1989-90 Minnesota North Stars Dave Archibald Jersey

July by the Numbers reaches sweater #14 with a classic from the "Second Six" of the NHL expansion in 1967.

Dave Archibald, a right winger, played four seasons in Canadian junior hockey for the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League before making his NHL debut with the Minnesota North Stars in the 1987-88 season.

He scored 27 goals and 39 assists in his first two seasons in Minnesota, before being traded to the New York Rangers early in his third season in Minnesota. He wouldn't stick in New York though, finishing the year in Flint of the now defunct International Hockey League.

He would play the next two seasons for the Canadian National Hockey Team, including representing Canada at the 1992 Winter Olympics where he would earn a silver medal. His totals with the Canadian National Hockey Team reached 39 goals and 55 assists for 94 points in those two seasons.

NHL expansion gave Archibald an opportunity to return to the NHL, as he played for the Ottawa Senators for the next four seasons, scoring 27 goals and 20 assists. He would play seven games for the New York Islanders in 1996-97, as well as 34 games for the Frankfurt Lions in the German League (DEL) in his first stint in European hockey.

Three further seasons in the IHL, split between San Antonio and Utah would be followed by a return to Europe, this time in Sweden for Linköpings HC to finish out his professional career.

His final NHL totals would stand at 57 goals and 67 assists for 124 points and 139 penalty minutes in 323 games.

Today's featured jersey is a 1989-90 Minnesota North Stars Dave Archibald jersey from his last season in Minnesota. Since Archibald had only played in 12 games before being traded, this jersey has minimal game use, having only been used in approximately six games.

While not the finest example of game use, we are still very proud to have a game worn Minnesota North Stars jersey in our collection. One of the interesting details of the old North Stars jerseys is that the numbers are actually just two layers of twill, white on yellow, with the third color of black being uniquely composed of tightly spaced black stitching attaching the white layer onto the yellow!

Also note the proper orientation of the drop shadow, so often done incorrectly on recent replica jerseys and even McFarlane figurines, as documented earlier at Third String Goalie.

1990-91 Sokol Kiev Vasily Bobrovnikov Jersey

July by the Numbers entry #13 takes us across the Atlantic to Ukraine.

Vasily (or Vasili or Vasyl) Bobrovnikov was born in Ukraine on November 8th, 1971 in Kiev and was a regular member of the Ukranian National Team for over a decade. He retired in 2008.

He first appeared for Ukraine five times in the World Championships C Pool before Ukraine was able to win and move up to the B Pool, which they won on their first try to reach the top level. They remained at the top level from 1999 until being relegated in 2007, Bobrovnikov's last appearance for the National Team. Ukraine have competed in the B Pool for the past two years and are hoping to reclaim their position among the World's elite.

Ukraine made their Olympic debut in Salt Lake City in 2002. One of the difficulties for Ukraine in it's first Olympics was that several Ukranian-born players, such as Alexei Zhitnik and Oleg Tverdovsky, had already played for Russia in international competitions when Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union, making them ineligible to appear for another county.

Bobrovnikov played for Sokol Kiev (or Sokil Kyiv) 18 seasons in a variety of leagues, as the organization of hockey evolved throughout the breakup of the Soviet Union. He started playing for Sokol Kiev in the Soviet Hockey League and it's various Russian successor leagues, then the Eastern European Hockey League beginning in 1997, a league made up of teams from Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Sokol Kiev then found themselves in the Belarus Extraliga in 2004, after the dissolution of the EEHL, and then the Vysshaya Liga, the second highest level of Russian hockey, beginning in 2007 for two seasons.

He would finish his career with 841 league games played, 206 goals and 281 assists for 487 points.

Due to the higher costs involved in playing in the Russian league, including higher participation fees for non-Russian teams and travel costs they must cover for the visiting teams, Sokol Kiev will return to the Belarus Extraliga and compete closer to home in a now 15-team league against 11 teams from Belarus, three from Latvia plus themselves, as the lone Ukranian representative, in a 56-game season.

