thewantlist.ca

The Upper Deck Company has released 2009-10 Ultimate Collection hockey. The high-end release is UDC’s third-last of the 2009-10 hockey season, with O-Pee-Chee Premier (Aug. 10) and The Cup (Aug. 24) still to come. This is Ultimate Collection’s sixth season in the hockey card market.

“This is one eye-popping release,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s hockey brand manager. “We just experienced one of the most-watched NHL playoffs ever with some of the best hockey battles in recent years. This set captures many of the thrills from this season, as well as salutes some of hockey’s all-time greatest players. This is a must-have product for any serious hockey collector.”

Highlights the Upper Deck Company, “the piece de résistance for rookie collectors will no doubt be the 42-player insert entitled “Autographed Ultimate Rookies NHL Shield Variations,” which are numbered to just one apiece. A second 1-of-1 insert entitled “Ultimate Signature Logos” will also cause quite a frenzy amongst collectors.”

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Upper Deck Company will once again host the National Hockey League Entry Draft’s hockey card show this Jun. 25-26. This year’s show takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The show is held in conjunction with the NHL Entry Draft, which commences with the first round selections on Friday night (7pm on TSN in Canada and Versus in USA).

“We’re very excited to be a part of the NHL Entry Draft event this weekend,” said Jodi Wasserman, Upper Deck’s senior manager for Marketing and Events. “We’ve got plenty of kid-friendly activities planned at the Upper Deck booth and, of course, we’ll have redemption card sets available featuring current and retired Kings’ greats as well as other NHL superstars.”

For the show, UDC has produced two six-card redemption packs. The first pack features active stars: three Kings (Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar) and three former first-overall picks (John Tavares, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin). The second pack features former stars: three Kings (Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille and a so-called “mystery player”) and three other stars (Steve Yzerman, Patrick Roy and Mario Lemieux).

Signing autographs on Saturday morning will be Kings’ captain Dustin Brown. He will be at the UDC booth from 11-12 noon on Saturday morning. Brown will only be signing custom oversize Upper Deck cards (no other items).

MORE (UDC PRESS RELEASE)

Beyond the signing session and redemption card sets, UDC will also have its highly popular Personalized Trading Card (P-Card) station up for fans seeking to obtain their very own trading card, compliments of Upper Deck. The Upper Deck booth will be set up on the concourse level of the Staples Center, outside sections 101 to 104. Upper Deck also invites kids ages 13 and under to show off their shooting skills and win cool prizes by participating in the “Lucky Shot” game, which will be part of the Upper Deck booth.

In addition, UDC will have several rare cards on display, along with many of Upper Deck Authenticated’s newly unveiled NHL Curve(tm) Displays, which showcase either an autographed or commemorative hockey puck positioned alongside a team or player photo. In fact, UDA will be selling many NHL Curve(tm) Display variations at the NHL Entry Draft – all at special show pricing – including releases for the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos, and other top NHL stars.

And last but certainly not least, the winner of Upper Deck’s NHL Entry Draft Runner contest, 12-year-old Zeke Estrada of Anaheim, will be on hand both days of the event assisting one NHL team (still to be determined) in its quest to find the NHL’s next superstar in the making.

Popularity: 8% [?]

The Upper Deck Company has released this year’s edition of SP Authentic hockey, the latest release ever for this popular brand. Card collectors have had to wait, but will now be treated to what is always one of the most popular collection of rookie cards from any given hockey season.

“We’re very proud of this year’s SP Authentic release,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s hockey brand manager. “We had a terrific 2009-10 campaign and a rookie class that rivaled some of the greatest to ever enter the NHL. This product includes the biggest names in hockey, past and present, and the autographed inserts will keep collectors cracking packs for months.”

MORE (UDC RELEASE)

Incredible only begins to describe the number of autographed cards in SP Authentic Hockey. The multi-tiered “Sign of the Times” insert kicks things off with a single-signed version that has a tremendous heritage. The Sign of the Times lineup then parlays to “Duals,” some of which are Mystery Redemptions; “Trios” (numbered to 25); “Quads” (numbered to 10); and the super-rare “Fives,” “Sixes,” “Sevens” and “Eights.” The “Autographed Future Watch” rookies are numbered to 999, while the special “Prestigious Pairings” collection – sporting combos like Joe Thornton/Dany Heatley, Vincent Lecavalier/Steven Stamkos and Jarome Iginla/Eric Staal – are all numbered to 100.

