The Young Guns Chronicles Part 3: Lockout to Lockout

Rising from the ashes of the lost 2004-05 NHL season, Upper Deck used its new exclusive license to produce 19 mainstream hockey card sets in 2005-06. Some were legacy properties acquired by the company - including Fleer and Parkhurst. Some were brand new products, such as Artifacts and the ground-breaking, game-changing, ultra-high end release The Cup.

And long ago somebody left with The Cup..

High-end and low-end releases alike were gobbled up by hockey card collectors. The perfect storm of an unprecedented labor dispute, an exclusive license, and a pair of generational prospects entering the NHL allowed Upper Deck to take full advantage of the "double rookie class." Unsurprisingly, the flagship series exploded in popularity and has produced two iconic rookie cards that currently sell for well over $1,000 each.

2005-06 Upper Deck
base set: 487 cards
Young Guns: 87 cards

Arguably the most popular modern hockey card set ever released thanks to a treasure trove of inserts and Young Guns rookie cards. Each series contained 200 base cards, though Series One had 42 Young Guns at the end and Series Two added 45 for a total of 87 rookies - Sidney Crosby's jersey number. Coincidence? (probably not.)

 

 

To sweeten the pot, Upper Deck added a "Where's Sidney?" Easter Egg hunt, prompting eagle-eyed collectors to seek out the Sidney Crosby logo on various items and websites in exchange for a Crosby prize pack. 

Stars/Fan Favorites in this set: Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry, Dion Phaneuf, Zach Parise, Henrik Lundqvist, Cam Ward, and Duncan Keith in Series One. Alex Ovechkin, Jeff Carter, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Suter, Thomas Vanek, and Spittin' Chiclets co-host Ryan Whitney in Series Two. Yeah, this set was loaded.

Who's that guy? With that list of notable names it's much tougher to pull a dud from this set than usual. Still, unless you're building the set (or you're a hardcore team collector) it would be disappointing to chase Crosby or Ovechkin and end up with Jeff Hoggan, Barry Tallackson, Greg Jacina, or Timo Helbling. Obscure goalie cameos include Adam Berkhoel (9 NHL games), Dimitri Patzold (3 games) and Jordan Sigalet (one game).

Forgetting someone? If Upper Deck hadn't planned to produce exactly 87 Young Guns, perhaps they would have included Mark Streit and Pekka Rinne. Both players debuted in 2005 and were included in other Upper Deck issues such as SP Authentic and Ultimate Collection. Rinne in particular is a major reason I spotlight players who didn't get Young Guns rookie cards. 

Forgetting someone? (Part two) Was Mike Green's rookie card included in the base (non-YG) portion because the Capitals didn't have enough notable veterans to fill out the checklist? Or because four Caps Young Guns would have been overkill? Or because UD was determined to limit themselves to 87 YGs? 

2006-07 Upper Deck
base set: 495 cards
Young Guns: 95 cards

The '05-06 edition was a tough act to follow, but Upper Deck continued using their successful formula of 200 base cards in each series. This time, Series One contained 50 Young Guns while Series Two's YG pool was shortened to 21 to match Evgeni Malkin's jersey number. I'm kidding. (There were 45 rookies in S2.)

Stars/Fan Favorites in this set: Phil Kessel, Dustin Byfuglien, Paul Statsny, Anze Kopitar, Shea Weber, Travis Zajac, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Who's that guy? This was one of the few post-lockout Upper Deck sets I didn't attempt to complete, specifically because of the sheer volume of random obscure players in the Young Guns subset. For every Malkin, Kopitar, or Pavelski there are at least four guys like Martin Houle, Carsen Germyn, Alexei Kaigorodov, Masi Marjamaki, Konstantin Pushkarev, David McKee, Mike Card, and so on. I swear these are real players.

Forgetting someone? Upper Deck included those guys but they didn't put Ryan Callahan, Joel Ward, or David Backes in their flagship set? At least Backes had RCs in SP Authentic and Ultimate Collection.

2007-08 Upper Deck
base set: 500 cards
Young Guns: 100 cards

Okay, now we've arrived at the set that starts the tradition of 200 base cards/50 Young Guns/200 base cards/50 Young Guns. A perfectly tidy set size that Upper Deck should never fuck with. [Spoiler alert: they're gonna fuck with it.]

