2005-06 Lutch Metallurg Magnitogorsk Home Authentic
#71 Evgeni Malkin
Manufacturer: Lutch
Size: 54
Purchased From: Facebook "NOT Game Worn Hockey Collectors" Group
Lettered by: Lutch
The Story: As anyone can tell by looking at this website, my collection is centered around Pittsburgh sports teams and, primarily, the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, I also like to include some uncommon or hard-to-find jerseys from Penguins players representing other non-NHL teams. Whether it's an All-Star jersey, a national team jersey, or a minor league jersey, I think these round out the collection well and keep my jersey collection from being entirely black and gold. This is one of those jerseys.
Lutch is a Russian manufacturer of hockey jerseys and sports apparel, and I've always heard good things about their jerseys. One way they differ from typical North American hockey jerseys is their lettering. Instead of jerseys with embroidered crests and tackle twill lettering, Lutch uses a dye sublimation technique where dye is heated and injected into the fibers of the jersey with pinpoint accuracy, creating a sharp looking jersey without all the sewing. Lutch jerseys aren't easy to find in the US, and pro weight jersey (those made for game use, not fan apparel) are even harder to find. Of course, Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is one of those Russian players who would've worn Lutch jerseys, so when I found this one on a Facebook jersey collectors' group at a good price in October of 2020, I jumped on the deal! I contacted the seller, who lived about two hours north of me, but who was making his way to my neck of the woods later that week. I wanted to avoid the mail system as I've seen all sorts of delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we made a plan to meet along the route he was taking and I was able to pick this one up in person. What I received was a really solid, sharp-looking jersey that really impressed me in its quality. It's no wonder that Lutch is the exclusive jersey manufacturer for Russia's Kontinental Hockey League and quite a few other European Leagues as well.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk is a Russian professional team that dates back over 60 years, located in the steel manufacturing city of Magnitogorsk. Magnitogorsk also happens to be Malkin's home town, and he played for the Metallurg organization through their junior and senior league and into their Russian Superleague team. The Penguins drafted him second overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, but with the 2004-05 season lost due to a labor dispute, Geno remained with Magnitogorsk for that season. When the 2005-06 season rolled around, the NHL's labor strife was over and everyone was ready for NHL hockey again. However, Malkin's hometown team exerted whatever pressure they could to keep him from leaving Magnitogorsk for Pittsburgh, and rumor has it that this pressure included displacing his family out of town if he left. Malkin decided to stay in the Russian Superleague for one more year before finally leaving Magnitogorsk's training camp in Helsinki, Finland before it began in August of 2006. His agent met him in Finland and brought him to Pittsburgh in very clandestine, cloak-and-dagger type of operation befitting the old Soviet Union defections. However, Geno's wearing a Penguins uniform was further delayed as he separated his shoulder in a pre-season game when he collided with teammate John LeClair. Once he made his NHL debut with the Pens on October 19, Metallurg filed for an injunction in US District Court that was effectively a hold-up for more money than NHL transfer agreements called for, which was dismissed in November and again, on appeal, in Feburary of 2007. Malkin's relationship with his hometown team did improve, though as he went back to play for them in the 2012-13 season during the 2012-13 NHL lockout.
It's a shame he had to go through all of the turmoil he went through in order to just make it to Pittsburgh, but Geno immediately became a fan favorite in Pittsburgh due to his jokester personality as well as his results on the ice, scoring a goal in each of his first six games with the Pens. He's gone on to be a superstar with the Penguins, helping to lead them to three Stanley Cup championships while winning three NHL scoring titles, the NHL and NHLPA MVP awards in 2012, and the Conn Smythe trophy as the Stanley Cup Playoffs' MVP in 2009.
This jersey is a reminder of how things used to be, as it harkens back to the days when players from Russia and other Soviet Bloc countries would have to defect to the United States to realize their dream of playing hockey on the highest level.
Size: 54
Purchased From: Facebook "NOT Game Worn Hockey Collectors" Group
Lettered by: Lutch
The Story: As anyone can tell by looking at this website, my collection is centered around Pittsburgh sports teams and, primarily, the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, I also like to include some uncommon or hard-to-find jerseys from Penguins players representing other non-NHL teams. Whether it's an All-Star jersey, a national team jersey, or a minor league jersey, I think these round out the collection well and keep my jersey collection from being entirely black and gold. This is one of those jerseys.
Lutch is a Russian manufacturer of hockey jerseys and sports apparel, and I've always heard good things about their jerseys. One way they differ from typical North American hockey jerseys is their lettering. Instead of jerseys with embroidered crests and tackle twill lettering, Lutch uses a dye sublimation technique where dye is heated and injected into the fibers of the jersey with pinpoint accuracy, creating a sharp looking jersey without all the sewing. Lutch jerseys aren't easy to find in the US, and pro weight jersey (those made for game use, not fan apparel) are even harder to find. Of course, Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is one of those Russian players who would've worn Lutch jerseys, so when I found this one on a Facebook jersey collectors' group at a good price in October of 2020, I jumped on the deal! I contacted the seller, who lived about two hours north of me, but who was making his way to my neck of the woods later that week. I wanted to avoid the mail system as I've seen all sorts of delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we made a plan to meet along the route he was taking and I was able to pick this one up in person. What I received was a really solid, sharp-looking jersey that really impressed me in its quality. It's no wonder that Lutch is the exclusive jersey manufacturer for Russia's Kontinental Hockey League and quite a few other European Leagues as well.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk is a Russian professional team that dates back over 60 years, located in the steel manufacturing city of Magnitogorsk. Magnitogorsk also happens to be Malkin's home town, and he played for the Metallurg organization through their junior and senior league and into their Russian Superleague team. The Penguins drafted him second overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, but with the 2004-05 season lost due to a labor dispute, Geno remained with Magnitogorsk for that season. When the 2005-06 season rolled around, the NHL's labor strife was over and everyone was ready for NHL hockey again. However, Malkin's hometown team exerted whatever pressure they could to keep him from leaving Magnitogorsk for Pittsburgh, and rumor has it that this pressure included displacing his family out of town if he left. Malkin decided to stay in the Russian Superleague for one more year before finally leaving Magnitogorsk's training camp in Helsinki, Finland before it began in August of 2006. His agent met him in Finland and brought him to Pittsburgh in very clandestine, cloak-and-dagger type of operation befitting the old Soviet Union defections. However, Geno's wearing a Penguins uniform was further delayed as he separated his shoulder in a pre-season game when he collided with teammate John LeClair. Once he made his NHL debut with the Pens on October 19, Metallurg filed for an injunction in US District Court that was effectively a hold-up for more money than NHL transfer agreements called for, which was dismissed in November and again, on appeal, in Feburary of 2007. Malkin's relationship with his hometown team did improve, though as he went back to play for them in the 2012-13 season during the 2012-13 NHL lockout.
It's a shame he had to go through all of the turmoil he went through in order to just make it to Pittsburgh, but Geno immediately became a fan favorite in Pittsburgh due to his jokester personality as well as his results on the ice, scoring a goal in each of his first six games with the Pens. He's gone on to be a superstar with the Penguins, helping to lead them to three Stanley Cup championships while winning three NHL scoring titles, the NHL and NHLPA MVP awards in 2012, and the Conn Smythe trophy as the Stanley Cup Playoffs' MVP in 2009.
This jersey is a reminder of how things used to be, as it harkens back to the days when players from Russia and other Soviet Bloc countries would have to defect to the United States to realize their dream of playing hockey on the highest level.