Dallas Stars Fans: Picking A Player’s Name For Your New Jersey
By Josh Clark
It’s always a fun time when purchasing a new Dallas Stars jersey. If you are like the many fans that are flocking to a new Adidas or Fanatics one this summer, here are some hints on which player name might service you the best.
It’s a time of drastic change in the “big four” professional sports leagues in terms of jersey branding.
Two years ago, both the NBA and NHL made waves with big announcements regarding their official jersey providers. Starting in the 2017-18 season, the NBA would be switching from Adidas to Nike as the makers of their jerseys, while the NHL would jump from Reebok to Adidas.
This past year, the MLB also announced that in 2020, Under Armour and Fanatics would begin making jerseys for baseball, officially retiring the longstanding partnership with Majestic and Nike.
The only league to not switch recently is the NFL, who converted from Reebok to Nike as their jersey provider back in 2012.
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Every league is changing as the requirements and popularity of the game itself changes. And for fans of each sport, that means a change of wardrobe.
If you are like a good majority of sports fans, you always want to stay up-to-date with your favorite team’s gear. You don’t want to necessarily be wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey made by Reebok or even a Dallas Mavericks jersey also made by Reebok. And unless you love the throwbacks and sticking out like a sore thumb in a sea of Victory Green, you definitely don’t want to be a Dallas Stars fan wearing an old Reebok or even CCM one.
So you will probably be hunting for a new jersey before or as the new season dawns upon us on October 6. Maybe you already have yours preordered (and if so, then major props to you).
For the 2017-18 season, two types of NHL jerseys will be available for fans to purchase. One is the legitimate on-ice replica made by Adidas. The second option will be the Breakaway jersey made by Fanatics; while it isn’t going to be an exact replica as the ones on the ice, it has been designed with fan input in mind to make the first “jersey made just for fans.”
At the moment, you can only preorder the Adidas version. The preorder can be done through The Hangar (the Stars official team store), but only five players are available: Jamie Benn, Ben Bishop, Tyler Seguin, Antoine Roussel, and John Klingberg. You can preorder one and pick them up before the season begins, though it will run you about $225-$235, which is more than the Reebok ones costed (so much for that hope for a price reduction).
The Fanatics ones will not be available for purchase until sometime in September, and there’s a good chance that they will be sold at a lower price than the Adidas jersey (considering they are replicas and not authentic).
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But once you buy your Adidas or Fanatics jersey, the big question comes into play: which player name and number do you get on the back?
Now you may be one of the people who is fine with sticking to a blank jersey (which means you never have to buy a replacement), and that’s perfectly alright. But if you love being able to show off a name and number of a certain favorite player, let me try and help you out.
So the first step in determining which player to choose for your jersey is to acknowledge if you have an overwhelming favorite player on the team. If there isn’t a bigger fan of Brett Ritchie in the world than you, go ahead and get Ritchie. It’s better to support your favorite player instead of opting for another one simply because of certain circumstances.
Those circumstances typically include both term and relevance. If you are buying a jersey and want it to be your only jersey purchase for the next 6-8 years, then names like Jamie Benn, Ben Bishop, Alexander Radulov, and Tyler Seguin are your safest bets (yes, even though Seguin is approaching free agency). These are also the safest choices if you want your jersey to be recognized by all sorts of NHL fans.
But if you want to stick out, it’s a whole new decision. There’s nothing wrong with picking a player like Benn or Seguin, but you will quickly get lost in the crowd at the AAC. It’s the safe bet, but if you want to stick out, you might be better off picking another player. But it does come with risks.
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Over the past few years, I have always aimed to stick out in the crowds with my jerseys. Since the lockout season, I’ve owned a Loui Eriksson, Erik Cole, Ryan Garbutt, Antoine Roussel, Jason Demers, and Johnny Oduya jersey. My Christmas tree is typically filled with at least one jersey because I burn through them on a regular basis.
But it’s worth the risk (at least to me). If you want to stick out but are also looking for a player that should be around for at least 2-4 more years, players like Jason Spezza, Martin Hanzal, Adam Cracknell, Dan Hamhuis, Marc Methot, and Kari Lehtonen might not be the best bets. These players are either approaching the end of their contracts in Dallas or are getting on the older side and could be dished at a trade deadline if the Stars need to make a move (as buyer or seller).
If you are wanting to stick out from the rest of the crowd but also want some security in regards to the term of the player, then here are a few choices to take into account:
Devin Shore
Mattias Janmark (if he remains healthy)
Brett Ritchie
Or if you really want to throw caution to the wind, buy a Jake Oettinger or Miro Heiskanen jersey. Both are predicted to have bright futures in the league, but nothing is set in stone yet. On the bright side, you’d likely be the first fan to own one!
If you have any other jersey questions, please feel free to tweet me or comment below and I’d love to help you out in your section. It’s always an exciting time when you buy a new jersey (no matter which style and brand you choose), and you want to make the right choice in who to get on the back.
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If you are a hardcore fan of a certain player, get them. If you want to stick to the safe side and join the majority of Dallas Stars fans, #14 or #91 are solid choices. And if you want to go out on a limb, go ahead and choose a player from above.
But make sure that you make the right choice! Happy choosing and shopping.