Sokol Kiev was founded in 1963 and adopted their current name, which translates to "Kiev Falcons", in 1973. They are the first and only Ukranian team to compete in the Spengler Cup as well as the first Ukranian team to win a professional league championship, by winning the Eastern European Hockey League title in 1998 and 1999.

They are the oldest and most successful Ukranian hockey team, winning 11 out of 16 Ukranian Championships since 1992. I must confess to being unclear of the format to determine the Ukranian Championship concurrently with Sokol Kiev also competing in various other leagues during the same time period. It appears to be a case of a season within a season, not unlike how an English soccer club can compete in the Premier League at home and the Champions League in Europe at the same time. Perhaps someone can confirm or enlighten me as to how this correctly works.

Other notable players who have appeared for Sokol Kiev include Ruslan Fedotenko, Alexander Godynyuk, Dmitri Khristich, Mikhail Tatarinov and Alexi Zhitnik, the highest player taken in the NHL draft in franchise history at #81 overall.

Today's featured jersey is a 1990-91 Sokol Kiev Vasily Bobrovnikov jersey.

While most Soviet/Russian game worn jerseys have that unmistakable "funk", this is by far the smelliest jersey I've ever owned. It's one of those types that you believe would stand up on it's own if you tried and not one to let anywhere near your spouse. Or your other jerseys for that matter - as anything hung immediately next to it will become "funkified" on contact. It's a bit of a shame to have to wash a jersey like this in order to remove the stench, as it feels like you are taking away some of the game used "aura", but a necessary step that must be taken if one is to live with such a garment and a true testament to the marvels of modern detergents to not only take on, but defeat the best the old Soviet Union had to offer.

The white sections of this jersey are a type of material much like ultrafil, while the blue parts are lighter weight mesh. All the graphics are screened on, including the incredible example of the name on the back in Cyrillic. It doesn't get any better than this one for a classic Cyrillic name on the back.

1991-92 Washington Captials Peter Bondra Jersey

July by the Numbers makes it an even dozen with jersey #12 from the Nation's Capital.

Peter Bondra was originally born in Ukraine in the Soviet Union where his father had moved to find work years earlier. He was still a Soviet citizen when he arrived in the United States but later obtained a Slovak passport and citizenship in 1993.

He was drafted by the Captials in the 1990-91 season in the eighth round, 156th overall. Prior to playing for Washington, Bondra played four years in the Czech league, winning the championship with Kosice in only his second season.

Bondra would lead the NHL in goal scoring during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season with 34 goals in 47 games. In his sixth season in Washington, the 1995-96 season, he topped the 50 goal mark for the first of two times in his career, with 52 goals in just 67 games played due to a contract dispute. His low assist total of 28 would mean that he would not beat his highest one year point total of 85, set in 1992-93 when he had a more balanced 37 goals and 48 assists.

He would reach the 50 goal plateau once more in 1997-98 when he again hit 52 and this time lead the NHL in goals scored for the season. He would add seven more goals in the playoffs of that season as the Capitals would make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals for the only time in Bondra's career before being swept in four by the Detroit Red Wings.

On two other occasions Bondra would reach 40 goals, with 46 in 1996-97 and 45 as recently as 2000-01, coming close with 39 the following season.

After 14 seasons in Washington, he would be dealt to the Ottawa Senators later in the 2003-04 season. He would leave the Capitals holding team records in goals (472), points (825), power-play goals (137), game winning goals (73), short-handed goals (32) and hat tricks (19). He also represented the Capitals in five All-Star Games in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, while winning the Fastest Skater competition at the Skills Competition in 1997 & 1999.

In 2004, he would place second in a fan vote to determine the Top 30 Players in Washington Captials History by just 20 votes to Olaf Kolzig, less than a 1% margin after each received over 2000 votes each.

He would conclude his career with stops in Atlanta, where he reached 1000 games played in his career, and Chicago, where he would score his 500th NHL goal on December 22, 2006, just the 37th player to achieve that milestone.

Bondra has played for Slovakia seven times in his career, including the 1994 Olympic qualifying tournament, the 1998 & 2006 Olympics, the 1996 World Cup of hockey (one of the jerseys on my wantlist) and the 2002 & 2003 World Championships. He would lead the 2002 World Championships with seven goals and score the game winning goal in the gold medal game to defeat Russia 4-3.

