Above all else, the best thing about Upper Deck's 2007-08 Victory product is that it represents the first release of the new season. And for that, and I believe that I can speak for most hockey fans, we are thankful. The summer has been long and these cards are a perfect antidote to a bad case of hockey withdrawals.Beyond that, Victory is nothing out of the ordinary. The prototypical entry-level product, meaning that they're affordable and appealing to younger and newbie collectors, delivers on its basic premise. You'll get a decent selection across a spectrum of players -- from Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby to Chicago's Jason Williams.
At this price level (I paid less than $30 for a box), the only premiums are three subsets of inserts. Hard-core collectors should be pleased to learn that the release also features short prints, including rookies seeded one in every 2,880 packs. You know what? That's OK. At least we'll escape the disappointment of pulling a jersey card of, say, Washington's Matt Pettinger.
Kudos, again, to Upper Deck for showing players traded at last season's deadline with their new teams -- Martin Biron as a Flyer, Peter Forsberg as a Predator and Bill Guerin as a Shark, among others. It seems that Upper Deck has finally heard and responded to my complaints, as well as yours, of outdated cards in early season releases.
Now that Upper Deck has done that, though, I'm going to raise the bar. Given that some big names moved in the days after the free-agent signing season opened July 1, it would have been nice to see press conference photos on the cards of Philly's Daniel Briere, the Rangers' Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, and Colorado's Ryan Smyth. Given that Upper Deck is the only show in hockey card town, our expectations need to be higher.
And though it's not really Upper Deck's fault, Victory's rookie lineup, which features late-season call-ups, will likely elicit more yawns than anything else. Though I've said before that Los Angeles' Jack Johnson will likely draw the most interest, the quality of rookie cardboard quickly fades after him. I'm almost sheepish to name Los Angeles Yutaka Fukufuji and Edmonton's Rob Schremp (shown above) as my two-best rookie pulls. To me, these are better as autograph stock (though they'll need prep work) than for investment purposes.
Despite these minor complaints, I'm satisfied after busting my first box of the season. In my view, Victory stands more as an appetizer for hockey-starved collectors. We can all take comfort in knowing that the other courses, such as Upper Deck Hockey Series I, are on the menu.
Box buster: 2007-08 UD Victory
Vital stats: 36 packs, six cards per pack (216 total)
Price paid: $28.24 (including tax)
Purchased at: Water Wonder, Pinellas Park, Fla.
Set completion: 146 of 200 base cards (73 percent)
Rookies (1:2): Danny Bois, David Clarkson, Matt Ellis, Jeff Finger, Colin Fraser, Yutaka Fukufuji, Tom Gilbert, Jaroslav Halak, Jannik Hansen, Kent Huskins, Martin Lojek, Duncan Milroy, Pierre Parenteau, Tomas Popperle, Aaron Rome, Rob Schremp, Tobias Stephan and Zack Stortini. Total: 18 of 45 (40 percent)
EA Sports Faceoff (1:10): Kris Draper and Jarome Iginla
Superstar inserts (1:2): Game Breakers (10) - Sidney Crosby, Simon Gagne, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Paul Kariya, Miikka Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Ilya Kovalchuk, Kari Lehtonen, Patrick Marleau and Marty Turco; Stars on Ice (7) - Sergei Fedorov, Ryan Geztlaf, Brian Gionta, Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Malkin, Rick Nash and Teemu Selanne.
Parallel odds: Base cards gold (1:36); rookie cards gold (1:240); base cards black (1:720); and rookie cards black (1:2,880)
Puckhound's Grade: 3 pucks out of 5
At this price level (I paid less than $30 for a box), the only premiums are three subsets of inserts. Hard-core collectors should be pleased to learn that the release also features short prints, including rookies seeded one in every 2,880 packs. You know what? That's OK. At least we'll escape the disappointment of pulling a jersey card of, say, Washington's Matt Pettinger.
Kudos, again, to Upper Deck for showing players traded at last season's deadline with their new teams -- Martin Biron as a Flyer, Peter Forsberg as a Predator and Bill Guerin as a Shark, among others. It seems that Upper Deck has finally heard and responded to my complaints, as well as yours, of outdated cards in early season releases.
Now that Upper Deck has done that, though, I'm going to raise the bar. Given that some big names moved in the days after the free-agent signing season opened July 1, it would have been nice to see press conference photos on the cards of Philly's Daniel Briere, the Rangers' Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, and Colorado's Ryan Smyth. Given that Upper Deck is the only show in hockey card town, our expectations need to be higher.
And though it's not really Upper Deck's fault, Victory's rookie lineup, which features late-season call-ups, will likely elicit more yawns than anything else. Though I've said before that Los Angeles' Jack Johnson will likely draw the most interest, the quality of rookie cardboard quickly fades after him. I'm almost sheepish to name Los Angeles Yutaka Fukufuji and Edmonton's Rob Schremp (shown above) as my two-best rookie pulls. To me, these are better as autograph stock (though they'll need prep work) than for investment purposes.
Despite these minor complaints, I'm satisfied after busting my first box of the season. In my view, Victory stands more as an appetizer for hockey-starved collectors. We can all take comfort in knowing that the other courses, such as Upper Deck Hockey Series I, are on the menu.
Box buster: 2007-08 UD Victory
Vital stats: 36 packs, six cards per pack (216 total)
Price paid: $28.24 (including tax)
Purchased at: Water Wonder, Pinellas Park, Fla.
Set completion: 146 of 200 base cards (73 percent)
Rookies (1:2): Danny Bois, David Clarkson, Matt Ellis, Jeff Finger, Colin Fraser, Yutaka Fukufuji, Tom Gilbert, Jaroslav Halak, Jannik Hansen, Kent Huskins, Martin Lojek, Duncan Milroy, Pierre Parenteau, Tomas Popperle, Aaron Rome, Rob Schremp, Tobias Stephan and Zack Stortini. Total: 18 of 45 (40 percent)
EA Sports Faceoff (1:10): Kris Draper and Jarome Iginla
Superstar inserts (1:2): Game Breakers (10) - Sidney Crosby, Simon Gagne, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Paul Kariya, Miikka Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Ilya Kovalchuk, Kari Lehtonen, Patrick Marleau and Marty Turco; Stars on Ice (7) - Sergei Fedorov, Ryan Geztlaf, Brian Gionta, Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Malkin, Rick Nash and Teemu Selanne.
Parallel odds: Base cards gold (1:36); rookie cards gold (1:240); base cards black (1:720); and rookie cards black (1:2,880)
Puckhound's Grade: 3 pucks out of 5
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