A resounding yes

Perhaps it was like shooting fish in a barrel, but the numbers don't lie. Respondents in the latest Hound Central 3.0 poll, which asked whether Upper Deck, the dominant player in the hockey card market, needed some competition.

Their votes were unanimous -- they felt that Upper Deck does, indeed, need some competition.

My reasons for wanting increased competition are based solely as a collector. I want to see players in their new uniforms. I want to see creativity within brands. Most of all, I'd like to See Upper Deck make a greater effort toward satisfying these wishes.

So, what can we do? We have a few choices:

~ We can find some deep-pocketed, hockey-loving investors willing to pony up the cash needed to start a company that will produce affordable, timely products that keep the collector in mind.

~ We can support a company like In the Game, but it'll need to produce more than high-end cards.

~ We can simply devote the financial resources that we direct toward Upper Deck products to someplace else. I know I've scaled back (sort of) on my purchases this season. As consumers, we're able to vote with our wallets.

Will any of this happen? Who knows?

Can we make a difference? To be honest, I doubt it.

All I know, though, is that there are 20 hockey collectors out there who share in my opinion. And that, my friends, is a start.

Here are the results:

Question: Does Upper Deck/Fleer need more competition?

Yes: 20 votes out of 20 cast (100 percent)
No: 0 votes (0 percent)

Look familiar?

Other than some missing signage in the background, there's no other difference in the photos used for these two cards of Los Angeles' Patrick O'Sullivan. The card on the left is from the 2007-08 Upper Deck MVP Hockey. The card on the right is from the 2007-08 Fleer Ultra Hockey.

C'mon, now, does Upper Deck think hockey card collectors are that stupid? Or that we won't care? Or we won't complain?

Makes you wish these cards came with money-back guarantees, doesn't it? I'd certainly like mine returned. How about you?

Uh, I'm confused

Let's see if I got this right. A Dominic Moore jersey card, pulled from a 2007-08 Fleer Ultra Hockey 12-pack retail box, says he plays for the Minnesota Wild (which he does), but shows him playing for the Penguins. The two-color swatch? Well, that's from a Rangers jersey; with whom Moore, a Harvard grad, broke into the league.

How quickly things change

You think the card editors at Fleer might be a little red-faced over this card? As much as I agree with Gerry Cheevers as the past of this Bruins Generations card, I'm not so sure about the others.

With no disrespect meant to Tim Thomas, I'm fairly certain Manny Fernandez might have something to say about who's the Bruins' present. Most troubling, though, is Hannu Toivonen. How can someone traded to St. Louis on July 23 represent the Bruins' future?

The card, which is a pretty cool concept, came out of a 2007-08 Fleer Ultra Hockey 12-pack retail box I was talked into buying.

Review: 2007-08 NHL Fleer Ultra

If it weren't for scoring what I believe to be one of those so-called "hot boxes" of the 2007-08 NHL Fleer Ultra, I'm pretty certain that a common complaint would ultimately impair my perception against Fleer, and its parent Upper Deck.

After raising the bar by showing updated players in late-season releases, the card companies have taken a step back by failing to use modern photographic and computer technology to show the summer's free agents with their new teams.

Given our era of instant gratification, where video hits the Web in seconds, there's no reason why pictures taken at a player's introductory press conferences can't be added before tight production timelines. In as long as it takes a graphic designer to type, say Manny Fernandez / Bruins, a photo of the goalie in a Boston jersey can replace the outdated image shown above.

And, until Fleer and Upper Deck make this commitment to providing the timeliest of products, the companies will continue to disappoint this collector.

Having said that, though, it's hard to quibble with what came out of the box. From a jersey patch card of New York's Jaromir Jagr to another short print of Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, the premiums, including a sweet Dominik Hasek insert, certainly took the sting out of this product.

Box Buster: 2007-08 NHL Fleer Ultra
Vital stats: 24 packs, eight cards per pack (192 total)
Price paid: $68.52 (including tax)
Purchased at: Water Wonder, Pinellas Park, Fla.
Set completion: 142 out of 200 cards (71 percent)
Duplicates: None
Ultra Rookies (1:4): Patrick Kaleta, David Koci, David Kreci, Joel Lundqvist, Mark Mancari and Mathieu Roy. Total: Six out of 50 (12 percent)
Ultra Rookies Gold Medallion (1:12): Rob Schremp
Ultra Rookie Redemption (1:24): One, RED265
Ultra Ice Medallion (1:48): Evgeni Malkin (014/100)
Ultra Uniformity Patch: Jaromir Jagr (08/25)
Ultra Uniformity (1:18)/Fresh Ink (autographs) mix (1:36): Dustin Brown and Brian Rafalski
Hot Numbers (1:288): Dominik Hasek (hobby only)
Flair Showcase – Lower Level (1:27): Phil Kessel (hobby only)
Flair Showcase – Upper Level (1:14): Peter Forsberg and Dion Phaneuf
Season Crowns (1:36): Martin Brodeur
Scoring Kings(1:18): Marian Hossa
Difference Makers (1:18): Jaromir Jagr and Rick Nash
Puckhound's grade: 3 out of 5 (with the hot-box tag); 2 out of 5 (w/o the hot-box tag)

Malkin Magic

For some reason, I seem to have really good luck getting short-printed cards of Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

This card, an Ice Medallion (No. 014/100), is part of 2007-08 Fleer Ultra. Apparently, it's part of a so-called "hot box."

Last season, I pulled a autographed patch card and two Young Gun checklists of Malkin.

A benchmark

I guess this Ultra Uniformity three-color-and-a-thread-of-red patch card (No. 08/25) of New York's Jaromir Jagr, fresh out of a box of 2007-08 NHL Fleer Ultra, has to take the early lead for sweetest card of the season. Then again, it's the first, too.