Cardboard immortality: Brampton leads way with CWHL team issues

During the offseason, many CWHL clubs held surveys, asking their fans which types of merchandising they would like to possibly purchase. Among the offerings that fans showed strong response to, one item in particular was hockey cards. While several CWHL players that have competed for the Canadian or American national teams have earned the cardboard treatment, the chance to be part of a CWHL themed set represents a new experience.

Starting the new trend towards its players being featured on hockey cards is the Brampton Thunder. Such an exciting offering also helps to enrich the fan experience. For generations of young boys in the post World War II era, sports cards featuring their favorite hockey, baseball and football players added an exciting new dimension to their sport of choice, while providing a stronger connection to the athletes they idolized.

For the young female fans of the Brampton Thunder, the 2014-15 season has enabled them the chance to experience that same connection through the hockey card issue. Available at all Thunder home games, fans have also connected through social media in order to purchase through mail order.

The set consists of 25 cards, including a card that features a team photo. Manufactured by MJB Card Designs and printed by Cambridge KKP, the back of the glossy cards features the logo of Oscar’s Roadhouse, a proud Brampton sponsor.

With high quality photos by the likes of Jessica Bazal, John Morrison and Brandon Taylor (whose work also includes the Clarkson Cup and the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs), the card backs include the obligatory details such as hometown, date of birth, height, shot (left or right) and former team.

The addition of statistics for the veteran players adds a major league feeling to these cardboard treasures. In addition, the Thunder have also emulated the Topps Company by listing the player’s Twitter handles on the card backs. Over the last few years, the Twitter handle has been published on the baseball and football card backs of numerous Topps issues.

Although the status of these cards would qualify as a regional issue, meaning that the cards are readily available only near Brampton, it means that players who are appearing on a card for the first time do not really bear the traditional rookie card status. Instead, cards have an XRC status, acknowledging its first release but not available nationally.

Despite this, the release of this series represents a great leap forward for the Thunder and the CWHL in general. Women’s hockey fans will be very pleased at seeing many longtime veteran players finally earning the cardboard treatment.

Perhaps the most deserving is 33 year old Lindsay Vine. An 11 year veteran of women’s pro hockey, she was also a captain at the NCAA level. Joining Vine is Jennifer Kirk, another accomplished veteran with two Clarkson Cup title game appearances under her belt.

Seeing Kirk gracing a hockey card represents a great feel-good moment for the growth of the game, while paying tribute to the contributions of individuals such as Kirk and Vine. A pair of remarkable ambassadors, whose experience dates back to the nascent years of NCAA women’s hockey, they have helped lead the game to unprecedented heights in Canadian hockey. Their card appearances represent a unique validation.

While there are some hockey card collectors who only accumulate goalie cards, there are three very exceptional goalies to add to their collections. Having established herself as a workhorse goaltender during the 2013-14 season, Sonia van der Bliek played valiantly, rebounding from an earlier injury to prove that she could excel at the CWHL level.

Also earning the trading card treatment is rookie backstop Erica Howe. One of three members of Clarkson’s 2014 NCAA Frozen Four championship team (joined by Danielle Boudreau and Jamie Lee Rattray) drafted by Brampton is helping to forge a new era in Brampton hockey. As a side note, Howe and Rattray are among a unique group of Brampton teammates that have already had hockey cards issued in years past.

Both Howe and Rattray were among the proud Canadian women from the gold-medal winning 2010 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championships whose images graced cards in Upper Deck’s 2011 World of Sports set. The set would also feature female soccer players, including Canada’s Christine Sinclair.

In addition, Laura Fortino and Brampton captain Jocelyne Larocque have also earned the cardboard treatment from Upper Deck. In the autumn of 2014, Upper Deck released a 100-card base set titled Team Canada Juniors. Among the cards in the set were the Canadian women who competed at the 2013 IIHF Women’s Worlds and/or the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. For Fortino and Larocque, the 2014 Upper Deck cards marked the first time that a major card manufacturer issued cards of them, hence, their rookie cards. Complemented by the very sharp looking Brampton cards, it marked a unique personal milestone in their world-class careers.

Another world-class player is veteran backstop Liz Knox, former Canadian national team member making her return to the franchise after a championship season in Australia. Also featured on cardboard, her card featured the classic goalie stance, which could easily pass for an NHL hockey card.

In the aftermath of a season of optimism, these trading cards helped to add a major league feeling for the incredible women who don the Brampton jersey. While it also adds a special element of collecting that only adds to the experience of being a fan, these soon to be cherished collector’s items commemorate a special time in franchise history.

As noted collector Jefferson Burdick once said, “Trading cards are a unique picture window into the past.” While Brampton’s season has already transpired into the past, it may also be the season that turns things around, and transitions the club towards an elusive Clarkson Cup.

Checklist

1: Erica Howe                        4: Candace Styles

8: Laura Fortino                    9: Natasha Fryer

10: Jesse Scanzano             12: Jamie Lee Rattray

13: Jennifer Ward                 15: Mallory Johnston

16: Fielding Montgomery     17: Ellie Seedhouse

18: Danielle Boudreau         19: Dania Simmonds

20: Danielle Skirrow             21: Carly Mercer

22: Jess Jones                     24: Courtney Birchard

27: Kelly O’Hanlon                30: Sonia van der Bliek

31: Liz Knox                          34: Jocelyne Larocque

43: Tara Gray                        67: Leah Whittaker

71: Jennifer Kirk                   91: Lindsey Vine

NNO: Team Card