1987-88 CCM Team USA Pre-Olympic Home Game Worn
#18 Kevin Stevens with Dodge Sponsor Patch
Manufacturer: CCM
Size: 54
Purchased From: Game Worn Auctions
Lettered by: Team USA
The Story: Now here is a jersey that you're going to have a hard time finding in the stands at the next Pens game!
Back in the 1987-88 season, Kevin Stevens was a young rookie who has made his NHL debut for the Penguins before heading to the US National Team in preparation for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. As a star for Boston College from 1983-87, he came to the Pens with quite a pedigree, but his experience with the US National Team propelled him to another level. He played all 44 pre-Olympics games for the USNT (with an undetermined number of games being played in this jersey, including at least one game against the Soviet Union, as pictured above), scoring 45 points. In the Olympics, he continued his pace with four points in five games on the way to a seventh-place finish in The Winter Games.
"Artie" became a full-time NHLer with the Pens in the 1989-90 season and quickly became a fan favorite. His unique combination of size and skill made him one of the league's top power forwards, but he also wasn't afraid to drop his gloves or play the opponent's body, averaging 186 penalty minutes in each of his first three full NHL seasons. Though still a youngster in terms of NHL experience who was still growing at the NHL level, he had quickly become a vocal leader for the team. This was never as clear as it was in the 1991 Wales Conference Finals. The Penguins had lost the first two games of the series to the Boston Bruins, the defending Wales Conference champions. Stevens famously guaranteed not only a win in Game 3, he guaranteed that the Pens would win the series. That was big talk from a 25-year-old, but Stevens backed it up by opening the scoring in the first period and assisting on Ron Francis' goal in the second en route to a 4-1 win. From there, the Pens swept Games 4-6 to reach their first Stanley Cup Final, and Stevens played a big role in the Penguins winning their first Stanley Cup by defeating the Minnesota North Stars. The success continued in 1991-92, and although he'd finish second in the 1991-92 NHL scoring race to his linemate, Mario Lemieux, his 123 points set all-time records for points by a left wing and points by an American-born player. He followed that up by scoring 28 points in 21 games in the 1992 playoffs, including a four-goal burst against the Bruins in Game 3 of the Wales Conference Final, hoisting the Stanley Cup for a second time. Artie picked up right where he left off in the 1992-93 season, scoring 111 points while helping to lead the Pens to the President's Trophy, and scored another 16 points in 12 playoff games.
That 12th playoff game, however, would change Kevin's life forever. On a routine play, Stevens checked New York Islanders blueliner Rich Pilon and, in the process, knocked himself out. He fell face first to the ice and shattered virtually every bone in his face. Extensive surgery was required to literally reassemble his face, which included an incision under his hairline from ear to ear, the peeling back of his skin, the installation of several metal plates, and over 100 stitches to close the incision. He came back strong in 1993-94, scoring 88 points in 83 games, but he developed an addiction to painkillers during his recovery, which later led to other drugs. He was traded to Boston in August of 1995 and never reached the levels of success that he did in Pittsburgh. His career was on a downward spiral due to his addictions and he was never the same player. He'd go on to play with Los Angeles, the New York Rangers, and Philadelphia before returning to Pittsburgh to finish his career shortly after Lemieux returned from retirement in late-2000.
He remained close with Mario, and Mario never lost confidence in his friend. He was brought on as a talent scout with the Penguins in 2005, a position he held through 2011 before leaving to spend more time with his family. He continued the ups and downs with addiction, which were well-detailed in the documentary, Kevin Stevens: Shattered, in 2018, before finding that upward path. He came back to Pittsburgh and the Pens in a scouting role in 2017 and was promoted within the scouting department in 2019.
Now, onto the jersey. There's no way of knowing how many games were played in this game, as trying to find pictures of each of the 44 pre-Olympic games is impossible. But one can estimate that this jersey was worn in roughly half of those games, so 22 games is a pretty good guess. This jersey has quite a lot of wear. There are stick marks all over it, especially on the bottom-front of the jersey and the arms due to hooking during games. There's also an unrepaired hole just above the right elbow as well as a few paint transfers. The one strange thing that jumped out at me is the lack of a fight strap. Fighting is much less frequent in international hockey, and given that these games were basically warm-ups for the Olympics, fighting would be expected even less. As a result, there's no fight strap in this jersey. In addition, under the flag tag in the neckline, there's an embroidered "88" to signify the year the jersey was used.
This jersey serves as not only a piece of Penguins history, but a reminder and tribute to a man who has traveled over the highest peaks and through the deepest valleys, while still persevering to come out on the other side as one of the genuinely good guys in the game.
