UD Rewards Two Lucky Hockey Fans with VIP Trips to NHL All-Star Weekend Festivities

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Two entrants in company’s ‘Backstage Pass’ sweepstakes promotion also earn the right to serve as ‘Stick Boys’ during YoungStars Game

Carlsbad, CA (Jan. 17, 2008) – In its ongoing efforts to get sports fans and trading card collectors as close to the game as possible, the Upper Deck Company conducted its second annual NHL “Backstage Pass” sweepstakes in 2007 and is happy to announce that two determined contestants have won the hockey trip of a lifetime!



Nine-year-old Cory Landel from Buffalo, NY, and 15-year-old Jimmie Faddies from Ontario, Canada, are the lucky winners who secured all-expense-paid trips for two to the 2008 NHL All-Star Weekend in Atlanta on Jan. 26-27. In addition to winning tickets to the All-Star Game, three nights’ worth of hotel accommodations, meals and round-trip airfare, both also earned the right to serve as “stick boys” during the league’s annual three-on-three “YoungStars Game” – pitting 16 of the NHL’s top rookies (six of whom are teenagers) in a 12-minute game – as part of the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills Competition scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 26. Landel will help the East team, while Faddies will assist the West.



“I’m very excited,” said Landel, a fourth-grader and huge fan of his hometown Sabres. “I never expected to win, but I’m really glad I did.”



To enter the contest, collectors needed to be 17 or under and register alphanumeric codes found on the back of various Upper Deck rookie cards from two of the company’s 2007-08 hockey products (Victory and MVP) at Upper Deck Kids - Home!. For every 2007-08 Victory and MVP rookie card they registered, the entrants received an entry into the sweepstakes. The more codes entered, the better their odds of winning. The sweepstakes ran from August 8 through December 18, 2007.



Cory will bring along his mom, Tina, for the weekend hockey extravaganza. It was she, in fact, who typed in most of Cory’s alphanumeric codes. “I was mostly supervising, just to make sure we typed in the right combinations,” she said. “We must have entered at least a hundred different codes. He loves hockey, and we love Upper Deck trading cards.”

Faddies, a high school sophomore from Sault Ste. Marie, guessed he typed in as many as 200 different alphanumeric codes he found on Upper Deck rookie cards. “It was worth it. This is gonna be cool,” he said.

And even though the Maple Leafs represent the closet team geographically to Faddies, he prefers cheering for the Dallas Stars. “[Stars goalie] Marty Turco is my favorite player. I like him because he’s from my hometown.”



About Upper Deck

Founded in 1988, Upper Deck is a premier global sports and entertainment-publishing company that delivers a robust portfolio of products for sports and entertainment collectors alike. For more information, visit The Upper Deck Company: Sports Trading Cards, Authentic Memorabilia, Sports Collectibles, & Entertainment Products or - Upper Deck Store.