2005 Upper Deck The Cup Sidney Crosby ROOKIE PATCH AUTO /99 #180 BGS 8 NM-MT

After the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Sidney Crosby as the top pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette splashed his photo on the front page of its Sunday newspaper and declared him “The Next One.” That headline was in homage to Wayne Gretzky—nicknamed the “Great One”—who declared Crosby had enough talent to supplant his NHL scoring records. On top of that bold prediction, many experts considered Crosby the best draft prospect in 20 years, so hockey collectors were eager to rip into new products and find his rookie cards like this 2005 Upper Deck The Cup /99 RPA. By the time Upper Deck released The Cup hockey in 2005, the Exquisite Collection had developed a strong following among basketball and football collectors. Because Upper Deck heavily targeted Canadian collectors with its hockey products, the company decided not to use the Exquisite branding for the hockey version because the $500 per box price expectations in America would have resulted in a 15-20% markup in Canada due to conversion rates of the time. When workshopping ideas, one brand name continued to stick out. “The (Stanley) Cup is the grail,” said Karvin Cheung, one of Upper Deck’s leading product developers of the era. “So, we said, ‘That’s the name we’ve got to use.’” The Cup debuted in conjunction with a double rookie class necessitated by the 2004-05 lockout that canceled the entire NHL season. Not only did Crosby’s arrival rejuvenate the Pittsburgh franchise, but he also helped push the debut of The Cup, as his /99 RPA from the brand remains one of his most coveted rookie offerings. This example offers a hard-signed Auto 10 and a multi-break, three-color game-used patch. Crosby quickly delivered on his promise, leading the Penguins into the playoffs in his second season and winning the first of three Stanley Cups two years later. “Sid The Kid” has added a pair of MVPs, and with his final goal of the 2022-23 season, he became the 29th player in history to score at least 550 times in his career. That night, he also became the sixth-fastest player to record 1,500 career points. “I think that company speaks to this milestone and to the impact he’s had on the game,” said Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, noting only 14 other players have ever reached 1,500 points. “Not only is he one of the greatest players of his generation, he’s one of the greatest players in history." The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 11/30/2023.