Leaf Exclusive Nico Hischier

As someone who buys, cracks, and flips a good amount of wax, Leaf is easily the biggest, easiest, most consistent return on products. It isn't a question in my mind that they will make quality stuff. However I am curious how this will impact the rookie market. We saw this last year with Eichel and it was interesting to pull a RP /49 of his from premier and flip it for $60 when with an auto it would have been way more. My hope in this exclusive is that it somehow brings Leaf closer to being able to have a seat at the table with Upper Deck and watch them compete for Hobby enthusiasts. I hope Leaf gets back in and UD's exclusive ends. Like both companies, but would love to see licensed Leaf products!

--Andrew
 
Wow, the top 2 picks with no UD autos. Maybe it is time for them to share the license, this will deff hurt the advertising/profits
 
JayKayZee said:
Cue the "I hate exclusive licenses, so I'm going to do it until Upper Deck stops" discussion...
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I really don't think Leaf's tactics are having the desired effect, at all.

UD has McDavid, Matthews, and the big legends like Gretzky, Orr, etc. Did losing Eichel hurt? Sure, at least at first. But McDavid moved more than enough product on his own that season to make UD say "Eichel who?"

Not having the top two picks next season will probably hurt as well - even though it's a weaker class overall even at the top - but the exclusives mentioned above will keep a smile on UD's face regardless. I think they're pretty content with the stable they have and are more than happy to sit back and let Leaf take some flak every time they sign a new prospect. It's making Leaf look like the bad guy more than anything because the majority of collectors want the licensed stuff and are on UD's side.

This exclusive war is getting to be a bit much, and Leaf is doing more harm than good overall. This signing in particular irks me more than any of Leaf's previous deals because Nico is a Moosehead whom I've had the pleasure of watching live and I was looking forward to a FWA or something for my collection. Sad news for me and sad news for rookie collectors in general.
 
Wow the devils finally get a new shiny first overall and us fans have no rc autos to look forward to.

Guess we'll see lots of Keller and Jost next season.
 
If it gets Leaf in on the licence discussion with the NHLPA so they can share one with UD and maybe others (Dare I say, Topps?) next time the license is up for grabs, then I say it's a win for Leaf.
 
UD doesn't care - they will still sell tons of cards!!! Funny, out of the forums and Facebook groups I am part of, I have NEVER heard anyone say "man I really want an Eichel HP rookie auto" bahahaha even looks silly to read it as I type it!!! Probably same reason there was always people in front of the UD booth at expo and a few lonely looking dudes at the Leaf booth.
 
penfield said:
UD doesn't care - they will still sell tons of cards!!! Funny, out of the forums and Facebook groups I am part of, I have NEVER heard anyone say "man I really want an Eichel HP rookie auto" bahahaha even looks silly to read it as I type it!!! Probably same reason there was always people in front of the UD booth at expo and a few lonely looking dudes at the Leaf booth.
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That's funny! Except I sure did hear a lot of people praise our redemption program as opposed to Upper Deck. I did get lonely however, after we ran out of Nolan Patrick giveaway cards and the Stickwork emerald packs!bahahaha. Sorry, just having a little fun. We knew there would be some upset people, but let's stay real please.
 
This would be the "oh crap, Patrick might not go #1, we better get the other guy too" move.

Well played....
 
penfield said:
UD doesn't care - they will still sell tons of cards!!! Funny, out of the forums and Facebook groups I am part of, I have NEVER heard anyone say "man I really want an Eichel HP rookie auto" bahahaha even looks silly to read it as I type it!!! Probably same reason there was always people in front of the UD booth at expo and a few lonely looking dudes at the Leaf booth.
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I spoke with gregg at the leaf booth for about 10 minutes and he gladly answered all my questions to the best of his ability. I inquired about my newest PC player (Nick Suzuki) and he gave me some good insight on what to expect in heroes & prospects. I left their booth more informed then when I got there.

I asked 3 different people at the UD booth for an aprox release date for compendium 3 and not one of them had the slightest clue.

It nice of them to have draws and give aways but I got more out of talking to the two loney guys at the leafs booth then I did from anyone at the upper deck booth.
 
