A look at Upper Deck’s summer hockey line
By Andrew Tolentino | Hockey Editor
Lots of things are heating up this time of year. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are steaming right along in the semifinals. People are firing up their grills for late-spring burger flipping. And the oppressive summer heat is already starting to spike temperatures in Texas.
But in the spirit of keeping cool, Upper Deck hit the hobby with details about its upcoming summer releases, 2011-12 Ultimate Collection and 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee. Put on those Ray Bans, hockey collectors. It’s bright out there.
2011-12 Ultimate Collection
SCHEDULED RELEASE: Late June
BOX PROMISES
- Four cards per pack/box
- One autograph card
- One Rookie Card
- One memorabilia card
CASE STUDY
- Four or more Patch cards
- One-two 1997 Legends Autographs
- One Ultimate Auto Rookie SP (numbered to 99)
- One autographed Memorabilia card
THE RUNDOWN
Designed for the high-end, high-reward ripper, Ultimate Collection offers a number of desirable legends, veterans and rarer rookie hits. Shorter print runs and quality materials are key components in the otherwise meh-morabilia game. It’s not quite The Cup, but it’s a brand that’s bound to produce some highly sought-after singles when it hits hobby shelves. — AT
OTHER FINDS
- Ultimate Signatures
- New 1997 Legends Signatures
- Ultimate Autographed dual jerseys
- Ultimate Autographed Patches and Duals
- Jumbo Premium Swatches and Patches
- Ultimate Duos, Trios, Rookies, Rookie Duos and Rookie Trios Jerseys
- Jumbo Autographed Ultimate Debuts Threads Jerseys
- Ultimate Debuts Threads Patches
2012-13 O-Pee-Chee
SCHEDULED RELEASE: Mid August
BOX PROMISES
- Eight cards per pack (32 packs per box)
- 32 1950s-era Retro parallels
- Eight Marquee Rookies
- Eight Marquee Legends
- Eight Rainbow Foil parallels
- 10 OPC Stickers (New)
- Two OPC Pop-Ups (New)
CASE STUDY
- Four Team Logo Patches (New)
- Two OPC Signatures
- One Team Canada Signatures card
THE RUNDOWN
How could anyone fault a product like this? Reasonably priced O-Pee-Chee always affords any hockey fan of any age the opportunity to rip with a sense of humor and fondness for the hobby’s gimmicky past. But for cynics who might view kitschy stickers, pop-up cards and the overall retro vibe as unnecessary schtick, the brand does boast a few case-level selling points. On top of team logo patches and other signatures, OPC buyback autographs are bound to win over the most critical of collecting critics. — AT
OTHER FINDS
- Rare OPC Buyback autographs (new)
- Black Border Rainbow parallels (numbered to 100)
Ya and it would’ve been nice to get my 10 cup redemps back prior to he playoffs, actually can I just get them back please?