Josh Harding, the Inspirational Minnesota Wild Goalie, Receives a Special Tribute Card from Upper Deck!

As part of Upper Deck’s Heroic Inspirations campaign, Harding will be featured on a collectible trading card he autographed and inscribed for charitable purposes

CARLSBAD, Ca. (September 09, 2014) – Josh Harding is a goalie for the Minnesota Wild® who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in November, 2012. In his first game back post-diagnosis, Harding faced the Dallas Stars™ and stopped all 24 shots for a 1-0 shutout win. Harding was awarded the 2012-2013 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. With that, he became an inspiration for the MS community and hockey fans everywhere. To pay tribute to Harding’s courage in the face of such adversity, Upper Deck has created a “Heroic Inspirations” trading card that Harding has autographed and inscribed.

The goal of the card is to give people suffering from MS hope and to raise awareness for Josh Harding’s charity; Harding’s Hope (www.hardingshope.org) To start the campaign, Upper Deck has inserted 25 of the cards into packs of the 2014-15 NHL® O-Pee-Chee series. Harding included his signature and an inscription on these cards, “My inspiration is my father.” Harding has signed and inscribed other versions of the card with some of his other inspirations. These additional autographed and inscribed cards will be available with a donation to the charity through the Harding’s Hope website at the start of the 2014-15 NHL® season.

“I’m excited for Upper Deck to join my team to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis and to raise funds for people living with MS,” said Josh Harding. “The more I learn about MS, the more I realize how important it is to have a team. The point of adding inscriptions to the cards is to share that you cannot fight MS alone, you need to look for inspiration from your team. I’m hopeful that by sharing some of my inspirations on these new Upper Deck cards, I can help others stay positive and find inspiration.”

“Not only is Josh Harding an incredible player, he has transcended the game by performing at a high level while being challenged by symptoms of the disease,” said Jason Masherah, president of Upper Deck. “Harding serves as an inspiration and people marvel at his accomplishments. We hope that hockey fans and fans of Josh’s story will want to collect his autographed and inscribed ‘Heroic Inspirations’ cards. He truly is an inspiration who has an incredible story of courage, hope and perseverance to share.”

Upper Deck has produced other Heroic Inspirations-themed cards in the past for other inspirational athletes. Harding’s card is the first in the series that features an autograph from the athlete and an inscription. Upper Deck’s 2014-15 NHL® O-Pee-Chee arrives in hobby and retail stores today!

About Upper Deck

Upper Deck, headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., is a worldwide sports and entertainment company built on the pillars of quality craftsmanship, authenticity and innovation with a dedication to creating products that turn memorable moments into collectibles. Upper Deck revolutionized the sports trading card experience with anti-counterfeit holograms, high quality card stock and stunning photography in its inaugural 1989 baseball set, and since then its mission has been to capture the excitement of the game and deliver it to fans of all ages. The cornerstone of Upper Deck’s business, which opened in 1989, is based on sports trading cards. As its brand has evolved to include other products over the years, the company now creates exclusive memorabilia, gaming products, collectible cards and a wide array of sports trading cards.

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About Harding’s Hope

Harding’s Hope is a nonprofit founded by Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding, 2013 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Winner. Harding’s Hope is raising awareness about multiple sclerosis (MS) and raising funds to support people living with MS. Josh Harding founded Harding’s Hope because he was thankful for the support he received from family, friends, medical staff, and the hockey community after his MS diagnosis. Harding quickly recognized that not everyone living with MS has a team supporting them, and that many people are faced with making a choice between paying for MS treatment or meeting day-to-day expenses. Harding’s Hope is not funding MS research. Harding’s Hope is focused on supporting individuals and families living with MS who are struggling with the costs of treating the disease.

You can help Josh help others. Read more at www.hardingshope.org or Twitter (@HardingsHope) or Facebook (Harding’s Hope).