How do you know you’ve really made it as a hockey player? Is it when you sign your first contract to earn money from the sport? Is it when you officially get drafted into the NHL?
How about when a legitimate hockey card manufacturer features you on one of their cards?
While it’s undoubtedly an honour to be recognized on a hockey card, it doesn’t always turn out as well as you would hope. With Reddit user u/Theguywhostares recently posting a very unfortunate card of Dave Tretowicz, we decided to take a look back at some of the worst hockey cards of all-time.
Whether it’s the picture, or the frilly and unnecessary add-on elements, there are a lot of things that can ruin a hockey card. But also… how hard can it be to just find a new picture?!
Okay, I’m sorry… but who put in the time to cut out Cam Neely just to place him over a Looney Tunes explosion animation with his “cleverly incorporated” nickname Bam Bam Cam referenced in the lamest way possible?
This one must have been some kind of joke… Did the creator just not like Glen Hanlon?
Could this one be considered a hockey card? It literally features Doug Gilmour golfing. Not necessarily the look you want to have as a hockey player, considering golfing is sometimes the bi-product of an earlier-than-expected offseason.
This card has been so filtered that it doesn’t even really look like a photo anymore. Is this a drawing of a LEGO man? Not sure.
Can only imagine the conversation between The Dominator and the photographer moments before this beauty was snapped.
We shouldn’t single the Gilmour card out, this Be a Player series featuring NHLers not on the ice maybe should have just never happened…
Ahhhh, the old “don’t have a photo so let’s paint him” trick. It rarely works out, particularly when you make the guy look like an absolute pylon.
Dave Farrish almost didn’t even make it into his own hockey card photo…
I mean, it’s hard to imagine the thought process that went into picking this photo. Is it supposed to be showing grit?
You know what? We actually like this one…
And then there’s just some simple mistakes that somehow made their way through the editing process, such as Jeff Skinner being featured in front of a Charlotte skyline, where the ‘Canes play in Raleigh.
Or even just getting the wrong player in general, like how Bob Gainey is featured here on a Doug Risebrough card.
With thousands of hockey cards out there, there are bound to be some mistakes. We hope you enjoyed this list as much as we did making it!
