Upper Deck has another winner on its hands. They’re bringing back Fleer Ultra Hockey exclusively on their e-Pack platform with the 2021-22 series. This is an opportunity for collectors to celebrate 30 years since the inception of Fleer Ultra with the 30th Anniversary set, which picks up the 1991 Fleer Ultra Baseball design and includes autographed parallels for hockey.
Billy Celio, Senior Product Manager for Upper Deck, talked about the authenticity of this new set, including bringing back the original designers of Fleer Ultra, “We had Arena Design work on the designs – they were the original creators of many of the famous inserts from Fleer Ultra back in the day. These new cards look absolutely gorgeous.”
Key Highlights of 21-22 Fleer Ultra Hockey
● 8 Cards per Pack
● 15 Packs per Box
● 10 Boxes per Case
The return of Fleer Ultra Hockey comes exclusively to Upper Deck e-Pack with a deep 250-card digital Base Set featuring 50 top 2021-22 rookies. Look for five different parallels to the Base Set, including Red Foil (#’d to 91), Green Foil (#’d to 25), Gold Spectrum (1-of-1), and Printing Plates.
There is also an ultra-rare Base Set featuring Lucky 13 Rookies, a classic Fleer Ultra variation featuring players selected in the top 13 of their draft class.
Additional highlights of the set include:
Medallions, a Fleer Ultra classic insert, including Parallels such as Emerald (#’d to 10) and Black (#’d to 1)
Cool inserts like Ultrabilities, Seeing Double, and Fabulous 50s take inspiration from classic 90s Fleer Ultra inserts
Ultra Stars or Exclamation Point Acetate cards, including Gold Parallels. Both are classic Fleer Ultra inserts printed on PETG.
The set also includes rare themed inserts like Scoring Kings (top goal scorers) featuring Connor McDavid, Slot Machines (grinders), and Premier Pad Men (goaltenders), Circular die-cut pucks cards of your favorite players, as well as brand-new Pop Culture inserts featuring original Pop-Style art from Benito Gallego. Collect all four colored versions of the 11 superstars in the set, and look out for serial-numbered Artist Autos. There are also celebrity autographs from one of your favorite shows with High Profile Fans autograph cards.
Commemorate the History of Fleer Ultra Through Upper Deck’s e-Pack Format
This set will feel a bit like Back to the Future for some hockey card collectors. It’s inspired by the first Fleer Ultra Set — 1991 Fleer Ultra Baseball — with so many more modern enhancements that make it that much more special. Celio, who worked on the original 2015-16 Upper Deck Young Guns Rookie set featuring McDavid’s rookie card, understands what appeals to hockey card collectors.
Related: Upper Deck Creating More Unique Experiences for Hockey Fans
“We thought we’d bring back the nostalgia of what people liked about Fleer Ultra and applied that thinking to the new 21-22 Fleer Ultra Hockey. We ended up creating a beautiful set that people are going to remember for a long time.”
A Great Set for Collectors of All Ages
The 21-22 Fleer Ultra Hockey set got me intrigued to where I signed up and have started collecting e-Packs on Upper Deck’s website. It’s a lot of fun, even for a hardened old collector such as myself. The designs are vibrant, and opening up an electronic pack brings back good memories of the days when I used to stuff sticks of gum in my mouth when looking through my old O’Pee-Chee sets in the 1970s.
The 21-22 Fleer Ultra Hockey feels like a winner to me, and I’m looking forward to wheeling and dealing with other collectors on the site to build my set. It makes me feel like a kid again.