When Kovalchuk Was Hobby Gold

There was a time when Ilya Kovalchuk was a hockey card darling.  That's not so much the case anymore.  Fast forward about 18 years and his story doesn't seem to have turned out the way a superstar's should.  In fact, since returning to the NHL, his 43 points in 81 games over the last two seasons wasn't even enough to sniff a King's lineup that sat very near the bottom of the Pacific (not the ocean).  He hadn't played a game since Nov. 9th.

On Dec. 16th, after already receiving a $2.65 Million roster bonus, it was announced that he was put on "unconditional waivers" and had left Los Angeles.  I wasn't sure what exactly a UW was but the move was done for the sole purpose of terminating his $18.75 million contract.  The culmination of that is definitely not a celebrated exit for a three-time All Star, six-time 40+goal scorer, and once hockey card superstar.



Becoming the first Russian to be chosen overall, Kovalchuk was the #1 pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2001 NHL Draft.  He was a pure hype machine from the get go.  The upcoming season in the hockey card world saw major releases by Upper Deck, Topps, Be A Player, and Pacific, many of which featured the young Russian.  In all, the 2001-02 hockey card season produced 155 Kovalchuk cards spread across the sets that were released by the major manufacturers (actually his first card came as a redemption in the 2000-01 SPx release by Upper Deck).

Long-time Ilya Kovalchuk hockey card collector Timothy Wong (better known as "redwingsfan11" on most of the hobby boards) remembers what made him a fan of the former Russian phenom.  "Being an avid sports enthusiast since a young kid (thanks to my dad), I used to watch sports talk and recap shows everyday and remember seeing Kovalchuk's highlights every now and then.  So when I got back into watching hockey and collecting cards, being from New York City, I would naturally have access to watch every New Jersey Devils game."  Wong added, "I really grew to love Kovalchuk's offensive talents as a shooter.  The skill to shoot the puck is my favorite skill that I appreciated when watching players."

Another self-proclaimed Kovalchuk Super Collector that I reached out to did not want to be named (I will refer to them as "KC2" for purposes of this piece) but did say that his Kovalchuk collection came about because of the hype that surrounded his rookie cards coupled with the fact that his favorite team as a kid, the Montreal Canadians, made a hefty push to get him on draft day. KC2 said, "I wasn't a big hockey card collector at the time because I focused on baseball and basketball, but there was so much noise about this guy from Russia that I had to see what was going on.  The first time I was able to watch him play, I knew he was going to be something special."

His face could be found everywhere in the hobby back then.  For example, the November 2001 issue of Beckett magazine featured Kovy along with his teammate and other hot rookie, Dany Heatley, boasting "The Kids Are Alright".  The October 19, 2001 issue of The Hockey News had Kovalchuk as their cover feature with the heading "Charge", referencing the full speed ahead trajectory of his budding career in Atlanta.  Later in the year, he was one of three feature rookies in Becketts annual Rookie Rolodex, along with Pavel Datsyuk and Eric Cole.  He was also on the cover of the Thrashers media guide the following season.

In the cards, he had not one, but two 2001-02 Upper Deck base series cards.  He was featured as a Young Gun on card #211 as well as card #242.  2001-02 Pacific Private Stock featured Kovalchuk as their spokesperson on the cover of their hobby boxes and continued their love affair by featuring him (along with five other players) on the box cover of Vanguard.  In their Adrenalin issue, Pacific featured an autograph chase, sporting the advertising tag "Look For Authentic Ilya Kovalchuk Autograph Cards" right on the box.

Kovalchuk rookie year cards seemed to hold their value for many years and there were quite a few fans out there collecting.  One of the bigger pulls for Kovalchuk collector's came from Upper Deck's Ice release that year and his Clear Cut Update Autograph serial numbered #/10.  Wong says, "That card was special to me because prior to winning it through an eBay auction, I worked very hard at my first-ish paid job as a dishwasher and closer at a local cafe around my home. I use to go to school during the afternoon and work at night, and what little money I made, I used to set aside a little bit from every payday just to have a "hobby fund." KC2 agrees, "His Upper Deck Ice Auto was a tough find and it took me many years before I even saw one available. I also had a hard time tracking down his SPA Rookie Premier card," which I believe he may have been referring to his SP Authentic Future Watch Auto card.

