The Stanley Cup playoffs are underway and for hockey card collectors and fans of the game, there’s no better time to see which players can raise their profile.
Upper Deck Series 2 has been out for a couple of weeks, and some high-end products are in the pipeline. Big hockey card and memorabilia shows ramp up the excitement in Toronto and Edmonton – two teams entering the postseason with high expectations – while Boston, one of the biggest hockey markets in the world, is home to possibly the best team in regular season history.
Last week, I was fortunate enough to be a guest on the Insert Revolution Podcast. I broke down each series and talked about which rookie cards could be most affected by the playoffs. Now that we are deep into the first round, we have had a good look at whose cards have the most to gain, and the most to lose, based on what happens on the ice.
To keep things apples-to-apples, I will be focusing mainly on their Upper Deck Young Guns card without parallel or autograph variations to keep everything on an even playing field. And if you are looking for a trend, you will notice that over the last decade, the Series 2 Young Guns have a lot of these stars.
Boston vs. Florida
Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins seems now and fresh to hockey fans, but he is not young. He is a 29-year-old who has been around for a few years, but has broken through to become the NHL’s best goalie this season. Sure, there are some Rangers and Lightning fans who will disagree, but what Ullmark did this year is reminiscent of late 1990s Dominik Hasek, when the Dominator was way beyond the rest of the pack when it came to his Terry Sawchuk-like GAA and save percentage.
Ullmark’s Young Guns rookie cards are found in 2015-16 Upper Deck Series 2, card #472. Ullmark had an insane 40-6-0-1 record this year and his league-leading .938 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average were far better than any other NHL goalie who played enough games to qualify to be league leaders.
No Bruins player had a breakthrough year like Ullmark. And when he dropped the gloves and threw down his mask to have a go with Matthew Tkachuk, he instantly became a fan favorite.
Ullmark’s cards have been picking up steam on eBay with the regular and Canvas versions both moving.
For Florida, the player that stands the most to gain in the hobby is Alex Lyon. His rise from hobby obscurity to the spotlight reminds me a lot of when Steve Penney suddenly emerged as a star in the playoffs in Montreal’s post-Dryden era.
With Spencer Knight entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in late February, Lyon got his chance. Down the stretch, the 30-year-old goalie went 6-1-1 with a 1.87 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. He put the Panthers on his back and carried them into the playoffs.
Then Lyon did the unthinkable. He beat the Bruins in Game 2. It’s a longshot, but he might be the only goalie who takes a game from the juggernaut B’s this post-season.
Lyon made his cardboard debut in the 2017-18 Upper Deck AHL set. He is yet to have an NHL rookie card, which already makes Upper Deck’s 2023-24 hockey products worth looking forward to.
Toronto vs. Tampa Bay
Is this the year the Leafs finally win a playoff series?
Everyone in The Six thinks so.
Auston Matthews is already one of the most highly-collectible players in the NHL. Matthews and Mitch Marner are certainly the most popular Toronto Maple Leafs since Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark.
Matthews has a lot to gain with a big run in the playoffs, but if the Leafs don’t beat Tampa Bay and maybe go a series deeper, his cards will cool off quickly. Marner’s will too.
But since my appearance on Insert Revolution Podcast, I have completely gone in another direction on this. Ilya Samsonov entered the playoffs with only one playoff win in seven career playoff games. After stealing a win from the Lightning in Game 3 Saturday night – Samsonov has tripled his playoff win total in just one week – his 2018-19 Upper Deck Young Guns card #463 and all of its variations were sizzling hot on the show floor Sunday at the Sport Card and Memorabilia Expo in Toronto.
But don’t count out the Lightning just yet.
Another Stanley Cup will cement Andrei Vasilevskiy as one of the greatest goalies in NHL history. He will go down in history with the likes of Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. He may already be there.
Vasilevskiy’s Young Guns rookie card is in the 2014-15 Upper Deck Series 2, card number 478. Expect to spend at least $250 for a good one. He also appeared in 2013-14 KHL sets, including Topps KHL Stars.
Carolina vs. New York Islanders
Sebastien Aho is known as the main offensive cog in the Hurricanes machine, but they have another big offensive weapon who is not a well-known entity but will be soon.
Martin Necas, a 24 year-old center from Czechia, was drafted 12th overall in 2017. He had a breakout year this season with 28 goals and 43 assists for 71 points in 82 games, all career highs. He is a great set up man, particularly on the power play. If Carolina goes deep, collectors will wake up to him.
Necas had his Upper Deck Young Guns card in 2017-18 Upper Deck Series 2, card #464. Right now, they’re still very cheap.
For the Islanders, Ilya Sorokin almost singlehandedly put the Islanders in the playoffs. He may be overmatched to carry them any further. His rookie card is 2021 Upper Deck series 2 #461.
One footnote on this series. Take note that there is a Sebastien Aho on each team. What are the odds of that?
