Here are the main hockey card brands:
O-Pee-Chee
MVP
Upper Deck
Artifacts
SP Authentic
SPx
O-Pee-Chee is the most common brand and tends to offer the lowest prices. But you do get a chance to pull patches and autograph cards from these sets. Upper Deck’s cards come in Series One and Series Two varieties. Both of which feature its popular Young Guns rookie cards along with patch and autograph cards.
Artifacts is the best choice for collectors who love premium cards, though both SPx and SP Authentic also produce high volumes of rookie, autograph, and patch cards.
Finally, MVP tends to offer the first card sets of the year. You may benefit from limited run cards and plenty of parallels with this brand.