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L.A. Kings throwback confusion


The Purple Penguin

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Hi,

I am hoping someone here can help me. I am looking to buy the Kings throwback jersey from the 90's that has the crest on the stomach with the lion and the crowns on either shoulder. Some are made by CCM, some by Koho, and some by Starter. I've looked at some forums, and i am confused about which one is the best to go with. Conflicting reports and the designs are not identical. Some have silver collar with strings, some don't. Some have the Canadian flag on the tag, some don't. Some of the logos are sewn on, some seem to be peeling off. 

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That jersey design was introduced in the 1998/99 season, and the manufacturer of that first-year jersey was Starter.  The quality of the authentics is so-so; the material snags rather easily, and the LOS ANGELES letters on the hem are very thin and fray really easily.  The next season (1999/2000) the Kings switched to CCM jerseys.  These were made of airknit polyester, and are better put together, IMO.  For the next season (2000-01), the entire league went with CCM jerseys for the white models, and Koho for the colored (black/purple in this case) ones.  In 2002-03, the Kings made the crown design (which used to be the shoulder patch) the new front crest, and they moved the lion shield to the shoulders.  So after 2002-03, you couldn't get a home or road jersey with the shield crest anymore; however the alternate jersey (the purple one with the gray collar and tie strings) now featured the shield as the front crest.  This alternate jersey was available as a Koho from 2002-04, and as a Reebok (authentic only) from 2005-07.

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I realize I didn't answer all of your questions.  Everything I said earlier pertains to authentic jerseys, which are the ones used by the players, but they were also available for sale to the public.  Except for the Starters, all the 1999-2007 authentic jerseys with the shield crest were made in Canada and have some sort of "Made in Canada" neck tag.  The Starters (1998-99) were made in the USA for the game worn jerseys, and in El Salvador for the retail authentics.  What is probably confusing you is that you are most likely looking at replica jerseys, which are basically lower quality fan jerseys.  During the late 90's, many companies made replica jerseys, even if they were not the official manufacturer of the team's on-ice jerseys.  For example, you can see Kings shield crest replicas made by ProPlayer, as well as Starter and CCM.  These have varying types of brand tagging (embroidered, patched, or even screened on logos).  They were also made in various places throughout the world, not just Canada.  After 2000, for the Kings shield crest replicas, you will see only CCM's and Kohos, and these were made primarily in Canada and Indonesia, although I think I've seen some Kohos that were made in Korea.  So don't let all the different types of tags or manufacturing locations confuse you too much.  

If you plan to letter the jersey with a player name, I would suggest picking a brand used by the player during the time in which he played for the Kings.  This tends to be pretty important for jersey collectors who collect authentics- in general it's considered better to not put a player on a jersey brand he never used.  For replicas, this is a lot less important since the replica jerseys are constructed differently than the authentics anyway, so brand accuracy with replicas isn't as much of an issue for most people.

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Actually the Starter replicas aren't bad, for replicas.  They have stitched down crests and double thickness elbows, similar to what the pro jerseys have.  The material is somewhat snag-prone, but that tends to be a problem with a lot of replicas.  The ProPlayer replica (made in 1999/2000) is pretty awesome; the material is durable, plus it also has stitched logos/crest and double elbows.  Probably the best quality replica you can get.  Any 1998 or later replica by CCM or Koho is of very good quality, but none of the crests or patches are sewn down.  (You can stitch it down yourself though, obviously, or have someone else do it.)  One thing I've noticed about CCM replicas of this period is that the LOS ANGELES letters on the hem are shaped differently from the ones on the authentics.  I don't recall if they were all like that, or just certain years.  Just another reason why I highly prefer authentics to replicas.

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Btw, authentics from that period aren't all that expensive, since most by now are in used condition.  I've found some Starter authentics for as little as $35, and CCMs and Kohos for around $75 to $100.

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2 minutes ago, LAK74 said:

Btw, authentics from that period aren't all that expensive, since most by now are in used condition.  I've found some Starter authentics for as little as $35, and CCMs and Kohos for around $75 to $100.

Oh! So maybe i shouldn't write the authentics off yet. How can i tell whether I'm looking at an authentic or replica for each brand?

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28 minutes ago, The Purple Penguin said:

I really appreciate all the info! One more thing - i noticed the ProPlayer jerseys come in number sizes. What are the equivalents of XL and XXL?

