This is first of a multi-part series highlighting the 10-most graded hockey cards of 2024. Grading submission totals are as of Nov. 18, 2024.
Spoiler alert, Connor Bedard's name is going to be seen a lot in our top-10 most graded hockey cards series of 2024. Bedard has taken hockey cards to their highest popularity level of all-time.
The Young Guns checklist commonly features the two most sought after rookies of the series. Bedard was paired with Leo Carlsson of the Anaheim Ducks on card No. 500 of 2023-24 Upper Deck Series Two.
Bedard and Carlsson went No. 1 and No. 2 overall, respectfully, in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The Blackhawks and Ducks are building rosters around Bedard and Carlsson in hopes of becoming Stanley Cup contenders in the not-so-distant future.
Up next is the holy grail of most hockey collector's collections. Wayne Gretzky's rookie card out of 1979 O-Pee-Chee Hockey. The Great One amassed an NHL record 2,857 points throughout his career.
It is amazing to think that nearly 2,000 Gretzky O-Pee-Chee rookie cards were sitting around in shoe boxes and card binders for nearly 50 years. It pains me to think about how many Gretzky rookie cards were placed in children's bicycle spokes.
Slafkovsky has been making a name for himself on a young Montreal Canadiens roster. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft has 71 career points in 135 games.
The Canadiens wasted no time in locking up Slafkovsky with an eight-year extension worth $60.8 million this past offseason.