In 1991, Upper Deck produced cards of the Canadian World Junior Championship team, but they couldn't make one of Eric Lindros, who had an exclusive deal with Score trading cards. However, the team at Upper Deck came up with a workaround, introducing, "Canada's Captains."

The Hockey News

In an attempt to make rookie cards of the best prospects before they were drafted, Upper Deck decided in 1991 to produce cards of players on the Canadian WJC team. There was just one problem. They couldn’t make a card of



Eric Lindros – the shoo-in No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft – because he’d signed an exclusive deal with Score trading cards, which would expire once he played in the NHL. So, Upper Deck came up with a workaround and made a card that pictured Lindros, fellow alternate



Kris Draper and captain Steven Rice, and labelled it “Canada’s Captains.” Technically, it wasn’t an Eric Lindros card, but that didn’t matter to fans and collectors. –



Sal Barry of



PuckJunk.com

The Hockey News

The Hockey News