Hockey season is right around the corner. We have the first games scheduled for October 4, 2024.
Just three days later, the Series 1 release drops. With it, there is a new crop of Young Guns, Canvas inserts, and all the other things we love about this release. But last year, we had some issues, especially the lack of Young Guns in hobby boxes. There has also been a concerning retreat in the values of wax and singles.
Therefore, while we are excited about this release, we have concerns. So, does this release live up to our expectations? Read our 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey review.
Shop for 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey boxes on eBay
Upper Deck Hockey is one of the main releases associated with the company’s revolutionary ascent in the 1990s. As we all know, the release of the first baseball card series in 1989 changed the hobby forever with its glossy, high-quality cards and beautiful action photos.
In those days, you could buy the rights to all the sports since exclusives weren’t a thing yet. Therefore, Upper Deck tried their hand at all the sports. That is why, in 1990-91, the company first put out a hockey release.
Today, we associate the flagship hockey release with the beloved Young Guns inserts. Indeed, the release featured them. However, they did not catch on at first and were discontinued. Upper Deck hockey caught on anyway and became the main release in the sport.
But things got better. In the 1999-2000 release, a new and improved limited Young Guns insert was included. The rarity and attractiveness made those the top rookie cards for the sport and among the most beloved in the hobby altogether.
The release was ready for a meteoric rise into what it is today. The brand is most associated with hockey cards. And it isn’t close.
The 2005-06 release was significant in cementing the role of the release. That year, the incredible crop of Young Guns included Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, both absolute legends with outstanding achievements.
In the years since its release, it has maintained a unique standing in the hobby. However, its position has eroded, much like that of other flagship products. The more high-end and specialized products that Upper Deck flooded the market with competed with and sometimes superseded its role.
A couple of bad recent releases did not help. Still, this is an inseparable and vital part of the release calendar.
Shop for 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey boxes on eBay
Whining and moaning about release dates is totally my thing. But this time, Upper Deck has given me nothing to complain about. The release date for 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey is October 7, 2024. Meanwhile, the NHL regular season starts three days earlier.
This is what a flagship release should be like. Well, okay. Maybe a couple of weeks before the season would be better. But compared to other releases, this is fantastic.
Like most flagship products, Series 1 usually has an excellent selection of retail products alongside the hobby boxes.
The design for the base cards is pretty lackluster. There is just nothing special about it. However, it isn’t terrible, and we aren’t going to put it in the cons column for that reason. The Dazzler inserts stand out as remarkably attractive.
Perhaps the most eye-catching addition to the checklist is the Young Guns Renewed series, described by Upper Deck as “a replica of past Young Guns card, but with a twist: each is infused with original artwork by Luke the Cardist. Series 1 will feature notable Young Guns up through the 2013-14 season.” It looks like a beautiful variation on the beloved rookie’s cards.
Shop for 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey boxes on eBay
The price will be much better this year because there are no names compared to Connor Bedard. I mean, there seldom are. So, you will be able to get products more efficiently. Last year, the problematic boxes were going for about $150 each. Now, at $119.99 a piece, they are much closer to a reasonable market value.
The more minimal configuration that Upper Deck used in 2023-24 was controversial. There were only 12 packs per hobby box, compared to 24 packs per box the year before, so this was a significant change. The change would have been acceptable if there had been a similar number of hits, as promised. However, there were severe problems with the number of Young Guns available.
In my review last year, I wrote, “We are told that each hobby box comes with an average of 6 Young Guns cards. That is certainly a generous amount. But many of the breaks I have seen have had fewer than that, more like 1 or 2. Meanwhile, if you look online, collectors say they bought several boxes without landing a single one. This is a severe problem that may undermine the popularity of this release and leave a bad taste in people’s mouths for the next one.”
We hope that this issue has since been corrected. It was pretty concerning and pertained to the very heart of this product’s appeal.
We don’t have the checklist out yet, so the most critical question, who are the Young Guns, has not been answered yet. The timing means that some late NHL debuts will likely appear in the checklist. Meanwhile, those making debuts during 2024-25 will likely wait until Series 2 or 2025-26.
But we do know a bit about the checklist anyway. As usual, this release contains 250 base cards and 50 Young Guns.
As always, there aren’t too many parallels in this release. Here is the list:
Over the last decade, the product has been very insert-rich. 2023-24 Series 1 will continue that tradition.
These are the classic and most beloved hockey rookie cards. This year, the Young Guns release comes with new sparkly parallels. They have been quite popular with collectors so far. As usual, there are 50 Young Guns, and they arrive in 1:2 packs in hobby boxes.
Aside from the vaunted Young Guns cards, the UD Canvas cards are, without a doubt, the highlight of the flagship hockey release every year. These inserts are modeled after the Topps Stadium Club model of having a bold action picture across the card with no borders. Low-numbered UD Canvas cards have very strong value as inserts in a flagship product.
The Dazzlers inset is familiar, featuring some of the NHL’s flashier players on a background inspired by fireworks. These inserts looked better in previous years. A complete set of earlier years goes for under $200. The go-to low print version in 2023-23 Upper Deck Series 1 is the Pink (1:144 packs).
This new inset is an old-school video game-type design, giving a level of XP (experience points) based on rarity. We like the idea, and it comes in the following parallels:
Value is always an issue with this release. There is an occasional product with a superstar like Bedard, but usually, there are a few solid players and no clear superstars. In those cases, at least traditionally, boxes have often sold for less than their initial price. Let’s take a look at what recent boxes have gone for.
Shop for 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey boxes on eBay
2018-19 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Hobby Box | $258 |
2019-20 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Hobby Box | $299.98 |
2020-21 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Hobby Box | $139.95 |
2021-22 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Hobby Box | $128.99 |
2022-23 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Hobby Box | $110.49 |
2023-24 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Hobby Box | $120.95 |
The values for this product have improved markedly since last year. Perhaps it is the Connor Bedard effect. But many boxes selling way below the current price of a new one have gone up significantly and are now around the buying price.
If this trend continues, you will unlikely lose any money on wax in this release, though you will not be making much.
The best singles in this release (at least from recent years) do not tend to sell for very high prices. Very few are worth over $1,000. Let’s see if that has changed.
AUSTON MATTHEWS 2016-17 UPPER DECK SERIES 1 YOUNG GUNS ROOKIE RC PSA 10 Q1540 | $860 |
RIDLY GREIG 2023-24 UD SERIES 1 YOUNG GUN HIGH GLOSS ROOKIE RC /10 PSA 10 Q1887 | $460 |
The value of singles in this release has always been pretty low, but now it is even lower. It wasn’t easy to find any recent vintage that had sold for a reasonable amount. Any that did were Young Guns.
The changes from last year, when I saw several cards that had sold for over $1,000, and many were over $500, now there was only one in the latter range.
The design and inserts of the new flagship release look good. We don’t have the Young Guns list yet, but it will likely be strong enough. Even the value of wax is significantly up, at least for some of the recent weaker releases. Nonetheless, singles seem to be worth less than ever.
You have to return to some of the classic Young Guns from days of yore to find real value here. It appears that squeezed between all the newer and higher-end releases, Series 1 is losing its value and the interest of collectors.
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