No April Fool’s joke – Upper Deck to produce All-Star Skills Competition Tribute cards

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By Stephen Laroche | Beckett Hockey Editor

When the news dropped early on April Fool’s Day, some collectors may have been a bit skeptical about the news that Upper Deck was producing a special set of All-Star Skills Competition Tribute cards. The company has been known for sharing a tall tale on April 1 in recent years, but it has confirmed that the set is indeed real and coming soon to its Authorized Internet Retailers, Authorized Group Breakers, and online stores.

Since the All-Star Skills Competition has provided hockey fans with great memories in recent years, it was only natural that Upper Deck eventually produce a set of this nature. This six-card collection covers All-Star Games going back to 2009 and some of the sport’s best and most creative are depicted in key moments that thrilled millions of fans.

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“Upper Deck works hard to listen to all fans on social media platforms and heard loud and clear as the NHL All-Star Skills Competitions took place year in and year out that fans would love to see cards from those events,” said Upper Deck’s Senior Marketing and Social Media Manager, Chris Carlin. “Collectors got a taste of that in 2015-16 NHL SP Game-Used this season, but we wanted to create a promotional set that pays tribute to those fun and memorable moments from the event. Using the upcoming 2015-16 NHL SP Authentic Moments design, we put together some of our favorite moments for this promotional set that will be available in the coming weeks with UD hockey purchases through Authorized Internet Retailers, Authorized Group Breakers and the Upper Deck Online Store.”

The players making the cut for the set are an impressive group. Alex Ovechkin is shown during the breakaway competition in 2009 while Patrick Kane is shown in full flight with a cape and Hanson Brothers-style glasses at the 2012 event. Last season’s brilliant selfie breakaway with teammates Brian Elliott and Vladimir Tarasenko finally gets a cardboard treatment, too.

The 2016 NHL All-Star Skills Competition in Nashville was a constant battle of players trying to top each other and three key moments are remembered with Matt Duchene donning a cowboy hat, Pekka Rinne using a guitar to make a stop on Evgeny Kuznetsov, and P.K. Subban donning a mullet wig to pay tribute to a young Jaromir Jagr.

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

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