THE STICKER SERIES IS HERE – READ OUR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The year 2020 was unique in many ways – including on the ice. David Pastrňák became the NHL’s leading goal scorer. By winning a fourth consecutive Golden Hockey Stick award, he matched Jaromír Jágr’s record, and he also became only the fourth hockey player to be named Czech Sportsperson of the Year. Ondřej Palát and Jan Rutta won the Stanley Cup. The national team also gained a new record holder: since November, David Jiříček has held the title of the youngest Czech senior national team player. 

It would be a lasting shame to forget these and many other major moments. That inspired us to create something that would preserve the achievements of Czech hockey players – something exceptional, and therefore fitting for the exceptional year 2020. We decided on a special sticker edition. Fans had been waiting many years for hockey stickers, just as Czech fans had waited for another individual NHL award winner. Both droughts are now over. 

The  officially licensed series entitled Stick With Czech Hockey 2020 contains 45 stickers, each dedicated to a hockey milestone from the previous year. You can look forward to the top ten players from the Golden Hockey Stick poll, notable Czech national team players from the Karjala Cup and Channel One Cup, award winners from elite leagues and legends. In addition to the card number, the reverse of each sticker features a short story designed to draw you into the moment. 

The number 45 was not chosen at random. One reason for producing 45 stickers is that they fit neatly into standard hockey-card pocket pages. In addition to the base versions, there are parallel versions. With a little luck, you can therefore build a beautiful rainbow – with as many as four tiers. Can you already picture it in your album? We recommend acting quickly: the Bronze and Silver parallels have fairly low print runs. And the Gold versions? We produced each of those as a one-of-one. 

Gold means everything to hockey players; our “Golds” are the collecting equivalent – a dream and a challenge worth chasing. The stickers are packed 20 at a time in an attractive box, and every such blaster contains two limited parallels! A Bronze is always guaranteed, while the second can be Silver or even Gold. The blaster price is CZK 200.

Sales are scheduled to begin at 9:00 on 1 March 2021. Paid orders will be dispatched that day, and personal collection of orders will also be available at our office in Hradec Králové.

Click here for the checklist and parallel-sticker insertion ratios.

 

 

 

Questions and Answers (FAQs)

Will there also be an album for the Stick With Czech Hockey 2020 series?

For now, the stickers are being released on their own. There are two reasons. The first is straightforward: many of you are collectors who simply treat a sticker as another collectible and place it in pocket pages just like a card. We completely understand – some members of our own team do the same. The second reason is practical. We would like to release a larger sticker edition with an album for this year’s World Championship. We expect its pages to include space for the base versions from Stick With Czech Hockey 2020.

Why the name Stick With Czech Hockey 2020?

Choosing the name of a series is always one of the most demanding – and enjoyable – parts of the process. We wanted to capture the character of the product: stickers. We also liked the idea of togetherness and solidarity. Staying together was especially important in 2020. And, of course, we wanted a clear connection with hockey. Thanks to its multiple meanings, the English word “stick” brings all of those ideas together. How could the name be interpreted in Czech? There are several possibilities; our favourites are essentially “Stand With Czech Hockey”, “Stay Loyal to Czech Hockey” and “Stick With Czech Hockey”.

How many stickers are packed together?

We decided on packs of 20. They come in an attractive box with two guaranteed parallel stickers. Inspired by North America, we call this type of package a blaster. You can also purchase a full sticker box containing 20 blasters. The unusual circumstances affecting the entire world made it impractical to produce traditional small packs of only a few stickers, particularly because of production and distribution. We plan to return to regular packs for future series.

Why are the parallels limited?

There are two basic approaches to parallel cards. The first is to produce them in large quantities so that every interested collector can realistically complete a set. We chose the second approach: print only a limited number, allowing collectors to find something genuinely rare in the product – something that becomes a real chase card. Yes, that choice has a downside: only one collector will ever complete a four-tier rainbow, and only a handful will complete three tiers. But that makes the challenge all the greater – and life is about challenges.

What guided you when building the checklist?

The national team was our priority. Because we hold the licence for the Czech national team, we focused primarily on important moments that happened while players wore the lion on their chest. We therefore included most of last year’s debutants and players who recorded their first goals, assists or points. The only exceptions were players for whom a suitable photograph in a national team jersey was unavailable. We also focused on the traditional Golden Hockey Stick poll and could not overlook outstanding individual achievements in the world’s top leagues.

How did you choose the photographs?

Recency was – and generally remains – our key principle when selecting images. Because photographers we work with were present at both the Karjala Cup and the Channel One Cup, many players are shown on the stickers at the very moment they achieved the milestone being highlighted. A few times, however, we had to reach into the archives, so do not be surprised if someone is wearing a cage on their helmet or a junior national team jersey. Archive photographs were also used for the commemorative stickers of Vladimír Zábrodský and Bohumil Modrý.

Why is Václav Nedomanský missing?

Induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame is arguably the greatest honour a hockey player can receive. We were delighted to read that “Big Nedo” Václav Nedomanský had joined hockey’s most exclusive company. His sticker would, of course, have looked perfectly at home in Stick With Czech Hockey 2020. So why is it missing? The reason is personality rights, which we consider absolute. When Czech Hockey advised us that it would be better to leave Mr Nedomanský out, we fully respected that decision.

When will sales begin?

Sales are scheduled to begin at 9:00 on 1 March 2021. Previously ordered and paid orders will be dispatched that day, and personal collection will also be available from our office at S. K. Neumanna 1257 in Hradec Králové.