I shared last weekend the reasons why I was looking forward to the 2011 Sports Card & Memorabilia Expo in Toronto and as I hoped, it most certainly did not disappoint. Fans lined up early and often to take part in Upper Deck’s “Priority Signing” wrapper redemption program and they were happy they did! Fans were pulling some really amazing autographs from the set from players like Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Taylor Hall and many more. Many players were featured with Team Canada as well and that seemed to mean a lot to Canadian collectors in attendance.
UD fanatics were chomping at the bit to get the "Priority Signings" program started. If they opened a box of new UD cards, we would reward them with a FREE autograph card exclusive to that show.
This collector was all smiles when he pulled at autograph of Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe!
This father and son bonded over receiving their Bobby Orr "Priority Signings" card!
This collector was all smiles after he pulled a rare Sidney Crosby Winter Classic parallel from the "Priority Signings" set.
What a thrill! This collector pulled the one-of-one Alexander Ovechkin parallel from the "Priority Signings" set, wow!!!
It wasn’t just the cool “Priority Signings” cards that were making fans excited. Collectors were having a blast opening products like 2010-11 NHL SP Authentic, SPx and SP Game-Used. There were some MONSTER cards pulled during the weekend from those boxes that they are still likely talking about with other collectors.
This pull certainly was a "Great One" as he snagged a Wayne Gretzky autograph patch limited to just 25 copies!
Double trouble; these twins both scored with a Tavares autograph patch and a Bobby Orr autograph card!
A six autograph card with Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and Mark Messier on the front with their NHL teams and then again on the back as members of Team Canada!
Three great signatures from three great Habs goalies, very nice!
On Saturday we had a really great event where we got about twenty collectors together of all ages and had Grant Sandground, UD’s NHL product manager, go through some of the new products coming out over the next few months. Grant was able to reveal that UD would indeed be producing The Cup later on this summer with more details coming out right before launch. As Grant walked them through the product while showing off large images of some of the cards, you could see anticipation grow for the release of the amazing product! It was powerful for us to be able to put together a focus group like this and we rewarded those who took part with a variety of goodies.
UD's Grant Sandground shares details on new products with collectors during a focus group during the weekend at the Expo.
That certainly wasn’t all UD had going on at the Expo however. Each day we held a raffle that had collectors packed around the Upper Deck Booth for their chance to win a variety of sweet items from Upper Deck. We were giving away autographed mini sticks, autographed pucks, uncut sheets, boxes of cards, autograph cards, blow-up cards and more! We pulled out all the stops and even gave away a tin of The Cup each day of the show. Check out some of the happy collectors with their items they received from UD!
He scored a Taylor Hall signed stick from the NHL Draft, awesome!
Winning a larger than life Ovechkin card has this collector all smiles!
We would like to give special thanks to everyone who made it out for the event this weekend. It means a lot to us to be able to spend time with our passionate base of collectors and even more to give back to you for your support throughout the years. We know that not everyone could make it out to the Expo so we want to give others a chance to get some “Priority Signings” autograph cards we brought back from the show. Just leave a comment below about the best pull you’ve ever had from a pack of Upper Deck hockey cards below and we will randomly select two collectors who left comments on Thursday afternoon to receive an autograph card from the “Priority Signings” set. Thanks again and good luck!
147 Comments
The best pull ever! I went into a local card shop and asked the store owner for 5 packs of SP Authentic a few years ago. I took the first 3 packs on top and had the owner pick the other 2. The first pack I opened had an Amazing Patch auto /100 of Evgeni Malkin (I mean this patch is SICK) I was flipping out as well as the owner of the store..He was actully taking pics of the card and sending it too all of his friends we were both going CRAZZZZZZY. In all of the excitment I almost forgot to open the other packs. The next pack I opened was one of the ones that he picked out for me and it had an Evgeni Malkin Sign of the times auto…2 Malkin autos in back to back packs out of the same box…Being a HUGE Pens fan this was the best day ever!!!!
my biggest upper deck pull came from a single pack of upper deck series 2 05-06 when i pulled an Alexander Ovechkin young gun! pretty sweet for one pack thanks for the contest ud and hope i win!
