Upper Deck Kicks Off the NHL Season with the Biggest Set of the Year - 2011/12 NHL O-Pee-Chee

NHL® Set Collectors Rejoice; 2011-12 NHL O-Pee-Chee Hits Stores Today!



With 600 total cards, puck fans can start the season off by building the largest set of the year.



Carlsbad, CA (October 6, 2011) – With the NHL season kicking off today, Upper Deck is pleased to release 2011-12 NHL O-Pee-Chee with a deep variety of players from all the NHL teams. Collectors can find cards of top stars like Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) along with Marquee rookies like Cody Hodgson (Vancouver Canucks), Joe Colborne (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jonathan Blum (Nashville Predators), Matt Frattin (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Carl Klingberg (Winnipeg Jets).



Retro variation cards, O-Pee-Chee Souvenirs (quad memorabilia cards) and O-Pee-Chee Signatures return, but there are a variety of new inserts that collectors will be chasing this season. First up are the Playoff Beard variation cards where the first 50 cards in the set have a rare version (1:9 packs) with an alternate image featuring the athlete sporting their playoff beards.



Next up are the ’10-11 NHL Rookie Update Retro cards featuring top notch rookies from last season who were not included in the set, like Tomas Tartar (Detroit Red Wings), Ryan McDonagh (New York Rangers), Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis Blues) and Jacob Markstrom (Florida Panthers). This affords collectors the tremendous opportunity to add to their 2010-11 NHL O-Pee-Chee set.



Lastly are the Team Canada Sigs where Upper Deck uses its exclusive agreement with Team Canada to provide fans with autograph cards of top players like Bobby Orr, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos and Wayne Gretzky. All players featured in this set will be pictured as members of Team Canada.



“The 2011-12 NHL O-Pee-Chee set really has something for every level of collector, with a challenging base set, fun variations and exciting chase with memorabilia and autograph cards,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s Hockey brand manager. “We were able to acquire 100% of the autograph content for this product beforehand so it releases with zero redemption cards. Additionally it is a great value,” offering 36 packs per box and six cards per pack at a low price.



Upper Deck’s 2011-12 NHL O-Pee-Chee is currently available at DCS Sports Cards

New releases this week

DCS Sports Cards unveils 3 new releases this week:

2011 Topps Upate Series Baseball Cards Hobby and HTA Jumbo boxes

2011 Topps Football Factory Sets

2011-12 Upper Deck O Pee Chee Hockey cards

Order these and other cards at great prices now!

SANDY KOUFAX CONCLUDES POPULAR PRIME 9 HOBBY SHOP PROGRAM

The final PRIME 9 subject to be announced is Redemption card # 9…Sandy Koufax.

For the past 9 weeks, Topps and Major League Baseball has designated a “Prime 9 Player of the Week” to celebrate the “prime” players at every position in MLB history. Collectors holding the corresponding Prime 9 Redemption card for that week brought their cards into participating HTA stores and redeemed them for an exclusive limited edition Topps Chrome Refractor.

The cards can be found in Series 2 Hobby packs (1:18) and Jumbo packs (1:5). Each card is denoted by a Week number (1, 2, 3, etc.).

Stay tuned for another exciting hobby store promotion in conjunction with 2012 Topps Baseball Series 1!

The “PRIME 9”

Week 1 (July 19th) Johnny Bench, Catcher (redemption card #1)

Week 2 (July 26th) Albert Pujols, First Base (redemption card #2)

Week 3 (Aug. 5th) Jackie Robinson, Second Base (redemption card #3)

Week 4 (Aug. 12th) Derek Jeter, Shortstop (redemption card #4)

Week 5 (Aug. 19th) Mike Schmidt, Third Base (redemption # 5)

Week 6 (Aug. 26th) Hank Aaron, Left Field (redemption # 6)

Week 7 (Sept. 2nd) Mickey Mantle, Center Field (redemption # 7)

Week 8 (Sept. 9th) Ichiro, Left Field (redemption # 8)

Week 9 (Sept. 16th) Sandy Koufax, Pitcher (redemption # 9)

Breaking News: Panini America Inks Multi-Year Trading Card Deal with MLBPA

IRVING, Texas/NEW YORK CITY – Panini America, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company, and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced today a multi-year trading card agreement. The deal secures Panini’s presence in America’s Pastime and adds to its U.S. sports license roster, making Panini the only trading card company in the world with licenses in all four major sports.

