First Look: 2014-15 Upper Deck Series 2

[pwaldo]

http://www.beckett.com/news/2014/11/...deck-series-2/

Even though the first series has barely hit store shelves, plans for 2014-15 Upper Deck Series 2 have just been released and hockey collectors can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that a Young Guns card of Tampa Bay Lightning rookie Jonathan Drouin is on the way.

Hitting the hobby in February, this release will also be bolstered by the presence of several other top freshmen which should include Andre Burakovsky of the Washington Capitals and recent debut Bo Horvat of the Vancouver Canucks. The popular Rookie Materials cards are set to return as well along with O-Pee-Chee Update Rookies that will help finish off that well-loved set.

As expected, there will be a large 200-card basic set which features the photography collectors have come to expect from Upper Deck over the past 25 seasons. UD Canvas will continue in packs as well and several Young Guns are in it as well plus shortprinted cards of NHL greats and Program of Excellence graduates. In addition to the O-Pee-Chee Rookies mentioned above, there will be base set cards along with Retro and Red Border parallels.

Upper Deck has also added some more value to packs with all-new UD Portraits cards. This “set within a set” is expected to be popular with collectors as there will be rare rookie and legend content.

The Hockey Heroes insert collection appears to draw to a close as well with the current decade being covered. A staple in the brand in recent years, there is always great interest in the autographed versions which fall at traditionally long odds. There will also be the final group of cards for the incredibly scarce Day With The Cup set that features members of the Los Angeles Kings. Naturally, hobbyists will also be able to find UD Game Jersey cards, which have been a staple in the product for well over a decade.

[mingus_md]

I am a little surprised to see OPC updates in Series II. Upper Deck is showing restraint in not releasing a standalone OPC update set, which I like. I am also interested to see if there will be more Buyback Autos and/or NCAA Young Guns in Series II. Looking forward to it.

[eliteco3]

This looks incredible. I want that Drouin card. I wonder how much they will sell for. $50 or less.

[RGM81]

Depends how he fares the next few weeks. Barring decline in production and/or more time in the pressbox, I think he'll outsell the rest of the crop.

[eliteco3]

Depends how he fares the next few weeks. Barring decline in production and/or more time in the pressbox, I think he'll outsell the rest of the crop.

RGM81, could you educate me on the top 20 YG Rookies to collect for this hockey season. I want to learn about these up and coming stars.

[KingKuba]

Drouin card looks good...
Rookie materials...looks blah....last years looked better.

[RGM81]

RGM81, could you educate me on the top 20 YG Rookies to collect for this hockey season. I want to learn about these up and coming stars.

Top 20, what am I, NHL Central Scouting? LOL

You can get a pretty good idea of who's hot, who's not, etc. fairly easily. The big prospects and the guys playing in the big cities always get the most attention, but I think there's the potential for a couple "under the radar" steals to be had. Sissons in Nashville and Severson in New Jersey--yeah, both recent Kelowna Rockets alumni--are off to good starts to their careers. Severson's a blueliner though, and in New Jersey...so you can probably score his stuff for really cheap.

Top guys are shaping up to be: Drouin, Reinharts (both Max and Sam), Ekblad, Gaudreau, I think Horvat will get some love, Draisatl (sp? the Edmonton rookie)--likely none will set the hobby world on fire, but they're all pretty darn solid guys having good starts.

[jagrnyr68]

Have to imagine Mantha could give Drouin a run for his money depending on how he does when he debuts, believe he just started playing in the AHL so shouldn't be too much longer til he gets the call

[Channel Ocho]

Those rookie materials look very amateurish to me like someone's mock up in Photoshop

[RGM81]

That's because they, um, are mock-ups.