Jan Hrdina wore this red game worn jersey in the inaugural game at Glendale Arena on December 27th, 2003 vs the Nashville Predators
Hrdina had the secondary assist on Brian Savage’s 3rd period goal which was the first goal scored by the Phoenix Coyotes in the new arena
The forward was a former 5th round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins where he was a 20-goal scorer in 2001-2002
He was acquired via trade by the Coyotes along with Francois Leroux in a deal that sent Ramzi Abid, Dan Focht, and Guillaume Lefebvre to the Pens
Hrdina finished his seven year NHL career with 101 goals and 196 assists in 513 games played
Jan Hrdina’s jersey has minimal wear as expected since it is a one gamer
There are one or two very faint marks in the white bands around the elbows
The right shoulder which features the PHX patch has a huge pull next to the patch and is the primary sign of wear on the sweater
There is some wash wear in the crest and a small amount on the back numbers, as well
The kits on these Opening Night gamers are much different than what we would see later with the Coyotes
Differences include an actual nameplate (made out of jersey material instead of twill) and the lettering and numbering being very thick twill that is approaching the same kind of material used on cheap and/or fake jerseys
The PHX patch is clearly an early iteration as it is not as clean as it would be on later years and sets
Jan Hrdina’s Glendale Opening Night set game worn jersey is the first jersey from this set that I’ve seen in the hobby; I was completely unaware that this set existed despite the numerous Coyotes gamers I’ve owned over the years
