Twenty years have passed since the hallowed halls of Topps’ headquarters last echoed with the crack of a pack of hockey cards. Yes, it has been two full decades since NHL enthusiasts could unwrap a piece of their icy dreams bearing the Topps insignia. Yet, like a long-lost hockey puck found unexpectedly in the attic, Topps is rolling back—albeit on a runway not entirely familiar.
Flash back to the 2003-04 hockey season. The air was crisp with puck excitement, and Upper Deck had just snatched up the exclusive rights to the NHL’s trading card license, subsequently making Topps pack their bags and leave the ice rink of hockey trading cards. Fast forward to the present day, and here is Topps, strapping on its skates and venturing back onto the snowy field of hockey collectibles. Sort of.
Come April 3rd, fans of both nostalgia and innovation will witness it: the launch of Topps Under Wraps: Emanate 2024-25. Unlike the shrink-wrapped, card-packed blitzkrieg old-school collectors might expect, these aren’t exactly cards you’ll be carefully slitting open with a letter opener. No, Topps has concocted something fresh: an 8×10 autographed photo array that channels the spirit of oversized trading cards.
Long-time collector Sal Barry, who has undoubtedly seen his share of hockey memorabilia, likens these masterpieces to something more than mere photos. In his PuckJunk.com newsletter, a vibrant mosaic of hockey musings, Barry highlights the intricate design detail. The frontal visage captures the clarity and precision hockey fans long for, while the flip side narrates the saga—player insights, career highlights, effectively transforming each photo into a storyteller’s canvas.
These Emanate photos are no dime-a-dozen prints; rather, they’re personalized masterpieces signed by the players themselves. No sticker swipes here—the authenticity is further affirmed with serial-numbering and hologram verification, ensuring that collectors get more than a slice of paper nostalgia; they receive legacy.
For the discerning eye, these collector’s items parade across a visual spectrum: Gold (#/50), Orange (#/25), Blue (#/10), Red (#/5), and the elusive Iridescent (1/1). Such variety promises more than a transformative art piece—it promises a game, a challenge, a chase for completists and casual collectors alike.
The list of players featured reads like an all-star roster. From top-tier rookies to veteran stalwarts, the luminaries of hockey grace these prints: Connor Bedard, Auston Matthews, Alexander Ovechkin, Nathan MacKinnon, Igor Shesterkin, Macklin Celebrini, and the legendary Mark Messier, each committing their personas to these creations.
Adding to the glamour and rarity are multi-signed prints. Among them, a prized 1/1 triple-signed and inscribed synergy piece featuring Ovechkin, Bedard, and Matthews. It is an artifact destined to be the crowning jewel of any collection, a trinity of puck prowess representing the past, present, and future of the game.
Each box, a treasury of singular intent, contains one such photo and retails modestly at $130—a price that bespeaks value, deftly treading the line between the uninspired minutiae of mass production and the rarefied air of exclusivity.
So, does this avant-garde play mean that Topps is back in the league of hockey merchandising? The short answer, shrouded in question marks and the glimmer of potential, would be a hesitant ‘not exactly’. While these photos are not the tactile cards of yore—no packs, rookie cards, or base variants jumping at you from the box—they signal a slow but deliberate re-entry.
Leveraging the might of Fanatics who now lords it over the land of hobby licenses, Topps has gently nudged open the door to the rink, teasing the collectors’ community with possibilities yet to unfold. Might we eventually gather hungrily around for another pack of Topps hockey cards? Perhaps a storm—and not just on the ice—is brewing. For now, Emanate is but the siren call, a tease for hockey lovers and trading card collectors alike. It’s a pixelated puck, hinting at the potential magic if Topps decides to full-tilt back into the realm of hockey cards.
