Mail day! Well, not so much. T’was more of a pickup-off-Craigslist day, but still super exciting nonetheless!
I was downtown, busy studying hard for my Web Analytics exam when I decided to, you know, take a little break and see what’s on Craigslist. I’ve been trying to find one of these for a while because I love its retro aesthetic (and the rarity of course), so imagine my delight when I saw a picture of this jersey on the results page. I quickly clicked it, and to my surprise, it was my size as well. I wasted no time giving the seller a call (which I never do as I usually prefer text) and setting up a meeting. About three hours later, I packed up my stuff and drove to the next town to grab it for $50.
Revealed for the Canadiens’ centennial season (along with five others), this jersey is a throwback to the one used during the 1912-13 season. Often considered an eyesore, it featured bleu, blanc, et rouge in a barber pole style better suited for an earlier era. Seriously, these things were distracting (I’m having a hard time concentrating with the above picture in the corner of my eye). Front-and-centre was the Club Athletique Canadien (CAC) logo, and on its right shoulder was the Centennial Season patch.
Materials
The jersey is made fully of air-knit material, with none of the scratchy, pilly junk seen on other Reebok Premiers. The crest is heat-pressed onto the front, while the screen-printed Centennial Season patch on the shoulder is stitched on (more on this later). Another interesting thing to note is that the back hem is not tapered like the regular Edge-styled authentics and premiers. Instead, it is basically straight-cut, similar to the on-ice version (which was actually made of ultrafil, but oh well).
Overall, I’m happy with the build quality of the jersey. Air-knit is among my favourite style of material, but it is a little thin on this thing which is a bummer. I’m not a fan of heat-pressed elements on a jersey either, so I will probably get it sewn down when it gets customized.
Player Spotlight: Carey Price
I’m a big fan of goalies (as you probably know already), and there aren’t many better than Carey friggin’ Price. Since playing his first NHL game in October 2007, he has become one of the most dominant goalies in the game, winning the Hart, Jennings, Vezina, Ted Lindsay, and Olympic Gold.
It’s not only his play on the ice, though. Price was raised in a small town called Anahim Lake, five hours away from tiny Williams Lake where he first played organized hockey. Even after moving to the big market out East, though, he never forgot where he came from; in 2015, he donated $10 000 worth of hockey gear to his old team.
In February 2017, he passed Ken Dryden for the third most wins by a Canadiens goalie with 259. And to think that the Canadiens were criticized for picking him 5th overall in the 2005 draft.
Next Steps
Like my Team Canada jersey, I have big plans for this one as well! First order of business is stripping off that god-awful jock tag. Second, I’ve already ordered the official embroidered Centennial Season patch which will replace the current vinyl one.
Once that is done, I’m planning to take it to Pacific Coast Cresting to get it customized and sewn down. One interesting thing about customization on this jersey is that because the horizontal lines are so distracting, the numbers and name are sewn onto a solid blue background before being put onto the jersey.
I’ll update y’all once it’s complete, but take a look at my completed Team Canada Sochi 2014 Alternate if you haven’t already.
Also, check out the rest of my hockey jersey collection. I’m planning on selling a couple of my jerseys as well to make wallet-room for this one (and my new Switch), so please let me know if you see anything you like!
Update 04/13/2017:
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Just finished stripping the jock tag and vinyl patch! The former really wasn’t too hard; there were just a lot of stitches to hit, especially in the corners of the jock tag. The vinyl patch wasn’t bad either, but it had tissue-paperish backing behind the stitching that had to be ripped out as well. If you’re thinking of doing this yourself, feel free to give me a shout with any questions!
Update 04/23/2017:
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Sorry for the horrible, out-of-focus pictures. I have no idea what happened and I stripped the patch before realizing the quality was so bad.
After coming back from my trip to Mexico, I was delighted to find the 100th Anniversary patch in my mailbox. That delight, however, turned to confusion and frustration when I noticed the hard plastic backing and warning sticker preventing me from attaching it to the jersey. Luckily I found this thread on Icejerseys detailing how to remove it. Instead of using an iron, however, I opted for a hairdryer which worked like a charm. All I did was hold it to the patch for about 10 seconds at a time and peeling it off as the glue melted. The patch was a little bent after this, so I stuck it under a heavy book for about a day and it turned out perfect.
Again, feel free to give me a shout with any questions about the process!
Update 06/29/2017:
Big news- this jersey is sold! I put it up on eBay about two weeks ago and it’s gone just like that.
As much as I love this jersey, I was having issues customizing it and ended up getting discouraged. My first two attempts at acquiring an accurate kit (from two different vendors) required me to reorder because of errors, and it wasn’t until the third attempt that everything was done right. In between getting these kits made, I got the crest, patch, and Reebok logo sewn onto the jersey.
Before I had a chance to sew down the third Price kit, however, I received a notification from eBay saying that my listing sold and was paid for. As sad as I am to let go of this gem, I had a quick chat with the buyer after the listing ended and it looks like it’s going to a good home.
On the flip side of things, I used the money that would have gone towards sewing the Price kit on to customize another one of my jerseys. Stay tuned for updates!