Upper Deck Hockey Errors & Goofs

Welcome to the UD Hockey Card Error Blog!

2007-03-04T21:29:00.001-08:00

Starting in 2004-05, the Upper Deck (UD) trading card company signed an exclusive license with the NHL and NHLPA to become the sole producer of NHL cards. I don't want to use this blog as a reason why this is wrong. What I want to do is show how UD is inadequate to hold such a license unless things start to change. This blog is purely for showing the lack of attention to detail that UD has given to the hobby with their exclusive license. Hopefully, by educating collectors, UD will take notice and actually put more effort into their future products. Can a sole producer of trading cards work? Probably. But if we're forced to buy UD products due to the exclusive license, then they should be forced to a higher standard

One thing a lack of competition in a market does is allow the provider of the products to become lazier and disinterested. The consumer suffers. Not the producer.

The cards I want to show collectors are not ones that are in doubt, but ones that are blatantly incorrect. Cards that leave you scratching your head wondering how that happened or how the card ever got past their Quality Assurance department.

Hopefully this helps educate fellow hockey card collectors and one day causes UD to retool their card making process.

If you have any errors or variations that you would like added to the blog, feel free to e-mail them to me at vegaspuck@yahoo.com.

Thanks,
Chris

Capital mistake

2007-03-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

On this 05-06 UD The Cup Luc Robitaille Signature Patch, either UD accidentally placed a Capitals patch on the card, or I missed the season he played for Washington:

Even more Exclusive...

2007-02-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

On the 06-07 UD Series 2 Evgeni Malkin Young Guns Checklist Exclusive Parallel, Upper Deck failed to individually number the cards to 100 like the rest of the cards in the Exclusive set:

Bruins double dip?

2007-02-13T20:10:00.000-08:00

Mark Stuart must be a pretty valuable prospect. Not only did UD put him in the 06-07 UD Series 2 Young Guns rookie set, they also used his picture on Nate Thompson's Young Guns rookie card as well:

Who you callin' a Berkhoel?

2007-02-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

Poor, Adam Dennis. He finally gets his first NHL hockey card and UD doesn't even put his picture on the card. On this 06-07 UD Series 2 Young Guns Adam Dennis rookie card, UD mistakenly pictured Adam Berkhoel instead:

Here's a picture of the real Adam Dennis who wears #35:

Signing while standing on your head....

2007-02-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

Poor, Cam Neely. UD just can't seem to figure out which way his signature goes. In 05-06 they put autograph stickers of Cam Neely on some of his cards the wrong way. Seems like it's happened again in 06-07 as can be seen on this SPx Flashback Fabrics card:

Here's what his auto should look like:

Chico and the man...

2007-02-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

On the 06-07 UD Artifacts Billy Smith Auto-Facts Signature card, UD mistakenly used the picture of everyone's favorite Devils color commentator, Chico Resch:

What's red, white, and blue all over?

2007-01-30T16:13:00.000-08:00

On this 05-06 UD Ice Dany Heatley Frozen Fabrics jersey, a red, white and blue swatch somehow made it's way onto the card:

The back states it came from a Thrashers jersey, but Atlanta never had those colors on their jersey and neither have the Sens. Based on the ultrafill material and the colors, it seems like a Montreal Canadiens jersey somehow found its way onto this one.

Everyone wants to play for my Flyers...

2007-01-30T16:10:00.000-08:00

Here's another example of the details on the back of the card not matching what's on the front. This probably lead to the omission of jersey origins on a lot of the 06-07 UD memorabilia cards. On the 05-06 UD The Cup Tomas Vokoun Limited Logos Auto Patch, it incorrectly states that the patch came from a Flyers jersey:

Wrong dynasty?

2007-01-29T22:06:00.000-08:00

In this error, UD mistakenly labeled the origins of the Grant Fuhr jersey on this 05-06 UD The Cup Scripted Numbers Dual Auto jersey. The back of the card says the Fuhr swatch came from an Islanders jersey. While Fuhr did manage to play for a few teams during his career, the Islanders weren't one of them:

Why update it?

2007-01-29T21:52:00.000-08:00

In this example, UD created a redemption rookie for Rob McVicar in packs of 05-06 UD Artifacts. When collectors redeemed the Canucks rookie redemption, they received this card:

One must not have been good enough. UD then inserted another Rob McVicar rookie card in their 05-06 UD Rookie Update product:

Perhaps they wanted to update the jerseys he wore that year...

Kyle Brodziak received the same double rookie treatment in the SPx and SPx Update set:

Diamonds are tough...and so is building the set

2007-01-29T21:33:00.000-08:00

With the 06-07 UD Black Diamond set, Upper Deck incorrectly numbered the quad diamond veteran cards. They share the same number as the triple diamond Rookie Gems cards. There are two cards that share numbers for cards 148 through 168. While card numbers 169-189 do not exist in the set:

Maybe it's a Steve Moore jersey...

