I just photo matched my Jack Eichel game used rookie stick!
LOTSOS
Posts: 1,304 ✭✭✭✭✭
Back in December I picked up a Jack Eichel game used rookie stick from Double Deke hockey. I had never bought from them before so before I did I asked around about them. All the feed back I got was very positive so I decided to pull the trigger.
John was very quick to respond and answer questions that I had. We worked out a deal, it was a smooth transaction with the stick arriving safe, sound, and as described. A few days after it arrived I started second guessing my decision. I'm a skeptical person by nature. After hearing all the horror stories about the dark side of the hobby I wondered if I jumped the gun because I wanted to believe it was a gamer. I realized that I probably should have tried to photo match it before buying it as it could have been a game issue but not used at best or well let's just say worse.
John had said he sourced it through his contact with the Washington Capitals. So I decided to see if I could find a photo. In 2015 the Sabres played the Caps twice in a home and home in December. I hopped on Getty images and went through all of them for those two games. Players will use multiple sticks per game and will also often times retape them multiple times per game. The butt end however rarely gets in game modifications. Because of this I focused on finding images where the butt end tape job was similar to the stick I have. When I finished I had a sick feeling in my stomach. Not only did none of them match but the tape job on the handle was very different from the stick I had and consistently so. There was zero chance that it was used in one of those two games.
This got me thinking. I assumed it came from one of those two games because of its source but it could have been used anytime before that and then set aside for any stick requests by PR, other players, or teams. So I had hope again! The Sabres played 38 games before the Capitals series. 
At least it wasn't a full season. I started with the Caps series and looked back towards the beginning of the season. Over a thousand photos later..... BINGO! October 21, 2015 a home game vs the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately he was kept off the score sheet for the game but at least I now know with full certainty it's game used!
Here are photos of the game and of the stick. It's hard to see in the copy of the photo I posted here but if you go to Getty's website it is a bit clearer. I'm in the process of reaching out to the photographer to see if I can get a print of it. Getty apparently only sells rights to a photo so I'm hoping I can get a print of it and maybe even a blow up of the stick it's self.
Kevin
Comments
That's sick. It's gonna look awesome in the Aud. I think you need that game photo in the Aud too.
Andy
Wow, that's cool... Now, can you figure out how many goals he scored with it??
DesertIceSports.Com
Wow, nice work! Thanks for sharing. It's always nice to get those reassurances.
Geez, nice work Columbo!
I can't believe the effort that took Kevin. Congratulations and really nice stick.
I know nothing - have no idea who the guy is?
Wow. Nice pick up and incredible detective work. It must feel great to have that photo match.
I am a bit of a hockey novice myself Mike, but Jack Eichel was the number 2 overall pick to Connor McDavid and is Buffalo's young franchise player charged with returning the Sabres to glory (or at least respectability). I will let Kevin explain more.
Very nice.
Please keep us updated regarding obtaining a copy of the photo.
I have looked at Getty's site for last March's (3/18) Sixers/Nets game for photos of Ben Simmons' shoes (the "I Still Can't Believe It" thread) in order to photo match and eventually use in an, as yet, unbuilt display case. There are about a dozen amazing photos both game and post-game to choose from. The problem is that there only appears to be the ability to purchase rights to the image. Of course, that is a lot different than single personal use.
Thanks.
@Stone193 He is the cornerstone of what the franchise will accomplish for the next decade. He was only the second player ever to win the Hobey Baker Award as a true freshmen at BU (think Heisman). If he continues scoring at his current pace and stays healthy he will be pushing for most points ever by a Sabre possibly overtaking Gilbert Perreault. Also if the Sabres are ever able to somehow win the Stanley Cup he will be the first one in franchise history to hoist it.
