2009-10 NHL Calder Trophy Race Revisited

As the Olympic break approached, five players were still in the running as the best rookie of the 2009-10 NHL season. In no specific order, John Tavares, Jimmy Howard, Matt Duchene, James Van Riemsdyk, and Tyler Myers were at the top of the rookie class. Other players were either too old (Antti Niemi) or too hurt (Semyon Varlamov) to be considered. With the Olympic break behind us, two of those players seem to have hit the wall. This does not mean their futures aren't as bright though, as Tavares had a 5-point night last night and Van Riemsdyk continues to play well. In fact, only three strong contenders remain.

Jimmy Howard



Jimmy Howard was supposed to be a good goalie from day one. Detroit knew it too. They just took their time releasing him and his skills to the world. His play after October cemented him as the Red Wings #1 goaltender and this late-bloomer seems to be the real deal.

Matt Duchene



Matt Duchene wasn't even the best rookie on his team in October and November as Ryan O'Reilly drew most of the attention. However, steady play and a super burst in December put this favourite of Don Cherry into the spotlight.

Tyler Myers



Tyler Myers was supposed to be a project defenseman. His splendid early season play was no fluke and this massive Zdeno Chara clone is a franchise player of epic proportions. Not only is he playing big minutes against the NHL's best but he is putting up amazing offensive numbers for a defenseman as well. A big 4 point night in March proved that he can play a full season and continue to make an impact.

Prediction - Barring a late season charge by one of the other two, this award will go to Tyler Myer. As stated earlier... Who dares steal this trophy away from the hulking defenseman?

Duchene and Myers have rookie cards available in most 2009-10 products available at Canada Card World. Jimmy Howard has rookie cards available in many 2005-06 products.

Rookie Update - James Van Riemsdyk

With twelve games to his credit, James Van Riemsdyk is taking the bull by the horns and staking an early claim to the Calder Trophy. Van Riemsdyk has 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points on a very strong Phildelphia Flyers team with young stars Mike Richards and Jeff Carter along with a revitalized Ray Emery between the pipes. This team will be a strong play-off contender and Van Riemsdyk will continue to get more and more press. The sky is the limit for this young forward.



James Van Riemsdyk scored his first NHL goal in Philadelphia on October 24, 2009 against the Florida Panthers.


Here's a handy list of his cards available so far in the 2009-10 season:

09/10 NHL UD Black Auto'd Rookie Letterman Exchange Card #77
09/10 NHL Ultra Rookies Exchange Card #205
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #207
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #207 UD Exclusives
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #207 High Glossy
09/10 NHL UD Artifacts Philadelphia Flyers Rookie Red. #RED209

Upper Deck Releases 2009-10 NHL UD Black Rookie Letterman Exchange Checklist

The 2009-10 NHL season is turning out many special young players.
Here is the checklist of redemptions from this season's 09-10 UD Black hockey.



2009/10 NHL UD Black Autographed Rookie Letterman Exchange Cards
73 John Tavares
74 Matt Duchene
75 Victor Hedman
76 Evander Kane
77 James Van Riemsdyk
78 Jonas Gustavsson
79 Logan Couture
80 Brad Marchand
81 Tyler Myers
82 Jamie Benn
83 Colin Wilson
84 Michael Del Zotto
85 Viktor Stalberg
86 Michael Grabner
87 Tyler Bozak
88 Erik Karlsson
89 Matt Gilroy
90 Ryan O'Reilly
91 Dmitry Kulikov
92 Sergei Shirokov
93 Cody Franson

The UD Black Letterman Redemption cards are all sequentially numbered to only 99 copies and will be autographed. Upper Deck expects to send these cards to collectors in late February 2010.

Upper Deck Releases 2009-10 NHL Fleer Ultra Rookie Exchange Checklist

If you were lucky enough to pull a Fleer Ultra Rookie Redemption card, we now know who exactly you pulled.
It's a great rookie class this season so it's hard to go wrong.



2009/10 NHL Ultra Rookies Exchange Cards
201 John Tavares
202 Matt Duchene
203 Victor Hedman
204 Evander Kane
205 James Van Riemsdyk
206 Jonas Gustavsson
207 Jamie Benn
208 Erik Karlsson
209 Tyler Myers
210 Ryan O'Reilly
211 Matt Gilroy
212 Michael Del Zotto
213 Viktor Stalberg
214 Tyler Bozak
215 Sergei Shirokov
216 Colin Wilson
217 Benn Ferriero
218 Michael Grabner
219 Dmitry Kulikov
220 Cody Franson

Upper Deck expects the Fleer Ultra cards to be completed in early February 2010.