ProPlayer replicas come in letter sizes just like any other replica.  If you see a number size you're looking at an authentic.  I don't wear anything that big so I'm not absolutely sure about the sizes, but an XL for most replica brands would probably be around a 52 for a ProPlayer, and maybe 54/56 for an XXL, but hopefully one of the bigger dudes around here could chime in with some personal experience.

(You can't get a ProPlayer Kings authentic because the Kings never used that brand.)

Edited by LAK74
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17 minutes ago, The Purple Penguin said:

Oh! So maybe i shouldn't write the authentics off yet. How can i tell whether I'm looking at an authentic or replica for each brand?

Authentics have NHL shields on the back hem right next to the brand logo.  The authentic brand hem logos are different from the replica ones.  The neck tags are always different from the replica tags too.  Authentics have fight straps in the back of the jersey.  Replicas usually have a brand logo embroidered onto one of the sleeve ends, authentics don't.  And as I mentioned earlier, authentics come in number sizes, and these are marked on tags in the collar.  Don't be fooled by some seller who claims his jersey is a size 48 but the tags say L.

Edited by LAK74
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2 minutes ago, The Purple Penguin said:

Right now, i am looking at a Koho made in Canada, a CCM made in Indonesia, and a Starter made in Korea. What do you think they are?

They are all replicas except possibly the Koho.  If the Koho is authentic it will have a black brand tag in the collar.  The replicas have a white tag.

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The Koho definitely is a replica then.  The patches could have been sewn down by a previous owner, although not likely.  Maybe there were some replicas with patches sewn down at the factory; I just don't recall ever seeing any.  Can you link the auctions so we can see pics (hopefully of the patches)?

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16 minutes ago, LAK74 said:

ProPlayer replicas come in letter sizes just like any other replica.  If you see a number size you're looking at an authentic.  I don't wear anything that big so I'm not absolutely sure about the sizes, but an XL for most replica brands would probably be around a 52 for a ProPlayer, and maybe 54/56 for an XXL, but hopefully one of the bigger dudes around here could chime in with some personal experience.

(You can't get a ProPlayer Kings authentic because the Kings never used that brand.)

That's my cue.

In ProPlayer, a 52 is an XL, 54 is an XXL, 56 is a 3XL. They run larger so a 56 is definitely bigger than XXL. 

In CCM, I would say it's 52XL, 54/56 XXL like LAK said. 

In Edge, I would say 58 is an XXL and 58+/60 is somewhere between XXL and 3XL. 

Hopefully one of the smaller dudes around here could chime in regarding sizes smaller than that!!

?

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The pics of the Koho are too blurred for me to be sure if they're stitched or not.  Starters, as I mentioned earlier, have stitched logos.

Maybe by "sewn" the seller meant they are "embroidered," but I'm referring to something different- that the patches are stitched down to the jersey and not just glued on.

On the CCM the crest and patches are not sewn down.  Maybe the LOS ANGELES letters are, but I can't tell from the pic.

Edited by LAK74
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18 minutes ago, The Purple Penguin said:

The Koho has the brand logo on the sleeve and a puck logo on the back hem. It's made in Canada and the guy insists the patches are sewn (although the guy selling the CCM from Indonesia days the same thing).

Looks pretty obvious to me that the purple Indonesian one doesn't have sewn-down patches.

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3 minutes ago, LAK74 said:

The pics of the Koho are too blurred for me to be sure if they're stitched or not.  Starters, as I mentioned earlier, have stitched logos.

Maybe by "sewn" the seller meant they are "embroidered," but I'm referring to something different- that the patches are stitched down to the jersey and not just glued on.

One of the things that annoy me about eBay listings. People throw the word "sewn" or "stitched" in there to make it sound better, but they're just replicas with glued on logos. They're only "stitched" to the extent that the seams on all pieces of clothing are stitched. 

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Not necessarily.  The Koho is of good quality; if the only thing that bothers you is that the crest and patches aren't sewn down, you can have that done yourself, or by a tailor, or by a customization company.

Including shipping, $95 is a bit pricey for a replica, but the seller does say it's new.  I don't believe anything's new unless I see tags on it, lol.  The LOS ANGELES letters on the hem are not shaped the same as the authentic ones, if that matters to you.  (The ones on the CCM look much better.)

Edited by LAK74
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