New York Rangers vs. New Jersey
There are so many stars on the Rangers and they are always poised to make a run. On the Insert Revolution Podcast, I talked about how the most volatile Rangers card might be the Alexis Lafreniere Upper Deck Young Guns card. It is in 2020-21 Upper Deck Series 1, card #201, and it came out when the hobby was really ramping up during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the card was released, it was immediately selling for $300 raw or $900 graded 9 or 10. If you spent that for that card at that time, well, uh oh. This is the year Lafreniere has to make a difference in the playoffs or risk becoming Alexandre Daigle 2.0 in the hobby.
The one card off the radar in this series is perhaps one has garnered the most attention in the hobby over the past couple of years. The 1994-95 Pinnacle Sylvain Turgeon card #288 includes a six-year-old Patrick Kane sitting on his dad’s lap, wearing his Pat LaFontaine jersey, at the front row of the Aud in Buffalo.
If the Rangers go on a run and Kane leads the way, this card will blow up. For now, you can still own one for the price of a good meal.
For New Jersey, everything is in place for Jack Hughes to grab the hobby spotlight with a Devils playoff run. He scored twice in the first three games of the series. His rookie card is in 2019-20 Upper Deck Series 1, card #201.
Edmonton vs. Los Angeles
For those of us in the Eastern time zone, the Western Conference has taught us to record the late games and add an extra hour or two in case of overtime.
Connor McDavid is the king of the hobby for anything not involving Wayne Gretzky. But that would be too easy and too cliché to talk about him. Leon Draisaitl is the player we are looking for to play a big role in an Oilers run.
After Game 4, which was one of the most memorable games of this year’s playoffs, Draisaitl was leading all scorers with five goals and four assists for nine points. In 41 playoff games, he had 23 goals and 45 assists for 68 points.
When we think of great tandems in the 1980s and 1990s, we think of Jordan and Pippen, and Gretzky and Kurri. McDavid and Draisaitl are like Gretzky and Jordan.
Draisatl’s Young Guns rookie card is in 2014-15 Upper Deck Series 1, card #223. They start at a few hundred dollars and go up.
For the Kings, this is the chance for Quinton Byfield to declare whether he is a hobby blue chipper or a hobby bust. Drafted second overall, behind Lafreniere, in 2020, Byfield has just eight goals in 99 games. In the playoffs, he has two assists in six career games. His Young Guns card is in 2021-22 Upper Deck Series 2, card #488.
Vegas vs. Winnipeg
It’s hard to believe that this is the first taste of playoff hockey for Jack Eichel. Early in the series, he is making the most of it with three goals in three games. Eichel was featured predominantly in 2015 Leaf products. His NHL Yong Guns rookie card is in 2015-16 Upper Deck Series 2, card #451 and remains pretty budget friendly.
For Winnipeg, Kyle Connor is the guy who could take his collectability to a higher level with a playoff run.
Connor has been a 30-plus goal scorer in five of the last six years. He scored 26 in 56 games in the shortened 2020-21 season. He has three points in the first three games of the series against the Golden Knights.
His Young Guns rookie card is in 2016-17 Upper Deck Series 1, card #212.
Colorado vs. Seattle
We have already have big card value explosions from Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. So it only makes sense that first year Avs goalie Alexandar Georgiev could see his cards skyrocket if the Avs go on another run.
Georgiev’s rookie card is a bit harder to find, which will only add to its mystique. It appears in the 2017-18 Upper Deck Update set as SP Authenitic card #514.
Jared McCann is a late bloomer in the NHL, and he led the Kraken with 40 goals this year. McCann’s cards go back to 2012-13 Leaf, but his NHL Yong Guns rookie card was in 2015-16 Upper Deck, the very inexpensive card #219.
It’s also worth mentioning that Matty Beniers, the likely Calder Trophy winner, is getting prime time exposure in the playoffs and is playing well. He is in 2022-23 Upper Deck Series 1 set, card #213. Raw copies have been selling for $50-$60. Over $155,000 worth have been sold on eBay so far.
Dallas vs. Minnesota
Wyatt Johnston has played very well in the playoffs, and that is coming off a year when he led all rookies with 24 goals. A good run by the Stars and Johnston will give instant legs to the new 2022-23 Upper Deck Series 2 set. His Young Guns card is #459 and has yet to really take off.
When you collect his cards, be careful. There is another hockey player named Wyatt Johnson. Make sure you bid on the Johnston with a ‘t’.
The last player is the one that hurts for me, as an Ottawa Senators fan. Filip Gustavsson was discarded in a trade for Cam Talbot. In Ottawa, Talbot was injured on multiple occasions and was good, but not great. He was a one-and-done and will not be back.
Gustavsson has been outstanding for the Wild with a .941 save percentage and a 1.72 goals against average through three games. His Young guns rookie card is in 2021-22 Upper Deck #225 and won’t cost you much of anything.
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