Size: 54
Purchased From: Game Worn Auctions
Lettered by: Team USA
The Story: Now here is a jersey that you're going to have a hard time finding in the stands at the next Pens game!
Back in the 1987-88 season, Kevin Stevens was a young rookie who has made his NHL debut for the Penguins before heading to the US National Team in preparation for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. As a star for Boston College from 1983-87, he came to the Pens with quite a pedigree, but his experience with the US National Team propelled him to another level. He played all 44 pre-Olympics games for the USNT (with an undetermined number of games being played in this jersey, including at least one game against the Soviet Union, as pictured above), scoring 45 points. In the Olympics, he continued his pace with four points in five games on the way to a seventh-place finish in The Winter Games.
"Artie" became a full-time NHLer with the Pens in the 1989-90 season and quickly became a fan favorite. His unique combination of size and skill made him one of the league's top power forwards, but he also wasn't afraid to drop his gloves or play the opponent's body, averaging 186 penalty minutes in each of his first three full NHL seasons. Though still a youngster in terms of NHL experience who was still growing at the NHL level, he had quickly become a vocal leader for the team. This was never as clear as it was in the 1991 Wales Conference Finals. The Penguins had lost the first two games of the series to the Boston Bruins, the defending Wales Conference champions. Stevens famously guaranteed not only a win in Game 3, he guaranteed that the Pens would win the series. That was big talk from a 25-year-old, but Stevens backed it up by opening the scoring in the first period and assisting on Ron Francis' goal in the second en route to a 4-1 win. From there, the Pens swept Games 4-6 to reach their first Stanley Cup Final, and Stevens played a big role in the Penguins winning their first Stanley Cup by defeating the Minnesota North Stars. The success continued in 1991-92, and although he'd finish second in the 1991-92 NHL scoring race to his linemate, Mario Lemieux, his 123 points set all-time records for points by a left wing and points by an American-born player. He followed that up by scoring 28 points in 21 games in the 1992 playoffs, including a four-goal burst against the Bruins in Game 3 of the Wales Conference Final, hoisting the Stanley Cup for a second time. Artie picked up right where he left off in the 1992-93 season, scoring 111 points while helping to lead the Pens to the President's Trophy, and scored another 16 points in 12 playoff games.
That 12th playoff game, however, would change Kevin's life forever. On a routine play, Stevens checked New York Islanders blueliner Rich Pilon and, in the process, knocked himself out. He fell face first to the ice and shattered virtually every bone in his face. Extensive surgery was required to literally reassemble his face, which included an incision under his hairline from ear to ear, the peeling back of his skin, the installation of several metal plates, and over 100 stitches to close the incision. He came back strong in 1993-94, scoring 88 points in 83 games, but he developed an addiction to painkillers during his recovery, which later led to other drugs. He was traded to Boston in August of 1995 and never reached the levels of success that he did in Pittsburgh. His career was on a downward spiral due to his addictions and he was never the same player. He'd go on to play with Los Angeles, the New York Rangers, and Philadelphia before returning to Pittsburgh to finish his career shortly after Lemieux returned from retirement in late-2000.
He remained close with Mario, and Mario never lost confidence in his friend. He was brought on as a talent scout with the Penguins in 2005, a position he held through 2011 before leaving to spend more time with his family. He continued the ups and downs with addiction, which were well-detailed in the documentary, Kevin Stevens: Shattered, in 2018, before finding that upward path. He came back to Pittsburgh and the Pens in a scouting role in 2017 and was promoted within the scouting department in 2019.
Now, onto the jersey. There's no way of knowing how many games were played in this game, as trying to find pictures of each of the 44 pre-Olympic games is impossible. But one can estimate that this jersey was worn in roughly half of those games, so 22 games is a pretty good guess. This jersey has quite a lot of wear. There are stick marks all over it, especially on the bottom-front of the jersey and the arms due to hooking during games. There's also an unrepaired hole just above the right elbow as well as a few paint transfers. The one strange thing that jumped out at me is the lack of a fight strap. Fighting is much less frequent in international hockey, and given that these games were basically warm-ups for the Olympics, fighting would be expected even less. As a result, there's no fight strap in this jersey. In addition, under the flag tag in the neckline, there's an embroidered "88" to signify the year the jersey was used.
This jersey serves as not only a piece of Penguins history, but a reminder and tribute to a man who has traveled over the highest peaks and through the deepest valleys, while still persevering to come out on the other side as one of the genuinely good guys in the game.