The captain may be off relaxing abroad at the moment, yet the job has kept finding him anyway.
Serving as the exclusively licensed maker of collectibles in both tangible and digital form for the NHLPA and the league, Upper Deck made use of his break by having him sign a batch of 1,600, every one earmarked for a wave of premium releases ahead — its slate of high-end products including The Cup, SP Authentic, Stature Hockey, Premier Hockey, and Ultimate Collection.
Tanned from days spent beneath Turkey's sun, Ovechkin sat down to sign with towers of cards arrayed before his seat. A clip posted to the Instagram Story of Nastya, his spouse, showed the star launching into what looked likely to be a tedious marathon.
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In the footage, rendered through Google Translate, Ovechkina observes that some people get to rest while others toil away, then wonders aloud about the number of autographs the task demands. The total, Ovechkin answers, comes to 1,600.
Tucked amid the heap are several marquee items collectors will hunt for in years to come. Visible among them is a league shield pulled from a sweater Ovechkin wore in a game, along with a card that has a button embedded from the strap he uses in fights — the one Ovechkina holds up on camera.
Marathon signing days are nothing new for Ovechkin, particularly since he claimed the league's career goal record as 2024-25 wound toward its finish. That summer, before he headed back to Russia, Fanatics brought him in to autograph thousands of items marking the milestone.
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Washington's skipper has likewise lent his signature to a few one-off Upper Deck projects, among them a single, unique card bearing an "895" inscription that landed in the company's 2024-25 The Cup line.
He additionally autographed and hand-numbered a set of eight rookie cards dating to his 2005-06 debut season, pieces meant to be tucked into select boxes within the company's Extended Series line from 2024-25.
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The company also still has on the way a product it's branding the "895 Hobby Set" under Ovechkin's name, with every card themed around his milestone goal. Some of those cards will even contain slivers of the commemorative rug laid across the surface during the New York ceremony.
The winger figures to linger abroad for several more weeks at minimum, leading into a momentous July in which he's expected to settle whether he'll return for an additional year.