Upper Deck’s President Jason Masherah recently shared in an interview with the NHL Network, “At the end of the day, Upper Deck is hockey. It’s the biggest part of our business and we are a hockey company and always have been. Our deal with the NHL® and NHLPA® spans 25 years now and it’s a very important piece of everything we do.”

And as a hockey company, Upper Deck believes strongly in giving back to the fans who support the company’s NHL releases by working in cooperation with our network of Certified Diamond Dealers to provide FREE packs through this annual event. National Hockey Card Day in Canada and the USA returns on January 18, 2014 to the delight of hockey fans across all of North America. By simply visiting a participating retailer on that day, puck fans in Canada and the United States can score a pack of Upper Deck’s National Hockey Card Day cards absolutely FREE, while supplies last!

Since this is a special year with Upper Deck’s NHL® Double Rookie Class, the company has doubled the amount of rookies schedule to appear in this set from five cards to ten! Fans in Canada can score highly sought after rookie cards of players like Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Huberdeau, Alex Galchenyuk, Nail Yakupov and Sean Monahan. While collectors in the USA can look for popular  rookie cards of players like Tomas Hertl, Seth Jones, Petr Mrazek, Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin. Collectors are encouraged to visit multiple shops on National Hockey Card Day to put together the entire 20-card set which also includes cards of current NHL stars and former legendary players.

Also available as a gift with any $10 purchase of current Upper Deck hockey cards on National Hockey Card Day is a special 21^st bonus card for each set. These Memorable Moments cards feature two rookies each from Upper Deck’s NHL® Double Rookie Class. The Canadian version features Canadian-born players Jonathan Huberdeau and Nathan MacKinnon, while the American version features American-born players Alex Galchenyuk and Seth Jones.

As was the case in year’s prior, Upper Deck will randomly insert limited-edition autograph cards for a handful of the players in the set. These rare authentic signed cards create a lot of excitement when pulled from these free packs each year. Upper Deck has a tradition of keeping the identity of players included in that set secret until just prior to the event date, so be sure to check back for details.

In addition to the National Hockey Card Day packs, Upper Deck is creating a set of eight card sheets that will be available at larger retailers, the Hockey Hall-of-Fame and a limited number of hockey arenas on Saturday, January 18, 2014.  Look for more details in the weeks to come. In the meantime, contact your local hobby shops and make sure they are signing up for the program!

Below are some sneak preview images from the set for Canada:

Below are some sneak preview images from the set for the USA: