Try getting this set signed

It looks like Upper Deck is borrowing from the Topps Total concept from a few years ago with its upcoming 700-card offering, 2006-07 O-Pee-Chee. (Patience is required.)

A 500-card base set, plus a 100-card Marquee Rookies subset, will be the biggest set of the season. And, for the record, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin (shown at left, from Upper Deck's Web site) is card #564.

One of the nice things about a set this size is the inclusion of everyday players into the lineup. Among others, you'll find cards for Boston's Mark Mowers, Buffalo's Adam Mair, Detroit's Andreas Lilja, Minnesota's Wyatt Smith, Ottawa's Tom Preissing and Tampa's Nolan Pratt.

Besides Malkin, the rookie lineup includes, as expected, Boston's Phil Kessel, Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar, Montreal's Guillaume Latendresse, Nashville's Alexander Radulov, Pittsburgh's Jordan Staal and San Jose's fuzz-faced trio of Matt Carle, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Despite Upper Deck's Feb. 27 release date, a Tampa Bay-area card dealer, who I spoke with yesterday at a Toronto Blue Jays spring training game, told me that he's getting the cards next week.

Review: 2006-07 NHL Rookie Class

Please, don’t believe that I’ve become a flak for Upper Deck, but the 2006-07 Rookie Class set offering is too hard to pass up.

This 50-card box set, though not technically rookie cards, features the top first-years players of the NHL’s 2006-07 season. You’ll get cards of, among others, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar, Nashville's Alexander Radulov, and San Jose's Matt Carle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

To me, a set like this is excellent for autographs. You’re not defacing a true rookie card, and lowering its value on the secondary market, and there’s the eventual thrill of finishing a relatively easy-to-do set.

And, for $20, it’s probably the best deal Upper Deck has offered this year. Now, if I could just convince them to do away with the shiny surface.

Less-than-royal treatment

Western Conference teams usually draw a good crowd of hounds whenever they play Tampa Bay. Yesterday, though, I was surprised by the relatively light turnout. I’d say, at most, there were 15 collectors and dealers for the Los Angeles Kings.

Those who did show up, and put in a full day, shouldn’t be disappointed. Now, a few people were disappointed that Anze Kopitar, apparently everyone’s key player, didn’t sign a dozen 8 x 10s. I’m not complaining, though.

Another 13 pucks, including a pair from Kopitar and one from Rob Blake, were added to the collection. Even better, was that Colin was able to join me in the afternoon, having Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov, Patrick O'Sullivan, Konstantin Pushkarev and Lubomir Visnovsky sign his team sheet (shown above) and Sean Burke and Mathieu Garon for his autographed goalie card collection.

The kids are alright

It should come as no surprise that Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar, making a bid for the Calder trophy, was the focus of every collector and dealer yesterday. That’s not to say, though, that he was the only young King worthy of hounding.

Granted, the Kings aren’t enjoying their best season, but they have an abundance of talent that could prove formidable once its matures in age and skill – Alexander Frolov, Kopitar, Patrick O’Sullivan and Konstantin Pushkaryov.

At day’s end, I added at least one puck from each player – top row: Frolov and Kopitar; bottom row: O’Sullivan and Pushkaryov. I even had Pushkaryov sign an 8x10 showing him with the Manchester (N.H.) Monarchs.

Also signing pucks yesterday were Kevin Dallman, Mattias Norstrom and Lubomir Visnovsky.