2007-01-29T21:16:00.000-08:00

In this example, another jersey was mistakenly placed on the wrong card. This 05-06 UD Ultimate Todd Bertuzzi patch card is definitely taken from a Colorado Avalanche jersey:

Here's the part of the Avs jersey that the patch originates from:

Questionable 1/1 tags...

2007-01-29T21:07:00.000-08:00

In 06-07 UD Artifacts, Upper Deck created some unique patch cards with their tag patches. The problem is, did the right tags get on the right cards? Here's two examples of questionable tags in their 1/1 cards:

This Cheechoo card features a tag that was last worn in a Sharks Nike jersey a few years before he laced them up for the first time:

The Boyes has the same thing. The Custom Crafted logo had stopped being used before Boyes made his debut with the Bruins:

Return of the Upside Down Stickers....

2007-01-29T20:26:00.000-08:00

It seems that the upside down sticker autos haven't stopped in 06-07. As proven in this 06-07 UD Trilogy Manny Legace Scripts autograph:

This is how Manny's auto really looks:

Sleeping with the enemy?

2007-01-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

On this 06-07 UD Series 1 Ladislav Smid Young Guns rookie card, Upper Deck has Smid helping out the Vancouver blue line. The only problem is...he plays for the Oilers:

19...20...who's counting?

2007-01-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

Another example of a numbering error. This Jean Beliveau 06-07 UD Trilogy Scripts 2 autograph is supposed to be numbered to the stat on the card. Beliveau played 20 NHL seasons and the card should be numbered to 20. Somehow, one got lost on the way and only 19 exist:

Or maybe Ray Bourque found his extra year, and UD gave him credit for it. Ray played 22 seasons, but UD added an extra year and numbered the card to 23:

Well....2 + 3 does equal 5....

2007-01-29T19:50:00.000-08:00

For the 06-07 UD Trilogy Scripts 2 set, UD used player stats to number the amount of cards made. It was based on seasons played, trophies won or other stats. Sidney Crosby had 5 game winning goals as this card suggests. However, UD decided to only credit Sid with 3 of them:

Can you please define "Official"?

2007-01-29T19:46:00.000-08:00

For their 06-07 UD Artifacts and Trilogy sets, UD used many retired NHL players in their memorabilia sets. They provided for some very colorful pieces. However, they are incorrectly certified on the back. The back of the cards state that the jerseys were worn in "Official NHL games". In this example, Ray Bourque's card has a red and white stripe:

Bourque never wore that type of jersey in an official NHL game. However, he did wear it in an official Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classics game that was sponsored by UD:

Seeing as how the HHOF and NHL are different entities, I'm not sure how they can claim it as being an official NHL game.

Who stepped on a Duck?

2007-01-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

This card seems to be a case of "What could have been". The back of the card states that it contains pieces from the Blue Jackets and Ducks. However, no former Duck appears on the card, and no swatches came from a Ducks jersey. Perhaps UD was planning to add Sergei Fedorov after his trade, but they failed to do so:

Mini - Oops?

2007-01-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

In this example, UD inserted a mini-jersey in 06-07 UD Mini Jersey Edition that had the patches sewn on the wrong side of the jersey. The numbers should be on the back and the logo on the front:

Oil spill?

2006-07-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Another case of mixed up swatches. In this example, the patches on this 05-06 UD The Cup Simon Gagne card appear to be from an Oilers patch and not a Flyers patch. The problem? Gagne never played for the Oilers.

Here's where the patches look to be from on the Oilers shoulder patch:

Another example of the Gagne, this time the patch on the left comes from the rigger's arm:

Press Plate mixups....

2006-05-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

In the 05-06 UD The Cup set, one of one press plate inserts were placed in packs. However, sometimes the picture didn't match the frames...

The following card says that it's a Colby Armstrong plate from SPx Rookie Update. Colby's a Penguin.

The plate is actually a SPGU rookie card of Stefan Ruzicka of the Flyers:

The same happened with this Rick Rypien Press Plate (top left)

The plate is actually Darren Reid of the Lighting:

Hopefully the redeemed card is right

2006-04-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

In this example, UD incorrectly spelled Jason Spezza's name on his 05-06 UD Bee Hive Photo-Graph redemption card. They spelled it Jason 'Speeza':

The Ottawa who?

2006-04-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

In this example, there seems to be a lack of spell checking. On this 05-06 SP Game Used Triple Patch card, UD mistakenly called the Ottawa Senators the Semnators:

Border patrol

2006-04-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is more a cosmetic and uniformity issue. In the 05-06 UD Bee Hive set, UD colored the borders of the base cards based on team colors. With this example, you can see they used an orange border around the Flyers base cards:

The theme is consistent within the set. The Ducks have a green border, the Red Wings have red, and so on. All except for one team. The Montreal Canadiens were given two different colored borders in the base set. (Note - these are the base cards and not the red or blue border parallels)

Can I get your number, Joe?

