For many hockey fans this will be their first ever National Hockey Card Day especially for those fans in the United States as this is the first year Upper Deck has brought the program there. To help fans out who are planning on scoring FREE packs tomorrow, we wanted to put together some helpful Q&A to help you get the most out of National Hockey Card Day. If you have any other questions after you read this, make sure to ask them in the comment section below and we will address.

Question: This is my first time participating in National Hockey Card Day. Do you have any tips for me

Upper Deck: You bet we do. Follow these tips and you should have a fun-filled day:

1)       Call Ahead – Make sure you contact the participating shops to confirm their address, when they will be open and if they have any special promotions going on in conjunction with National Hockey Card Day. Our friends at Wayne’s Sports Cards always make it a big event and we just got in a photo of a cake that Asheena and Steve Bruhjell brought in for the event tomorrow. You don’t want to miss a piece of this one!

Yummy! Enjoy a piece of this Upper Deck chocolate/whipped cream cake tomorrow at Wayne's Sports Cards in Edmonton!

2)       Make a Plan – Map out which shops you will visit and when. The more efficient you are, the more shops you can visit and the more cards you can score!

3)       Start Early – The old saying, “The early bird gets the worm,” is especially true on National Hockey Card Day. Packs are limited and will likely be gone at many locations before the close of business that day. Also, the special 16^th cards (Sidney Crosby in Canada and Tim Thomas in the US) are limited and will likely be in high demand so these will sell out too. Don’t miss out on the chance to get these great cards because you overslept! If you do it right, you can have a complete set and be home in time to catch some great hockey games.

4)       Work as a Team – Bring friends and family, even if they do not normally collect. The more the merrier and if you bring more you have a better chance of putting together the sets. You’ll also get a kick out of sharing the hobby you love with your friends and family.

T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Achieves More

5)       Say, “Thank You” – Remember, these shops do not have to take part in this promotion. They choose to as a way of giving back in their community. This is not a free promotion for them to run and they spend a lot of time and money promoting it. Make sure to thank them for taking part and let them know it was because of this promotion you came in. These are primarily small businesses so if you see something you like when you visit, buy it. They will certainly appreciate your patronage.

Question: I’m in Canada and want to visit a London Drugs or Toys “R” Us. What are they giving away and what do I have to do to get it?

Upper Deck: Besides Upper Deck’s Network of Certified Diamond Dealers in Canada, fans can also visit London Drugs or Toys “R” Us to take part in the promotion. These retailers will not be handing out packs, rather some limited-edition 5×7 blow-up cards featuring some of the best cards in the set. All you need to do is purchase any Upper Deck product tomorrow at these locations and you will receive one of these special cards.

Get limited 5x7 blow-up National Hockey Card Day cards at London Drugs and Toys "R" Us.

There are five different players in the set with the checklist shown below:

OS1 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

OS2 – Roberto Luongo

OS3 – Jonathan Toews

OS4 – Mario Lemieux

OS5 – Wayne Gretzky

To find a London Drugs in your area in Canada, click HERE. To find a Toys “R” Us in your area in Canada, click HERE.

IMPORTANT – These blow-up cards are exclusive to Canadian retailers and they will not be available in the United States.

Question: I heard Upper Deck has all sorts of giveaways. How do I take part in those?

Upper Deck: It’s one of the biggest days of the year so we pull out all the stops to make sure fans have a fun day. We supplied over 50 shops with some special promotional kits consisting of autographed cards, pucks, gloves and helmets along with shirts, bags, polos and much more. That is why it is important to call ahead so you can see if they are planning any additional giveaways or raffles for National Hockey Card Day.

One fan in the US and Canada will score this autographed rookie helmet this weekend, will it be you?

Additionally we have been running a variety of giveaways on the National Hockey Card Day Facebook page. Make sure to “like” that page so you can take part in it. One of the biggest promotions involves you snapping photos of yourself smiling while you hold these cards. You can score an autographed Upper Deck Authenticated rookie helmet just for posting a picture to the wall of that page. Click HERE for more details.

Question: I don’t live in an area where there are participating retailers close by, but I really want these cards. What can I do?

Upper Deck: Fear not, there will likely be some of these cards and sets available for sale in the secondary market after National Hockey Card Day on sites like eBay. Also, there are a variety of online collecting communities you can check out where you may be able to trade other collectors to get those cards. We will also be giving away some packs to those fans who did not have a location nearby next week on the National Hockey Card Day Facebook page. Again, make sure you “like” it today so you don’t miss out there. Make sure to let shops in your area know that you want them to participate in this program in the future. If they don’t know you want it, they will not order the packs.

Question: I’ve seen a lot of chatter on Twitter about this program. Is there a certain hash tag I should be using to talk about it?

Upper Deck: Characters are a premium on Twitter so instead of typing out, “National Hockey Card Day” to talk about the program, just type #NHCD when talking about it on Twitter. Maybe we can make it a trending topic.

Question: How long has National Hockey Card Day been going on?

Upper Deck: The program started exclusively in Canada in 2009. In 2009 the set was just 15 cards with no inserts. In 2010 the set size remained at 15 cards, but there was a surprise Sidney Crosby autograph card found in some packs.

Only 87 copies of this Sidney Crosby autograph card were inserted into 2010 National Hockey Card Day packs.

Last year for 2011 we added a 16^th card as a gift with purchase which was Jonathan Toews commemorating his Stanley Cup® victory. Additionally we went from one autograph card to three with lucky collectors discovering signed cards of Sidney Crosby, Taylor Hall and Bobby Orr. For 2012, we have a 16-card set for the USA and a 16-card set for Canada. And we are going from three autograph cards last year, to six (three subjects in the USA set and three subjects in the Canada set).

Question: Who are the autograph cards in the 2012 set and what is the print run on them?

Upper Deck: We will not be sharing the print run on the autograph cards in the 2012 National Hockey Card Day sets, but suffice it to say, the cards are VERY limited. If you are lucky enough to pull one, you should feel very special indeed. So be careful how you handle those packs, there may be a limited-edition autograph card inside! And to help make the event even more exciting, we have pulled out some of the biggest names ever to appear in the autograph checklist for fans in Canada and the US. Take a look:

Wayne Gretzky autographs debut in National Hockey Card Day packs for the first time ever! Look for signature cards of the Great One tomorrow!

2012 National Hockey Card Day Autograph Checklist Canada

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

P.K. Subban

Wayne Gretzky

Look for signatures of hockey icon Alex Ovechkin in packs of the National Hockey Card Day USA packs!

2012 National Hockey Card Day Autograph Checklist USA

Ryan Miller

Alex Ovechkin

Bobby Orr

Question: Where do I find a list of shops taking part?

Upper Deck: Click HERE to see the participating retailers in your area.