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.

Rookie Update - Victor Hedman

Victor Hedman is a beast of a man.

Drafted 2nd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and standing 6'6 and 230 lbs., the Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman is playing almost 24 minutes each game at the age of 18. Although still in search of his first NHL goal, Hedman is doing it where it counts, in his own end. Not only that, but his play has helped the Lightning go from the second-worst team in the league last year to respectability.



With no goals and 5 assists in 20 games, Hedman may not be inspring greatness in the offensive zone. What collectors need to remember is that this is only the beginning. The fact that he leads all rookies in ice-time and is second on his own team in ice-time above all-stars Vincent LeCavalier and Martin St. Louis speaks volumes. Now that he's starting to get comfortable in the NHL, just imagine what will happen when he starts to dominate.

Victor Hedman's Young Guns rookie card was released last week in 2009-10 Upper Deck Series One and a new rookie card will be released in about 10 days with the arrival of 2009-10 UD MVP. Both products are available from 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

2009-10 NHL Upper Deck Rookie Boot Camp Video III

Victor Hedman and Jonas Gustavsson learn how to treat the mascot.



Hedman and Gustavsson should both be available as Young Guns in Upper Deck Series One 2009-10 which will be released next month and will be available at Canada Card World

Who to Collect - Victor Hedman

Drafted 2nd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, standing 6'6 and 230 lbs., and already playing 25 minutes a night in the NHL at the age of 18, Victor Hedman is a phenom in the truest sense. After much decision-making over who to choose 1st overall, the Islanders selected John Tavares leaving the Tampa Bay Lightning with the pleasure of selecting the franchise defenseman who plays in a style reminiscent of Chris Pronger and Nicklas Lidstrom.



In terms of collecting, Victor Hedman is what some might regard as a 'tough call'. Although he is a top draft pick and has loads of talent, the hobby rarely gives the credit which is due to young defensemen or defensemen period. Many are moderately collected but even the best defensemen of the past few years rarely reach the level of flashy forwards or phenoms between the pipes. Hedman will have a massive following overseas... but Tampa Bay is not a hockey hotbed. There are many negatives and positives to consider when collecting Hedman or defensemen in general. In the grand scheme, I believe his cards will be on the same level as Dion Phaneuf when he entered the NHL in 2005-06. It's up to Victor Hedman and collectors to prove me wrong.

Hedman has appeared in previous releases of In The Game Ultimate and Heroes and Prospects, however his first NHLPA sanctioned hockey card releases will be available at Canada Card World