2006-04-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

In the 05-06 UD Series 1 set, UD forgot to number card #199 in the set. As you can see from the back of this Joe Thornton checklist, the card number is missing on the top left:

For a comparison, here's the Iginla checklist, card #200. You can also see where it states card #199 is Joe Thornton:

SPx Dual Sticker Mix-Up

2006-04-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

In this example, UD mistakenly put the two sticker autos in the wrong spot. In the 05-06 SPx Dual Auto Winning Combos set, the autograph stickers are supposed to be on the same level as the player like this card:

Notice how Gretzky's photo and autograph are both at the top of the card and Crosby's are on the bottom.

With the Gagne/Richards and Lecavalier/Richards redemptions, UD mistakenly put the stickers in the wrong spot. Gagne's photo is on the top, yet his auto is below him. Vice versa for Richards:

The problem only seemed to occur on redeemed redemption cards. Compare the Richards/Lecavalier redeemed card to the St. Louis/Lecavalier that was in packs. The Lecavalier photos are in the same position for both cards, but the autos are in different spots:

Here are more examples that show that the top picture should have the auto beside it and not under it:

Feelin' blue?

2006-04-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another example of the back of the card causing more confusion than help. The back of this Eric Lindros 05-06 UD Beehive Matted Materials jersey card states that the swatch was taken from a Flyers jersey worn in an NHL game:

However, the swatch on the card is blue and is probably from either a Rangers or Leafs jersey. The Flyers may have had their fans feeling blue during Lindros' time there, but they never wore blue jerseys:

Maybe they'll get it right in Series 3...

2006-04-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

In UD Series 1, UD pictures Amonte with the Flyers, correctly labels him with his new team, the Flames, and included an old Chicago Blackhawks swatch on the patch card:

In Series 2, they have Tony pictured on his current team. However, they incorrectly listed him back with the Blackhawks on the bottom right of the card:

The swatch could possibly be from a Chicago jersey as UD doesn't give the origins on the back of the card. However, this card would be the exception to the norm. Other jersey cards featuring traded players with old jersey swatches still had the current team listed for the team name.

A rookie career?

2006-04-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

In this goof, UD incorrectly listed David Hale's career statistics on the back of his Upper Deck Series 2 base card. Hale has one completed NHL season and not the 15 that's printed:

It seems UD mistakenly used Alexander Mogilny's career stats. Perhaps they pulled Mogilny from the set when he was released and replaced him with Hale.

One Wild jersey piece

2006-04-04T22:11:00.000-07:00

This card is another example of a curious jersey piece on a card. This 05-06 UD Artifacts Marian Gaborik Treasured Swatches game jersey card features a purple swatch:

The jersey piece actually seems to be from a Los Angeles Kings jersey.

It takes 'too' to tango...

2006-04-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

In this example, it seems someone didn't proofread the back before it hit the printers. On this 05-06 UD Series 2 Rookie Thread jersey card of Jeff Hoggan, UD claims to 'continue too keep you as close as you can get':

The error seems to appear on all the Rookie Threads.

Insert name here...

2006-03-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

This is another example of not error checking the back before producing the card. The front of this card from 05-06 SP Game Used features four swatches from Minnesota Wild players:

As you can see, the card includes Gaborik, Fernandez, Roloson, and Bouchard. However, the back says it also includes a player by the name of 'Putta Playername':

Perhaps 'Putta' is a ghost? Or he could be the brother of Inserta Namahere.

Not putting on the foil, coach

2006-03-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

In 05-06 UD Series 1, the Crosby/Perry dual checklist featured foil stamping for the UD logo and names:

In Series 2, UD used Ovechkin and Carter for their Young Guns checklist:

However, the actual cards never got the foil treatment as shown on the UD example card above:

Draft dodging?

2006-03-27T14:14:00.000-08:00

The 05-06 SP Game Used Auto Draft set was supposed to feature autographs of players numbered to their draft position. For Al Montoya, UD numbered the card to his jersey number (29) rather than his draft position (6th overall in 2004):

That's one young All-Star

2006-03-27T10:49:00.000-08:00

This 05-06 SP Game Used Devils Quad jersey seemed to slip past the QA researchers:

The question comes up when you flip the card over:

Apparently, one of the four players on the card was involved in the 1983 NHL All-Star Game. Considering that none of the players had even been drafted or in the NHL in 1983, that would've been an amazing feat.

Rough "Draft"?

