Much has been made about Sidney Crosby opting not to participate in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game so Upper Deck felt it was necessary to make sure he was at least there in spirit. We packed up a life-sized Sidney Crosby figure and shipped him from Carlsbad, California all the way to Raleigh, North Carolina as a great photo opportunity for Crosby fans in attendance.

Sid the Kid makes it to Raleigh after all!

It was an action packed day for Upper Deck staff as the team got to work in Raleigh setting up for an exciting week. We’ve already shared the details for what we have in store for the 2011 NHL® All-Star Fan Fair, but it was exciting seeing it all start to come together today. The booth is all set up and ready for action!
One of the best parts about NHL All-Star Weekend is grabbing the players for a bit to sign autographs for new trading card releases. Today we had quite a few players come through our Athlete Relations signing suite.  Check out Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Phil Kessel signing away.

Phil takes signing cards very seriously...

Then we had a visit from Boston Bruins star rookie, Tyler Seguin who signed trading cards and pucks for Upper Deck.

Tyler takes a minute to stop signing so we could snap a photo.

Tyler added a nice looking signature to some very nice items from UD.

Then it was a visit from the No. 1 NHL Draft Pick and star rookie of the Edmonton Oilers, Taylor Hall! We had Taylor signing a variety of cards for 2010-11 NHL SP Authentic in particular and some other items as well.

All smiles, Taylor Hall lends his signature to some dual autograph cards from 2010-11 NHL SP Authentic.

Now that Taylor has signed, we move on to track down Jordan Eberle...

It should be a fun-filled weekend and we’ll be sure to provide more updates, images and even video from everything happening throughout the weekend. Check back for more!