Ebay Jersey of the Week - 1996 Czech Republic Roman Turek Jersey

From time to time we find a jersey that really catches our attention because we know just how long it took us to get one like it for our collection and can't believe that someone hasn't jumped on the "Buy it Now" option or bid it up to a higher price yet.

This week's Third String Goalie Ebay Jersey of the Week is a 1996 Nike Czech Republic National Team jersey. This style was worn during the 1996 IIHF World Championships. where the Czechs won the gold medal. Additionally, this was the final time this short-lived style was worn, as they wore the new "waving flag" style for the 1996 World Cup of Hockey played later in the fall, making this a rare but important style in the history of Czech hockey and one that took us a long time to acquire for our collection.

This particular one looks to be in great shape, especially for a jersey now 18 years old and is already accurately customized with goaltender Roman Turek's name and #2. While most teams assign goaltenders #1 and #30, with the defensemen being #2-#6, the Soviets and especially the Czechs would often assign the goaltenders #1 and #2, as Dominik Hasek wore during the 1984 Canada Cup tournament.

Dominik Hasek wearing #2 in goal for Czechoslovakia

Here are the jerseys in action during the 1996 World Championships against the United States. Note that the United States has already adopted the waving flag style, which makes the Czech jersey an anomaly during the 1996 Worlds, and leads us to believe it's it's much harder to find than their later own World Cup waving flag style.

Also desirable is that this is a pro model size 56 that comes complete with a fight strap and is not a replica.

This particular style jersey does have a screen printed crest, which is the way Bauer and Nike made them back then, especially considering the intricacy of the coat of arms crest on the front. It's priced at a starting price of $299.99, and at the time of this posting still has no bids but the seller is open to offers.

Trust us, these do not come up very often, as we have seen during our time collecting jerseys, and this may be the first one we have ever seen that is already properly customized, so keep the additional cost of having it lettered when you factor in an offer.

If we didn't already have one of our own, or if it were the away red version, we'd be keeping this listing quiet!

Here is a photo of the actual jersey listed for sale, and clicking on it will take to the auction listing on ebay.

Here are a pair of videos from the gold medal game of the 1996 World Championships, the first being the introduction of the Czech squad and the second a highlight video showing the Czechs defeating Canada to capture an emotional World Championship, their first as the Czech Republic since the division of Czechoslovakia just three years earlier.

In summary, if we didn't have a white 1996 World Championships Czech Republic jersey in our collection already, we'd be thrilled to acquire this rare jersey. We like the fact it's already customized, and with an unusual number for a goalie, who just happened to be named the best goaltender of the tournament. It also appears to be in great condition as well. Additionally, this seller has a 100% positive rating, making us feel very comfortable pointing you in his direction, but, as always, we cannot warranty their future performance.