Scott Niedermayer won't be at the Northern Capital Sports Society Charity Golf Tournament.
One of his jerseys from the 2010 Winter Olympics will be.
The shirt, part of the legacy of Team Canada's gold-medal run at the Vancouver Games, is the feature item at an auction that will be held the night of July 28 at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club. The ultra-cool piece of hockey history was acquired by local resident Otto Caputo, whose son, Dino, played alongside Niedermayer when they were kids.
Caputo doesn't know if the jersey is game-worn or not, but it's certainly rare.
"It was very nice [of Niedermayer] to donate it," Caputo said. "That's the last one they had -- you won't get another one, I guarantee."
This one came directly from Niedermayer's mom, Carol, whom Caputo said he knows "pretty good."
According to Daryl Weiss at Collector's Den in Burnaby, determining the actual value of the jersey is tricky. However, if it is game-worn, Weiss said he'd be "shocked" if it didn't sell for well over $1,000 at the auction. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the jersey, Weiss said it could be worth as much as $10,000.
"This isn't in the same vein, but early Bobby Orr jerseys are valued at over $50,000," Weiss said. "I don't know how many jerseys [Niedermayer] wore during the tournament and that would make a big difference. If he just wore two -- home and away -- then you're looking at something in the thousands of dollars. If he wore a number of jerseys for this purpose -- to donate to charity -- then that devalues the jersey."
The 2010 Winter Olympics hockey tournament ended with Team Canada beating Team USA 3-2 in overtime on Sidney Crosby's golden goal. Niedermayer, one of the best defencemen to ever play the game, retired in the summer of 2010 as a two-time Olympic gold-medalist and a four-time Stanley Cup champion.
As of Friday morning, 128 golfers had registered for the tournament. Event organizer Heather Carter said registration will be capped at 144.
The fee, $125 per player, gets participants one round of golf at the PGGCC (Texas Scramble format) and a steak and lobster dinner.
The auction will take place after the dinner, and the Niedermayer jersey isn't the only hot-ticket item. Another is a trip to Ottawa, donated by local MP Dick Harris.
The auction is open to registered golfers and to people who have purchased only dinner tickets. Dinner tickets are available for $60.
Tournament proceeds will go to Prince George Special Olympics, the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame, the Terry Wilson Memorial Cup soccer tournament and other local charities.
For registration or dinner information, contact Carter at 250-552-3599 or send her an e-mail at [email protected].
