04-05 Jamie Lundmark Hartford Wolf Pack Jersey

February 24th, 2009

This is the game worn 2004-05 road Hartford Wolf Pack jersey of center Jamie Lundmark.

Originally drafted 9th overall by the New York Rangers in 1999, Lundmark was expected to be a top-six forward on Broadway.

Following a bright start in Hartford during the 2001-02 season, Lundmark’s stock began to fall due to a lack of icetime with the Rangers over the next two seasons.

For the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Lundmark began the season playing in Italy before returning to Hartford in an attempt to resurrect his standing with the organization.

No longer the finesse player he once was at the AHL level, Lundmark’s style of play had been transformed into a gritty checking forward. The offensive skill was there, as he chipped in 14 goals, but his 146 PIM’s put him well above any of the other skill players in the league.

Chippy is a pretty decent way to describe his play during the 2004-2005 season.

This jersey is a size 54 manufactured by SP. It’s from Set 2.

It’s an airknit material with mesh underarms. This was the final season (they also wore this style in 2003-04) that the underarm mesh was grey.

Team officials realized after the fact that it sort of looked like a wet armpit from the stands. Yeah, not exactly what they were going for when they designed it.

The jersey shows moderate wear with lots of stick marks and board burns across the front hem — many of which made this jersey very easy to photo match to one of my photos.

Yes, I was on the bench. No, I didn’t not get a high-five.

The nameplate is airknit and the individual letters have been sewn on. Everything else is also sewn.

I originally acquired this jersey on November 30, 2008 from Meigray during their 2008 Black Friday Sale.

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07-08 Artem Anisimov Hartford Wolf Pack Jersey

September 26th, 2008

This is the game worn 2007-08 home Hartford Wolf Pack jersey of center Artem Anisimov.

Anisimov was selected by the New York Rangers in the second round, 54th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

The skilled 19-year old made his North American professional debut skating for the Hartford Wolf Pack on October 6, 2007 in this jersey.

Due to the bungled Rbk Edge jersey rollout, many teams in the American Hockey League were forced to wear 2006-07 airknits for the first few games of the season.

The Wolf Pack played just one regular season home game in this set before switching to the Rbk Edge style for the duration of 2007-08 season.

Considering it is a one game wonder, Anisimov spent the entire pre-season with the Rangers, it shows considerable wear on the sleeves.

Light stick marks and board burns litter the cuffs and the sleeves. There is also one light mark across the front hem.

The jersey is a size 56 and is an airknit with mesh underarms identical to those used during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 season. The numbers are a Rangers shadow style and do not match any other home jersey the Wolf Pack have ever worn with navy on white on red.

The nameplate is airknit and the name has been screened on. Everything else is sewn.

The jersey has been photo matched to numerous photos taken on opening night.

I originally acquired this jersey on November 29, 2007 in an AHL/Meigray auction.

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1997-2008 Hartford Wolf Pack Practice Jersey

June 1st, 2008

This is a game worn yellow Hartford Wolf Pack Practice jersey.

This size 56 knit jersey is manufactured by Bauer. Bauer supplied the Wolf Pack with jerseys from 1997 through 2000. The Wolf Pack have re-used these Bauer jerseys in practice and training camp since that time.

In practice, the Wolf Pack have traditionally worn 6 different color jerseys. There would be four forward lines — one in red, one in royal blue, one in green, and one in yellow. Defenseman always wore navy blue. Goaltenders would wear black. Those coming off of injury, not yet signed, or not expected to play would wear white.

In recent years, the numbers applied to practice jerseys — of late, manufactured by SP and Rbk — have been seemingly random and would be more easily associated with football linebackers.

I’ve also seen the same player wear a different number (or no number at all) numerous times, but back when the Bauer jerseys came in, they all (for the most part) matched up to the player’s game jersey.

During the Wolf Pack’s Bauer era, from 1997-2000, the only player to wear number 20 was P.J. Stock.

Jordan Owens is pictured in this jersey from a practice in October of 2007 — his game jersey was actually number 46 during the 2007-08 season.

The jersey shows numerous board burns but not heavy wear as it was only used in practice and during training camp scrimmages. There is some staining around the collar. The crest is sewn on and is identical to the game jersey crest of that time.

The number is a thick black heat seal — not the type that will ever peel. Bauer’s “B” logo is sewn (not embroidered) to the front and the back hem features a large satin material Bauer patch as well. There is a fight strap.

I acquired this jersey direct from the Hartford Wolf Pack on May 31, 2008.

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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 (and career) was cut short due to injury.

The Kingfish would later retire his number.

Posted in American Hockey League, Springfield Indians | 4 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.

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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.

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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.

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01-02 Brad Smyth Hartford Wolf Pack Jersey

January 14th, 2008

It’s funny how things work out sometimes.

I’m not sure when it happened, exactly, but at some point I decided to focus my collection of getting at least one jersey from each style that the Hartford Wolf Pack have worn.One style that had eluded me was one of the alternate sets that they gave away as a “Shirt off the Back” promotion. It was the 2001-02 5th Anniversary jersey.

A few years ago, one surfaced on the market and if I’d had the money at the time, I would have bought it. A fellow from Australia had a Kevin Hilton jersey — not exactly my first choice of player as he only played one game for the Wolf Pack, and only warmed-up once in the alternate, but it was the first to come along on the open market.

Then, roughly a year ago, another collector offered up a Layne Ulmer 5th Anniversary alternate. The price tag was $535. Hmmmm… Ulmer was a regular for the Wolf Pack for a few seasons, so that part was attractive, but the price tag was just too much. I knew I’d kick myself later for letting it get away, like the Hilton, but I just couldn’t justify such a hefty price tag.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. Another one popped up on the forum! This time it was Vicky Gould offering up what she called a “Wolf Pack 5th Anny Jersey” for a fair price. No mention of player name.

I was skeptical, at first, having seen some collectors call every jersey from that season a “5th Anniversary” jersey because of a little patch on the shoulder. I emailed her immediately to confirm that it was indeed the red jersey I’d been searching for.

Even better, it was a Brad Smyth jersey — a player which I now have 5 jerseys from.

Smyth is one of the bigger stars in team history (all-time scoring leader) and that specific season, he played in all but one game so even this infrequently used alternate shows some wear.

In a matter of 15 minutes we closed the deal. A sum of cash her way, an envelope full of stinky polyester headed my way. Mmmm…

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