If autographed cards drive your collection, then SP Authentic’s highly coveted autographed “Future Watch Patch” inserts (numbered to 100) of top rookies like Tavares, Duchene, van Riemsdyk, Hedman and Kane will really start to rev your engines. Likewise, the “Rookie Review” autographed patch cards, also numbered to 100, will pack plenty of excitement for collectors seeking coveted superstar patch cards. In a tribute to the past, SP Authentic also boasts a rare lineup of 20 “Immortal Inks” autographed cards (each numbered to 10) that include such standouts as Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille, Phil Esposito, Don Cherry, Tony Esposito, Cam Neely, Mark Messier, Patrick Roy and Wayne Gretzky.

Popularity: 7% [?]

The Upper Deck Company has released the newest edition of Be Player hockey cards. As has been the tradition since 1994-95, Be A Player hockey cards guarantees one autographed card in every pack.

“This year’s Be A Player Hockey is jam-packed with quality cards, so collectors are going to love cracking packs and making great pulls,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s hockey brand manager. “There are actually dual-signed cards falling at a rate of one per hobby box, on average, so that’s another chase element that will keep hockey fans coming back for more.”

MORE (UDC RELEASE
With the Stanley Cup Finals set to begin on Saturday evening between the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks, the Upper Deck Company has just released its latest NHL-licensed trading card set: 2009-10 Be A Player Hockey. The 300-card regular set features the most sought-after players in the NHL and guarantees one autograph card in every pack, on average!

In addition to highlighting all the top rookies from this season’s freshmen class including John Tavares, Matt Duchene, James van Riemsdyk (who is competing this weekend), Jonas Gustavsson, Evander Kane, Logan Couture and Victor Hedman, Be A Player Hockey boasts several different opportunities for varying degrees of autograph pulls. For example, Be A Player “Autograph Duals” fall at a rate of one in every eight packs; “Trios (1:24 packs); and there are new autographed variations (numbered to 10) of the regular base cards.

Another sought-after element of the Be A Player lineup is its three-tiered Rookie Jersey Cards: the most common version is numbered to 250; the autographed Rookie Jersey Cards are numbered to 50; and the rare “Rookie Patches” jersey cards are numbered to 15. Additional insert cards include “Sidelines” (1:4 packs); “Goalies Unmasked” (numbered to 499); and “Meet the Rookies” (also numbered to 499)

The product, which boasts five cards per pack and eight packs per box, is currently on store shelves.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The Upper Deck Company has released its update edition of 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee hockey. The 200-card update is available in a box set and features all of the best rookies from this past hockey season.

“Our O-Pee-Chee Update box set completes the 800-card O-Pee-Chee release from this season,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s hockey brand manager. “But what makes this particular collection so special is the outstanding assortment of the best rookies from the class of 2009-10.”

MORE (UDC RELEASE)
In addition to spotlighting all the top rookies from this season’s freshmen class, the O-Pee-Chee Update box set includes randomly seeded “Top Draws” triple-jersey combo cards pinpointing golden oldies like Boston’s Ray Bourque, Cam Neely and Adam Oates along with younger, up-and-coming trios like Carolina’s Eric Staal, Cam Ward and Rod Brind ‘Amour. Easily the most sought-after version of the triple-jersey memorabilia cards will be the Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman classic.

Lastly, collectors can discover ultra cool Marquee Rainbow Parallels, falling (on average) about three per box. All 200 players from the box set can be found in this rare parallel by the most dedicated of collectors.

Popularity: 2% [?]

In The Game’s popular hockey card redemption program is back this Friday at the Sportcard & Memorabilia Expo in Mississauga, ON. The redemption program will run all three days of the weekend show at the Toronto International Centre on Airport Road. The redemption program runs Friday 1:30-8:00pm, Saturday 10:30am-5:00pm, and Sunday 10:30am-3:30 pm or while supplies last.

Collectors are encouraged to open boxes of In The Game products at the In The Game redemption centre. Collectors can then trade their wrappers (only those opened at the booth) for special redemption cards. This weekend, collectors are encouraged to open the latest 2009-10 hockey products: Between the Pipes, Heroes & Prospects, and Superlative II. For more information, please visit www.itgtradingcards.com.

