that was in the best interests of Nike and Bauer as we each look to maximize our respective growth opportunities,” Parker stated.

“Bauer is the most coveted hockey brand in the world,” said Roustan, who will be chairman of Bauer Hockey.

“It is a personal honour and privilege to have the opportunity to work with the existing dedicated team of professionals at Bauer and support this great company’s continued industry leadership well into the future.”

Bauer will continue to use the Nike Bauer trademark on existing products for up to two years.

Shame they ran the company into the ground… Nike never really brought anything to hockey besides those entertaining goaltender commercials in the 1990’s.

The good news is that Bauer is apparently back in Canadian hands, so maybe there is hope of a rebirth, though with CCM/KoHo getting pushed aside by Rbk, perhaps the few remaining Canadian manufacturers are destined to head the way of Cooper…

Oh, wait, Bauer put Cooper out of business before the Nike takeover ever happened… Sigh…

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Design Next Season’s Third Jersey

February 18th, 2008

My favorite team, the Hartford Wolf Pack, is currently running a contest right now where fans can submit their designs and one of them will be selected as next year’s third jersey.

As a designer myself, I think it’s a shortsighted idea.  Yeah, it’s a good idea to incorporate fan interaction, but realistically, things like this are best left to professionals otherwise they look, well, kinda like what homemade greeting cards look like.

Amateur. 

Sloppy.

And dare I say it… minor league… in an arena football sort of way.

But here’s to hoping there are a few pro quality designers interested in submitted their *un-paid* work for a chance at receiving a wee bit of publicity and zero compensation if they are selected.  Then, and only then, might we have a nice third jersey.

See, odds are stacked heavily against it.

Anyway, I’m sure they’re receiving a lot of tounge-in-cheek submissions like the one I threw together in less than 5 minutes at the top of this post and I hope the “judges” get a chuckle out of the numerous less-than-serious submissions they must be receiving.  I’m sure some are a hoot.

Sadly, though, I’m pretty sure my five minute joke design is probably of a higher quality than 99% of what they’re receiving. 

And I likely should, as a huge fan of the team and jersey collector, put my head down and piece together a top notch design, but you know what? 

I prefer to get paid for my time.

Posted in Hartford Wolf Pack, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Flashback: Byron’s Hockeyland Mailing List

February 8th, 2008

While cleaning out some old boxes from the attic I came across a bunch of all lists from my early days in the hobby. Lists and primitive catalogs from Milt, Meigrey, DHC, and Drop the Gloves from the late 1990’s…

The big headline from Milt in December of 1999 month was:

We are now offering our LIST sent to you Via E MAIL. Current mail list subscribers only. E-mail us your E mail address to get set up for a once a month E mailing, Which replaced the printed copy sent to you. You will be able to get it faster this way. The set up is Microsoft Word.

I thought some of the old time collectors might like to reminisce, and some of the newer collectors would see how we used to do things — via standard snail mail and telephone, so I scanned it in. Thinking back, lists like Milt’s were a gold mine.

My first example of the old days is Byron’s Hockeyland List #131 from December of 1999.

It’s a pretty large download, coming in at 11 megs, but you can print it out and relive the old days and the thrill of the chase.

No one stop shopping with a click of the mouse back then — you had to work the phones.

Some of my favorites on there are an Ed Belfour Chicago Blawkhawks gamer for $1500. Still pricey, but when you compare it to the $1000 an Eric Daze gamer (on page 3) went for back then, Belfour was a steal! Hard to imagine Daze had that much of an upside back in 1999, huh?

Page one had a Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Gartner jersey on sale for $1000. I wouldn’t mind having that one in the closet now.

Page six has a jersey that I actually called about back then, the 1993-94 and 1994-95 Hershey Bears Chris Winnes jerseys. Both had already sold when I called — and I’ve yet to see either turn up again on the open market. If anyone has them, yep, I’m still interested.

Download the list.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

88-89 Andy Bezeau Moncton Turbines Jersey

February 6th, 2008

This is the 1988-89 Moncton Turbines home jersey of Andy Bezeau.

Andy Bezeau was arguably the best hockey fighter pound-for-pound ever.  Unfortunately his small stature (5-9, 185) limited his chances of suiting up for an NHL team, but for those with extensive hockey knowledge, he is among the elite when it comes to racking up PIM’s.

Ranking among the likes of Gary Coupal, though with far fewer suspensions over his career, Bezeau racked up an astounding 590 penalty minutes for the Fort Wayne Komets during the 1995-96 season.  That included 36 fighting majors, 11 misconducts, and 9 game misconducts.

Two years earlier, while a member of South Carolina Sting Rays, Bezeau put up 10 goals and 10 assists in just 36 games.  Those decent offensive numbers were probably why he was drafted by Boston Bruins in the 11th Round, 231st overall, in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.  Amazingly, he also spent 352 minutes in the penalty box during those 36 games.

Fittingly, he finished out his career with Boston’s affiliate playing in one game for the Providence Bruins during the 2000-01 season.  For the record, he logged 8 more penalty minutes that night.

