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 - Matt Duchene

Matt Duchene was drafted 3rd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche but at the half-way point he's making a case that he should have been drafted 1st overall. John Tavares has been quiet and Duchene has been lighting it up as the surprising Avalanche continue an unexpectantly strong season.



With 11 goals and 27 points on the season, Duchene is only one point behind 1st overall pick John Tavares in the Calder Trophy race. Hockey God Don Cherry selected Duchene as his early season pick for the trophy and it looks like he could be right. The second half of the season will tell the tale.



Here's a short checklist of some of his available cards so far in the 2009-10 season:

09/10 NHL UD Black Auto'd Rookie Letterman Exchange Card #74
09/10 NHL Ultra Rookies Exchange Card #202
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #203
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #203 UD Exclusives
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #203 High Glossy
09/10 NHL UD Artifacts Colorado Rookie Red. #RED223
09/10 NHL UD MVP Rookie #371
09/10 NHL UD MVP Rookie Gold Script #371
09/10 NHL UD Black Diamond #221
09/10 NHL UD Black Diamond Ruby #221

Matt Duchene's latest rookie cards are available in Upper Deck's Black Diamond which is now available at Canada Card World.

Rookie Update - Matt Duchene

Matt Duchene was drafted 3rd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. With the high selection came high expectations. Early in the season, the talk in Colorado was about goaltender Craig Anderson and rookie Ryan O'Reilly who was selected in the 2nd round after Duchene. That has now changed.

With all of his hard work, Duchene is starting to get the recognition he so rightly deserves. Although Matt Duchene has a respectable 8 goals and 17 points on the season, it his recent play that is drawing attention. With 6 goals and 4 assists in his past 8 games, Duchene might be starting a roll similar to the one which Steven Stamkos started after his slow start in the 2008-09 season.



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

09/10 NHL UD Black Auto'd Rookie Letterman Exchange Card #74
09/10 NHL Ultra Rookies Exchange Card #202
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #203
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #203 UD Exclusives
09/10 NHL UD Series 1 Young Guns #203 High Glossy
09/10 NHL UD Artifacts Colorado Rookie Red. #RED223
09/10 NHL UD MVP Rookie #371

Matt Duchene has cards available in various In The Game products and rookie cards in all 2009-10 Upper Deck products available at Canada Card World.

Upper Deck - The 2009-10 Rookies

An informative and interesting story on the new pros and their thoughts on the hobby.



Courtesy of TSN.

For your chance at the big rookies of 2009-10, please visit Canada Card World.

Who to Collect - Ryan O'Reilly

Teenagers! Normally people complain about teenagers. This NHL season, however, collectors are loving all of the teenagers who are lighting up the scoreboard and bringing the excitement back to the NHL. Ryan O'Reilly is part of this group. The Colorado Avalanche drafted O'Reilly 33rd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and along with Matt Duchene and a stone wall in the net named Craig Anderson, the Avalanche have quickly jumped back to the NHL elite for the first quarter of the season.



Ryan O'Reilly was not expected to make the Avalanche team this season but a strong pre-season and 11 points in his first 13 NHL games made it an easy decision. Just what Tavares needed... another Calder challenger!

Ryan O'Reilly has appeared previously in ITG Heroes and Prospects but his first Upper Deck rookie card will be his UD Series One Young Gun (#213) and will be available this season at Canada Card World

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.

Who To Collect - Matt Duchene

Last season was a horrible season to be a Colorado Avalanche fan. After years of being part of the elite crowd, Colorado took a nose-dive. Even worse, Joe Sakic announced his retirement. But while one franchise player left, a new one has appeared. A terrible showing on the ice meant a high draft choice in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and the Avalanche drafted a talented offensive beast by the name of Matt Duchene.



After two seasons with the Brampton Battalion, Duchene impressed the Avalanche coaching staff and has cracked the roster at the age of 18. With one point already and lots of minutes, this third overall draft choice will challenge John Tavares for the coveted Calder Trophy this season. He will also challenge collectors who will no doubt need to pay high prices to attain his rookie cards unless they're lucky enough to pull one from a pack.

Although previously available in ITG Heroes and Prospects, Matt Duchene's first NHLPA sanctioned hockey cards will be available in most Upper Deck NHL releases this season.