2011-12 Reebok Road Team Issued
#72 Patric Hornqvist
Manufacturer: Reebok
Size: 58
Purchased From: Joe Tomon/J & J Distributing
Lettered by: Pro Knitwear/House o' Hockey
The Story: The keen and knowledgeable folks reading this website would read the title of this page and immediately become skeptical. They'd ask things like "How can you have a 2011-12 Hornqvist Penguins gamer when he didn't join the team until the 2014-15 season?" Ahhh, therein lies the story!
In late-2014, I was able to get a legitimate Rookie Camp game-worn Reebok Edge 2.0 jersey and have the nameplate changed to make it a Pascal Dupuis home jersey, and I really liked the way it turned out. I'm not a person who's looking to counterfeit anything or defraud anyone. I'm just a guy who wants to get the best quality jerseys he can for his collection and do so at the best possible prices. Since I had such good luck with the Duper home jersey, I was looking for the opportunity to follow the same path for a road jersey. That opportunity presented itself in the summer of 2015 when Joe Tomon and J & J Distributing, dealer of all sorts of Penguins game-used memorabilia, including jerseys, decided to unload some older game-issued jerseys at unbelievable prices. This jersey is a 2011-12 game-issued Stefan Fournier jersey. He was one of the guys who had a jersey made for him (number 72) in case he was called up from the minors, but that never happened and he has since moved on to another organization. By the summer of 2015, Fournier was a prospect in the Montreal Canadiens organization. So this is a 2011-12 Reebok road game-issued jersey. This jersey is also customized with the "72 HORNQVIST" on the back. However, this is not a Patric Hornqvist game-issued or game-worn jersey.
I heard of the sale on social media and immediately checked our J & J's inventory to find an Edge 2.0 with a number of a current player. Before long, I found this one and contacted Mr. Tomon. As is par for the course, he replied right away, but he said someone else had already claimed it and was picking it up the next day, but if something fell through, he'd contact me. A day later, I got an e-mail from him stating that the deal had, indeed, fallen through and the Fournier jersey was mine if I wanted it. A quick online transaction and a couple days shipping later, and I had this one in-hand. After two quick trips to the House o' Hockey in Murrysville to have the nameplate changed, it was complete. All for $145, including all shipping charges. Can't beat that deal with a stick!
But I didn't just decide on this one solely because of the availability of a #72 jersey. I'm a big fan of Patric Hornqvist. He's a guy who has a ton of skill, but while some highly-skilled players rely on their skill alone to produce, he's willing to do the dirty work in front of the net and pay attention to his defensive responsibilities as well. He's a "100% effort 100% of the time" kind of player, so I'm proud to add this jersey to my collection.
And just in case the story behind this jersey wasn't confusing enough, I decided to add a 2016 Stanley Cup Finals patch to this one. Is there a more fitting way to commemorate the guy who scored both the first and the last goals for the Penguins in the 2016 Playoffs?
Size: 58
Purchased From: Joe Tomon/J & J Distributing
Lettered by: Pro Knitwear/House o' Hockey
The Story: The keen and knowledgeable folks reading this website would read the title of this page and immediately become skeptical. They'd ask things like "How can you have a 2011-12 Hornqvist Penguins gamer when he didn't join the team until the 2014-15 season?" Ahhh, therein lies the story!
In late-2014, I was able to get a legitimate Rookie Camp game-worn Reebok Edge 2.0 jersey and have the nameplate changed to make it a Pascal Dupuis home jersey, and I really liked the way it turned out. I'm not a person who's looking to counterfeit anything or defraud anyone. I'm just a guy who wants to get the best quality jerseys he can for his collection and do so at the best possible prices. Since I had such good luck with the Duper home jersey, I was looking for the opportunity to follow the same path for a road jersey. That opportunity presented itself in the summer of 2015 when Joe Tomon and J & J Distributing, dealer of all sorts of Penguins game-used memorabilia, including jerseys, decided to unload some older game-issued jerseys at unbelievable prices. This jersey is a 2011-12 game-issued Stefan Fournier jersey. He was one of the guys who had a jersey made for him (number 72) in case he was called up from the minors, but that never happened and he has since moved on to another organization. By the summer of 2015, Fournier was a prospect in the Montreal Canadiens organization. So this is a 2011-12 Reebok road game-issued jersey. This jersey is also customized with the "72 HORNQVIST" on the back. However, this is not a Patric Hornqvist game-issued or game-worn jersey.
I heard of the sale on social media and immediately checked our J & J's inventory to find an Edge 2.0 with a number of a current player. Before long, I found this one and contacted Mr. Tomon. As is par for the course, he replied right away, but he said someone else had already claimed it and was picking it up the next day, but if something fell through, he'd contact me. A day later, I got an e-mail from him stating that the deal had, indeed, fallen through and the Fournier jersey was mine if I wanted it. A quick online transaction and a couple days shipping later, and I had this one in-hand. After two quick trips to the House o' Hockey in Murrysville to have the nameplate changed, it was complete. All for $145, including all shipping charges. Can't beat that deal with a stick!
But I didn't just decide on this one solely because of the availability of a #72 jersey. I'm a big fan of Patric Hornqvist. He's a guy who has a ton of skill, but while some highly-skilled players rely on their skill alone to produce, he's willing to do the dirty work in front of the net and pay attention to his defensive responsibilities as well. He's a "100% effort 100% of the time" kind of player, so I'm proud to add this jersey to my collection.
And just in case the story behind this jersey wasn't confusing enough, I decided to add a 2016 Stanley Cup Finals patch to this one. Is there a more fitting way to commemorate the guy who scored both the first and the last goals for the Penguins in the 2016 Playoffs?