Thousands of dollars worth of custom-made hockey sticks meant for Washington Capitals star Zdeno Chara were mistakenly delivered to a random New Jersey man this week.
Ariel Ben-Abraham was shocked when he opened a FedEx package from China Monday — and found 18 jumbo-sized hockey sticks, according to reports.
“This has to take the cake as the strangest thing I’ve gotten by mistake,” Ben-Abraham told ESPN.
“Future Hall of Famer’s sticks, for the tallest player in NHL history? That’s crazy. Those odds don’t even make sense.”
It’s unclear how the mix-up happened.
Ben-Abraham said he had been expecting a shipment for his clothing company and was surprised to instead receive a “bunch of hockey sticks that are like 30 feet tall.”
The sticks in the package, which are worth at least $5,000 based on delivery information, all featured Chara’s name and his No. 33.
They were reportedly custom-made for the 43-year-old hockey star, who, at 6- feet 9-inches, is the tallest person to ever play in the NHL.
Ben-Abraham snapped photos of the shipment, from equipment manufacturer True Hockey, and posted them on Twitter, where they quickly went viral Monday.
“Hey @Capitals why are $5k worth of your hockey sticks at my house… Also what time is practice?,” he tweeted. “I think @FedEx messed up…”
Ben-Abraham said that True Hockey immediately contacted him.
A marketing manager for the manufacturer, Corey Gregory, said he didn’t think Ben-Abraham would try to hawk the sticks since he’d posted about them on social media.
“Once he posted it, I was confident they weren’t going to be sold. It’s kind of like taking a picture of yourself robbing the bank,” he told ESPN.
The “Project X” sticks Ben-Abraham received haven’t hit the market yet and won’t be available to the public until Friday, ESPN reported.
Gregory said he would be arranging to get the sticks back from Ben-Abraham, possibly this week when the Capitals are in New York City to play the Rangers.
He said the company is also considering ways to thank Ben-Abraham for his help.
The Capitals said in a statement that they were aware of “a mix-up between the manufacturer and the shipping company,” and that the mistake was being handled.
