Winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year will often help player’s stock within the hobby – but what happens going forward? In the case of young Vancouver Canucks sensation Elias Pettersson, the sky is the limit and his rookie cards were certainly a must-have for many collectors from the start.
How hot was that start? Well, he kicked things off with two-straight multi-point games against the Calgary Flames as part of a five-game point streak. That run was halted by a minor injury that kept him action for two weeks, but he returned with even more confidence. In his seventh outing, he scored twice – which included the winner – while facing the Minnesota Wild before lighting up the Colorado Avalanche for five points (two goals, three assists) in his ninth contest.
While his offensive outbursts were not as frequent the rest of the way, he did prove to be consistent and delivered a second five-point effort as the Canucks lit up the future Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues on December 9, 2018 – the focal point of a seven-game point streak and ensuring further interest in his Young Guns card that had released a month prior. Adding to that momentum was his first career hat trick which came at the hands of the Ottawa Senators on January 2, 2019.
Invited to skate in the 2019 NHL All-Star Game, he set out to smash several team standards for rookies and surpassed Hall of Famer Pavel Bure with his 61st point of the season with an assist against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 18. While Vancouver failed to make the playoffs, he skated for his native Sweden at the 2019 IIHF World Championship before being awarded the Calder Trophy and being named to the league’s All-Rookie Team.
Key Elias Pettersson Rookie Cards
The first Elias Pettersson card to be released was his Young Guns card found inside packs of 2018-19 Upper Deck Series One. There were a few parallel versions in the form of Acetate, Exclusive, and High Gloss along with those that can be obtain via exchange on Upper Deck’s e-Pack platform. It has been consistently popular throughout the season and he also shares the Young Guns checklist with fellow freshman Rasmus Dahlin.
Those looking for a bargain and not prepared to make the plunge for a Pettersson Young Guns card have plenty of options. His regular O-Pee-Chee card can be found in boxes of 2018-19 Upper Deck Series Two and it has several variants. The O-Pee-Chee Coast to Coast card was part of a release exclusive to Canadian Tire stores north of the border and his 2018-19 Parkhurst rookie card was exclusively found at Wal-Mart. Pettersson has two variations of his rookie card in packs of 2019-20 Overtime which collectors could obtain as a bonus for purchasing Upper Deck products at participating card shops.
The last option for an inexpensive rookie card of Pettersson comes in 2018-19 O-Pee-Chee Platinum. The base version without the autograph is considered to be the rookie card, but that product has a true rainbow of often-limited parallels in addition to autographs and e-Pack exclusives to give collectors plenty to chase.
For those willing to spend a little more, Pettersson’s rookie card in the retail-exclusive 2018-19 SP product is a potential sleeper. Numbered to 1,199, it has a sharp look and may fly under the radar. There is also his card from 2018-19 Trilogy which may appeal to fans of the brand or those who want something that is serial-numbered (to 999) without breaking the bank.
When it comes to high-end rookie cards, there is plenty to choose from for the reigning Calder Trophy winner. The old reliable comes in the form of his 2018-19 SP Authentic Future Watch autograph. A brand that has been around a long time, SP Authentic traditionally offers up some of the most coveted rookie cards each season – and this Pettersson card is no exception. With just 999 copies out there, it will be costly, but could have a nice-long term impact in the hobby.
If y
ou want something a bit more limited, be sure to check out his rookie issues from 2018-19 SPx and the debuting 2018-19 Engrained. However, neither one is autographed. Pettersson’s rookie cards get even scarcer. In 2018-19 ICE, his card is from the top tier of Ice Premieres and just 99 of them are out there. If you want something even flashier, it may be worth checking out 2018-19 Black Diamond as his card there is a Quad Diamond Relic Rookie and has four stones embedded into it.
The scarcest issued to the hobby, though, are from 2018-19 SP Game-Used and 2018-19 Synergy. In the case of the SP Game-Used card, it is numbered out of 40 – which just happens to match the digits on his jersey. The Synergy card is certainly the most limited of his true rookie cards (numbered to 9), but that product has several parallels within it which make it easy to own something similar for a lot less money.
Still to come, however, is Pettersson’s rookie card from 2019-20 The Cup – pending an announcement of the product hitting the market, of course. On top of that 2018-19 Premier should have an autographed rookie patch card as well.
Plenty of Autographs and Memorabilia
All told, Elias Pettersson was depicted on over 300 different cards produced by Upper Deck during the 2018-19 season and there are many more to come before 2019-20 Upper Deck Series One hits in November. There are close to 100 different autograph cards on the market prior to 2019-20 Upper Deck MVP hitting store shelves and that number is expected to increase with the late 2018-19 releases coming to market.
As for memorabilia cards, there are actually less of them out there than autographs. Many of these cards will feature player-worn swatches, but those with patch pieces have strong demand – especially if they also feature a signature.
Moving Forward
As Pettersson enters his sophomore campaign, there is little doubt that Upper Deck will be featuring him prominently in its releases. Should more signed cards be on the way, collector demand may soften slightly if he does not perform at a similar pace.
With the Canucks essentially having nowhere to go but up, the odds are good that the demand for Pettersson’s cards should remain somewhat steady. He is the team’s marquee name, but some of his teammates could potentially garner interest in the hobby. Brock Boeser could break out after two decent seasons and rookie Quinn Hughes is going to be a nice pull in early-season products. Adam Gaudette is bound to experience an increase in his numbers and goaltender Thatcher Demko may finally get a longer look.
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