Popularity: 14% [?]

The Panini Group has (tentatively) announced that its first hockey set this coming 2010-11 NHL season will be Score hockey in August. The Panini Group will be joining the Upper Deck Company as one of two official NHL-NHLPA trading card companies. The Panini Group owns all the brand names previously created by former card companies Score, Pacific and Donruss.

The Score brand has been around for some 20 years, although it has been more than a dozen years since it was last issued in hockey. The Score hockey brand was issued for eight consecutive years from 1990-91 to 1997-98. For more information on the Panini Group, please visit www.paniniamerica.net.

Popularity: 33% [?]

It’s tough not to get all wrapped up into the draft hype when buying a box of In The Game Heroes & Prospects. After all, this brand has always been about delivering the next big thing, which today is the draft duo of Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin of the Ontario Hockey League.

In The Game’s “Prospect” scope, however, doesn’t start and stop with the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. There are plenty of up-and-coming kids that have been drafted and are just a year or two away from the big time in the National Hockey League. Prime examples are #90 Cody Hodgson (Vancouver Canucks), #130 Jodan Eberle (Edmonton Oilers), #78 Nazem Kadri (Toronto Maple Leafs) and #69 Brayden Schenn (Los Angeles Kings). With the exception of Hodgson because he was injured, those guys played for Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Collectors who picked up The Want List issue #4 will recognize many of the prospect names in this brand. Forty-two of the 50 “Best Teenagers in Canada” appear in the 2009-10 In The Game Heroes & Prospect set. It’s nice to put a card (a face) to those names.

There are also a handful of NHL rookies in this set, most notably those that were in the junior ranks last year like John Tavares (who we didn’t pull) and Matt Duchene. These players are indeed featured with their junior teams. These cards are not rookie cards.

There are also some NHL players that the NHL sets have missed this year. The best example is Tuukka Rask who is featured with his 2008-09 American League team, the Providence Bruins. Rask has somewhat surpassed last year’s Vézina Trophy winner Tim Thomas in the Boston goal, but he has yet to appear on a regular NHL card this 2009-10 season. It’s a good thing that In The Game Heroes & Prospects got him in as card 49.

As always, there are plenty of basic and special inserts to chase in this new In The Game brand. Basic inserts in our hobby box were Calder Cup Winners (John Carlson), Class of 2010 (Mark Pysyk), and Enforcers (Brent Henley). As for the special inserts, we pulled two autograph cards (Joey Hishon and Spencer Machacek) and three memorabilia cards (Peter Holland jersey, Martin Jones jersey, Brent Raedeke emblem).

Of yeah, we pulled 139 of 200 base cards, or a little better than two thirds of the set. We even got those draft prospects Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin.

For more information, please visit itgtradingcards.com.

Popularity: 15% [?]

The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and National Hockey League (NHL®) today announced multi-year trading card license agreements with Panini America and The Upper Deck Company.

“The NHLPA is excited to renew our long-term partnership with Upper Deck and to welcome Panini into the hockey trading card marketplace,” said Adam Larry, NHLPA Director of Licensing. “We look forward to working with both of these companies to provide quality NHL player products and exciting new choices for fans and collectors of all ages.”

“Having considered the input from all stakeholders, we have concluded that a semi-exclusive model would bring customer choice, revive legacy brands and add new and innovative products and marketing initiatives that appeal to all consumer segments,” said Dave McCarthy, Vice President of Integrated Marketing, NHL.

“Upper Deck is very pleased to continue its 20-year trading card partnership with the NHLPA and the NHL,” said Richard McWilliam, Upper Deck’s Founder and CEO. “Since 2005, through its exclusive partnership with the NHLPA and the NHL, Upper Deck has taken the category and Upper Deck’s hockey brands to unimaginable levels. For the past 20 years, Upper Deck has been the only licensed company consistently producing NHL trading cards. We will continue to deliver high-end excitement and innovation and I am happy to say, our best is yet to come.”

“Panini is delighted to be extending its partnership with both the NHLPA and NHL to produce trading cards; this further establishes Panini’s strategy to rapidly become the most comprehensive publisher of trading cards domestically and enhance the presence of North American sports,” said Mark Warsop, CEO Panini America, Inc. “We are extremely excited about growing hockey trading card sales through our extensive marketing programs, and by bringing back heritage brands such as Zenith, Score and Crown Royale.”