Prior to trying out for the OHL’s Niagara Falls Thunder in 1989, Bezeau played Tier II junior hockey for the Moncton Turbines, just up the road from his native Saint John, New Brunswick.

This knit CCM jersey shows very heavy wear and the classic “general filth”.  The CCM logo on the back hem is embroidered in a blue-blue-green pattern. Numbers and crest are all sewn.  There is a velcro nameplate, but the Bezeau plate has been removed.  Size tag has also been removed, but it looks to be a size 50 or 52.

Bezeau signed the back number 1 in a thick black sharpie, but over the last decade the signature has faded out entirely. 

While very well worn, there are no customizations to the velcro-snap fight strap, but you have to remember, Bezeau was just a teenager when he wore this jersey and possibly more of an offensive player than anything else.  The stitching on the neck line is popped though, so I’m sure he took part in some of the rough stuff as well.

I originally won this jersey in the first Drop the Gloves auction in 1998 back when we still had to use telephones to participate in auctions.  The only reason I bid was because it had the Hartford Whalers color scheme.  Sad but true.

Posted in Tier II Juniors | No Comments »

03-04 Brandon Dubinsky Portland Winter Hawks Jersey

February 5th, 2008

This is the game worn 2003-04 Portland Winter Hawks home jersey of Brandon Dubinsky.

When your collection primarily focuses on the minor leagues, it isn’t often than one of your jerseys generates a lot of interest.  This is one of the more popular jerseys, of late, in my collection.

Dubinsky played in the YoungStars game a couple of weeks ago during the All-Star break and scored two goals earning the title of YoungStars Most Valuable Player.  Personally, I don’t think he’s deserved of the much of attention he’s receiving, but I’ll add to his 15 minutes of fame.

I acquired this jersey in October of 2007 from long time Winter Hawk collector Rich Schaffner.

The jersey shows pretty heavy wear. Tons of black marks all over and un-repaired holes and slices, but no repairs.  It’s a knit jersey and they tend to hold up a lot better than airkint.

It’s a size 54 and there are no customizations.  The WHL league patch is sewn on, as is the CCM logo.  On the back of the jersey, there is an American Flag patch sewn on to the back of the neck and the CHL logo is embroidered on the left side of the lower hem.

The nameplate is sewn on and is on a twill nameplate.  It is also signed in black sharpie on the back next to the number 9.

The 2003-04 season was Dubinsky’s second in the WHL and it was also his most productive.  He scored 30 goals and added 48 assists in 71 games.  The following summer, he was drafted in the second round, 60th overall, by the New York Rangers.

This jersey is in my collection because Brandon played for the Hartford Wolf Pack during the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs and during the entire 2006-07 season.

Posted in Portland Winter Hawks, Western Hockey League | No Comments »

00-01 Mike Harder Hartford Wolf Pack Jersey

February 4th, 2008

This is the 2000-01 Hartford Wolf Pack home jersey of Mike Harder.

This is my most recent acquisition; something I picked up last week in a deal with John Gannon.

Prior to joining the Wolf Pack for the 1999-2000 season, Harder put up some very respectable numbers for the Rochester Americans with 31 goals and 48 assists in 79 games.  The Amerks went all the way to the Calder Cup finals but fell to the Providence Bruins.

Signing with the Rangers/Wolf Pack after the season, there were high hopes for Harder, but an injury bug and centers Derek Armstrong and Ken Gernander ahead of him on the depth chart, his ice time was limited.  He managed a still respectable 18 goals and 21 assists in 56 games.

The Wolf Pack surged to the Calder Cup finals in 2000 and played against Harder’s former team, the Rochester Americans.  This time, Harder was on the victorious side.  At the Wolf Pack’s championship celebration, Harder is remembered for tearing his, then number 9, jersey off, swinging it in the air, and then remaining shirtless for the duration of the ceremonies.

Harder was back for the 2000-01 season, this time wearing this number 13 jersey, perhaps in an attempt to “forget” the previous season.  Unfortunately for Harder, with Armstrong and Gernander still in the mix, he was battling it out for a third line job.

Apparently unhappy with his ice time, he was eventually loaned midseason to the Louisville Panthers in exhange for Dave Duerden and Chris Kenady who both had limited NHL experience.

Like all 2000-01 Wolf Pack jerseys, this SP airknit set 1 jersey has the name sewn on to an airknit nameplate.  It’s a size 54 and features the Dodge Ram sponsor patch sewn on to the right hand side.  The SP logo is embroidered in white on the back hem next to the AHL’s primary logo patch.  The AHL’s lower case secondary logo patch is sewn to the back of the neck.

The jersey shows decent wear, the usual black marks on the hem and some board burns and unrepaired holes on the sleeves.  Harder wasn’t the biggest guy out there, but he wasn’t afraid of the corners either.

This is the only #13 Hartford Wolf Pack jersey in my collection.  Besides Harder, only Mike York (1998-99) and Richard Scott (2003-04) have worn the number.

Posted in American Hockey League, Hartford Wolf Pack | No Comments »