2006-03-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

In the Draft Auto insert set in 05-06 SP Game Used, UD used photos of the players with the team that originally drafted them and numbered the cards to their draft position. Here's an example of Jarome Iginla who was drafted by the Dallas Stars with the 11th overall pick in 1995:

However, they goofed on Craig Conroy. While he was drafted 123rd overall in 1990, he was originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens with that pick. Not by the St. Louis Blues who UD pictured:

Conroy played 13 games for the Canadiens in his first two years. Perhaps UD couldn't find a photo of Conroy with the Habs, or they assumed St. Louis drafted him since his first full year was with the Blues. Although, many cards during the 95-96 season pictured Conroy with the Canadiens, like this 95-96 Score RC:

Either way, a little more research would've fixed this problem.

A "Nasty-Yuck" numbering problem

2006-03-22T21:42:00.000-08:00

UD offered Future Watch rookie redemptions within their 04-05 SP Authentic product. To separate them from the regular set, UD added an 'RR' prefix to the card numbers. All except one. Kevin Nastiuk was given a 'PP' prefix unlike the others:

One patch, or two?

2006-03-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

In this example, it appears that UD inserted a regular piece of jersey or collar into a card that was supposed to contain two patch pieces. The card is from the 05-06 SP Game Used Dual Patch set:

The Howe is identical to the pieces that were inserted into his regular jersey cards:

Here's another example with a Quad patch from 05-06 SPGU. The Kariya piece is actually a jersey swatch and not a patch like it should be:

Set numbering error

2006-03-22T10:53:00.000-08:00

Putting together sets can be a challenge, but it's more of a challenge when the numbers on the back of the cards are incorrect. In the 04-05 UD All-World Edition set, the Kurri was mistakenly given card #110 in the base set. The autographed card correctly shows the number it should be - #108.

Ulf Nilsson is actually #110 in the set. However, Kurri and Nilsson weren't the only ones to share that base set number. UD also assigned that card number to Igor Larionov. That makes it a hat trick for #110 and makes building the set even more confusing:

Where's the auto?

2006-03-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

Most collectors prefer actual autographed cards over sticker autographs. But even sticker autographs beat no autograph. Somehow multiple copies of Jari Kurri's 04-05 UD Ultimate Signature cards made their way into packs:

Where's Sidney?

2006-03-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

This one appears to be a printing mishap. The back of this 05-06 UD MVP Sidney Crosby rookie card pictures fellow rookie star Henrik Lundqvist on the front. The script autograph on the front is also of Sidney Crosby:

An upside down jersey?

2006-03-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

In the 05-06 SP Game Used By the Letter set, UD used the letters of the last name on the back of the jerseys for the patches on the card. The cards were numbered to the amount of letters in the last name. In a Patrick Roy card, the 'R' would be 1 of 3, the 'O' #2/3 and the 'Y' #3/3. I think a vertical design would've allowed for more letter to show, but that's a different issue. Here's an example of a 'C' in Kovalchuk:

This 'N' in Shanahan appears to have been placed in the card upside down. There are no letters after the last N (letter 8 of 8), but there's a patch piece to the right of it:

When the card is flipped, it makes more sense and you can see it's actually the bottom of the letter A.

Not a big issue or a problem, but something that could've been prevented had the patch been placed in the card correctly like the other letters in the set.

Where's the stick?

2006-03-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

Here's another example of lack of attention to detail. The back of this Iginla 05-06 SP Game Used Game Gear card states the card contains authentic pieces of jerseys as well as a piece of a stick:

As you can see, the jerseys are present, but there's no stick piece to be found:

Since all of the Game Gear cards feature two pieces, this may be a case of UD failing to remove the stick reference.

Barnaby has been a bad boy....

2006-03-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

Matthew Barnaby is considered a pest by most hockey fans. He tends to spend quite a bit of time in the sin bin because of it. However, in 03-04 it was nowhere near the 1,571 minutes his 05-06 UD Series 1 card states:

The correct amount of penalty minutes that Barnaby served in 03-04 was 157 minutes.

A Fleury of shutouts

2006-03-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

Marc-Andre Fleury had a strong showing in his rookie season in 03-04. But 70 shutouts in 21 games makes you wonder why he didn't get the Vezina:

The following cards all have the same incorrect statistics:

04-05 SP Authentic
04-05 UD
05-06 Be A Player
05-06 Black Diamond
05-06 Fleer Ultra
05-06 UD Artifacts
05-06 UD Power Play
05-06 UD Victory

Fleury actually had 1 shutout in the 03-04 season. The 70 reported by UD was probably due to a mixup with the number of goals he allowed in his games played in 03-04.

A 76th card with a 75 card print run

2006-03-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

This 05-06 UD Artifacts Pavel Datsyuk card was serial #'d 76/75:

This image and error was printed in the March 2006 Beckett Hockey Monthly magazine.

Some rivalries never die....

