My top 25 sets #15: 2008-09 OPC Hockey

Card #53

Set 2008-09 OPC
Number of cards in set: 600 base + 200 update
Affordability: 8.5
Key RCs:  Claude Giroux (base), Steven Stamkos (update)
Is the set built?:   518/600 base.  Undecided on whether I will build the update

What I like about this set:  The size for one thing.  I've always enjoyed the challenge of building larger sets, and this set does not disappoint.  The update set was released to capture a couple of key RCs that UD didn't release in the base set.  Good thing, because the Stamkos and Doughty RC's will be strong sellers for years to come.

The front of the card in my opinion is a good design.  I like the team logo in the circle on the lower right, and the bottom of the card is colored to match the team's predominant color (blue for the Sabres in the Ryan Miller example above).  The back features a nice bright card stock, which makes the cards very easy to read.

What sets the OPC releases apart as well is the year is printed on the bottom of the back of the card.  For newbies, and even for old vets such as myself, this allows for very little guesswork in determining what year the card is from. 

What I don't like about this set: Would have been great to see OPC use some of the empty space on the backs of the cards to feature some kind of short bio on the players.  The 200 card update set, even though it is full of good rookies, makes the set too big in my opinion.  800 cards is a little bit of overkill.

In my opinion, Upper Deck has done a good job with the OPC releases over the past few years.  Kudos to them for picking up the name, and keeping a hobby classic alive.

Thanks for reading, Robert