According to the Funko Fanatics blog, the NHL will have POP! figurines made of its biggest stars this fall. And Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is on that list.
This past week, GameStop updated their in store computers with a load of new POP! & Dorbz vinyl figures. There was much rumor over if these were real, but I visited my local store and saw the following Funko products in the computer with my own eyes.
The players that will be featured in the upcoming POP! NHL line will include:
- Alex Ovechkin
- Carey Price
- Connor McDavid
- Henrik Lundqvist
- Jamie Benn
- Jonathan Toews
- Morgan Rielly
- Patrick Kane
- Sidney Crosby
- Steven Stamkos
Several Canadian toy stores have already put the Ovechkin figurine up for sale, including Toys On Fire and Meeple Mart. Meeple Mart says the OviPop will be available on October 20.
Funko has recently secured the rights to WWE, MLB and NBA athletes.
The figurines initially became a hit with Comic-Con and science fiction crowds before expanding into other markets. This Rolling Stone feature explains Funko’s rise in the collectibles industry.
Using the company’s three big licenses (DC, Marvel and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars property), what would become the Pop line was put into production. Soon, Funko was able to secure 25 more licenses, and eventually pushed the product into outlets other than comic-book and collectible shops — thinking outside of the box by placing the toys in big-box stores and mainstream online retailers. Soon, devoted fans began posting on forums about the figures, making spreadsheets about the brands and blogging about their customized Pops; once Game of Thrones cast members started endlessly posing with their figures, Funko’s cultural cachet allowed the company to expand its empire even further. “When licensors see that your products are getting into the marketplace and there is a coolness factor to them, they want to be a part of that,” Mariotti says. The rest is history.
Thanks to the vast array of choices and a thorough colonization of every fanscape under the sun — along with the line’s $9.99 pricetag, which allows for folks to build collections quickly — Funko Pop has managed to turn the line into, per Mariotti, “a gateway drug for collectibles.”
Thanks to Julie Roemele for the heads up.
