Brad Howard and Marcus Acuna co-own two toy stores in the Las Vegas Valley, and Funko Pop figures are one of their best-selling items.
This summer, word spread that Golden Knights center William Karlsson would be featured in the next line of NHL plastic collectibles later this year.
“For a random character or athlete, we would preorder 36. With Karlsson, we’re planning to order three times that, at least,” Acuna said. “People are going crazy. This is a highly anticipated release.”
If goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury remains the face of the second-year franchise, Karlsson is the Knights’ matinee idol.