For the fourth year running, Upper Deck will host National Hockey Card Day in Canada. The big day is Saturday, Feb. 11. That’s the day when Upper Deck will give away hundreds of thousands of exclusive “National Hockey Card Day” NHL® trading card packs for FREE throughout Canada. Once again, the majority of distribution points will be comprised of hundreds of hobby shops. Mass retailers are also participating in the promotion and fans who purchase any Upper Deck NHL® product on Saturday at a London Drugs or Toys “R” Us location will receive a FREE National Hockey Card Day blow-up card.



“Once a year Upper Deck has the opportunity to share the wonderful hobby of collecting NHL® trading cards by making them available to everyone in Canada,” said Chris Carlin, Upper Deck’s sports marketing & social media manager. “Fans have shared with us that they look forward to this day every year and plot out a course to make the rounds with the whole family to all the participating retailers to put together a complete set of the special cards.”



“All collectors are fans, but not all fans are collectors,” said Dave McCarthy, NHL vice president of consumer products. “This promotion by Upper Deck, with all the free cards offered, will go a long way to introduce the excitement of hockey trading cards to our passionate fan base.”



Just like in years past, the buzz surrounding the promotion lies in the National Hockey Card Day set itself. The 16-card set consists of some of the top Canadian-born rookies, current stars and legends with a special “National Hockey Card Day” logo-stamp adorning each card front. The lineup includes five rookies (Cody Hodgson, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brett Connolly, Mark Scheifele and Sean Couturier); five established stars (Taylor Hall, P.K. Subban, Roberto Luongo, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Toews); and five legends of the game (Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier and Martin Brodeur). Each pack will yield five randomly assorted cards featuring the aforementioned players, while a special limited 16th card featuring Sidney Crosby as a member of Team Canada collectors can score as a gift with purchase by shop owners while supplies last. Some lucky collectors may also find some other special surprises in National Hockey Card Day packs.



To help promote the special day, Upper Deck cast NHL prospects Adam Henrique, Ryan Strome and Brandon Gormley in a viral video where trading cards come to life to discuss National Hockey Card Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJTwokU0CeY



For more information on National Hockey Card Day in Canada and to view a list of participating retailers, please visit http://www.upperdeck.com/nhcd/nhcd.html. Also, Upper Deck has set up a Facebook page for the event and will be running a variety of promotions and giveaways on the page so make sure to “like” it today: http://www.facebook.com/NationalHockeyCardDay



About Upper Deck



Upper Deck is the leading sports and entertainment trading card and collectibles company. For more information on Upper Deck and its products please visit www.upperdeck.com.



About the NHL



NHL, the NHL Shield and the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams. All Rights Reserved.