Jaromir Jagr 06/07 Series 1
The first card I ever got. It just so happened to be the captain of my team. After that it just felt so right for me to continue collecting.
My favourite pull was when I pulled the SPX Tavares printing plate 1/1! I had never seen a printing plate before and was estastic to learn what it was! Collect the Best, Collect Upper Deck!
My best pull from UD hockey has been from 2007 SPGU which was an Eric Staal, Cam Ward, and Justin Williams /5. It went right to my PC as Carolina is my favorite team.
Lots of big pulls from hockey, but my biggest would be an 05-06 UD Ice Sidney Crosby. One of my favorites is from 09-10 UD The Cup. It is an Alexander Ovechkin Foundations Patch Auto out of 5.
Since I recently just got back into collecting, my best pull just came back in February of this year. I went to the local hobby shop and bought two packs of 2010-2011 SP Game Used, and pulled a Wayne Gretzky Carrer Legacey triple jersey #’d to 25, and in the second pack was an Alexander Ovechkin Letter Marks Redemption Card, which I recieved very fast in the mail. I love Hockey, and SP Game Used has been very good to me since!! Thank you Upper Deck!!
The Christmas of 2005 I was 11 years old and my mom bought me ONE pack of Black Diamond as a present….out of that one pack I pulled a Crosby RC. I always think of how incredibly small the chances were of that, I mean its like winning the lottery and I believe that moment really pushed me to love this hobby how I do now.
The best pull I have ever had from a pack of Upper Deck hockey was a 03-04 Upper Deck Ice Ice Authentics Jersey/Auto of Wayne Gretzky. It had a black swatch and an amazing blue signature. What a great card!!!!
My best pull(s) had to be the two 2005-06 UD1 Young Guns #201 of Sidney Crosby I pulled out of back-to-back boxes back in the day. I was on the edge of whether to collect cards or not after a year of starting through the lockout. The pulls put me over the top and I’ve been hooked on hockey cards ever since!
My best pull ever was a Taylor Hall young guns out of UD 2010/11 series one. I had just recently started building the Young Guns set and was extremely surprised to find the best card from the set, in my packs.
My biggest pull ever is a sick patch auto rc of Steven Stamkos from 2009 Sp authentic. Wow! I mean wow!
My best pull…Martin Brodeur jersey card!! Love it!!! Wish we had NHL hockey back here in Cleveland.
I had alot of great pulls from UD packs. I had a 08-09 Montreal Canadiens Centennial Larry Robinson Habs Inks SP, a Gretzky Signature Sensations and a SPGU Authentic Fabrics Sixes of Gretzky, Messier, Yzerman, Lemieux, Crosby and Ovechkin. Those were my best pulls. I think that’s one of the reasons I stick with UD Products! Keep up the great work and thanks for the contest!
My best pull ever was a Mark Messier auto’d 500 goal card #/25 which i sold on ebay and the buyer scammed me and ended up getting the card for free! Last card i ever sold!
That is easy for me, my best pull would have to be a card i just pulled 2 weeks ago. It was from a pack of SP Authentic 09/10 i bought and it was a Bobby Orr sign of the times!!! That was my first big hit. I have busted alot of boxes and never got an auto like that one! I am definetly a hockey card addict and i love that you are giving us collectors a sweet contest like this! Thanks UPper Deck!
My greatest pull is either my 07-08 sweet shot sweet spot Sidney Crosby auto on a piece of baseball, or my 10-11 special authentic Wayne Gretzky limited patch auto numbered 8/25
Have to be my 04-05 premier patch legend wayne gretzky #’d 9/10
I never get lucky, but my favorite/best pull was the Ovechkin/Carter checklist in UD series 2 in 2005/2006. It was my first pack of cards in 5 years and it restarted my passion for the hobby. Imagine two awesome rookies on one card with Ovi giving the number 1 sign. Awesome card.
