2022-23 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey

Released in fall 2022, this is Upper Deck's flagship entry point into the 2022-23 NHL season. Series 1 hits early and heavy with rookie cards of Connor McDavid's Edmonton teammates, along with established stars like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Nathan MacKinnon in their current team uniforms. The base set runs 200 cards and feels straightforward, which is exactly what Series 1 should be. You're getting solid photography, clean design, and a foundation for building toward the bigger hits later in the year when Series 2 rolls out. Parallel hunting is where this product gets interesting. Canvas parallels and Young Guns subsets are the chase cards for serious collectors. Young Guns rookies, especially any that ended up being relevant NHLers, can hold value well over time. Series 1 also includes the standard UD parallels in various colors and print runs, with gold and black parallels being harder to land than your typical silver or blue versions. Hobby boxes typically come with more inserts and tighter collation than retail, so if you're looking for consistency, spend the extra money. Canvas cards in particular feel premium and tend to age better in collector hands. Series 1 works best for people who want to build a complete base set or hunt Young Guns without spending a fortune on newer releases. It's the right product if you're patient with slow burns, but it's not the place to look for massive box hits. If you're cracking packs for fun and don't mind missing on the big rookies, Series 1 is pleasant and forgiving. Otherwise, you're better off buying singles of the specific Young Guns you want and saving your box money for later releases with higher hit rates.