Let the hunt begin!
On Wednesday, October 15th, Upper Deck releases the first installment of its flagship product, as 2025-26 Series One hits the shelves.
Series One and Two are highly anticipated due to the coveted Young Guns that are released within the set. These are considered the "main rookie card" for each play, and are highly collectible.
The Young Guns set includes a 50-player checklist each year, and here is a list of the top-five players to chase in Series One.
1. Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens.
Habs fans call him the 'Demi-God', and the demand for his marquee rookie card from Series One flagship will be high. The Russian rookie burst onto the scene late last year and played the final two games of the regular season for Montreal, finishing with a goal and an assist, while adding two more points in five playoff games. He is projected to be a top-six star in Montreal, and already has three points in four games ahead of the Series 1 release (Oct. 15th, 2025).
2. Jimmy Snuggerud, St Louis Blues.
Snuggerud was a first-round draft pick of the Blues in 2022. He played the final seven games of the 2024-25 season, scoring a goal with three helpers in those games. He also added two goals and two assists in the Blues' seven-game playoff series against Winnipeg. The 21-year-old forward is off to a hot start this season as well, with two goals and three points in the team's first three games before the release of his Young Guns.
3. Ryan Leonard, Washington Capitals.
Leonard had a great NCAA collegiate career, notching 61 goals across two seasons with Boston College. He also captained Team USA's U20 team at last year's World Junior Championships, where he tallied five goals and five assists in 10 games. He's gotten off to a slower start at the NHL level with just two goals in his first 14 games, but the scoring abilities are off the charts, and he's expected to be a big-time piece of the post-Ovechkin puzzle in Washington once '8' hangs them up.
4. Zayne Parekh, Calgary Flames.
It's not too often a rookie defenseman creates buzz around the NHL, but Parekh scored in his NHL debut in the Flames' final game of the 2024-25 season. He's yet to find the scoresheet early in 2025, but has impressed with his smooth skating and playmaking abilities. He filled the scoresheet in the OHL, putting up 87 goals and 240 points in 177 games at the junior level. It's that level of production that has scouts and fans excited about what he could develop into, given the recent trend of young puck-movers putting up strong production from the back-end.
5. Sam Rinzel, Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks have two young blue liners featured in Series One, but it's Rinzel that I believe will have the most hobby relevance. He was a 2022 first-round draft pick of the Hawks, but played two years of collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota, scoring 60 points in 79 games at that level. Rinzel then debuted for the Hawks late last season, collecting five assists in nine games. The young defender has just one goal so far in four games this season, but he is a member of the Hawks' top power-play unit, so I'd expect him to produce once that young group gets going.
Below is the full checklist of 2025-26 Series One Young Guns class:
201 Artyom Levshunov, Chicago Blackhawks
202 Gabe Perreault, New York Rangers
203 Olivier Rodrigue, Edmonton Oilers
204 Carter Mazur, Detroit Red Wings
205 Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens
206 Tim Washe, Anaheim Ducks
207 Jimmy Snuggerud, St. Louis Blues
208 Jack Finley, Tampa Bay Lightning
209 Jani Nyman, Seattle Kraken
210 Karsen Dorwart, Philadelphia Flyers
211 Riley Duran, Boston Bruins
212 Ozzy Wiesblatt, Nashville Predators
213 Luca Cagnoni, San Jose Sharks
214 Ryan Suzuki, Carolina Hurricanes
215 Sam Morton, Calgary Flames
216 Oliver Moore, Chicago Blackhawks
217 Rodrigo Abols, Philadelphia Flyers
218 Colton Dach, Chicago Blackhawks
219 Noah Ostlund, Buffalo Sabres
220 Niklas Kokko, Seattle Kraken
221 Nikita Tolopilo, Vancouver Canucks
222 Michael Callahan, Boston Bruins
223 Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
224 Quinn Hutson, Edmonton Oilers
225 Jacob Gaucher, Philadelphia Flyers
226 Dalibor Dvorsky, St. Louis Blues
227 Owen Sillinger, Columbus Blue Jackets
228 Matthew Wood, Nashville Predators
229 Donovan Sebrango, Ottawa Senators
230 Jacob Melanson, Seattle Kraken
231 Marc Gatcomb, New York Islanders
232 Ian Moore, Anaheim Ducks
233 Ville Koivunen, Pittsburgh Penguins
234 Dominik Shine, Detroit Red Wings
235 Rory Kerins, Calgary Flames
236 Zayne Parekh, Calgary Flames
237 Joakim Kemell, Nashville Predators
238 Ryan Leonard, Washington Capitals
239 Matthew Robertson, New York Rangers
240 Ethen Frank, Washington Capitals
241 Jacob Quillan, Toronto Maple Leafs
242 Cam Lund, San Jose Sharks
243 Justin Robidas, Carolina Hurricanes
244 Jakub Skarek, New York Islanders
245 Victor Ostman, Seattle Kraken
246 Parker Ford, Winnipeg Jets
247 Skyler Brind’Amour, Carolina Hurricanes
248 Sam Rinzel, Chicago Blackhawks
249 Dylan Duke, Tampa Bay Lightning
250 Ivan Demidov/Artyom Levshunov CL, Montreal/Chicago Canadiens/Blackhawks.