O-P-C Hockey Melds Vintage with Modern

Upper Deck bought up some vintage OPC hockey cards to include in its 2007-2008 set which includes a whopping 500 regular issue cards.

The O-Pee-Chee name strikes memories in many hockey collectors of a time when the condition of a card was not as important as how much fun you could have actually playing with your cards along with friends. Today the card game has changed, but the 2007/2008 O-Pee-Chee Hockey issue is an attempt by the company to blend a lilttle of the vintage era with a little of what's new in modern hockey trading cards.

Thousands of original O-Pee-Chee cards from not just the 1970’s and 80’s, but also from some of the vintage sets from the 30’s were bought by Upper Deck and randomly inserted into packs of the 2007/2008 release. Collectors will have the opportunity to pull original O-Pee-Chee cards from players like Ching Johnson, King Clancy, Harvey Jackson, Roy Worters, Howie Morenz and many more. These unsigned buy-back cards will appear one per hobby box.

There will be autographed buy-back versions included, falling at approximately one per case. Those will include such stars as Patrick Roy, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier.

The set will be a large one, with 500 regular cards and 100 rookies included.
OPC's rookie cards include Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Sam Gagner, Rob Schremp, Jack Johnson, Carey Price, Marc Staal, Nicklas Backstrom and others.

Many of the cards will feature some new technologies as well. Rookie and other insert sets were produced on mirror board creating what Upper Deck says are "some really beautiful cards." Additionally, there are two parallels of the set that use a new micro-motion technology. These cards will have the look of etched foil behind the player and promos created earlier in the season.

“Working on this set was really exciting for many of us in the building as it really took us back to our childhood,” said Karvin Cheung, Hockey Brand Manager for Upper Deck. “We had a lot of staff stopping by to check them out just to take a brief trip down memory lane. I think it will be a real thrill for collectors to pull these buy-back cards, but I know they will also appreciate some of the new technologies we incorporated.”

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:

*600 card set

* 20 players per team represented

*1 Rookie Card in every 2 packs on average

* Averaging 1 superstar insert in every 4 packs

* Buyback cards highlighting O-Pee-Chee heritage

*Parallels of the regular cards

*Quad Jersey cards – averaging 3 per case

* Signature cards: 1 per case on average

*Base set parallels numbered to just 100

PRODUCT BREAKDOWN:

· Rookie Cards

o Marquee Rookies – inserted 1:2

· Signature & Memorabilia Cards

o OPC Quad Materials – inserted 1:144

o OPC Signatures – inserted 1:432

· Buyback Cards

o OPC Buybacks

o OPC Autographed Buybacks

· Regular Set Parallels

o Regular Set Silver parallels – inserted 1:6

o Regular Set Black parallels – #’d to 100

· Big Hit Inserts

o Team Checklist – inserted 1:14

o OPC Season Highlights – inserted 1:14

o Record Breakers – inserted 1:40

o OPC In Action – inserted 1:20

o Stat Leaders – inserted 1:20

· Regular Cards

o 500 Regular Cards