A few years ago I opened a few packs of upper deck series 1 hockey, and I. Noticed one pack was extra thick, then i opened it and realized there was a patch inside! And that patch was of my favourite player martin brodeur! I still cherish this moment and the card has not left my collection
My best pull ever would have to be from the UD Montreal Canadiens Centennial set. I broke so much of this product when it came out that I was able to put together three full base sets and had a ton of dupes, several jerseys and autographs, and even the cool banners! But out of them all my very best pull was a Dual Signatures of Andrei Markov and Carey Price #’d /50. A beautiful card of two of the best current Canadiens!
My Best Pull… P K Subban Materials patch card numbered 9 / 10 , from SP x 2010-11.
my best pull was from a box of 09-10 premier premier signings Patrick Roy #out of 15!!!! it’s the first Roy auto i have ever pulled.it was a redemption but it came insanely fast.thanks again for making this the best hobby that anyone of any age cane be a part of.
Hi Upper Deck, my best pull is a 2010 Upper Deck World of Sports Shirt card of Tiger Woods. Thanks for the contest.
Alex
The best hit I ever got was from 09/10 SP Authentic Hockey. Last October my Brother In-Law passed away unexpectedly so my wife and I drove to Winnipeg to be with family. I figured I would take an afternoon on my own and hit up one of my favorite LCS’s ‘Sports Card Connection in Winnipeg. I bought my box of SPA sat down in the store and ripped it, much to my surprise I hit a Wayne Gretzky Immortal Inks 6/10!! There is nothing that will make that time of my life any better but let me tell you, hitting a Wayne Gretzky auto sure grabbed my attention away from the tragedy for a few minutes! It couldn’t have happened at a better time.
The family and I went on a camping trip last year. And we had to stop for a few last minute supplies. So at the store (Zellers)I noticed 2 blaster boxes of Be A Player for 50% off, I couldn’t resist and bought them both. I was surprised to see a Sidney Crosby auto out of the second box. Very excited. I had no sleeves or anything to put it in. So I kept it in the glove compartment all weekend. And had to check to make sure it was alright every once and a while. Not sure if raccoons like hockey cards, but I wasn’t taking any chances. All I could think about all weekend was my Crosby card in the car.
My best Upper Deck hockey pull was a black diamond quad Taylor Hall rookie card. Thanks for the awesome products!
My best pull came from 1999 Ultimate Victory. I pulled 2 Gretzky/Orr jerseys #D 99 from the same box. I loved the Ultimate Victory!
My best pull ever was from 10/11 Artifacts. I pulled a trio Gretzky/Howe/Lemieux……grew up idolizing #99 and now I have a piece of GU”d history to keep of his. Thanks UD.
98-99 sp authentic pulled a redemtiopn for a Gretzky autographed 8X10 photo. The bad part, I was about 9 years too late and was told oh well so sad. Ouch
Outta the cup I pulled a Ray Bourque auto/patch card and the patch was the Bears eye sick card still in my collection. Also pulled a SPA Gretzky auto, Roy Auto, Crosby Ultimate auto, and alot more I always did pretty good w/ UD Hockey. This year 2 packs of SPX hit a Steve Yzerman auto dual jersey card.
I haven’t been that fortunate over the years with great pulls from box purchases, so I suppose my best pull would be from this year’s 10-11 UD Series one at Christmas when I was lucky enough to pull the Taylor Hall YG. I was very happy. No major pulls from SPA, or SPx over the year’s.
Best pull from UD packs was the first four packs I bought at the Toronto’s Sports Card & Memorabilia Expo I got 2005- 06 Sidney Crosby Young Gun Rookie Card the weekend it was released.
I LOVE UPPER DECK
My best pull would be the card that got me started on my PC. The card is 09/10 Ice Fresh Threads auto patch of Jonathan Toews.
