JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN
Who knows? Maybe by the time this issue makes it into your hands, we’ll have an idea of when the NHL season might resume. Or when the dra might be held. Or whether players will be granted exemptions and allowed to cross the U.S. - Canada border before non-essential travel is scheduled to re-open on June 21.
Or maybe not.
at’s the thing with life during the COVID-19 pandemic. ere’s plenty of time for speculation, but not enough reliable information. Uncertainty rules the day.
at’s why I’m so impressed with the team at Upper Deck. Shepherding a product from concept to market is challenging under the best of circumstances. at’s especially true as the season wears on and products become more reliant on hard-signed cards, which raise the level of difficulty exponentially.
And yet, faced with an unprecedented set of pandemic-related hurdles, the company has navigated a path that allowed it to deliver OPC Platinum – the surprise hit of the season – along with Credentials, CHL and SP Authentic … and they got them out on time. e importance of this success can’t be overstated. ese releases have created a sense of normalcy for homebound collectors and provided a financial lifeline to hobby stores at a time when they needed it most.
As you’ll learn in our exclusive interview with UD Hockey Brand Manager Paul Zickler, this wasn’t as easy as it looked. And the company still faces some obstacles as it works to finish out the 2019-20 season on schedule … but it also has found ways to use the quarantine in its favor. You can get those insights, along with some fascinating news about e Cup and some exciting plans for 2020-21, starting on pg. 12.
We know there are collectors out there who question the wisdom of the licensors granting an exclusive to Upper Deck. We’ve expressed some concerns in the past ourselves. But looking at how the company has delivered during a public health crisis, something no one could have foreseen, illustrates that they were worthy of that trust. Collectors should feel confident while UD takes that journey into the unknown with us.