1994 NHLPA Martin Brodeur Jersey

July by the Numbers shows it's solidarity with jersey #30.

Back in 1994 the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) was locked out by the club owners due to labor issues regarding the implementation of a salary cap, which the players opposed. The lockout began on October 1, 1994 and lasted until January 11, 1995.

As the lockout continued, the NHLPA organized a tournament called the "4-on-4 Challenge" over three days from November 10th to 12th, 1994 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.

Four teams took part in the event, Team Ontario, Team USA, Team Western Canada and Team Quebec with the tournament won by Team Ontario. The tournament had many NHL stars in attendance, with Patrick Roy, Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Joe Sakic, Doug Gilmour, Rob Blake and John Vanbiesbrouck among those competing. In total, over a half a million dollars was raised in support of the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities of Canada and minor hockey associations throughout North America.

Today's featured jersey is a 1994 NHLPA Team Ontario Martin Brodeur jersey. During the tournament players born in Western Canada wore yellow jerseys, players born in the United States wore red jerseys, players born in the Quebec wore blue jerseys and the players born in the Ontario wore white jerseys.

About now we can hear you saying "But Martin Brodeur was born in Quebec. Why is his name on a white Ontario jersey?"

That's because the owner of this jersey did not do his proper research before committing Brodeur's name to this white Team Ontario jersey, as Brodeur actually wore the blue of Team Quebec in the 4-on-4 Challenge!

Martin Broduer 94-95 Be A Player #R58 trading card

showing Brodeur in a blue Quebec jersey

Things brings up a point we'd like to stress. One of the things we enjoy the most about collecting jerseys is doing our research. It's often a challenge, particularly when collecting international jerseys when trying to determine:

• During which seasons was a particular style worn?
• Can any additional patches be added to the jersey based on when it was used?
• Who wore the jersey during those years?
• What jersey numbers did the players wear?
• Did he wear a "C" or an "A"?
• What fonts were used for the names and numbers with a jersey style?

Additionally,

• Is any additional patch even available?
• Where can I obtain the patch?
• What was accomplished while wearing the jersey? A championship or personal milestone?
• Is the brand of jersey correct for the year I'd like to replicate?
• Where on Earth can I find photos of the player I've chosen wearing the jersey to confirm any of the above questions?

One place to start is on this very page, where in the right side column you will find "Our Favorite Hockey Links", which contain links to some of the most critical, informative and dependable sources for our research.

There's probably not a day that goes by that we don't find ourselves at the essential NHLUniforms.com. Every NHL jersey is illustrated, with additional patches, since the dawn of the league in 1917. What more can you ask for? Speaking of patches, NHLPatches.info is another excellent resource for all things NHL patch related.

The Internet Hockey Database is where you will find rosters for nearly every team ever, and what you can't find there usually be found at EuroHockey.net. We also rely on the past tournaments section of the IIHF website.

When it comes time for photos, other than a basic Google Image Search, Getty Images is the place to go. Sure the images are all watermarked, but for our purposes you simply cannot beat the wealth of visual information contained there.

And if you can't find what you need on your own, check out one of the forums we have linked to and conduct a search of their archives, Gameworn.net in particular, or join one of the communities and ask.

It's one thing to buy a jersey already customized, as long as you are comfortable that it's been done correctly, but there's a real pride in ownership we get from buying a blank jersey and conducting our own research into all the factors listed above, choosing a customizer to letter it for us and finally getting the completed jersey back done precisely to our specifications that buying a fully completed jersey just can't touch.