Review: 2006-07 O-Pee-Chee hockey

As much as it pains me, I have to give Upper Deck some credit for this 2006-07 O-Pee-Chee set. Aside from my standard complaint about the shiny surfaces, it's exactly what I expected -- it's a decent product for collectors.

Not only is there a big set (700 cards) to chase, including a 100-card Marquee Rookies subset (I pulled 19 out of each the two boxes I bought), but there's a nice twist to an old concept of multiplayer cards.

The so-called Showdown card features a 2006-07 rookie and a second-year player. It's my guess, too, that the one with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby (the middle of the three shown above) will draw some interest. Can you imagine getting both players to sign that card?

The memorabilia cards are nice, but nondescript. It's affordable, too, with a box fetching between $36 and $52 in card stores. You don't have to worry about duplicates, either. Out of the two boxes, only 11 of 432 cards were doubles. That's pretty good, if you ask me.

If there's a knock on this set, it has to be directed at the photography. Very few cards I've seen show compelling action. In fact, some look like they were shot during warm-ups. For a set that carries a name so steeped in hockey card history, a little extra effort by Upper Deck's photo editors would have been appreciated.