Send The Fan Zoo a picture of your favourite piece of sports memorabilia on Facebook. You will automatically be entered for a chance to win an autographed photo of Alex Burrows playing in his 500th game.
I was instantly drawn to The Fan Zoo after the first time I sat down to chat with Bobby. Both of us were passionate hockey fans, and with that came a love for hockey memorabilia. My apartment doesn’t have room to house all of my memorabilia, but I have dreams of one day constructing the ultimate ‘Man Lair’ where I can hang and display my favourite photos, pucks, jerseys, and everything in between.
With no Canuck news on the immediate horizon (unless you want to read about the recently-signed center prospect Alex Friesen, which I wrote over on my blog here), I decided to switch gears a bit and discuss my five personal favorite sports memorabilia pieces.
I have amassed quite the collection of signed 8×10’s by numerous Canucks – Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Roberto Luongo, Markus Naslund, Pavel Bure, Alex Edler, Mattias Ohlund, and Shea Weber. Future Canucks count too, right? I have yet to frame any of them – thinking about putting a Sedin photo frame package together at some point in the future.
Here are my five favorite sports memorabilia pieces in my collection:
5) Martin Brodeur signed photo spread
I had this beauty put together a few years ago – it includes two signed 8×10’s centered by a photo of Marty delivering a vintage kick save. Brodeur is arguably the greatest at his position of all-time, and his longevity at this position has been unrivaled.
4) Bobby Orr “The Goal” split frame montage.
I wasn’t alive for Orr’s infamous leaping goal against the Blues in 1970, but I got this beauty put together a few years ago. Orr transcended the position of defense with his flair for offense, and his ability to control the game at both ends of the ice.
My piece is four consecutive stills framed together, showing the play develop – the final shot being the one I have included above.
3) Kevin Bieksa Bowling Green Falcons home jersey/Mason Raymond University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs road jersey
Neither of these jerseys are signed (yet), but both mean a lot to me because they were so tough to track down. Bieksa was a prospect who first appeared on my radar during his rookie season in the AHL. He fought (sometimes his own teammates in Fedor Fedorov), he scored, he defended, and he played with a scowl and swagger not often seen out of a rookie.
I tracked this Bowling Green jersey down and found the official NCAA customizer in the US to put the name and number on the back (even getting the alternate captain ‘A’ on the jersey, just as Bieksa wore during his final few years as a Falcon).
The Raymond jersey was just as hard to track down. He’s had an up-and-down past few years, peaking with his 25-goal season in 2009-10, and hitting a low point with the serious back injury against Boston, and subsequent struggles after. He is a very effective player and I look forward to him bouncing back in 2012-13, in a Canucks sweater. Raymond was a Junior A star in Alberta (the Canucks drafted him out of the AJHL) before joining the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth.
2) Mike Keane Manitoba Moose authentic jersey
My favorite jersey, hands down. Keane was a warrior in every sense of the word, winning three Stanley Cups with three different teams. He returned home to Winnipeg to cap off his career, and he played a significant role in the development of many core Canuck players – Bieksa, Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Jannik Hansen, and so on.
The Moose jerseys are so unique, which is what makes this jersey such a gem. The Toyota patch (not shown, on the front left shoulder) was one I spent a while tracking down, eventually getting in touch with the Manitoba Moose organization to find out the exact size specifications for it. Like my other two jerseys listed above, this isn’t signed (yet).
1) Personalized signed and framed Pave Bure 8×10 photo
Ask any person who grew up in Vancouver in the 1990s their favorite hockey player growing up, and the answer is usually the same – the Russian Rocket. Bure captivated me from the very first time I saw him play – he did things at top speed that other players dreamed of doing standing still. This piece includes a personalized card I had Pavel sign for me a long time ago, framed below arguably the most famous 8×10 photo of him ever produced.
Send The Fan Zoo a picture of your favourite piece of sports memorabilia on Facebook. You will automatically be entered for a chance to win an autographed photo of Alex Burrows playing in his 500th game.