The jersey I am featuring today is a CCM 1991-92 Washington Capitals Peter Bondra road jersey featuring the NHL 75th anniversary patch, my favorite.

This replica jersey is a very nice jersey, but one notable time when the authentic jersey is head and shoulders above the replica. As I have featured earlier, the authentic jersey has each individual letter in the "Capitals" crest sewn on separately in a larger size with each letter being a separate piece of twill, while the replica has the crest embroidered onto a patch, which is then attached to the jersey.

At the conclusion of his playing days, Bondra has been named General Manager of the Slovak National Team.

2003-04 Ottawa Senators Alternate Daniel Alfredsson Jersey

July by the Numbers reaches #11 today in the form of the familiar number of Daniel Alfredsson.

Born in Sweden in 1972, Alfredsson is currently the captain of the Ottawa Senators. The high scoring Alfredsson holds the Senators franchise records for goals (355), assists (566) and, naturally, points with 921 as well as games played, currently at 932.

He would win the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1995-96, as well as represent the Senators in the NHL All-Star Game in his first three seasons.

His best season to date was in the 2005-06 season when he tallied 43 goals and 60 assists for 103 points, topping the 100 mark for the only time in his career after being paired up with linemates Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza.

On October 5th of that season, Alfredsson became the first player to score a goal in the newly instituted shootout, beating Ed Belfour of Ontario rivals the Toronto Maple Leaf, and as a result, his stick now resides in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

During the lockout season of 2004-05, he would return to his home country of Sweden and help Frölunda win the Swedish Championship.

In 2006-07 the Senators would reach the Stanley Cup Finals, making Alfredsson the first European-born-and-raised captain to do so.

The jersey I am featuring today is a Koho 2003-04 Ottawa Senators Alternate Daniel Alfredsson jersey. This alternate jersey was first introduced in the 2000-01 season and was worn through the 2006-07 campaign.

My example has the rare white version of the Roger Neilson memorial patch, only worn on the black alternate jerseys. It was the only patch worn on this jersey style throughout it's history and depicts one of the colorful neckties that Neilson was known for wearing behind the bench. The home red and road white jerseys had the regular black version of the "Roger" patch.

Alfredsson has also played for Sweden 12 times, including seven World Championships, the World Cup of Hockey twice, and three Olympic Games, including winning the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

1989-90 Dynamo Moscow Igor Dorofeyev Jersey

July by the Numbers treks on to jersey #10 with a trip back in time to the Soviet Union.

Dynamo Moscow Hockey Club was founded in 1946, it's name "Dynamo" meaning "power from motion" in Greek.

Sponsored by the feared Soviet secret police, the KGB in it's early days, it's the second most successful club team in Russian hockey history, having won the championship at the top level nine times, most recently in 2005, the Spengler Cup twice in 1975 & 1976 and the European Champions Cup in 2006.

The club is part of the Dynamo Moscow Sports Club, which in turn is a part of the Dynamo Sports Society, which also fields teams named Dynamo Moscow in soccer, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, team handball and bandy.

Recognizable names to have played for Dynamo include, Maxim Afinogenov, Darius Kasparitis, Igor Korolev, Viktor Kozlov, Andrei Nikolishin, Alexi Ponikarovsky, Mikhail Shtalenkov, Alexi Yashin, Alexi Zhamnov and Alexi Kovalev and Alexander Ovechkin.

They currently play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and finished second in the Chernysehev Division in 2008-09, making it as far as the semi-finals before losing out 4 games to 2 to eventual champions Ak Bars Kazan.

The jersey I am featuring today is a 1989-90 Dynamo Moscow Igor Dorofeyev jersey.

It's a lighter weight mesh jersey with vitually all the design elements being silk screened onto the jersey, which is typical of Soviet jerseys from this era. This jersey also features the Dorofeyev, spelled "Dorofeev" on the back in Cyrillic.

It also has the iconic "D" logo on the chest and shoulders, as well as "Moscow" across the waist stripes, which pre-dates the first use of a city name in the NHL by the Los Angeles Kings by a good ten years.