Being a Habs fan, i naturally had to get the habs centennial set from 08-09. took me a while to complete the 300 card set but i did it. in the very first pack i opened of the product, i pulled an aka autograph /25 of dickie moore. It has never been out of the magnetic holder that i bought that day and will never leave my pc. Thank you upper deck for this contest, you are the real hockey card company 🙂
My best pull was the triple signature I pull at your booth on Sat. Seguin/Stepan/Subban # out of 10
I have been in the hobby for a few years and havent had that HUGE pull yet. I pulled a John Tavares YG which was SUPER exciting since at the time he was playing with the London Knights and I seen him and met him a few times while he played in London, Ont. I have pulled 2 Crosby Jereys and me and my girlfriend are huge fans. My best pull was a Tavares jersey auto from last years TRILOGY and he signed it with # 19 instead of #91. All in All I Love UD
I would have to say my best pull was from 2005-06 Rookie Update and I pulled the Crosby RC and just found out the reason why he only signed by himself at the show, Thanks Chris
I unfortunately have never had a big pull in hockey. I’ve bought a few packs and I casually keep up with hockey, but never have got any big hits. Who knows, maybe if I win it’ll start my hockey collection! lol.
My best pull was from last year’s Cup. I pulled the 1/1 Black JVR and a Mike Richards Tribute(3colored) in the same case!
i best pull was from a tin of 08-09 UDS2, i dont open any of the high end products and hardly anyhing! i decided to do a box break though and i pulled my first every jersey card and it was a Mikkel Boadker 08-09 UDS2 Rookie Materials! i was so happy when i got it!
Thanks alot Upper Dek!
My best pull was a 09-10 Trilogy clear Cut Quad Auto /5 Bourque/Thornton/O’Reilly/Bucyk. Unfortunately only 2 of the 5 were not damaged, so I never got my card, but fortunately UD took care of me with a few nice replacements, but a Orr Priority Signings would be sweet as well 😉
I’m going with the 1 box of 2005-06 beehive I bought, my mom likes busting packs sometimes, she grabbed a few, opened her last pack, pulls a Gordie Howe Signature Scrapbook card, all she says was “Oh look, a Gordie Howe autograph”. I was really excited, and,better yet, the second to last pack yielded yet 1 more Gordie Howe Signature Scrapbook, so, I’m going with that as my best pull from Upper Deck.
My Best pull was a Cam Neely 1/1 Auto Patch from the Cup. It was a beautiful swatch.
I’ve had many great pulls from Ud boxes my favorite pull of all time was Alexander Ovechkin rc limited patch auto from sp authentic back in 05/06. I brought the card everywhere for two days. The patch was a C from Capitals logo. I ended up selling the card for $2000 to a Dr in NC. Thanks for the contest.
Whoops, I forgot it had to be from a hockey product. I would have to say my best pull came this past weekend at the Expo when I pulled a Mike Green Limited Patch Auto /100 from SPA. This was great for me because I’m a very big Washington Capitals fan!
My best pull probably would have to be out of the new sp authentic. Just pulled a (redemption) Sidney Crosby auto patch #/100. Can’t wait to redeem it and see the (hopefully) nasty patch on this card.
My best pull has to have been the Crosby Rookie quad from 2005-06 Black Diamond, I pulled one from 3 packs at a hobby store, and then another from 1 pack at another hobby store.
I was cracking some of the 2009-2010 Cup for the first time and after looking around to see what the product looked like. Yes I was cracking it in 2011 however I’m also in the process of putting together some items for wall art for my sports room. I pulled one of the nicest redemption cards I’ve ever seen. An Uncut Sheet of the Gold Rookie Set. I recieved the redemption within a short period of time and WOW once I get it framed it will be a great and unique addition to my Sports Room and I know none of my friends will have. Thank you Upper Deck!
My best pull came last summer after picking up a box of 05/06 SPX. I was sitting on my couch ripping open pack after pack keeping track of the inserts pulled. When I was getting towards the bottom of the box I still hadn’t got either one of my rookies (based on the box odds). Second last pack I started tearing into and saw that I had got my first rookie. It took me about 10 seconds to realize that I was holding a Sidney Crosby autographed jersey rookie card. After the initial stun and shakiness I grabbed a plastic sleeve and top loader and went to show it off, leaving the last pack still in the box (last pack had an expired rookie redemption which couldn’t break my mood).
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