By the time Upper Deck released The Cup hockey in 2005-06, the Exquisite Collection had developed a strong following among basketball and football collectors. But with lopsided Canadian exchange rates and the 2004-05 NHL lockout acting as hurdles for the inaugural release of an ultra-premium hockey product, Upper Deck needed some serious star power to push the debut of it’s first ultra-modern ice set. Enter Sid the Kid. Much like the 2003-04 Exquisite Collection leaned on LeBron James and the rest of his draft classmates, the 2005-06 Upper Deck The Cup debut relied on a double rookie class headlined by Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.
Crosby’s Rookie Autograph Patch, which is numbered /99, includes an on-card 10-grade autograph and two-color patch. It's widely seen as the future Hall of Famer's top rookie card and the brand remains one of the most coveted in modern hockey cards.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 02/26/2026.
