National Hockey Card Day Returns in 2013


Earlier today, Upper Deck announced on their blog  that National Hockey Card Day will be back in 2013. NHCD–as the cool kids call it–will take place on February 9 in Canada and on February 16 in the United States.

Five-card packs of special cards will be given out at participating retailers. Like last year, each country will have its own exclusive set of cards–15 different cards found in the packs, and a 16th card that can only be obtained if you make a purchase at the card shop.

Autographed cards will be randomly inserted in NHCD packs, and Upper Deck promises improved collation. The collation was particularly bad in the U.S. for their 2012 NHCD promotion–ten 5-card packs did not yield me even one complete 15-card set–so it is great to hear that Upper Deck is doing something about it.

Mario Lemieux & Wayne GretzkyThe Canadian set will feature 15 cards of players suiting up for Team Canada. The bonus card will show Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky playing at the 1987 Canada Cup tournament.

The U.S. set will consist of 15 cards of the best American-born players.The bonus card will feature Kings goalie and 2012 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick hoisting the Stanley Cup. This is a nice parallel to the 2012 US NHCD set; the bonus card was American-born, Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas with the Cup. (Hopefully, a US-born goalie will win the Conn Smythe Trophy next year to continue this trend).

Considering that we are in the third month of the NHL lockout, this is great news for hockey card collectors. The lockout has resulted in a weak rookie class. less sets overall and lukewarm Ebay sales. Hopefully, this will give hockey card collecting some spark in a season that is all but cancelled.

For more information, check out Upper Deck’s blog and their NHCD Facebook page.

So, who can I count on to get me a Canadian set for 2013? 🙂

All images courtesy of Upper Deck.

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Author: Sal Barry

Sal Barry is the editor and webmaster of Puck Junk. He is a freelance hockey writer, college professor and terrible hockey player. Follow him on Twitter @puckjunk

One thought on “National Hockey Card Day Returns in 2013”

  1. If you are under the impression that the collation in Canada was any good last year you are sadly mistaken. 29, yes 29 packs didn’t yield me last years Canadian NHCD set.

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