News
Young hockey stars learn about trading cards at Upper Deck NHLPA Rookie Showcase
Josh Doan hopes to follow in his father Shane’s footsteps.
Not only does Doan hope to become an NHL star like his father was for the Arizona Coyotes, but the 22-year-old right winger is also excited about being featured on trading cards in an expansion Utah Hockey Club uniform.
“I got cards for Christmas, my birthday and usually Easter,” he recalled.
Doan said the best part about ripping packs growing up was “getting my dad’s teammates.”
“Anytime I got one of them I was pretty excited,” he added. “It didn’t matter who it was. It meant more to me to get those guys than anything else.”
Doan joined 34 other hockey prospects on Wednesday when Upper Deck and the NHL Players’ Association hosted the 14th annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va.
The annual showcase provided Upper Deck, the official trading card partner of the NHL, the opportunity to capture photographs and videos of this year’s top rookies in their official NHL team uniforms, many of them for the very first time. The images will be used on future card releases and in Upper Deck marketing materials throughout the course of the season.
Aside from fielding questions about the upcoming season, which starts on Oct. 4, the players also got a chance to bond while opening packs. For some, it was a chance to reminisce about their childhood hobby. For others, it was the first time they got to experience trading cards.
“I have a binder at home,” said Macklin Celebrini, who was chosen No. 1 overall by the San Jose Sharks in this year’s NHL Entry Draft.
Celebrini said the best hockey card in his collection is “a very cool Bobby Orr one.”
Asked which year or set the card was from, Celebrini said, “I don’t know. It just looks really cool.”
This year’s rookie class also features a large European contingent. While hockey cards aren’t as big in Europe compared to North America, some players recalled collecting cards.
Chicago Blackhawks defensemen Artyom Levshunov, who hails from Belarus, said he collected KHL cards featuring players from Russia’s pro hockey league and loved pulling Alexander Ovechkin.
Asked if he’s excited about the prospect of his own Young Guns card being issued this season, Levshunov said, “Of course! It means you are playing on a big stage.”
Florida Panthers defenseman Marek Alscher, on the other hand, said cards were not his thing while growing up in his native Czechia. He said being around hockey cards in the days leading up to the showcase, however, had piqued his interest.
“I’m really excited about seeing my rookie card,” he said. “I saw some of the samples and they looked really cool.”
In fact, Alscher added that opening packs alongside his fellow rookies could be the start of a new hobby for him.
“I opened a few cards at dinner, so maybe I’ll start with those,” he said.
Alscher said his dream card, however, would be one where he’s pictured alongside countryman Jaromir Jagr.
“That would be huge,” he said. “He’s such a legend.”
Dalibor Dvorsky, a center for the St. Louis Blues, did collect as a child in his native Slovakia.
“My first card was Jaromir Jagr, but my favorite player is Sidney Crosby,” he said.
Like the others, Dvorsky said “he’s looking forward to” his rookie card.
Asked if he would collect his own cards, Dvorsky said, “I don’t know. We’ll see. Probably my mom will.”
NHLPA President Marty Walsh, who attended the event, recalled his collecting days as a child in the late 1970s when packs were just a quarter.
“I still have them,” he said. “For a while there in the mid-90s and early 2000s, there was a bit of a lull. It’s great to see it coming back. I’m excited about it.”
Walsh said he loves it when he “walks into a store and see hockey cards on a shelf.”
“When I was a kid, they would put cards on a shelf and they would literally be gone that afternoon,” he added. “All the kids in the neighborhood would go buy them.”
Walsh also said the growth of hockey cards and their relationship with Upper Deck is “great for the sport, it’s great for the [card] industry, and great for the players.”
Last year’s Rookie Showcase was highlighted by the presence of Connor Bedard. The hype around the Blackhawks center had reached such heights late last summer that autograph seekers even staked out the facility outside Washington, D.C. hoping for his signature.
There were no such collectors this time around. Nonetheless, Doan said he’s working on his autograph in case fans ask him to sign cards, pucks or photos this season.
“It’s not bad. It’s a work in progress,” he said. “It’s definitely not even close to my dad’s. He had some time to figure his out. Mine’s pretty simple.”
Clemente Lisi
