In a collecting market where not enough brands of sports cards have their own identities, Upper Deck's Mini Jersey Hockey stands out. Forgoing the usual autographed and memorabilia cards, Mini Jersey lives up to its name by presenting miniature replica hockey jerseys as the main insert attraction.
Boxes of 2006-07 Mini Jersey Hockey have 18 packs with three cards plus one mini jersey in each pack.
Base Set
Mini Jersey's base set is the definition of simplicity. The first 100 cards are commons with an action shot of an NHL veteran on a card design that sticks to the set theme by placing the player name, position and number on panels that look like jersey mesh. My review box contained exactly half of the common cards with no duplicates.
Rookie cards fall at a rate of 1:4 packs and add a couple more mesh panels on the front. There are 30 rookies in all, and the three in my box included Los Angeles Kings center Patrick O' Sullivan.
Mini Jerseys
Naturally, the standout element of this product is the mini replica jerseys. They're made of dazzle jersey material with mesh for the underarms, and while the stripes, shoulder logos and player names are screened on, the chest logos and player numbers are actually embroidered. It's a nice touch for such a small collectible.
There are 21 players whose home jerseys are packed into Mini Jersey hockey, mostly current stars with all time greats Gordie Howe and Patrick Roy also in the mix. Everyone on the checklist except for Marty Turco also has a rarer second jersey, either a road white or alternate jersey depending on the player. There are also autographed versions of 14 jerseys, including Howe, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.
My review box yielded 12 home jerseys with two duplicates, as well as six alternate jerseys.
The Last Word
This is a tricky product to review because it's so dependent on the mini jerseys. The high rating I gave it is for collectors who enjoy the mini replicas, as they're well done and their inclusion in every pack makes the product a good value.
They're also not every collector's cup of tea, so if you don't find the mini jerseys interesting, you can spend your hockey card money elsewhere secure that you've made the right decision.