2006-03-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

The Red Wings and Avalanche had one of the most heated rivalries of the late 90's and into 2000. However, they never met in the playoffs in 2000-01. The Red Wings were booted in the first round against L.A that year. The Avalanche ended up beating New Jersey in seven games to capture the Stanley Cup. Unlike what the back of this 05-06 UD Series 1 Dan Hinote card suggests:

A 1/1 Error

2006-03-20T08:27:00.000-08:00

Another case of an upside down sticker auto. I'm guessing if the hobby reverted back to hard signed cards, half of these blog entries might disappear. This one is particularly hard to swallow. The card is a 1/1 autograph parallel from the 05-06 UD Artifacts set:

And here's Giguere's autograph as a reference:

Buying back a 1/1?

2006-03-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

With 04-05 UD Ultimate, UD inserted cards that had been purchased on the secondary market and inserted into packs after being signed by the pictured player. This card features a Jari Kurri card from the 03-04 UD Trilogy Crest of Honor set:

The issue I have with this card is that this is the Jari Kurri variation crest that shows the number of Stanley Cups Kurri had won. When UD came out with the population report for the Crest variations, Kurri was reported as being a 1/1. It's possible that UD purchased the only copy of this card on the secondary market and added Kurri's autograph to it. By doing so, the original 03-04 UD Trilogy Crest variation set has now been altered as the lone 1/1 in the set is unlike the design of any other card in the set. This card now features an autograph along with a buyback hologram sticker that has been added to the back while the other Crest variations do not.

It might also be hard to convince someone you have a 1/1 card when it's numbered to 14 on the front.

SPx Spectrum mixup

2006-03-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

This is another subtle error that UD made. The Spectrum rookie parallels in 05-06 SPx contained holographic foil treatment and were numbered to 25 copies:

This regular rookie card of Junior Lessard #'d to 999 ended up with the same foil treatment. The error card is on the left along with the correct version on the right:

Hull of a mistake

2006-03-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

In this example, this 05-06 UD Artifacts Brett Hull Patch card skipped through the process of adding the memorabilia piece to the card. The owner of the card used a pen to show that the patch was truly missing as opposed to a white piece that could have been confused as a missing patch:

Double check your Arti-Facts

2006-03-19T21:33:00.000-08:00

These are a pair of small spelling errors in the 05-06 UD Artifacts set. In the first example, UD forgot a letter in Glenn Hall's name:

In the second, they added a letter to Jari Kurri's name:

Ultimate relayered patches...

2006-03-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

In this example, UD placed the number patches from a Brodeur jersey on top of a white jersey piece. The white numbers appear on the red Devils jerseys. Here's a Brodeur gamer:

Here were the cards inserted into 04-05 UD Ultimate:

Same holds true with Lemieux:

Don't take it Personal...

2006-03-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

I think the blame for these cards falls more on the players, but perhaps UD's instructions weren't clear, or they didn't emphasize the proper way to sign the cards correctly. Then again, the players may have just ignored the instructions. Perhaps the answer was to send the cards back to the players for personalizations and use dreaded redemption cards in the packs. In any case, this is a matter of a set that could have been.

In the 05-06 UD Trilogy set, there's an autograph insert set called Personal Scripts. The card is supposed to contain the autograph of the player along with a little personalized message. Great idea when it comes out correctly:

Hextall Personal Script:

Not so well when others in the set don't follow suit:

Fleury Personal Script:

Some players must've had the instructions on the wrong stack of cards. In this case, Marcel Dionne personalized the Legendary Scripts along with his Personal Scripts card:

Legendary Scripts:

Personal Scripts:

An 8 looks the same upside down, but this doesn't

2006-03-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

Another sticker autograph issue. Once again, the sticker has been placed on the card upside down.

Cam Neely 05-06 UD Artifacts AutoFacts:

Here's what the auto should look like:

TRoouutoou? Expo autograph mixup

2006-03-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

Another reason why sticker autographs are a bad idea. At the 2004 Fall Expo, UD gave out Priority Signing autographs for opening products at their booth. Unfortunately they placed the wrong autograph on the card:

Jordin Tootoo Priority Signings Autograph:

Here's Jordin's real autograph:

The autograph on the card belonged to Tuomo Ruutu:

Your Priorities are upside down

2006-03-18T22:06:00.000-08:00

Here's another example of an upside down sticker auto. This one comes from the 2005 Fall Expo. UD handed these cards out to collectors for opening their products at their booth.

Marcel Hossa Priority Signings Autograph

Here's Marcel Hossa's normal autograph:

All-Time Greatest....mixup?