It's one of the last styles of Dynamo jersey before the advent of commercial sponsorship on the club's jerseys.

Dorofeyev, a right wing, would have a 14 year career which included time in not only Russia, but Switzerland, Italy and Japan.

He was also a part of five of Dynamo Moscow's championships in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1995, breaking the 13 year long winning streak of the Red Army Hockey Club.

2005 Team USA Mike Modano Jersey

July by the Numbers continues with jersey #9 from Team USA.

2005 was the high point in international jersey design, as nearly all the top teams in the IIHF received all new jerseys or excellent updates. Team USA was no exception, as the Nike template style that had been in use since after the 1998 Olympics was finally retired.

The new jersey was based on the St. Louis Blues very well received third jersey, introduced in the 1997-98 season, which immediately became the Blues primary the following year. The USA added a tie-neck collar to complete the look.

Mike Modano was available to play for Team USA in the 2005 World Championships due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, as his club team the Dallas Stars were usually deep into a playoff run every spring, making Modano unavailable for the World Championships every other year since the Stars moved to Dallas.

Modano was named team captain and finished with three goals and four points in seven games for the United States as the USA finished second in their group to Canada and then lost in the quarter-finals to eventual champions the Czech Republic by a 3-2 score.

This 2005 Team USA Mike Modano jersey features the newly redesigned International Ice Hockey Federation logo patch on the lower back of the jersey, as worn on all the jerseys in the 2005 World Championships, as well as a pair of my custom made Innsbruck/Tirol sponsor patches on the shoulders to give it the "European" look of the sponsorship worn on jerseys at the World Championships.

Modano has appeared in a USA jersey on 11 occasions in a variety of tournaments, twice in the World Juniors, once in the 1991 Canada Cup, three times in the World Championships, two World Cups, and three Olympics, earning a gold medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Here is some rare, wiggly-jiggly footage of Modano in his 2005 Team USA road jersey.

1991-92 Philadelphia Flyers Mark Recchi Jersey

The 8th stop of July by the Numbers finds us in Philadelphia with a #8 Mark Recchi jersey.

Recchi was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988 and would play in Pittsburgh from 1988-89 to the 1991-92 season, including winning the Stanley Cup in 1991. He was then traded to the Flyers, along with Brian Benning and a first round draft pick, for Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson, Ken Wregget and a third round draft pick.

Recchi would play in Philadelphia for two additional seasons, including scoring a career high 53 goals and 123 points, the Flyers single season record, in 1992-93, before being traded once more early in the 1994-95 season to Montreal in a deal that sent John LeClair and Eric Desjardins to Philadelphia. Recchi would play five seasons in Montreal before finding himself back in the orange and black of the Flyers once more.

Once back in Philadelphia, Recchi would lead the Flyers in scoring with 91 points and be voted as the team's MVP. This time his stay in Philadelphia would last for six seasons before signing a free agent contract back where he started in Pittsburgh before being moved to the Carolina Hurricanes at that season's trading deadline, where he would win his second Stanley Cup. His 15 years between Stanley Cups is the second longest in league history.

The following year he would once more sign with the Penguins as a free agent. The next season, after being put on waivers by Pittsburgh, he would be claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. The 2008-09 season would see him sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning, only to finish out the season with the Boston Bruins.

Clearly, if Recchi were a collector, he'd have quite a number of different sweaters by this point!

Other possible additions to his collection could include the Canadian World Junior Team in 1988, three appearances for Canada at the World Championships in 1990, 1993 and 1997 and the Olympics in 1998.

Today's featured jersey is a CCM 1991-92 Philadelphia Flyers Mark Recchi home jersey from his first season in Philadelphia. The Flyers chose to put the NHL 75th Anniversary patch up on the right shoulder, unlike all the other teams who wore in on the right chest, save the New York Rangers who wore it on the left chest.

The Flyers hosted the NHL All-Star Game that season and thus wore the 1992 All-Star Game patch on the left shoulder before later changing to the Philadelphia Flyers 25th Anniversary patch in the latter half of the season.

