The long and cold Canadian winters of our youth meant one thing....hockey. Constants in most of our lives were 6 am practices, playing on the pond and watching our NHL heroes skate on TV. During this special time, we were introduced to our hockey card hobbies. Whether it was Howe, Orr, Gretzky or Sakic....O Pee Chee, Upper Deck, Score or Parkhurst everyone remembers the sets and players where they developed their passion for collecting hockey cards.

The rebirth of the NHL in 2005/2006 also brings about a renaissance in hockey card collecting. With the one-two punch of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin and an army of sets featuring cards we couldn't even dream of as kids, this year is the most exciting year for collectors in over a decade....if not ever. This series of articles will breakdown many of 05/06's most talked about hockey card sets.

2005-06 hockey is similar to the 2003-04 Upper Deck Black Diamond.

The base set is broken up into Single Diamond players (1-84), Double Diamond players (85-126), Triple Diamond players (127-168) and Quad Diamond players (169-210).

Each box is LOADED with six Double Diamond, six Triple Diamond and two Quadruple Diamond cards. To top it off 2005/2006 Upper Deck Black Diamond Hockey boxes have two memorabilia cards and GemoGRAPHY signature cards in one out of every two boxes.

Black Diamond Parallel cards include, rare Ruby parallels (all cards numbered to 100 copies), rare Emerald parallels (#'d to 25), scarce Gold parallels (#'d to 10), and one-of-a-kind Onyx parallels (1 of 1).

As one of the most sought after hockey sets Upper Deck Black Diamond doesn't disappoint with a wide array of rookies.

Along with Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, collectors can also find: Thomas Vanek, Brandon Bochenski, Alexander Steen, Peter Budaj, Dion Phaneuf, Brent Seabrook, Jussi Jokinen, Chris Campoli, Keith Ballard, Mike Richards, Cam Ward, Ryan Getzlaf, Wojtek Wolski, Hannu Toivonen, and Gilbert Brule rookie cards.

Twenty-One of the top rookie cards, including Crosby, Ovechkin, Carter and Phaneuf are Quad Diamond Rookie Gems. Each box guaranteed at least one quad diamond rookie from the elite group of 21.

2005/2006 Upper Deck Black Diamond hockey is an exciting set and definitely worth collecting. If you are looking for a box of 05-06 to buy and hold Black Diamond is highly recommended. Just look at 96-97 Black Diamond (Joe Thornton's rookie year) to see how much this set appreciates in value.

Basic Info: 210-Card Regular Set, Regular Cards (Single Diamond) Ruby, RegularCards (Double Diamond) Ruby (1:4), Regular Cards (Triple Diamond) Ruby (1:8), Rookie Gems (Triple Diamond) Ruby (1:8), Regular Cards (Quad Diamond) Ruby (1:24), Rookie Gems (Quad Diamond) Ruby (1:24)

Autographs: GemoGRAPHY (1:48), GemoGRAPHY Ruby Parallel (#'d to 50), GemoGRAPHY Emerald Parallel (#'d to 25), GemoGRAPHY Gold Parallel (#'d to 10), GemoGRAPHY Onyx Parallel (#'d to 1)

Memorabilia: Black Diamond Jersey (1:12), Black Diamond Jersey Parallel (#'d to 100), DoubleDiamond Dual Jersey (#'d to 25), TripleDiamond Triple Jersey (#'d to 10), QuadDiamond Quadruple Jersey (#'d to 1)