UDS1 Updates

   Hockey fans may finally be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the sports annual flagship product release. Upper Deck Series 1 hockey cards, and its highly collectible Young Guns rookie cards, were initially slated for a November release. That date was then pushed back to early December, followed by January, then a sliding week to week process which now has the estimated release scheduled for sometime in mid February.

   Typically by this time of year, collectors would be getting ready to place their pre-orders for Series 2. However, owing to supply chain issues, and a modified NHL schedule due to COVID, the sports card giant has had difficulty pulling the set together.

   Several products in the Upper Deck hockey department have also been delayed or cancelled outright. While products like the company’s collaboration with Tim Hortons have gone out as scheduled, other series like their popular Upper Deck Ice collection were scrapped for 2020-21 altogether.

   Unfortunately for hockey card collectors, there isn’t much that can be done about the delays and cancellations, as the NHL re-upped their exclusive partnership with Upper Deck last year. As a result, UD has a monopoly over the hockey card industry, giving fans few, if any, alternatives. 

   However there is hope. Hobby website Cardboard Connection recently updated their 2021-22 UDS1 page to include the upcoming Young Guns checklist. Meaning that although the product still isn’t available to consumers, collectors at least know who will be included in the first batch of rookies:

Series 1

201 Cole Caufield – Montreal Canadiens

202 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – Buffalo Sabres

203 Olle Alsing – Ottawa Senators

204 Dakota Joshua – St. Louis Blues

205 Jamie Drysdale – Anaheim Ducks

206 Kyle Burroughs – Colorado Avalanche

207 Tarmo Reunanen – New York Rangers

208 Mike Hardman – Chicago Blackhawks

209 Wade Allison – Philadelphia Flyers

210 Marian Studenic – New Jersey Devils

211 Keaton Middleton – Colorado Avalanche

212 Joe Veleno – Detroit Red Wings

213 Wyatt Kalynuk – Chicago Blackhawks

214 Garrett Pilon – Washington Capitals

215 Morgan Barron – New York Rangers

216 Radim Zohorna – Pittsburgh Penguins

217 Jack Ahcan – Boston Bruins

218 Joshua Dunne – Columbus Blue Jackets

219 Logan Thompson – Vegas Golden Knights

220 Brinson Pasichnuk – San Jose Sharks

221 Arttu Ruotsalainen – Buffalo Sabres

222 Tanner Jeannot – Nashville Predators

223 Spencer Knight – Florida Panthers

224 Ross Colton – Tampa Bay Lightning

225 Filip Gustavsson – Ottawa Senators

226 Jeremy Swayman – Boston Bruins

227 Calen Addison – Minnesota Wild

228 Simon Benoit – Anaheim Ducks

229 Daniel Walcott – Tampa Bay Lightning

230 Mattias Samuelsson – Buffalo Sabres

231 Zac Jones – New York Rangers

232 Trevor Zegras – Anaheim Ducks

233 Jeffrey Viel – San Jose Sharks

234 Lane Pederson – Arizona Coyotes

235 Marc Michaelis – Vancouver Canucks

236 Tanner Laczynski – Philadelphia Flyers

237 Jeremy Davies – Nashville Predators

238 Jackson Cates – Philadelphia Flyers

239 Tyce Thompson – New Jersey Devils

240 Parker Kelly – Ottawa Senators

241 Alex Barré-Boulet – Tampa Bay Lightning

242 Rasmus Kupari – Los Angeles Kings

243 Cam York – Philadelphia Flyers

244 Matt Kiersted – Florida Panthers

245 Michael Houser – Buffalo Sabres

246 Shane Pinto – Ottawa Senators

247 Kole Lind – Vancouver Canucks

248 Jacob Bryson – Buffalo Sabres

249 Joey Keane – Carolina Hurricanes

250 Cole Caufield/Trevor Zegras CL

   Although Cole Caufield has come back down to earth following his hot start with Montreal last year, he’s likely to still be a sought after name when the set finally releases. Alongside Caufield, super rookies Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, Spencer Knight, and Shane Pinto are destined to become chase cards in Series 1.

   Absent from the set are Lucas Raymond, and Moritz Seider who will likely be moved over to Series 2 to add some “star power” to the eventual release. 

   While rumours of a February 2nd public drop seem unlikely at this point, a February 9th or 16th hobby box release could be possible timelines for hockey fans to finally update their collections.