Young Guns

The last 24 hours or so my social media feed has been swamped with Connor Bedard Young Guns photos. 

Literally dozens and dozens of them. 

Now, I’m not going to drone on about this card in particular.. today anyhow. 

But I do want to give people a little rundown on the cards themselves, and why they are such an important facet of the hockey hobby. 

Believe it not, I was in the hockey hobby when the first Upper Deck Young Guns rookie cards landed in the wax product.

In fact, in 1990-91, when these first Young Guns rookie cards appeared, my brother and I were pretty deep into the hobby, and already a fixture as a dealer set up at card shows all over the area.

And, believe it or not, hockey was a pretty fair chunk of our business. 

Not only because we were based in Detroit, but also because Upper Deck did a magnificent job of promoting the sport within the hobby, and the Young Guns rookie cards were a big part of this plan.

Back then, we were ripping cases of Upper Deck looking for Pavel Bure and Sergei Fedorov, in particular, and when you were fortunate enough to find those up-and-coming superstars, the return was very good. 

Despite the buzz in my area, the subset wasn’t getting collectors too excited outside of the pocket areas. 

So, the subset vanished from packs after the 1992-93 season.

It returned briefly to Upper Deck’s Collector’s Choice product in 1995-96 (after the league’s lockout ended), then, after a couple seasons, it was gone again.

In 1999-00, however, Upper Deck decided to revive the subset. 

This time, collector’s couldn’t get enough of it. 

In the 20-plus years since it reemerged, little has changed within the hobby when it comes to the Young Guns subset. 

The set is undoubtedly among the most coveted non-autographed rookie cards out there, and hockey card collectors simply love them. 

Year after year, it’s the chase for hockey card fanatics, and year after year, the values of some of the game’s great players continues to rise. 

Why am I telling you all this?

Simple — I want to see more people enter the hockey market, and Young Guns is the perfect way to delve into this small but amazing segment of the hobby.

Now, you don’t have to run out and buy a 2015 Upper Deck Young Guns Connor McDavid PSA 10 to the tune of about $2,300, but you could start with a few players you feel may pan out over the next several years. 

Perhaps a 2019 Jack Hughes ($300 in a PSA 10) or even a 2021 Cole Caufield ($220 in a PSA 10 slab).

Both these Young Guns would be a really great start to any hockey collection. 

Regardless of who you choose to start, or improve,  your collection, this subset is timeless and it’s wonderful, and rather affordable by today’s standards.

It’s also a wonderful way to start exploring the wonderful world of hockey cards. 

I can promise you, based on personal experience and the testimony of many, you’ll be glad you did.

More Nonsense

In case you missed it, John Dudley found a drop in grading card premiums that could have a major impact in the hobby. Check it out here.