For Upper Deck, this announcement marks a new chapter in a 20-year partnership with the NHL and the NHLPA, one that saw Upper Deck operate as the exclusive NHL player trading card manufacturer since the 2005-06 NHL season. For Panini, it means the introduction to hockey of new brands such as Adrenalyn and Certified, and the return to the hockey market of some hobby favourites issued under previous Donruss, Score, Pinnacle and Pacific licenses.

The 2010-11 NHL trading card season is scheduled to launch this August with the release of Victory from Upper Deck, while Panini has tentatively marked Score as its first release under the new license.

ABOUT THE NHLPA:
The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), established in 1967, is a labour organization whose members are the players in the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHLPA works on behalf of the players in varied disciplines such as labour relations, product licensing, marketing, international hockey and community relations, all in furtherance of its efforts to promote its members and the game of hockey. In 1999, the NHLPA launched the Goals & Dreams fund as a way for the players to give something back to the game they love. Over the past 10 years, more than 40,000 deserving children in 22 countries have benefited from the players’ donations of hockey equipment. Goals & Dreams has donated more than $18-million to grassroots hockey programs, making it the largest program of its kind. For more information on the NHLPA, please visit www.nhlpa.com.

ABOUT THE NHL
The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, is the second-oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America. Today, the NHL consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League’s international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters. According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other sport. The NHL entertains more than 250 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (VERSUS, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, NASN, ASN and NHL Network™) and radio (NHL Radio™, Sirius XM, Radio and XM Canada). Through the NHL Foundation, the League’s charitable arm, the NHL raises money and awareness for Hockey Fights Cancer™ and NHL Youth Development, and supports the charitable efforts of NHL players. For more information on the NHL, log on to NHL.com.

About Upper Deck
Upper Deck is the leading sports and entertainment trading card and collectibles company. For more information on Upper Deck and its products please visit www.upperdeck.com.

ABOUT PANINI:
The Panini Group, established almost 50 years ago in Modena, Italy has subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectables and is the leading multi-national publisher of comics, children’s magazines and Manga in Europe and Latin America. Panini has distribution channels in more than 100 countries and employs a staff of over 800. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net or www.paninigroup.com.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Card collectors will begin their chase to complete the 2009-10 Upper Deck hockey series with the release of Upper Deck Series Two on Feb. 9. This series picks up where Series One left off and features new rookies including Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson and Stars forward James Neal.

“This season’s rookie class is shaping up to be a great one, and Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey is there to capture all the players who debuted early in the season,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s Hockey brand manager. “As usual, a couple of youngsters who crack Opening Night rosters will appear here, along with a bevy of talented freshmen as featured in the ‘Young Guns’ subset.”

PRODUCT BREAKDOWN:
Rookie Cards
o Young Guns – inserted 1:4
Great Memorabilia & Signature Cards!
o UD Game Jerseys – inserted 1:24
o UD Rookie Materials – inserted 1:24
o Fab Four Fabrics – #’d to 100
o UD Game Patch – #’d to 15
o UD Rookie Materials Patch – #’d to 25
o Signature Sensations – inserted 1:288
Winter Sports Athletes! (combined to deliver two per box!)
o The Champions – inserted 1:13
o The Champions autograph variations
Awesome Acetate Cards! (combined to deliver one per case!)
o Rookie Breakouts – #’d to 100
o Draft Class – #’d to 10
Victory Update cards
o Regular Cards – inserted 1:2
o Rookie Cards – inserted 1:2
o Regular Cards, Gold // – inserted 1:24
o Rookie Cards, Gold // – inserted 1:24
o Regular Cards, Black // – inserted 1:288
o Rookie Cards, Black // – inserted 1:288
Must-Have Regular Set Parallels!
o Exclusives – #’d to 100
o High Glossy – #’d to 10
Superstar Inserts (combined to deliver one in four packs on average!)
o Draft Day Gems – inserted 1:12
o Playoff Performers – inserted 1:12
o Rookie Debuts – inserted 1:24
o Captain’s Calling – inserted 1:24
Regular Cards
o 200 Regular Cards

Popularity: 4% [?]