First Look: 2014-15 SP Authentic Hockey

By Stephen Laroche | Beckett Hockey Editor

For over a decade, the SP Authentic brand has been an institution for hockey card collectors and Upper Deck has released some preliminary details about this year’s edition that is expected to his hobby store shelves in May.

Loaded up with three signed cards in every box, those busting packs are going to get at least one of the perennially popular Future Watch Autograph rookie cards in addition to potentially pulling some of the other big hits the brand has become known for.

What else can collectors expect to find in 2014-15 SP Authentic Hockey? Find out after the jump.

Naturally, there will be a SP Authentic base set and there will be plenty of regular player cards to go along with the subsets that have been a part of it in recent years such as Authentic Moments. There will be an as-of-yet unspecified number of unsigned Future Watch rookie cards which will be supplemented by 60 different Future Watch Autographs. In a surprising move, Upper Deck has released a checklist in advance of the players that are expected to sign and they are listed below.

Many of the players in the base set will have a Limited Auto Patch parallel that is split into three tiers that are limited to as few as 10 copies each. However, the bigger draw for many hobbyists are the Future Watch Auto Patches. A traditional SP Authentic feature since 2002-03, they will feature on-card signatures and are expected to be numbered to 100 as in previous years.

One of the most interesting concepts returning this year are the Upper Deck Update cards which will act as a supplement to the first two flagship brand series. They have taken this to a new level, though, by adding some more Young Guns cards that may ultimately prove to be somewhat scarce when compared to those that came earlier in the season. There will also be Exclusive (#’d to 100) and High Gloss (#’d to 10) parallels like the earlier releases.

Old school fans who fondly recall the first stand-alone SP hockey release from Upper Deck 20 years ago will appreciate the 1994-95 SP Retro cards. Utilizing a classic design, there will be veterans and Premier Prospects with autographed, gold and die-cut parallels to track down.

The autograph lineup will also be bolstered by signed versions of the Authentic Moments (including tough-to-pull Duals), SP Chirography, Premier Chirography, Immortal Inks, Marks of Distinction and Buybacks. Sign of the Times will also be back once again with combos that bear as many as eight signatures on a single card.

In addition to the autograph hits, a typical box of 2014-15 SP Authentic Hockey is expected to deliver two to three unsigned Future Watch rookies, four Upper Deck Update cards, five Authentic Moments or All-Time Moments, one or two multi-player editions of Authentic Moments or All-Time Moments, six 1994-95 SP Retro cards and one or two 1994-95 SP Retro Premier Prospects. A case break should have two to three Autographed Patches along with three premium autographs.

2014-15 SP Authentic Future Watch Autographs

261    William Karlsson, Anaheim Ducks
262    Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers
263    Jake McCabe, Buffalo Sabres
264    Patrick Brown, Carolina Hurricanes
265    Joni Ortio, Calgary Flames
266    Mark Visentin, Arizona Coyotes
267    Corban Knight, Calgary Flames
268    Stuart Percy, Toronto Maple Leafs
269    Phillip Danault, Chicago Blackhawks
270    Patrick Nemeth, Dallas Stars
271    Colton Sissons, Nashville Predators
272    Curtis McKenzie, Dallas Stars
273    Sam Reinhart, Buffalo Sabres
274    Melker Karlsson, San Jose Sharks
275    Nicolas Deslauriers, Buffalo Sabres
276    Christian Folin, Minnesota Wild
277    Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
278    Sven Andrighetto, Montreal Canadiens
279    Chris Tierney, San Jose Sharks
280    Trevor Van Riemsdyk, Chicago Blackhawks
281    Andy Andreoff, Los Angeles Kings
282    David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
283    Vincent Trocheck, Florida Panthers
284    Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks
285    Bo Horvat, Vancouver Canucks
286    Anthony Duclair, New York Rangers
287    Damon Severson, New Jersey Devils
288    Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
289    Rocco Grimaldi, Florida Panthers
290    Dennis Everberg, Colorado Avalanche
291    Alexander Wennberg, Columbus Blue Jackets
292    Derrick Pouliot, Pittsburgh Penguins
293    Ryan Sproul, Detroit Red Wings
294    Kevin Hayes, New York Rangers
295    Jiri Sekac, Montreal Canadiens
296    Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning
297    Tobias Rieder, Arizona Coyotes
298    Brandon Kozun, Toronto Maple Leafs
299    Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers
300    Marko Dano, Columbus Blue Jackets
301    Calle Jarnkrok, Nashville Predators
302    Seth Griffith, Boston Bruins
303    Griffin Reinhart, New York Islanders
304    Alexander Khokhlachev, Boston Bruins
305    Laurent Brossoit, Edmonton Oilers
306    Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
307    Brett Ritchie, Dallas Stars
308    Markus Granlund, Calgary Flames
309    Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
310    Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
311    Adam Lowry, Winnipeg Jets
312    Andre Burakovsky, Washington Capitals
313    Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay Lightning
314    Curtis Lazar, Ottawa Senators
315    Mirco Mueller, San Jose Sharks
316    Teemu Pulkkinen, Detroit Red Wings
317    Ty Rattie, St. Louis Blues
318    Victor Rask, Carolina Hurricanes
319    Kerby Rychel, Columbus Blue Jackets
320    Jori Lehtera, St. Louis Blues

The above checklist is preliminary and subject to change before release.

Stephen Laroche is the editor of Beckett Hockey and Beckett Basketball magazines. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at SLaroche@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Laroche.