Panini America will make its MLBPA-partnership debut with the December release of 2011 Elite Extra Edition, followed by 2011 Contenders Baseball, which will include the first Panini Autographs of All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton. The reigning American League Most Valuable Player also will appear on packaging for future Panini products.


“We’re very pleased to be working with Panini America,” said Evan Kaplan, Director, Licensing & Business Development for the Major League Baseball Players Association. ”They have consistently developed innovative products that appeal to collectors of all ages both here in America and around the world. Panini’s MLBPA-licensed products will present Major League baseball players in a unique and exciting way.”

“The relationship with the MLBPA represents the culmination of a goal that we committed to when Panini entered the U.S. market just over two years ago, that of having a licensed presence in all four of the major sports in the U.S., and to utilize Panini’s creative approach to enhance the overall experience for collectors,” said Mark Warsop, CEO of Panini America. “We are excited to join as a partner of the MLBPA and look forward to working with the MLBPA to continue to raise the visibility of their players and engage new collectors.”

The company will formally announce the agreement this afternoon at a press conference featuring Warsop, Kaplan and Hamilton. Stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for complete coverage of the event.

Panini America is the only company in the world that manufactures fully licensed trading cards and stickers for the NBA, NFL, NFL PLAYERS, NHL, NHLPA, MLBPA and FIFA World Cup. The company also owns exclusive entertainment licenses with Disney, Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson, and more than 600 global licenses with other sports and entertainment properties.

TOPPS AND THE “SAY HEY KID” BACK TOGETHER AGAIN

Topps announces it has signed a multi-year autograph deal with the legendary “Say Hey Kid”, Willie Mays.
The first offering of Mays’ Autograph will appear in the highly-anticipated 2012 Topps Baseball Series 1, which hits shelves early February. After that, collectors can expect to find the slugger’s autographed cards in products such as Topps Tribute (image attached), Gypsy Queen and much more. In addition, Topps will be issuing a variety of relic cards featuring the Hall of Famer.
The Topps and Mays relationship dates back to the beginning when Willie appeared in the company’s famed 1952 Topps Baseball set. Willie then went on to star on Topps cardboard for another 21 consecutive seasons.

TOPPS ANNOUNCES CARD # 8 OF PRIME 9 HOBBY STORE PROMOTION

The PRIME 9 subject redeemable for week 8 (Redemption card # 8) is Ichiro.
On a weekly basis, there will be a designated “Prime 9 Player of the Week”. Collectors holding the corresponding Prime 9 Redemption card for that week can bring the card to their participating local HTA store and redeem it for an exclusive limited edition Topps Chrome Refractor.
Redemption cards can be found in Series 2 Hobby packs (1:18) and Jumbo packs (1:5). Each card is denoted by a Week number (1, 2, 3, etc.).

The “PRIME 9” thus far…
Week 1 (July 19th) Johnny Bench, Catcher (redemption card #1)
Week 2 (July 26th) Albert Pujols, First Base (redemption card #2)
Week 3 (Aug. 5th) Jackie Robinson, Second Base (redemption card #3)
Week 4 (Aug. 12th) Derek Jeter, Shortstop (redemption card #4)
Week 5 (Aug. 19th) Mike Schmidt, Third Base (redemption # 5)
Week 6 (Aug. 26th) Hank Aaron, Left Field (redemption # 6)
Week 7 (Sept. 2nd) Mickey Mantle, Center Field (redemption # 7)
Week 8 (Sept. 9th) Ichiro, Left Field (redemption # 8)

Topps Chrome BB / USA Baseball Autographs Clarification

Topps is clarifying that the redemption card in the just-released 2011 Topps Chrome Baseball stating “ You have just received a set of 2011 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Autograph Cards” is good for either a 5 or 6 card pack of USA Autographs and not all 22 subjects.

All USA Autographs are incremental hits on top of the 2 on-card Rookie Autographs guaranteed per hobby box.

USA Autographs are also featured on the following parallels:

Refractor
Blue Refractor
Gold Refractor
Atomic Refractor
Red Refractor
Superfractor
Printing Plates