2009-10 Collector's Choice

I was trying to think about what kind of value I could bring to the blogger universe. My opinion on design isn't any more important than yours or anyone else's and its probably less refined.

What I can offer is an analysis of the size of a release. So that's what I'll do.

 The big news today is supposed to be the release of Upper Deck's 2009-10 Collector's Choice. A decisively low-end set where packs can be had for 1$. The release contains no autographs and no game used cards. Something you can find in this set, but not anywhere else for an Upper deck release are tattoos and stickers. Stickers and tattoos aren't new to the Hobby. Panini releases hockey stickers yearly, and application tattoos can be found in many non-card releases (chips, decals, local store, etc.). The most recent release to incorporate both tattoos and stickers was in a non-Hockey card related release called "NHL Fan Packs" by Enterplay.

Collector's Choice big advantage over other low end releases is a current rookie crop roster of 70 rookies including the big 5: Tavares, Hedman, van Riemsdyk, Del Zotto and Duchene. For all the leafs fans out there, the inclusion of Gustavsson is also good news. Some of the rookies are beginning to trickle onto eBay even as I write this, so here's Tavares  RC, courtesy of eBay item 280444617183

Continuing in last year's tradition, you can also find three star selections and the cup quest cards.  Replacing chippy's choice from last year will be a 6 card set of manga drawn Warriors of Ice. This is the one set I'm interested in seeing as its liable to be the only one with art that will be unique to this set throughout the year. Here's a pick courtesy of eBay item 320470865979.

After looking at them, they seem more Mecha than Manga. Having Ovechkin in Red White and Blue in front of the United States Capital building threw me for a bit of a loop at first because he's Russian, but after paying some close attention I think I figured it out. Washington Capitals has the Capital Building. Detroit Red wings, hence the red winged Zetterberg flying over... well, a hellish environment (sorry Detroit). Iginla, Stampeding on a burning horse (Calgary Flames). The only goalie (Brodeur), with a protector shield surround by a sea of Devils... from New Jersey (?). Crosby running away from some penguins (or leading them, its hard to tell). As for Chara. I'm stumped. No bears, no Boston anything. Maybe they just want to imply that he's so tall that he towers over the mountains in the background. At least there's inserts are good for a laugh.

This year's set continues to include parallels. Even more parallels than last year. For every base, rookie AND Three star Selection, you'll find a Choice reserve parallel (last year's silver) as well as a Prime Choice Reserve Parallel (last year's gold). 

Earlier in the post I said that I'd talk about the size of a release and so far all I've done is describe it. I just needed to get to the cup quest cards. The cup quest cards are an 80 card subset distinguished by blue, red green and gold identifiers. Just like last year's set, a player could be included in this set, even if their team didn't make the Playoffs. Its the quest to the cup, not the quest to the playoffs. Still it would be nice to see an all playoff insert set.

In order to make a good guess at the size of a release, you need two things. First, you need a seeing ratio, and second, you need a numbered card. Unlike the 08-09 Collector's choice release, this year's release has one numbered card: The cup quest gold cards. This set of 10 cards are numbered to 100. Unfortunately, we don't have a seeing ratio. In the next few days, I'm keeping my eye peeled for some Collector's Choice case breaks. If you hear of any, please comment, so I can see what was pulled. In the meantime, I can offer a few tidbits. I'll edit this post as I get more information because as of the release don't, I don't have all the info I need.

In a box break (36 packs), you should expect:

•  18 (or more) rookies (Requires: 3 boxes + 32 Packs to complete set)
•    ? Three Star Selection Cards
  
•    9 Stickums (Requires: 3 boxes + 12 Packs to complete set)
  
•    6 Warrior of Ice (Requires: 1 box to complete set)
•    6 Badge of Honor (Requires: 5 boxes to complete set)
•  36 Choice Reserve Cards (Requires: 8 boxes + 12 Packs to complete set)
•    1 Prime Choice Reserve (Requires: 15 Cases to complete Set)
•    4 Cup quest cards

In 05-06 Upper Deck Ice there were 6 cards numbered to 99. On average, you would expect to find one in every 9 cases. In 08-09 Upper Deck Champs was supposed to only have 699 cases. Is it possible that the Cup Quest Gold cards are a one-a-case hit? Sure its possible, but time will tell. Again if you hear of any case breaks, please comment, so I can see what was pulled.

In the meantime, let's say that Cup Quest Gold are a one-a-case hit numbered at 100. We can now figure out how many of each card exist (assuming no short prints). Bolded numbers are given by the manufacturer:

•  70 Rookies - 5,142 of Each
  
•  30 Three Star selections - ?
•  30 Stickums - 6,000 of Each
•    6 Warrior of Ice - 20,000 of Each
•  30 Badge of Honor - 4,000 of Each
• 300 Choice Reserve Cards - 2,400 of Each
• 300 Prime Choice Reserve - 67 of Each
  
•   30 Cup quest Blue - ?
  
•   30 Cup quest Red - ?
•   10 Cup quest Green - ?
•   10 Cup quest Gold - 100 of Each Card

There may be a difference between what UD says and what actually gets released, so its very important that I watch some box and case breaks. If you know of any, please comment. Right now, these are rough guesses until I can confirm how often the Cup Quest Gold Card pops up. If I see that there are more or less than one Cup Quest Gold per case, I'll change these numbers accordingly .I've also ignored that fat packs have been issued, so these are the minimum numbers. Cards that can be found in fat backs are likely to have higher print runs than I've indicated above.

In other news, I received my very first comment on my blog today. It was from none other than Puck Junk, aka Sal. There are too few hockey card blogs on the net today and his was the very first I found. Sal hosts his own blog,  and covers a wide range of topics on his website from reviews of everything hockey to appearances on a local radio station. I have his website linked on the right and I encourage you all to take a visit. Be sure to check out his wantlist as well. I'm sure that he'll appreciate it.

Hope you enjoyed the read.

UPDATE: I found someone who broke a case. They got one Cup Quest Gold Card. I've also found out that Wal-mart Sells Blaster Boxes. If someone can get me the odds on those, I'd appreciate it.