The Fearless, Frozen Females of Hockey

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 conn...

Leading in to the Sochi Winter Games, just one trading card set featured women’s hockey players (the Topps US Olympic and Paralympic Set ). The set had cards of Hilary Knight and the Lamoureux Twins, marking a disappointment for women’s hockey card collectors who were expecting a wider selection. In a hobby where there are very few trading cards of female athletes of any sport available (except Topps’ Allen and Ginter Sets ), the aftermath of Sochi breathed new life into the hobby. The 2014 Crown Royale hockey card set featured five women’s hockey players in its Fans of the Game insert set. Of note, the players in the set included Tessa Bonhomme, Jennifer Botterill, Meghan Duggan, Julie Chu and Meghan Agosta. Unfortunately, each card had a limited print run of 99 per card, making it a very difficult pull for collectors. While each card was autographed, they were difficult to find in the secondary market. Taking into account that the Meghan Duggan card marked the first time that sh...

Over two decades ago, a generation of hockey card collectors was introduced to a special collectible on the back of boxes of Kraft Dinner and Kraft Spirals. Cards featuring National Hockey League players from the Canadian-based teams were introduced in the autumn of 1989. It comprised the first year of a highly popular hockey card offering that so many collectors gladly cut out of the back of Kraft Dinner and Kraft Spirals boxes. A trip to the grocery store became a collecting experience as collectors were eager to scrounge through backs of boxes looking for the cards needed to complete their collections. In later years, the popularity of the product resulted in Kraft expanding their card offerings to the backs of Jell-O products, along with panes of stickers inserted in Kraft Singles Processed Cheese. At a time when sports cards reached unprecedented levels of popularity, Kraft Foods provided an affordable yet exciting product for new and experienced collectors alike. Takin...

Heading into the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, collectors were witness to resurgence in women’s hockey cards. Upper Deck presented the promise for a bright future as its O-Pee-Chee brand featured a unique insert series recognizing the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams. The insert series featured the roster of the 2009 Canadian women’s team that competed at the IIHF Worlds. For players such as Marie-Philip Poulin and Shannon Szabados, these issues would prove to be their rookie cards. In addition, a foilboard card of Manon Rheaume (in her Tampa Bay Lightning uniform no less) was an added attraction, building the momentum of her previous card release in Upper Deck Masterpieces. In the aftermath of Vancouver , Upper Deck issued another insert series titled The Champions. Randomly inserted in 2009-10 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey (released in late winter 2010), the series honored American and Canadian Winter Games heroes past and presented. Collectors would also search for va...

Following the Halifax Chronicle regional issue, Canadian-based trading card company In the Game featured women’s players as part of their Going for the Gold set in 2007. As a side note, there was also a Going for the Gold set for the Canadian junior men’s hockey team. Founded by Dr. Brian Price in 1998 (who once had the publishing rights to Parkhurst Hockey Cards), ITG helped to fuel the interest in women’s hockey cards again. Only featuring Team Canada players, Going for the Gold was a 25-card factory set (meaning it came as a complete set directly from the manufacturer) which featured Charline Labonte as card number one. Retired players France St. Louis and Stacey Wilson were also featured in the set (numbers 23 and 24).   Inside each set, there was one randomly inserted autograph card or game jersey card. Of note, the set was unique in one regard; it marked the first time that the Canadian national women’s team’s jerseys were on game-used jersey cards. The concept wa...