LeafGregg said:
That's funny! Except I sure did hear a lot of people praise our redemption program as opposed to Upper Deck. I did get lonely however, after we ran out of Nolan Patrick giveaway cards and the Stickwork emerald packs!bahahaha. Sorry, just having a little fun. We knew there would be some upset people, but let's stay real please.
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You want something real? I walked by the Leaf booth on Saturday and it was dead, and looked lame. I walked by it twice before I even noticed it was Leaf. The UD booth looked like it usually does, but the Presidents Choice booth rocked!
 
k_northrup said:
You want something real? I walked by the Leaf booth on Saturday and it was dead, and looked lame. I walked by it twice before I even noticed it was Leaf. The UD booth looked like it usually does, but the Presidents Choice booth rocked!
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Really? Lame? I remember on Saturday we had over 25 cases of Stickwork opened, which means we gave away 250 free Stickwork Emerald cards that day. Guess lame means awesome now. Thanks for the constructive post. I am glad Presidents Choice tables were rocking! Dr. Price is a good man
 
iheartjacquie said:
I spoke with gregg at the leaf booth for about 10 minutes and he gladly answered all my questions to the best of his ability. I inquired about my newest PC player (Nick Suzuki) and he gave me some good insight on what to expect in heroes & prospects. I left their booth more informed then when I got there.

I asked 3 different people at the UD booth for an aprox release date for compendium 3 and not one of them had the slightest clue.

It nice of them to have draws and give aways but I got more out of talking to the two loney guys at the leafs booth then I did from anyone at the upper deck booth.
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Appreciate that! But seriously! We weren't lonely! We just ran out of the goods early! We will bring more in November!

Oh, Suzuki has more signatures coming up in Heroes and Prospects!
 
Just a note, hidden in all the hoopla, we did post a few cool Heroes and Prospects Preview memorabilia cards on the Leaf Twitter account
 
I figured I'd pipe in with a few facts, just in case anyone even cares about the facts:

1> I approached Jason Masherah (President of UD), Mike Phillips (VP Hobby Sales) and Chris Carlin (you know Chris) in Hawaii last year. I told them I was done signing exclusives if they would stop. Despite their continued contention that I am out of line for doing exclusives and they are not, I steadfastly stayed the course...

IF YOU DON'T DO ANY MORE EXCLUSIVES, WE WONT EITHER AND COLLECTORS WILL WIN.

2> Upper Deck immediately proceeded to sign Auston Matthews. We did not sign anyone, despite our gut instinct to sign Laine and Marner, we did not sign anyone. We tried to stay the course... NO EXCLUSIVES!

3> Then, Upper Deck signs PATRICK ROY exclusive. This is the same Patrick Roy that has been a key figure in "In the Game" products since day one. Still, Leaf has not signed ANY EXCLUSIVES....

4> Upper Deck went after our CHL license. We had an opportunity to match, but we do not have long term confidence in that category, so we let it go....

THIS IS UD GOING AFTER THREE EXCLUSIVE DEALS, WHILE WE WAITED A FULL YEAR AND DIDNT SIGN A SINGLE EXCLUSIVE DEAL (Nolan Patrick was already locked up right around the time of Eichel, just in case you are thinking we did sign Patrick)...

We did "the right thing" and sat on the sideline and tried to have a non exclusive atmosphere... During the last 24 months, I have reached out to Upper Deck at least 10 times... I have offered a sit down to stop the madness.

Upper Deck does not care and will not care until the consumer makes them care.

They have much bigger issues at the moment. $97 million in unpaid taxes (which an article released based on court documents yesterday actually estimate could really be $160 million or more)....

I still believe UD will eventually realize that this is not helping the consumer and will sit down....

But, make no mistake, NOTHING WILL CHANGE UNLESS IT IS FORCED TO CHANGE.

I am confident and certain that the exclusives HAVE TO STOP. I am ready and willing to sit down right now. Heck, I would offer to have the meeting in front of a ballroom full of collectors at the Fall Expo (lol)....

I don't expect everyone to like this..... BUT, competition will pay off long term for all collectors whether you buy UD, Leaf or Both.... regardless, Leaf pushing UD to do and be better is a positive thing! (and for that matter, UD pushing us makes us better also!!!)...

Hopefully, this makes some sense.... I never hide on stuff like this.

Brian Gray
CEO, Leaf

P.S.- I am happy to answer any questions you may have in this thread as well, since I'm here.... (and we encourage our competition to join the forum and answer your questions candidly and honestly as well....)
 
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Just for fun, here is an email sent to Mike Phillips and Jason Masherah....

Brian Gray / Leaf Trading Cards <[email protected]>
8/19/15

to jason_masherah, michael_philli.

Guys,
I am reaching out as I believe for the good of our category (hockey), a discussion is warranted as we head into the 15-16 season.
I believe this discussion is time sensitive and I would like to see if we can set up a call between our companies to discuss the market and specific player opportunities.
Let me know.

Brian
 

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