After a near-two-decade-long hiatus that left hockey enthusiasts longing for their favorite cardboard classics, Topps is tiptoeing back into the icy arena of hockey memorabilia. But this time, the company isn’t playing by the old rules or even the old game. Move over standard trading cards and make room for something delightfully fresh and whimsically oversized: Topps Under Wraps: Emanate 2024-25.
The year was 2003-04 when Topps last brushed shoulders with hockey, a time when frosted tips were still in vogue and NHL cards were available for collectors to sink their teeth—or rather, their coins—into. That all changed when Upper Deck snagged the exclusive rights to the NHL’s trading card license, forcing Topps out of the rink and onto a prolonged power play from whence it has just now returned. Or has it? Sort of.
Under the astute ownership of Fanatics—Topps’ new best friend and hobby powerhouse—comes an innovative product that’s reimagined the term ‘trading card’. These aren’t your average, compact, shoe-box friendly cardboard pieces with sepia-toned throwbacks and miniature player avatars. No, Topps is stepping out with an unexpected flourish: an 8×10 autographed photo that channels the spirit of a vintage oversized card, complete with all the bells and whistles you might expect from a Topps production—artwork on both the front and back, player stats, a bit of history, and, of course, the allure of the inherent collector’s chase.
According to Sal Barry, the veritable newshound of the card-collecting world with his finger firmly on the pulse of PuckJunk.com, these photos bring a fresh sheen of authenticity with hand-signed autographs (no sticker signatures, thank you very much). Each print is serial-numbered and hologrammed as a pledge to its genuine nature, all snuggled into a folio case that’s as ready for display as Wayne Gretzky in an open rink.
For those wondering which luminaries of the ice are gracing this series, the checklist reads like a who’s who of hockey wonders. The roster of 70-plus players spans all 32 NHL teams and includes legends of both past and potential—such as the magnetically charismatic Connor Bedard, scoring sensation Auston Matthews, powerhouse Alexander Ovechkin, suave Nathan MacKinnon, puck-stopping Igor Shesterkin, prodigy Macklin Celebrini, and the ever-iconic Mark Messier.
The collectors’ favorite aspect—the chase—comes resplendent in six color variants ranging from Gold, limited to 50, all the way down through iridescent, capturing a unique, singular magic. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Topps ups the ante with multi-signed editions, throwing in a tantalizingly rare 1/1 triple-signed print that boasts the herculean trio of Ovechkin, Bedard, and Matthews. It’s the equivalent of hockey fan fiction come to life but with signatures.
Retailing at $130 a box, each package doesn’t hold your typical multiple cards, but instead, a singular portrait, which speaks to the investment turnout Topps believes collectors will be diving into.
While Topps may not be back in the traditional sense of tearing through foil wrapped-to-the-gild collection packs dusted with base-parallel-variants delight, they are skating back into relevance with a contemporary artifact that’s sure to arouse excitement, stir conversation, and perhaps reignite a passion for oversized memorabilia. Fanatics’ grip on the hobby’s largest licenses suggests that this may just be the first page in a season long story. So, collectors, thaw the ice skates, roll out the red carpet, and prepare for what might just be the opening whistle of a game-changing play in hockey collection history.
