After much anticipation, Upper Deck has finally released the 2011 Winter Classic set, featuring the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. This 14-card set includes seven players from each team. The cards are 3×5, the size of a postcard, bigger than your typical sports card and the first time Upper Deck made this format since the 2007-08 Fleer Ultra set. The Winter Classic set comes exclusively in the Upper Deck Series 1 tins which can be bought at retailers or hobby shops. In each tin there is one random Winter Classic card, plus 12 packs of UD Series 1, which can get you a Game Worn Jersey card as well.
Now, not only is this the first real set (we say real because we made fake ones after the Winter Classic) to feature the Caps-Pens duel on January 1, 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, but it also features John Erskine‘s first ever card as a Washington Capital (Erskine has been with the team since the 2006-07 season).
The 2011 Winter Classic set is:
WC1 – Sidney Crosby
WC2 – Alex Ovechkin
WC3 – Evgeni Malkin
WC4 – Alexander Semin
WC5 – Jordan Staal
WC6 – Nicklas Backstrom
WC7 – Marc-Andre Fleury
WC8 – Semyon Varlamov
WC9 – Maxime Talbot
WC10 – Mike Knuble
WC11 – Kristopher Letang
WC12 – John Erskine
WC13 – Michael Rupp
WC14 – Eric Fehr
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the 2011 Winter Classic card set we have been waiting for, and I must say it’s a must-have. The tins themselves are $30 each, but if you’re an avid card collector like myself, it is well worth it.
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