2006-03-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

UD has a promotion going for a new All-Time Greatest set that will be voted on by collectors. Some promotional cards were handed out at games, while others were inserted into packs of 05-06 UD MVP and 05-06 UD Fleer Ultra. There are two categories, All-Time Greatest Team Players and All-Time Greatest Rookies. For the rookie set, UD used photos of the players from their rookie year. For the Greatest Team Players, they featured newer photos of the player:

Modano

However, with Ron Hextall, the photos were backwards. The one used on his All-Time Greatest Flyers card features a picture from his rookie season while the All-Time Greatest Rookie shows him during the 96-97 season:

Not a huge error, but a small detail that should've been caught.

Wozniew.......

2006-03-18T19:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a subtle one. It's Andy Wozniewski's 2005-06 Fleer Ultra rookie:

Front looks great....but flip it over and you might notice something:

They managed to spell Wozniewski correctly five times but goofed on the top of the back. But kudos to them for including the pronunciation.

Maybe it should be 5 out of 7. They did mess it up again on the front of his Rookie Uniformity jersey also found in UD Fleer Ultra:

Simon Gagne jersey goof up?

2006-03-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

This one has me baffled. Here's another odd card from UD in 2005-06 SPGU. This is the Simon Gagne Awesome Authentics Fabric card:

Sooo....what's the big deal? Since Gagne's joined the team, the Flyers have never worn Ultrafil style jerseys in a game. I've got the gamers to prove it. If you'd like to see a few of his game jerseys, you can visit my game worn site at http://www.freewebs.com/vegasjersey. I have one of each style since he joined the team. All except the new alternate orange, but I've got an authentic of that to compare against. There is nowhere on the Flyers jerseys that this could've come from.

What's Ultrafil? It's the same material the Montreal Canadiens used to use in their jerseys. I believe they and maybe the Canucks and Senators are the only ones that did in the past few years:

Gagne and the Flyers, along with the other teams, use the mesh style Airknit jerseys in games:

No clue where that giant swatch is from. Even the Flyers practice jerseys have been mesh.

Where's the Jersey?

2006-03-18T19:10:00.000-08:00

Looks like this card skipped a step before being packed out. Either it didn't get the jersey placed in it, or it's hiding under the cardboard that didn't get cut out:

Jeff Carter 05-06 SPx Rookie Autograph Jersey /499:

The Great Relayered One?

2006-03-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

I had a few issues with the following card. First, to help sell the product, UD's promo sheet featured a Wayne Gretzky autograph patch card #'d to 100. Seemed like collectors would have a fair shot at one:

Cut from the ad sheet:

The actual card that was found in packs was #'d to only 12 copies. That's not a big deal as UD says that numbers and checklists are subject to change by the time the product actually comes out. The issue here is if you look at any Oilers jerseys, the number patches, where this patch was taken from, were never sewn onto the orange part of the jersey. This is a case of UD relayering patches onto mismatched jersey pieces:

There have also been versions of the patch that have been seen with cut off patches.

Shanahan preseason jersey

2006-03-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

This one isn't as big a deal, but I still feel the need to post it.

Most collectors believe their memorabilia cards contain pieces of jerseys that were worn during the regular season. However, this Shanahan patch shows that even preseason game jerseys get put into the mix:

Shanahan 05-06 SP Game Used Patch Card:

The patch on this card couldn't have come from the jersey numbers as the bottom of the 1 and 4 are too far apart. So most likely it's from the name on the back of the jersey.

However, the font of the letters that are worn by the Red Wings during the season don't match the patch on this card:

It seems that the patch was taken from a preseason or training camp jersey:

Training Camp:

Preseason:

Now I know it's not a big deal, but when you're paying anywhere from $30-$50 a pack for this product, you might expect them to use regular game jerseys instead of preseason and training camp pieces.

Spezza's upside down

2006-03-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

Pretty simple to explain this one. I'm not a big fan of sticker autos, and here's another reason why. I'm sure if the player had the card in hand, they would've signed it right side up. Instead, we're left with these cards of Spezza that have had the stickers placed upside down. Once is understandable. Twice is a little suspect. I've found 12 so far, and I'm guessing the rest of the 50 are also:

The others:

Dion Phaneuf or Duncan Keith?

2006-03-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

Later in this blog you'll see examples of mixups with stickers. But how do you explain a mixup in set design? This card of Dion Phaneuf was inserted into packs of 2005-06 UD MVP:

The silver foil is supposed to be a copy of the player's autograph. Here's what Phaneuf's looks like:

As you can see, the MVP card is more like Duncan Keith's autograph:

The error is present in all three versions of the card. The regular, the gold /100, and platinum /25.

Well...recycling does save trees

2006-03-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

This is a case of UD trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Or in this situation a NHL logo shaped peg in a round hole. Not a huge problem, but when paying $30-$50 a pack, you might want the memorabilia piece to fit the window.