Stars/Fan Favorites in this set: Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Patrick Kane, Carey Price, Jaroslav Halak, Nicklas Backstrom, Tuukka Rask, Jonathan Toews.

Who's that guy? Upper Deck was stretching the 'Young' part of their title with Jaroslav Hlinka, a 31 year-old veteran of the Czech league who played for the Avalanche in 2007-08, then returned to play in his home country. 2004 lottery pick Lauri Tukonen (11th overall) played five games for the Kings before returning to his native Finland. Your obligatory Flames backup goalie is Matt Keetley, who made a grand total of two saves in nine minutes of NHL action.

Forgetting someone? Steve Downie debuted for the Flyers on December 5th 2007. He was included in Series Two. The next day, a 21 year-old goaltender from Milford, Connecticut made his NHL debut. Don't tell me Jonathan Quick missed the cutoff for inclusion. Upper Deck simply whiffed on this future Conn Smythe winner and two-time Stanley Cup champ. 

2008-09 Upper Deck
base set: 500 cards
Young Guns: 100 cards

Since there's no changes in set composition to report (yet) let's take a look at which teams have the most - and least - Young Guns rookie cards in each set.

Most Young Guns RCs: Blue Jackets (9)

Least Young Guns RCs: Blackhawks (0)

Stars/Fan Favorites in this set: Blake Wheeler, Jakub Voracek, James Neal, T.J. Oshie, Drew Doughty, Claude Giroux, Alex Pietrangelo, Steven Stamkos, Semyon Varlamov, Josh Bailey

Who's that guy? Every Young Guns subject in this set played at least three NHL games. Blue Jackets forward Adam Pineault played that many games in 2007-08. Goalie Dan Taylor did one better - but it took him ten years to earn his fourth (and final) NHL appearance.

Forgetting someone? Max Pacioretty made his NHL debut on January 2, 2009 - just missing the cutoff for flagship inclusion. "Patches" appeared in late-season Upper Deck sets such as SP Authentic, Ultimate Collection, and The Cup. Social media personality Paul Bissonnette (Whitney's co-host on "Spittin' Chiclets") debuted on Opening Night, but UD passed on giving him a Young Guns RC.

2009-10 Upper Deck
base set: 500 cards
Young Guns: 100 cards

 

A parade of top draft picks who quickly became NHL superstars increased demand for Upper Deck hockey cards and Young Guns in particular. (Kane wasn't one of them; I just wanted to show an Atlanta Thrashers card.) Collectors would have plenty more prospects to chase as the 2010s arrived.

Most Young Guns RCs: Avalanche (8)

Least Young Guns RCs: Hurricanes (0), Blue Jackets (0), Coyotes (0) Columbus must have emptied out the cupboard the year prior, going from the most rookies in the set to none.

Stars/Fan Favorites in this set: John Tavares, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, Jamie Benn, Ryan O'Reilly, Brad Marchand, Logan Couture, John Carlson, Braden Holtby

Who's that guy? Danny Irmen, Alexander Salak, Brian Salcido, and Kris Chucko played two NHL games each, but only Chucko was a first round pick -- by the Flames. Grant Lewis, Perttu Lindgren, and Riku Helenius each played one NHL game. Helenius, a goaltender drafted by Tampa Bay, was the only first-round pick of the three. Daniel Larsson (Red Wings) is the only dressed-as-a-backup goalie in the set who didn't see NHL action.

Forgetting someone? Not really. Perhaps Jay Beagle could have been included, but you can't fault Upper Deck for overlooking a fourth-line grinder who wouldn't stick on an NHL roster for a full season until 2012-13. This is why 50 Young Guns per series is a winning strategy -- no late-blooming prospects slip through the cracks.

 

2010-11 Upper Deck
base set: 500 cards
Young Guns: 100 cards

The 2010 NHL Draft was all about Taylor vs. Tyler. Seguin (the #2 overall pick) has won a Stanley Cup, but Hall (#1 overall) earned a Hart trophy as league MVP. Both players currently star for first-place squads and have a near-equal amount of career points. Upper Deck balanced their flagship set by including Hall in Series One and Seguin in Series Two.

