2020-21 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey

This is the base set that launched the 2020-21 NHL season right as hockey was clawing its way back from the pandemic shutdown. Upper Deck's Series 1 features the usual suspects, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon leading the charge, but the real story is rookie cards. Alexis Lafreniere, the first overall pick, anchors a solid class of young talent hitting the market. The set sits at 200 cards in the base checklist, fairly standard for a modern UD release. You're looking at standard parallels here, nothing too flashy or hard to pull, which means the base set has aged well in terms of accessibility if you're hunting for specific players. What moves product is the hunt for short prints and young star parallels. Gold borders and exclusives come standard in hobby boxes, and Series 1 respects the traditional tiered approach without getting too complicated. McDavid and MacKinnon parallels stay relevant year after year just because they're elite players. Retail packs are available if you want to rip cheaply, but hobby boxes give you better odds at the parallels worth keeping. The set doesn't have a ton of chase inserts or autograph content that you'd be hunting hard for, so this plays more as a completion project than a pure hit-driven break. If you're building a 2020-21 run, Series 1 is the foundation. It's solid, not flashy, and won't break the bank per box. Grab singles of the rookies and stars if you're after value. The set holds its own compared to Artifacts or The Cup, but it's more for people who want the base collecting experience rather than premium hits. Hobby boxes give you enough parallels to make opening worthwhile, but Series 1 isn't where you chase a living room cleaner. It's honest hockey card product.