Recchi would score his 500th career goal in January of 2007 while as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

1992-93 Minnesota North Stars Neal Broten Jersey

July by the Numbers reaches the 7th giving me the chance to showcase the first of my #7 Neal Broten jerseys.

Broten's career got off to a flying start as he, already the winner of an NCAA Championship and an Olympic Gold Medal before he even started playing for the Minnesota North Stars late in the 1981 season, immediately found himself in the Stanley Cup Finals facing the mighty New York Islanders in only his 19th professional game. He signed with the North Stars at the conclusion of the Minnesota Gophers 1980-81 season in time to play just the final three regular season games before being thrown headfirst into the NHL playoffs, where the North Stars made their run to the finals.

In his first full regular season with the North Stars, Broten would score 38 goals and 98 points while finishing as runner up for the Calder Memorial Trophy. The following year he would play in his first NHL All-Star Game and would then go on to lead the North Stars in scoring in three if his first five seasons, including the 1985-86 season, when he would total a career high 105 points while becoming the first American-born player to reach 100 points in a season and once more play in the NHL All-Star Game.

In 1991, the North Stars would once again go on a run through the playoffs, with Neal scoring 22 points in 23 games, only to fall short against Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Broten would eventually move with the franchise to Dallas for the 1993-94 season. During the following season he would be traded to the New Jersey Devils and finish the season by scoring the game winning goal in the cup clinching Game 4 to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career, giving him the trifecta of the capturing the NCAA Championship, an Olympic Gold Medal and the Stanley Cup.

He would eventually return to the Stars to close out his career, finishing with 289 goals, 634 assists and 923 points. He would also retire with several team records for the Stars franchise, including the most assists (593), most games played (992), most points (867), most seasons (16), most assists in a single season (76) and most points by a rookie (98) as well as retiring as second all-time in points by an American (923) and with the most games played by an American (1099).

His #7 would be retired by the Stars in 1998 and he would later be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Today's featured jersey is a 1992-93 Minnesota North Stars Neal Broten jersey as worn in the North Stars final season in Minnesota. To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Stanley Cup, all jerseys that season carried the Stanley Cup Centennial patch.

Having dropped the familiar green and gold color scheme under new ownership, this style jersey was worn in Minnesota for two seasons and then retained after the move to Dallas. The Dallas Stars version can be differentiated by the addition of stylized state of Texas patches on the shoulders.

Aside from the well known 1980 Olympics and being a part of The Miracle on Ice, Broten would later go on to be a member of Team USA in the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup as well as the 1990 World Championships.

1989-90 Team Canada Ken Lovsin Jersey

Today July by the Numbers moves on to jersey #6.

Ken Lovsin was a member of the Canadian National Team in both 1988-89 and 1989-90, which was coached by Dave King. At the time, the Canadian National Team played a full season together and competed in various international competitions, such as the annual Spengler Cup, held every year in Switzerland, and against various club teams.

The team would attract top NHL prospects, veteran professionals and occasionally current NHL players who were holding out in contract disputes. The program would continue in this format until 1998 when professionals were allowed to compete in the Olympics.

Other members of the Canadian National Team in 1989-90 included Kris Draper and goaltender Ed Belfour, both prior to moving onto the NHL.

Lovisn would participate in but a single NHL game, when he suited up for the Washington Capitals once in the 1990-91 season. He would play two full seasons for Baltimore in the AHL, and a year in Sweden before rejoining the Canadian National Team for the 1993-94 season, which included earning a sliver medal for Canada at the Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

Today's featured jersey is a 1989-90 Team Canada Ken Lovsin jersey with the addition of the captain's "C".

One unusual feature of the customizing of this jersey is that the three color sleeve numbers are created by sewing the top red layer onto a white layer and then sewing that layer onto the jersey with blue thread.

The back number is even more unusual, in that it is simply a one layer white number sewn onto the jersey with tightly zig-zagged blue thread and an inner path of red sewn on in the same tight zig-zag fashion. In fact, the distance between the inner red trim and the blue outline varies quite a bit and they even touch each other on occasion. It's actually pretty crude when examined too closely.