Jean Beliveau 05-06 SP Game Used Game Gear Jersey/Stick /100

As you can see the stick piece doesn't really fit with the window made for it. It seems that UD had some left over stick pieces from previously designed cards:

Beliveau wasn't the only one it happened to. Here's a Bourque card:

The Bourque sticks were most likely leftovers from the 00-01 UD Heroes Twigs set:

Same happened with Lafleur:

Unnumbered cards in the market

2006-03-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

This one seems to be a serious problem. UD serial numbers cards in packs to guarantee their scarcity. These cards were later released onto the market and lack the serial number. So does a card that was once limited to only 25 copies now have 26? And exactly how many of the unnumbered cards were released. Here are a few examples:

00-01 SP Authentic Triple Sign of the Times Autograph Hull/Lemieux/Yzerman #'d 25:

This is how the card should be:

#24/25

This one recently appeared on ebay:

No number:

Here are more examples. A friend of mine received a compensation package from UD for some cards that were damaged and could not be replaced, and for some redemption cards that could not be fulfilled. This was in his compensation package:

Gretzky 03-04 Premier Gold Autograph
(Should be hand #'d to 8)

Yzerman/Howe 01-02 SP Authentic Dual Sign of the Times Autograph
(Should be stamp #'d to 150)

Roenick 03-04 UD Beehive Autograph Jersey
(Should be hand numbered to 50)

Orr 03-04 UD Series 1 Buyback Autograph
(Should be hand numbered to 8)

In this case, UD sent out unnumbered Black Diamond Clarity parallels when replacing damaged versions of the regular card. Notice the 'CLARITY' logo on the top right corner:

Staal 03-04 UD Black Diamond Clarity parallel
(Should be stamp numbered to 10)

The Great One?

2006-03-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine received this card in a compensation package from UD. I'm not sure why UD didn't destroy the card or why it was available for compensation. If you can't recognize the auto, it's from Martin Brodeur. Brodeur's great, but there's only one Great One.

Wayne Gretzky 02-03 SP Game Used Signature Style Autograph

Mr. Great and The Hockey One?

2006-03-18T14:24:00.000-08:00

Another case of mismatched pieces. In the following example the Gretzky and Howe swatches have been switched:

03-04 SP Game Used Gretzky/Howe/Lemieux/Lafleur Top Threads Quad Patch:

The Gilber Brule/Cam Barker mixup

2006-03-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

After opening a box of SP Game Used, I pulled a Gilbert Brule autograph card. Unfortunately it was a redemption card as the card was not ready when the product was packaged. I didn't mind the redemption as much, but I was curious as to why it was a redemption when UD had already placed cards with his autograph in packs of Fleer Ultra:

Then I realized why I might have received a redemption card. It seems that UD couldn't tell the difference between a Cam Barker and Gilbert Brule autograph. Every Cam Barker card in the SP Game Used set features Gilbert Brule's autograph. Now I know where all those stickers went.

Here is what Cam Barker's autograph looks like:

As you can see, every card in SP Game Used features the Gilbert Brule autograph like the Brule card pictured above:

Patch or no patch?

2006-03-18T13:57:00.000-08:00

Patches are considered parts of a jersey that are sewn onto them. Patches can consist of the numbers, letters in the name, shoulder patches, tags, or manufacturer labels. UD inserted these cards into patch specific sets as patch cards. As you can see, the cards merely contain multi-colored portions of the jersey and not patches:

Jason Spezza 04-05 UD Ultimate Patches /35

Another example from the 02-03 UD SP Game Used First Rounders Patch set:

Here are more examples from the 04-05 UD Ultimate Patch /35 set:

Here's another example from 04-05 SP Authentic:

Don't cut me off....

2006-03-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

In this example, the patch card was severely cut-off. Nearly half the patch was cut off exposing the jersey piece underneath:

And more from the 04-05 UD Ultimate Patch set:

This situation isn't limited to just patches. Here's one of a jersey card:

Patrick Roy 05-06 UD Fleer Ultra Super Six Jersey

Kari Lehtonen 05-06 UD Series 1 Game Jersey

Another example from the 04-05 SP Authentic Patch Set:

You say Bartovic, I say Kalinin

2006-03-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

Another card with the lack of attention to detail. Notice a theme yet?

This card was inserted into 2005-06 UD Power Play. The card contains an autograph of Milan Bartovic. The problem? The card pictures Dmitri Kalinin. Bartovic wears #15 while Kalinin wears #45:

Here is what Milan Bartovic looks like:

I know Dolphins wear orange, but Sharks?

2006-03-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

When it comes to photo shoot jerseys, the origins are always hard to question. Sometimes UD uses vintage jerseys and it throws collectors off. However, this card sticks out like a sore thumb. From the Sharks fans I talk to, none of them have ever seen orange in a Sharks jersey. Not in gamers, training camp jerseys, or vintage jerseys. Yet, this one appeared in packs of 05-06 SPX:

Josh Gorges 05-06 SPX Rookie Jersey /999

After doing more research, it looks like they used a Campbell's Conference Retro All-Star jersey for his photo shoot. How that All-Star team has anything to do with the Sharks is beyond me. Other players used with the old All-Star jersey were Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Alexander Steen.

