Superheroes on the ice. Superheroes off it. Both Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid are being featured in Upper Deck’s DC NHL Crossover: NHL Icons Edition. This set of cards features Gretzky and McDavid (one card per player) with designs inspired by DC Studios’ new film Superman. It also includes cards of the original Superman designs. Packs will be available in the Upper Deck e-Pack® Store until July 24, 2025, at 5:59 a.m. PDT.
Related: Wayne Gretzky – The Great One’s 9 Most Unbreakable Records
Each 1-card pack will contain 1 of 4 Base Set cards. Keep an eye out for special Silver Parallels (1:10), Gold Parallels (1:25), Artist Autograph Parallels (1:150) from esteemed artist Eric Cash, and Canvas Autograph Parallels (1:1500) featuring hard-signed signatures from Gretzky or McDavid, that will fall as a bonus second card in select packs. These cards will be available in the Upper Deck e-Pack® Store for one week and will be available to ship home when they become physical approximately eight-to-12 weeks after the card is released. The set follows up another popular set of DC Comics Superhero Cards that Upper Deck released earlier in July for top NHL Draft Prospects.
Appropriate for Gretzky & McDavid to be Associated with Superman
If you’ve been fortunate enough to watch Gretzky and McDavid live, you’ve most likely been treated to something superhuman on the ice. Many times, both players have been compared to Superman. Gretzky was the driving force behind one of the greatest dynasties in NHL history, the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s. Together with teammates such as Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Paul Coffey, Gretzky and the Oilers were a force of pure offence that seemed to be able to score at will. Gretzky came into the NHL from the old World Hockey Association (WHA) at the beginning of the 1979-80 NHL Season with many question marks about his size and ability. He answered his early critics from the moment he first hit the ice in the Oilers first NHL Game on Oct. 10, 1979 against the Chicago Blackhawks when he assisted on the franchise’s first NHL goal scored by Kevin Lowe. Gretzky never looked back and would go on to become the greatest scorer in NHL history with 2,857 points.
Many hockey fans remember his greatest achievements, including scoring 50 goals in 39 games in 1981, his 51-game point scoring streak, and recording more than 200 points in four seasons in the mid-80s. He elevated his play in the playoffs and led the Oilers to four Stanley Cup victories in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988 before he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988.
Two of Hockey’s Greatest Superstars Playing For One Hockey-Crazed Small-Market City
Many hockey fans in Edmonton feel fortunate to have witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime player like Gretzky and then couldn’t believe it when lightning struck twice in the Alberta Capital. On Saturday, April 18, 2015, the Oilers won the NHL Draft Lottery and earned the right to pick Connor McDavid first overall. McDavid has lived up to his billing as a generational superstar, winning the Hart Memorial Trophy (three times), the Ted Lindsay Award (four times), the Art Ross Trophy (five times), and the Maurice Richard Trophy (once). He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2024 and has led the Oilers to two Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2024 and 2025.
Related: Connor McDavid Will Be a Top-10 Player of All-Time Even Without a Cup
McDavid is easily the most dynamic and talented player of his era. The only questions that remain are how many points will he accumulate and, for Oilers fans, how many Stanley Cup championships he could hopefully win.
Gretzky and McDavid Are Super Heroes in the World of Sports Memorabilia
Ask most collectors, and they’ll tell you that two of the most coveted cards in the history of hockey card collecting are Gretzky’s 1979 O-Pee-Chee Rookie card and McDavid’s 2015 Upper Deck Young Guns Rookie card. The value of their cards is obviously associated with their exploits on the ice, and as the years go on, their value continues to increase. That’s why having multiple Gretzky and McDavid items in your collection is worth it for sports memorabilia enthusiasts. You could even own some exclusive items autographed by both Gretzky and McDavid, called “Legends of Canada” and “Passion for Winning,” available at the Upper Deck store.
This new set of Upper Deck’s DC NHL Crossover: NHL Icons Edition featuring Gretzky and McDavid is are new must-haves for collectors. The cards are beautifully designed and also feature special autograph parallels, including an Artist Autograph Parallel (1:150), and Canvas Autograph Parallel (1:1500) cards that will fall as a bonus second card in select packs! Don’t miss your opportunity to collect a bit of history with the new Superman-inspired Gretzky and McDavid cards available in the Upper Deck e-Pack® Store until July 24, 2025.
