2008-09 Reebok Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Alternate Game Worn
#28 Nick Johnson with WBS Penguins Ten-Year Anniversary "X" Patch
Manufacturer: Reebok
Size: 56
Purchased From: eBay
Lettered by: Sport-Jes
The Story: Some jerseys in my collection are pieces of history that I searched out for a really long time. There are other jerseys that I'd absolutely love to have, but the chance of finding one that would fit into my collection are virtually non-existent. This is one of those times.
For years, I've wanted a blue Penguins jersey from their early days. I especially have a fondness for the Pens 1977-78 home whites, which incorporated both Columbia and Navy blue trim into them. Unfortunately, those are really hard to find and, in the rare instances I did find one available, they're even harder to pay for. I've seen them sell at prices that, if you gave me 75% off, would still be too rich for my budget. So what's a guy to do? Well, if you're a Penguins fan, you have a couple of choices. You can wait for the Penguins to bring back an old style in the form of an alternate jersey. But if you've waited in vain for years for that to happen, another option is to look no further than the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who use five or six different jersey designs throughout the course of a season. This is one of those jerseys.
The color scheme of this jersey, including the lettering, matches Pittsburgh's 1977-78 jerseys pretty closely. Remove the Penguins traditional crest, add a "Penguins" wordmark, a jersey number to the front, and the Penguins logo on the shoulders and you're left with a really nice looking jersey that is a nod to what is often a forgotten era in Penguins history, even though some of the greatest players to skate in Pittsburgh played at the time. The Baby Pens ten-year anniversary and Blue Cross/Blue Shield sponsor patches are a nice touch as well. In Pittsburgh, this jersey was worn for a year and a half until the Pens switched their team colors to black and gold in 1979. In Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, these jerseys saw the ice even less frequently, as third jerseys are only worn for a handful of games throughout the season and this style was only worn during the 2008-09 season. I was lucky enough, however, to find a few photos of Nick Johnson wearing this very jersey in a game, which I've added to the top of this page.
Speaking of Nick Johnson, he was a third-round draft pick by the Penguins in 2004. After finishing his collegiate career at Dartmouth, he made his pro debut with the Baby Pens late in the 2007-08 season. The following year, he played the bulk of the season in WBS before being an injury call-up to Pittsburgh in 2009-10. The Penguins were loaded that year, having just won the Stanley Cup, so Johnson was in a predicament of being an NHL talent on a team that didn't have room for him on the NHL roster. Free agency opportunities took him to Minnesota and Boston, with Johnson only playing 10 of his 113 NHL games for the Penguins, but he was always a player with a lot of promise while with the Pens organization. He wrapped up his career with three years in the Swedish Hockey League.
Once I received this beauty, I was even more impressed by the detail. The jersey number on the front is made of four-layer tackle twill while the wordmark is two-layer twill with two-color embroidered trim. Also indiscernible from the eBay pictures was Johnson's signature in silver Sharpie on the verso "8," two-layer navy-on-Columbia blue lettering on the nameplate, and some light jersey wear to add some character, which includes some pulls, paint transfers, and a board burn to the right shoulder on both the jersey and the Penguins logo patch. The detail of this jersey makes it one of the favorites in my collection, and I'll wear it with pride to my next Pens game! A letter of authenticity from the team was also included, as was the payment receipt from the Baby Pens' auction at which this jersey was purchased from the person from whom I bought it. An LOA certifying this was, in fact, the "real deal" is always good, and the receipt made me feel really good about the price I paid for this gem!
Size: 56
Purchased From: eBay
Lettered by: Sport-Jes
The Story: Some jerseys in my collection are pieces of history that I searched out for a really long time. There are other jerseys that I'd absolutely love to have, but the chance of finding one that would fit into my collection are virtually non-existent. This is one of those times.
For years, I've wanted a blue Penguins jersey from their early days. I especially have a fondness for the Pens 1977-78 home whites, which incorporated both Columbia and Navy blue trim into them. Unfortunately, those are really hard to find and, in the rare instances I did find one available, they're even harder to pay for. I've seen them sell at prices that, if you gave me 75% off, would still be too rich for my budget. So what's a guy to do? Well, if you're a Penguins fan, you have a couple of choices. You can wait for the Penguins to bring back an old style in the form of an alternate jersey. But if you've waited in vain for years for that to happen, another option is to look no further than the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who use five or six different jersey designs throughout the course of a season. This is one of those jerseys.
The color scheme of this jersey, including the lettering, matches Pittsburgh's 1977-78 jerseys pretty closely. Remove the Penguins traditional crest, add a "Penguins" wordmark, a jersey number to the front, and the Penguins logo on the shoulders and you're left with a really nice looking jersey that is a nod to what is often a forgotten era in Penguins history, even though some of the greatest players to skate in Pittsburgh played at the time. The Baby Pens ten-year anniversary and Blue Cross/Blue Shield sponsor patches are a nice touch as well. In Pittsburgh, this jersey was worn for a year and a half until the Pens switched their team colors to black and gold in 1979. In Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, these jerseys saw the ice even less frequently, as third jerseys are only worn for a handful of games throughout the season and this style was only worn during the 2008-09 season. I was lucky enough, however, to find a few photos of Nick Johnson wearing this very jersey in a game, which I've added to the top of this page.
Speaking of Nick Johnson, he was a third-round draft pick by the Penguins in 2004. After finishing his collegiate career at Dartmouth, he made his pro debut with the Baby Pens late in the 2007-08 season. The following year, he played the bulk of the season in WBS before being an injury call-up to Pittsburgh in 2009-10. The Penguins were loaded that year, having just won the Stanley Cup, so Johnson was in a predicament of being an NHL talent on a team that didn't have room for him on the NHL roster. Free agency opportunities took him to Minnesota and Boston, with Johnson only playing 10 of his 113 NHL games for the Penguins, but he was always a player with a lot of promise while with the Pens organization. He wrapped up his career with three years in the Swedish Hockey League.
Once I received this beauty, I was even more impressed by the detail. The jersey number on the front is made of four-layer tackle twill while the wordmark is two-layer twill with two-color embroidered trim. Also indiscernible from the eBay pictures was Johnson's signature in silver Sharpie on the verso "8," two-layer navy-on-Columbia blue lettering on the nameplate, and some light jersey wear to add some character, which includes some pulls, paint transfers, and a board burn to the right shoulder on both the jersey and the Penguins logo patch. The detail of this jersey makes it one of the favorites in my collection, and I'll wear it with pride to my next Pens game! A letter of authenticity from the team was also included, as was the payment receipt from the Baby Pens' auction at which this jersey was purchased from the person from whom I bought it. An LOA certifying this was, in fact, the "real deal" is always good, and the receipt made me feel really good about the price I paid for this gem!