The jersey's from where?

2006-03-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

This card from 05-06 SPx contains pieces of jerseys worn by Peter Forsberg:

The back of the cards states that the jerseys on the front were from Avalanche jerseys worn by Forsberg. When did the Avs where orange?

Another example from 05-06 UD Artifacts. This time it's the Great One. Back says the patches are from the All-Star Game and the LA Kings. Obviously they're both Rangers patches:

Another incorrect Artifacts card. The back states the jerseys were from both Oilers and Kings jerseys, but Kurri never wore the dark blue with the Kings:

The origin of the jersey on the backs of the card should be used as a reference, not a source of confusion.

Gary Roberts wearing a Toronto Red Leaf?

2006-03-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Either UD is very, very fast, or they don't pay attention. This card definitely proves one or the other. This was inserted into packs of 05-06 Upper Deck Series 1 hockey:

The back of the card states the jersey came from a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey that Roberts wore in a game. I think we can all see that is not the case. It is possible that UD was able to get their hands on a Panthers preseason jersey and use them in the card, but the back of the card leads to the confusion as to the true origin of the jersey in it.

Naslund with the Avalanche?

2006-03-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

Another example of a questionable swatch. I've circled the part of the Avalanche logo that the patch actually came from. Unless there was a time that Markus Naslund played for Colorado and I missed it, this is another error:

Naslund 05-06 UD Artifacts Dual Patch /15:

It had been suggested that the patch may have come from the Colorado All-Star jersey, but if you look closely, you can tell it isn't. This patch was taken from an Avalanche game worn jersey from the year they hosted the game:

If you look at the card, you can see there's white above the black puck. In the All-Star patch, that area is blue.

A Boo-Boo for Boom-Boom

2006-03-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

Not sure how Bernie Geoffrion would've liked being put on a Maple Leafs card. Once again, lack of attention to detail...

Geoffrion 05-06 UD Artifacts Legends SP:

As you can see he never played for the Leafs in his career:

1948-49 Montreal Royals
1950-51 Montreal Canadiens
1951-52 Montreal Canadiens
1952-53 Montreal Canadiens
1953-54 Montreal Canadiens
1954-55 Montreal Canadiens
1955-56 Montreal Canadiens
1956-57 Montreal Canadiens
1957-58 Montreal Canadiens
1958-59 Montreal Canadiens
1959-60 Montreal Canadiens
1960-61 Montreal Canadiens
1961-62 Montreal Canadiens
1962-63 Montreal Canadiens
1963-64 Montreal Canadiens
1966-67 New-York Rangers
1967-68 New-York Rangers

More attention to detail....04-05 Calder Cup winners

2006-03-18T09:13:00.000-08:00

I received a Braydon Coburn card through the UD Showcase program:

Great program, horrible execution. That's another story though. As far as this card goes, it appears that UD didn't even know who won the AHL Calder Cup just a few months before these cards were made. The card back has Coburn helping the Chicago Wolves capture the Calder Cup:

That might be a surprise to the Philadelphia Phantoms as they swept the Wolves in four straight to win the Calder Cup that year.

Another upside down auto. This time it's Rick Nash

2006-03-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

Here's another example of someone not knowing which way to put a sticker on a card:

Rick Nash 05-06 UD Series 1 Notable Numbers Autograph

The auto looks better when you flip the card:

Sometimes stamps go on upside down also....

2006-03-18T09:06:00.000-08:00

We've seen a few sticker autos placed on the card upside down. Looks like this one managed to get stamped upside down as well. This is the Pavel Datsyuk UD Trilogy Frozen in Time insert:

This is a correct version. The stamp should be on the upper left when looking at the back of the card:

Here's another example. This time with Cam Neely:

Another example with Gaborik this time:

It's close to Atlanta....

2006-03-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

Kari Lehtonen is a rising star in the NHL, and I'm sure Atlanta Thrashers fans don't want to see him go. This card might have given them a little scare. It shows Lehtonen as being on the Nashville Predators. This error appears on all three versions of the card:

Andrew Raycroft/Kari Lehtonen 05-06 SPx Winning Combos:

Sound it out....

2006-03-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

Here's another small one. It's Mathieu Garon's 05-06 Fleer Ultra base card:

Apparently you pronounce Garon's name the same way as Steve Yzerman's name:

Perhaps it's a common way to pronounce names. Vokoun is said the same way:

Yzerman lining up beside Lidstrom?

2006-03-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

Here's another subtle one. I know Steve's lost a step or two, but it appears that UD now has him on the blue line as a 'D' man on his 05-06 SP Game Used base card: