For the hundreds of prospects currently skating in the American Hockey League, making it this far in their respective careers is all part of the goal of eventually becoming a full-time NHL player.

At the beginning of the 2018-19 season, there were 660 AHL graduates on opening night rosters for all 31 NHL clubs. This meant that more than 83 percent of NHL players had skated in at least one game at the AHL level and many of them have even been a part of Upper Deck’s AHL collections since we started releasing them back in 2013-14.

Naturally, there are some talents which are brought along a bit more slowly than others and they get an opportunity to shine for fans throughout North America before moving on to the next phase of their career. As they compete for the Calder Cup, savvy collectors keep an eye on who could be an impact player and local fans clamor for cards featuring their heroes. With 2018-19 Upper Deck AHL Hockey, there is a strong mix of fan favorites, prospects on the edge of making it, and fresh faces that are destined for glory. It all starts with a 100-card base set and 40 short printed base cards and this year’s lineup may be our best to date.
http://upperdeckblog.com/2019/04/on-...r+Deck+Blog%29