@georgebailey2 I will update you. I'm trying to contact the photographer directly to see if she will sell me a print. I'm pretty sure you can't get prints from Getty's editorial photos. The photo should be marked with the photographers name and maybe you can track him or her down. Unfortunately in my case I can't seem to find any info on her. I reached out to the Sabres team photographer to ask if he knows her and can provide me with contact info but so far I haven't heard back. I guess as a last resort you could always purchase the digital copy from Getty but at $450 it would be a last resort.
@Desert_Ice_Sports Unfortunately he didn't score that game. I do believe he may have used it in his missed shootout attempt from watching the video. The blade tape job is pretty clean. It does however have a few marks that would match up with the backhand to forehand move he used in the shootout attempt.
Kevin
"Unfortunately he didn't score that game."
Is it typical for these guys to switch sticks every game? Maybe you can pull some video of him the game before or the game after with the same stick... Or, maybe I'm crazy; I've never tried to photo match anything.
DesertIceSports.Com
I would doubt that most guys use a stick for more than one game. It is certainly possible but in my opinion unlikely. Most guys will typically game prep 3-4 sticks to have ready per game. Mid period some guys will swap out if the tape job gets ragged. Or even if they miss a opportunity (blaming the arrow not the archer) Some won't all period. Eichel appears to be one of the latter. I saw a few pictures of some pretty ragged tape jobs he kept playing with. Most everyone retapes between periods.
I also went back and looked closely at games on either side of this one and couldn't find a match. They have game day skates too so again while a stick might be prepped and ready for more than one game it probably won't get used twice. But I did get really excited with the possibility. The game before was the game where they took the photo for his Young Guns rookie card right after he potted an fantastic goal. How amazing would it have been to have the stick in this photo?
Kevin
Thanx Kevin and Steve.
The shoot out attempt is at 2:15 of this video:
Lotsos - I thought about asking if you were sure that pic was taken during the game and not the pregame skate, just to get your heart rate up, but figure that would have been just mean. (you can tell from fans its game action)
And for those few that were asking ... hockey players are just as nutty about sticks as baseball players are about bats. They break with some frequency. A stick can get swapped out quickly if it just doesnt feel right or they have a bad play and are superstitious. Or a good stick can go a few games or more. The fact that it was used for one game only doesnt raise any red flags at all. The fact that the tape job wasnt consistent throughout the season was far more surprising - most players are exceptionally OCD about that.
Thanks for not messing with me
. I did that to my self already. Three things led me to feel comfortable with calling it a game action photo.
1). As you mentioned the crowd.
2) His chin strap is done up.
3) Mouthgard is in.
Agree completely with your comment about being OCD with the handle. I used to always tape mine the exact same way. In the 38 games I went through he had two main changes. First the amount of tape down from the butt end changed. And not just once it goes back and forth. Like the stick I have he sometimes wraps it to about 1 1/2 inches above the lettering on the side. Other times he wraps it all the way down to the lettering adding about two more revolutions of tape. The other change was for one game against Edmonton. He wrapped the buttend with blue gauze tape instead of yellow. I don't recall him ever doing that before and he never did it again during that 38 game stretch.
Kevin
Here’s the answer ... he varies the butt end length based on how he played the game before:
I knew it would be superstitious reason ....
He doesn’t wax the blade on the video ... surely there is wax on your stick?
Thanks for sharing that! I would have never thought to look for something like it. I guess that explains the different length on the butt end tape.
There is no wax on the stick I have. I noticed that too. I always used wax. But then again I didn’t retape my stick between periods either. Had to make the tape last a whole game.
Edited: There is wax top and bottom but not the face of the blade. I didn't feel the edges before to notice that they were done. I did notice there was none on the face.
Kevin
Great find! I was way into collecting game used bats where I could verify it was used to hit a homerun. Getty was the best and searching through the archives was such an adrenaline rush. I usually had the benefit of the MLB holo with the exact game the bat was broken during so I could easily work backwards.
Unfortunately, the individual photographers were restricted from selling privately when I would find a match. Bummer. Hope you had better luck than me.