Despite his season ending shoulder injury, after putting up 51 points in his rookie stint and finishing second in Calder voting to his teammate Dany Heatley, card production for Kovalchuk saw a jump in production count to almost 400, proving that what he was doing on the ice, translated well to the hobby world.  There was demand for his cards and the manufacturers were obliged to meet that demand.  As of today, there have been a little over 3,500 licensed cards of Kovalchuk produced.  Of those, 2,100 of them were produced before the 2009-10 season, largely driven by his four consecutive 40+ goal seasons, two of those over 50, and a Richard trophy to boot.

But only a few seasons later, the bottom would drop out on the market for Kovalchuk cards.  At the end of the 2012-13 season, rather than play out his 12 year $77M contract with New Jersey, he elected to sign his retirement papers so that he could go back and play in the KHL.  Despite maintaining a high level of play over his five years in the KHL (winning a scoring title, two championships, a world championship, and an Olympic gold medal), the lack of visibility in the NHL hurt his hobby popularity. Wong said, "Kovalchuk's retirement and departure to the KHL was one of the most jarring sports related events I experienced in my life." He further explains, "...Kovalchuk was really fueling the re-ignition of my passion for the sport of hockey (the biggest passion in my life today). Up until his retirement, I was watching the most hockey of my life and was excited to watch one of my favorite players. I had access to every game."


But in times like these, super-collector's can reap the rewards. The downward slide in demand for Ilya Kovalchuk put his card prices on the decline. As the value went down and time ticked away, many collectors began to unload their collections, introducing more rare cards to availability on the open market. Not only could Kovalchuk collectors take advantage of these lower prices but they also now had a smaller market of other buyers to compete with. KC2 weighed in on that by saying, "I found that the vast majority of my collection today was obtained between 2014 and 2018. I believe I added over 200 cards to my collection at the 2015 National show alone. Many of them were more rare serial numbered ones that I had never seen in person or lost out bidding online." Wong added, "The dollar depreciation in value of my Kovalchuk collection didn't bother me much as I never planned on selling it anyway."

Despite the excitement surrounding his return to the NHL in 2018-19, his time with the Kings was very much forgettable.  Although his prime years were behind him, at 36 the flashes of greatness were still there and showed at times throughout last season.  But having been relegated to the fourth line and only getting minimal power play time did nothing to duplicate his now almost forgotten MVP-worthy abilities.

Regarding the overall value of Kovy cards, Wong adds, "With regard to value in the hobby, I don't believe that it will go down any further than it already has. I believe that it will remain stable. The people who have been buying since his 2013 retirement are either set collectors, or people like me who are paying to honor the entertainment he provided in the best times of his career. There are very few of the latter. Also, no one has been buying for investment purposes and as such you will never see high prices on average for him ever again."
But their could be a silver lining because his story isn't completely over.  On January 3, the Canadians finally landed their dream 2001 draft pick when Kovy signed a two-way contract to finish the season in Montreal.  In just two games as of this publishing, he has already tallied three assists.  With an Original Six city behind him and all the cameras watching, maybe a spotlight will shine once again on his hobby legacy.

If you ask my opinion, I don't know if a case can be made for a Hall of Fame nod for Ilya Kovalchuk  when he does decide to hang up the skates.  He was easily a superstar in his prime and top-ten, if not top-five during the first decade of his career.  That had him on a pace of most likely sealing his fate as a first ballot HOFer.  But his decision to leave the NHL for Russia, the cap-circumventing and bloated contract saga in New Jersey, and his lackluster return to the NHL (thus far) all hold a place in the minds of those that make these decisions.  If he had stayed in the biggest league in the world, we may only be discussing how long it would take rather than "if".