Most Young Guns RCs: Devils (10)

Least Young Guns RCs: Red Wings (0), Canucks (0)

Stars/Fan Favorites in this set: Jeff Skinner, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Brayden Schenn, P.K. Subban, Nazem Kadri, Tyler Seguin, Kevin Shattenkirk, Nino Niederreiter, Robin Lehner

Who's that guy? No zero-game goalies in this set, but two netminders (Mark Dekanich and Matt Zaba) saw just one game of NHL action. They're joined by Jamie Arniel, who played one game at forward for the Bruins in 2010. On a personal note, I thought that Zac Dalpe was an obscure one-season wonder, and was stunned to find out that he is still active and is on pace for a career year at age 33.

Forgetting someone? Currently a Devils winger, Tomas Tatar debuted for Detroit on New Year's Eve 2010. Upper Deck included him in SP Authentic and Ultimate Collection but not flagship.

Forgetting someone? (Part two) Ducks rookie Nick Bonino appears in this set twice, with one Young Gun in each series. Was there a shortage of rookies to fill out 50 for Series Two, or did UD actually forget they included him in S1? And if they intentionally repeated a prospect, why would it be Bonino?

 

2011-12 Upper Deck
base set: 500 cards
Young Guns: 100 cards

The rookie star power dimmed a bit but Upper Deck's popularity marched on. Series One began with Winnipeg Jets - still pictured as Atlanta Thrashers - as the base cards appeared in reverse order alphabetically. (In case anyone was tired of Anaheim always going first.) The Young Guns portion does start with the Ducks and ends with Jets 2.0; Carl Klingberg is the first player pictured in the new Jets' uniform.

Most Young Guns RCs: Predators (7), Flyers (7). Of note, there were no Sabres Young Guns in Series One.. but there were six in Series Two.

Least Young Guns RCs: Bruins (0)

Stars/Fan Favorites in this set: Justin Faulk, Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mika Zibanejad, Mark Schiefele, Ryan Johansen, Gustav Nyqvist, Roman Josi

Who's that guy? Lots of randos in Series Two: Mike Murphy, David McIntyre, Kris Freidheim, Stu Bickel, Carl Sneep, Cade Fairchild, and Bill Sweatt are among the names only hardcore fans would remember. Harri Sateri was included in this set but wouldn't appear in an NHL game until 2018. The Finnish netminder earned a second stint in the NHL (with the Coyotes) after a gold medal-winning performance in the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Forgetting someone? Andrew Shaw was omitted from the base set, but he was given a Young Guns card in the Canvas insert set.

2012-13 Upper Deck
base set: 250 cards*
Young Guns: 50 cards

Just as the flagship Upper Deck hockey set was settling into a nice, dependable rythym... another NHL lockout loomed. Did UD make the same mistake of advertising a 'Series One' when there would be no Series Two? Yes. However, because the 2012-13 NHL season was not cancelled, UD did add another 50 base cards - as inserts in that year's SP Authentic set. No Young Guns rookies were included in this extension.

Most Young Guns RCs: Bruins (5), Wild (5)

Least Young Guns RCs: The Devils, Penguins, Canucks, Capitals, and Jets were all shut out.

Stars/Fan Favorites in this set: Torey Krug, Tyson Barrie, Reilly Smith, Jason Zucker, Casey Cizikas, Chris Kreider, Jakob Silfverberg, Mark Stone, Jake Allen, Jaden Schwartz. A strong group considering Upper Deck held back several players who debuted in 2013 for another double rookie class in their '13-14 set.

Who's that guy? Minnesota didn't get much mileage out of their five Young Guns. Tyler Cuma, Chay Genoway, and Kris Foucault played one NHL game apiece, while Warren Peters entered just 96 NHL contests. (At least Jason Zucker is still active.)

Forgetting someone? Every qualifying rookie of note that was not included in this set was purposely held back for the 2013-14 edition. That set will start off episode four of this series, which will cover the ten most recent Upper Deck flagship hockey issues.

 

 

Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas to all the trading card collectors out there!

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