Note: The below post was written before the checklist was released – click here to see my ranking of all the actual Series 2 Young Guns.
As I write this, the scheduled release of 2021 Upper Deck Series 2 is still six weeks away, but that isn’t stopping me from getting excited about the release and especially the potential Young Guns (YG) rookie cards that might be included. Full disclosure: some of my interest is due to having a hobby case pre-ordered with the plan to run a group break or two.
A Quick Look Back At 2021 Series 1 YG
Series 1 was unusual this year because it came out before the start of the delayed 2021 season, which could have left Upper Deck in a bad spot as far as Young Guns were concerned. But they were granted special permission to include quite a few Young Guns cards for prospects that were yet to make their NHL debut. A number of those players have now made their debut in the early days of the 2021 season (most notably Alexis Lafrenière, Bowen Byram, and Connor McMichael). By my count, as of January 25, there are still 16 players with a 2021 Series 1 YG that are yet to appear in an NHL contest (most notably Peyton Krebs, Philip Broberg, and Vitali Kravtsov).
What Can We Expect In Series 2?
I’m sure Upper Deck’s plan is to include the usual 49 YG (plus one checklist) in Series 2. That might prove to be slightly challenging, unless they are again allowed to include a number of prospects before they appear in an NHL game. According to Hockey Reference, 33 players have made their NHL debut so far this season, but nine of those players already got the YG treatment in Series 1. In ordinary circumstances, that would leave just 24 players at the moment that could be included in Series 2 YG. There could certainly be more debuts between now and whenever the cutoff is for inclusion in Series 2, but I’m not confident there will be 25 more debuts to fill out the full YG lineup. Other than including pre-debut prospects again, an outside-the-box solution could be to include some “make-up” Young Guns for current veterans that never got a YG. This post on Reddit has a good list of potential players that could be included. Cards using an early-career photo and year-appropriate YG design would be pretty cool in my book.
Some Of The Potential Series 2 Headliners
Only time will tell how and if a full slate of 49 YG will be included in Series 2, but thankfully, there is already a strong core of players that are sure to be included. Here is my very early ranking of the top players that I expect to be included:
• Tim Stützle – LW – Ottawa Senators
The second overall pick in the 2020 draft, Stützle is barely 19 years old and made a splash with a dandy shot on his first career goal.
- Kirill Kaprizov – LW – Minnesota Wild
Kaprizov, already 24, is making an immediate impact for Minnesota. - Dylan Cozens – C – Buffalo Sabres
Cozens is just 19 and has collected his first goal and first assist through the first five games of his career. - Ty Smith – D – New Jersey Devils
Smith has opened eyes by starting his career with a five-game point streak. - K’Andre Miller – D – New York Rangers
Miller’s game has improved rapidly and he somewhat surprisingly forced his way into the lineup to start the year. It is amazing how much ice he can cover with just a few strides.
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