Nearly five months after Series 1 arrived on the market, the annual late season flagship follow up from Upper Deck is about to land. For the many collectors chasing Young Guns rookie cards, it’s a much anticipated product. 2022-23 Upper Deck Series 2 is set for release on April 5.
As usual, Young Guns cards are inserted at 1:4 packs, or an average of six per hobby box. Series 2 offers at least five rookies that collectors are paying close attention to.
Last year’s first overall draft pick, Juraj Slafkovsky, is the first Young Guns card in Series 2 (#451). The player who was expected to be picked throughout most of the season, Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken, is also in the Young Guns set as card #75. Dylan Guenther of the Arizona Coyotes is another blue chip rookie to watch for in this set, as are Dallas rookie Wyatt Johnston and Edmonton’s Dylan Holloway.
Three of the players to pay close attention to are defensemen. While the hockey market has always been driven by high-scoring forwards with the exception of players like Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey and names like Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin, the recent popularity of Cale Makar has made collectors give a second look to defensemen. Brandt Clarke of the Kings, Kaiden Guhle of the Canadiens and likely Calder Trophy candidate Jake Sanderson of the Senators all have rookie cards in this set.
But obviously, there is more to Upper Deck series 2 than just the Young Guns.
Base set cards 251-450 are a continuation from Series 1. There is no change to the formula there. It is once again heavy with parallels with French (1:30 hobby, 1:30 e-Pack), Clear Cut – (1:96 hobby packs), Exclusives (#/100) and High Gloss (#/10).
Young Guns parallels seeding is slightly different, with French (1:120 hobby, 1:120 e-Pack), Clear Cut (1:288 hobby packs), Exclusives (#/100) and High Gloss (#/10).
Heavy With Inserts
For insert chasers, 2022-23 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey will not disappoint.
UD Canvas is back with an expanded checklist of players. While UD Canvas in Series 1 included 120 plyers, the set’s Series 2 continuation has 150 cards to take the total insert set up to 270 cards. There are also UD Canvas one-of-one printing plates randomly inserted. There are four printing plates used for each card – black, magenta, cyan and yellow.
The breakdown of the UD Canvas insert set includes 90 veterans (1:8 packs), 30 Young Guns (1:48 packs), 15 Retired players which range in eras from King Clancy from the early days of the NHL to more recent stars like Eric Lindros, Mark Messier and Rick Nash. There are also 15 Program of Excellence Canvas Parallels (1:192 packs) which feature 14 young stars from the Canadian development program plus Eric Lindros.
Among the rookie-focused inserts are Calder Candidates (1:37) which includes a Gold Parallel (1:739) as well as printing plates.
The Dazzlers insert series continues from Series 1 with 50 cards with Blue cards falling one per box (1:24) and a Pink variation (1:144). There are also Dazzlers printing plates randomly inserted in packs.
Fluorescence also returns with a rookie-focused 50-card serial numbered set that comes in four parallels – Gold (#/150), Blue (#/50), Green (#/15), and Magenta (#/5).
Population Count is another rookie-themed insert set of 30 cards which is a continuation from Series 1. The parallels are number-themed to match their print run. (Population Count 1000, Population Count 500, Population Count 100, Population Count 50, Population Count 25, Population Count 10, and Population Count 1).
UD Portraits is also a rookie-themed insert set of 40 cards, continued from Series 1. Cards 41-70 are 1:14 packs with a Silver Parallel numbered to 99. Cards 71-80 drop 1:120 packs with a Silver Parallel numbered to 25.
Rookie Materials memorabilia cards also feature rookies. Jersey cards are 1:144 hobby packs, with Patch parallels serial numbered to 25. There are 30 rookies in the checklist, including Matty Beniers, Juraj Slafkovsky, Shane Wright, Brandt Clark, Kent Johnson and more.
Debut Insert Sets
There are also new insert sets in Upper Deck Series 2.
Highlighters is printed on clear acetate stock and features 25 of the top moments from the 2021-22 NHL season. Versions of this insert are available in Yellow (1:192 packs), Orange (1:576), Pink (1:1,536) and Green (1:4,608).
Lunch Box Legends is a set with a unique design inspired by 1970s school lunch boxes. They are inserted 1:16 packs with a Gold parallel at 1:320 packs. Printing plates are also randomly inserted.
Other insert sets include Greetings From, which focus on the player’s home area and World Junior Grads (1:20 hobby packs). Both also have Gold parallels and printing plates.
Calder Candidates also returns for the first time in nearly 30 years. They are included 1:37 packs with a Gold parallel at 1:739 and printing plates.
Average Box Break
According to Upper Deck, a typical box of UD Series 2 will include:
6 Young Guns Cards
5 Calder Candidates, Greetings From, Lunch Box Legends
and/or World Juniors Grads Cards
4 UD Canvas Cards (Includes Young Guns®)
2 UD Portraits Rookies Cards (Includes SP’s)
2 Honor Roll Cards
1 Regular Base Set or Young Guns French Parallel Card
1 Instant Impressions Card
1 Blue Dazzlers Card
1 Base Set – Clear Cut Parallel (incl. Young Guns), Highlighters
(Yellow or Orange), Rookie Materials or Other Hit Card
1 Additional Hit
Hobby boxes are $120-$130 online with blaster boxes at around $30.
2022-23 NHL Upper Deck Series 2 Checklist
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