UD Series One 2009-10 Young Guns Checklist

Well speak of the devil and the devil appears. Hot off the press from Upper Deck's Facebook group:
Here are all of the rookies in 09/10 NHL UD Series 1 ...

Young Guns

201 John Tavares
202 Victor Hedman
203 Matt Duchene
204 Ville Leino
205 Evander Kane
206 Michael Del Zotto
207 James Van Riemsdyk
208 Viktor Stalberg
209 Sergei Shirokov
210 Erik Karlsson
211 Dmitry Kulikov
212 Jamie Benn
213 Ryan O'Reilly
214 Tyler Myers
215 Jason Demers
216 Jay Rosehill
217 Brian Salcido
218 Luca Caputi
219 Spencer Machacek
220 Yannick Weber
221 Artem Anisimov
222 Ivan Vishnevskiy
223 Riku Helenius
224 Peter Regin
225 Antti Niemi
226 Byron Bitz
227 John Negrin
228 Ray Macias
229 Taylor Chorney
230 Mika Pyorala
231 Alec Martinez
232 Grant Lewis
233 Cal O'Reilly
234 Jesse Joensuu
235 Michal Neuvirth
236 John Scott
237 Benn Ferriero
238 Teemu Laakso
239 Jhonas Enroth
240 Matt Beleskey
241 T.J. Galiardi
242 Kris Chucko
243 James Wright
244 Joel Rechlicz
245 Matt Pelech
246 Christian Hanson
247 Matt Hendricks
248 Mike Santorelli
249 Frazer McLaren

Upper Deck Series One 2009-10 will be available in a few weeks at Canada Card World

UD Series One 2009-10 Young Guns - Partial List

With the release of Upper Deck Series One 2009-10 only a few weeks away, collectors are anxiously awaiting the release of which rookies will be included in the always popular Young Gun subset. Although not a complete list, Upper Deck released this information on their Facebook page:

Here's the key information you need to know about rookies in 2009/10 NHL UD1: One of the most-anticipated rookie classes in NHL history has arrived and 2009-10 Upper Deck Series One has it covered! From Islanders super-rookie John Tavares, to Colorado’s two-way sensation Matt Duchene, to Tampa Bay’s defenseman-extraordinaire Victor Hedman, this year’s Young Guns rookie subset is loaded with future hockey icons. Other standout RCs include 2009 Canadian World Junior Team standouts Evander Kane (Atlanta), Jamie Benn (Dallas) and Tyler Myers (Buffalo), as well as former first-round draft picks James Van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia), Erik Karlsson (Ottawa), and Michael Del Zotto (NY Rangers).

You can look for 'The Monster', Jonas Gustavsson in UD Series 2.

Upper Deck Series One 2009-10 will be available in a few weeks at Canada Card World

Branded NHL UD Rookie Shoot

Brought to you by The Score, Branded goes behind the scenes of the Upper Deck NHL rookie card shoot in Mississauga, Ontario. The potential future stars of the game discuss their collecting history and their favourite poses.

2009-10 NHL UD Rookie Boot Camp Video II

Another clever entry in the Upper Deck Rookie Boot Camp Series



Note - Not all of these rookies will make it into this year's product.

Upper Deck Series One 2009-10 will be released next month and will be available at Canada Card World

Who To Collect - James van Riemsdyk

Another top contender for the coveted Calder trophy will be this bruising forward for the Philadelphia Flyers. James van Riemsdyk is a 6'3 left wing with a little more seasoning than other rookies like John Tavares and Matt Duchene. He took the US College route to the NHL and also spent last season getting a taste of professional hockey in the AHL with the Philadelphia Phantoms.



This young Flyer forward was drafted in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft as the 2nd overall pick behind Patrick Kane. Already collecting points in the NHL, James van Riemsdyk should be a consistent entry on score sheets this season on a powerful Flyers team which should contend in the Eastern Conference.

Upper Deck NHL products in 2009-10 will carry James van Riemsdyk first professional hockey cards.