http://www.beckett.com/news/get-ready-to-celebrate-2017-national-hockey-card-day-on-both-sides-of-the-border/
Collecting hockey cards is a pastime that stretches back over a century and generations of fans have been able to bring home their favorite players from the days of pioneers such as Cyclone Taylor to modern superstars like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.
Upper Deck has a strong understanding of how important it is to promote the hobby to a mainstream audience and its National Hockey Card Day promotion is back once again on February 18, 2017. Collectors, whether new to the pursuit or seasoned hobbyists, can visit their local card store in both Canada and the United States to get their hands on an exclusive set and celebrate the joy that comes from breaking open a pack of hockey cards.
In Canada, 2017 National Hockey Card Day will be an exciting time to hit the local card store to participate in the promotion. The basic set will be made up of 15 cards, which are split up into three subsets. Canada’s Rookies include Toronto Maple Leafs freshmen Matthews and Mitch Marner along with Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets, Mikhail Sergachev of the Montreal Canadiens, and Calgary Flames freshman Matthew Tkachuk.
Established player content comes in the Pride of Canada subset and it has a checklist that does not have a weak link with Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Sidney Crosby, and McDavid. Rounding out the regular Canadian 2017 National Hockey Card Day set are five Hockey Heroes. Again, this group is star-laden with Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Patrick Roy, Mike Bossy, and Joe Sakic.
South of the border, American collectors get an exclusive set of their own. The rookie content is focused on American-born players, or those playing on American teams, with Matthews, Tyler Motte of the Chicago Blackhawks, Calder Trophy candidate and Columbus Blue Jackets blueliner Zach Werenski, Philadelphia Flyers defender Ivan Provorov, and hot New York Rangers signee Jimmy Vesey.
Moving on to the veterans and legends, today’s hottest American stars in Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, Jonathan Quick, Patrick Kane, and Joe Pavelski made it veteran player portion of the set. As for the American Icons, look for cards of Jeremy Roenick, Bill Guerin, Brian Leetch, Ed Olczyk, and Mike Modano.
Collectors taking advantage of either promotion can also get a special 16th card if they make a minimum $10.00 purchase at their local card store. There is a special card of Matthews in each country, with different photos and text on the back. Additionally, there will be nine-card sheets available at Canadian Toys R Us and London Drugs locations.
The first group of 2016-17 Upper Deck Victory Black Rookies were released at the Fall 2016 Sportcard & Memorabilia Expo in November and the set is completed with 10 cards that are only available in 2017 National Hockey Card Day packs. The checklist is almost the same as the rookies that appear in the regular set here, but Nick Schmaltz of the Chicago Blackhawks has been added.
Upper Deck has also noted that there will be autographed cards found randomly in packs. These cards tend to be long-odds pulls, but a checklist is not likely to be revealed until the event.