I quite like the "speed stripes" treatment on the arms as the white fades out to red approaching the cuffs of the arms. Many of these style jerseys have sponsor patches from Air Canada, Esso and Labatt across the bottom of the jersey on the back.

Speaking of examining the back number closely, I should point out that each photo I post on this blog of one of my jerseys is a clickable link to my Webshots account, which has additional functionality beyond just seeing the photo here in my blog. If you would like to see any of my jerseys or patches in much greater detail, and the back number on this Canada jersey is a perfect example, you can send me a "friend request" through webshots.

Here's how

1. Click here to be taken to the main page of my Webshots galleries.
2. To the right of the fourth row down is a yellow box with several links to click. Select "make friends". I will then receive an email with your request.
3. Once I approve you as a friend, you will then be able to view my photos in their original, gigantic 10 x 10 inch, 300 dpi size! You can also then download them to your own computer if you wish.

If you click on one of my photos, just look for the series of links at the top of the photo that reads "Spyboy1 > albums > Northwest Division (or whatever)", and click on "albums" to get to my main page and then follow step 2 above to send a friend request.

1999-00 University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Ryan Trebil Jersey

The 5th day of July by the Numbers sees a return to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers for our jersey #5 which belonged to Ryan Trebil.

Ryan's hockey career consisted of four years at Minnesota on defense, where he totaled 79 games, 3 goals and 6 assists while compiling 168 penalty minutes.

This is a game worn Nike 1999-00 University of Minnesota Ryan Trebil road jersey. 1999-00 was the first season that Nike was the manufacturer of the Gophers jerseys and would continue to do so until the 2001-02 championship season. This was never my favorite style Gophers jersey due to the fact the design was a Nike corporate template shared by many other teams at the time, from Team USA and the Czech Republic to Ohio State and Michigan. However...

winning a national championship in a particular jersey does wonders for ones opinion on such matters!

Game worn Gopher jerseys are quite difficult to obtain and are always in demand. I purchased this one directly from the University at an Athletic Department sale roughly seven years ago, the last time I am aware that they made any hockey jerseys available to the public.

One reason the game worn jerseys are so sought after is that Gophers authentic jerseys with fight straps are not made available to the public. The only jerseys sold at retail outlets are replica jerseys that lack the fight straps.

2002-03 New Jersey Devils Scott Stevens Jersey

July by the Numbers celebrates the 4th of July with jersey #4 from Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils.

Stevens, drafted 5th overall by the Washington Capitals in 1982, never played a game in the minor leagues and scored on his first ever shot in his first game. After eight seasons with the Capitals, he signed as a restricted free agent with the St. Louis Blues, costing them five first-round draft picks!

St. Louis named Stevens captain and made the Campbell Conference All-Star team in 1991. However, after the 1990-91 season St. Louis would again sign another restricted free agent, Brendan Shanahan of the New Jersey Devils. The Devils were now entitled to compensation and the case eventually went to arbitration, with Stevens being awarded to New Jersey.

In his second season with the Devils, Stevens would again be named team captain and would remain the Devils captain until his retirement 12 seasons later. He would lead the Devils in scoring in 1993-94 with 78 points and was also a league high +53 for the year.

In 1995, the Devils made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they swept the Detroit Red Wings in four straight to claim the first of three Stanley Cups. The Devils second Stanley Cup victory in 2000 would see Stevens be named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy.

After topping 1,500 games in the 2001-02 season, Stevens and the Devils would once again rise to the top and take their third Stanley Cup by defeating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.

Stevens would end his career with 1,635 games played, 196 goals and 712 assists for 908 points, finishing his career at a +393 with 13 NHL All-Star Game appearances. His #4 would be retired by the Devils on February 3, 2006.

Internationally, Stevens would appear in the World Championships for Canada four times, the 1991 Canada Cup where he would help Canada win the tournament, the 1996 World Cup and the 1998 Olympics.

The featured jersey today is a CCM 2002-03 New Jersey Devils Scott Stevens jersey with the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals patch as worn when the Devils defeated the Mighty Ducks in seven games.

