2003-04 CCM Road Authentic
#29 Marc-Andre Fleury
Manufacturer: CCM
Size: 52
Purchased From: eBay
Lettered by: Unknown
The Story: What? A white road jersey?
Yes, in 2003, the NHL adopted a regulation that made a team's white jersey their road uniform and their colored jersey as the home sweater. The 2003-04 season also saw the Penguins' first-overall draft pick, Marc-Andre Fleury, become the youngest goaltender in the NHL when he made his NHL debut on October 10, stopping 46 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings (hey, there's a reason why this team drafted first overall). Fleury had the entire city rooting behind him as he was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for October, but the Pens' porous defense combined with concerns about making the young kid a mental case left him sent back to his junior team later in the season.
A couple of years later, with The Flower established as the team's number one goalie, another first happened. I took my daughter to the first day of Penguins training camp, which is something we've done every year since. I had already bought a Fleury rookie jersey on eBay (you could be sure of what you were getting back then, as the proliferation of knockoffs hadn't begun) and wore it to camp that day. In what seems to have become a recurring theme, Fleury made himself available to fans in the parking lot after practice for autographs. I've never been much of an autograph hound, but my eight-year-old was enjoying it, when Fleury began signing out the window of his car. I made a quick decision to ask him to sign this jersey, which he did, leaning out his SUV window to do it while it was still on my back! Since that year, I've always noticed the Fleury is the one player who will sign every autograph that's requested of him at training camp, especially for the kids, making the day for them. He's done that for my daughter on more than one occasion, even posing for a picture. A multi-millionaire, elite goaltender making time for his young fans. I respect Marc-Andre greatly for that, and will always appreciate the class that he brings to the team.
Size: 52
Purchased From: eBay
Lettered by: Unknown
The Story: What? A white road jersey?
Yes, in 2003, the NHL adopted a regulation that made a team's white jersey their road uniform and their colored jersey as the home sweater. The 2003-04 season also saw the Penguins' first-overall draft pick, Marc-Andre Fleury, become the youngest goaltender in the NHL when he made his NHL debut on October 10, stopping 46 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings (hey, there's a reason why this team drafted first overall). Fleury had the entire city rooting behind him as he was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for October, but the Pens' porous defense combined with concerns about making the young kid a mental case left him sent back to his junior team later in the season.
A couple of years later, with The Flower established as the team's number one goalie, another first happened. I took my daughter to the first day of Penguins training camp, which is something we've done every year since. I had already bought a Fleury rookie jersey on eBay (you could be sure of what you were getting back then, as the proliferation of knockoffs hadn't begun) and wore it to camp that day. In what seems to have become a recurring theme, Fleury made himself available to fans in the parking lot after practice for autographs. I've never been much of an autograph hound, but my eight-year-old was enjoying it, when Fleury began signing out the window of his car. I made a quick decision to ask him to sign this jersey, which he did, leaning out his SUV window to do it while it was still on my back! Since that year, I've always noticed the Fleury is the one player who will sign every autograph that's requested of him at training camp, especially for the kids, making the day for them. He's done that for my daughter on more than one occasion, even posing for a picture. A multi-millionaire, elite goaltender making time for his young fans. I respect Marc-Andre greatly for that, and will always appreciate the class that he brings to the team.