While I have made mention of Stevens Stanley Cup victories and point totals above, Stevens is probably best remembered for his hard hitting reputation, having made numerous memorable thundering checks throughout his 22 NHL seasons.

1980's University of Minnesota Duluth Jersey

July by the Numbers continues with a #3 game worn University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs road jersey from the 1980's. This jersey style was used during the heights of the program when future NHL star Brett Hull skated for the Bulldogs and they were WCHA regular season and conference tournament champions and reached the NCAA Frozen Four in both 1984 and 1985, losing in the championship final in an agonizing four overtimes in 1984 and again three overtimes in the semi-finals the following year.

Both Tom Kurvers and Bill Watson wore this style jersey when they were winners of the Hobey Baker Award in 1984 and 1985

Later versions of this jersey had the word "Duluth" straight across the bottom, rather than the radially arch style you see on mine. In some of the earliest years this style was worn it did not have the skating bulldog shoulder patches.

I suspect my particular jersey may have been used for more than one season, and possibly by more than one player, due to the amount of wear on the jersey and the fact that the Bulldogs did not use names on the back at that time.

At the time of purchase, I was told the "UMD Bulldogs Russia 1984" patch was worn on the jersey when the Bulldogs visited Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1984 and I had it reattached. Recently, subsequent research has indicated the likelihood that the patch was worn on the left shoulder with the style of jersey that did not yet have the bulldog shoulder patches, as (barely) shown in this photo.

If anyone reading this has any further information about this style Duluth jersey, especially the precise years this style with the bulldog shoulder patches and arched "Duluth" lettering was worn, especially numerical rosters, please don't hesitate to contact me at the email address in my "wantlist" section to the right or by leaving a comment below.

2001-02 New York Rangers Alternate Brian Leetch Jersey

July by the Numbers continues on July 2nd with jersey #2.

Brian Leetch, picked 9th overall by the New York Rangers, won the Calder Trophy as a rookie in 1988 after first playing in the Olympic Games in Calgary. He played for Team USA in the 1991 Canada Cup, quickly followed by his best personal NHL season in 1991-92 when he totaled 102 points, including a Rangers record 80 assists and captured the Norris Trophy.

1993-94 would see Leetch hoist the Stanley Cup as well as the Conn Smythe Trophy, the first and only American-born player to do so. 1996-97 would go onto see him win his second Norris Trophy.

After captaining the United States to victory in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, Leetch would be named captain of the Rangers in 1997 and play in his second Olympics in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, followed by his third, earning a silver medal in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Leetch would play in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and then score his 1000th career point in the 2005-06 season while playing for the Boston Bruins. He would finish his NHL career with 247 goals, 781 assists and 1028 points.

He was one of 12 players voted to the All-Time USA Hockey Team in 1997 and then have his number 2 retried by the Rangers on January 24, 2008 and was been inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in October of the same year. Just ten days ago it was announced that Leetch will be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in November of this year.

The featured jersey today is the very attractive Starter 2001-02 New York Rangers Alternate Brian Leetch jersey with the 9/11 Memorial Ribbon patch.

This jersey is perhaps the most successful third jersey in the history of the NHL in my book. The darker shade of blue gives it a richer, more elegant look compared to the blue of the Rangers road jerseys of the time. The updating of the Rangers shield crest for the shoulders is a more modern and exciting version than the original, but the real triumph is the Liberty Head main logo crest, also created especially for this jersey. It's bold, unyielding stare announces the presence of the Rangers as force than cannot be ignored, nor easily overcome.

I'm torn about the lack of any waist stripes, but have to give the Rangers credit for breaking out of the mold of every jersey having waist stripes, as was the norm in 1996-97 when this alternate style first appeared. There were two previous alternates without waist stripes, but both of those had bold striping across the center of the jersey, in the case of the Penguins 95-96 Alt with it's wild, color-changing aysemetrical central stripe, and the Canucks alt from the same season with it's top red half and bottom black half, but the Rangers stands alone as the first solid color body free of any stripes, creating a look that certainly made the players appear larger and more intimidating.

Unfortunately, Starter wasn't the best at customizing their own jerseys, as the red sections of the numbers are much too thin compared to the authentic jerseys.