Hockey enthusiasts, ready your card sleeves and fire up those binders because the 2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey release is skating in with the finesse of a Sidney Crosby breakaway. This eagerly anticipated card set completes a thrilling trio for the year, standing proudly alongside Series 1 and Series 2 to offer a stunning panoramic view of the 2024-25 hockey season.
Forget your ordinary set expansions; this release isn’t about to sit quietly on the bench. Upping the ante, it balloons the collection to a satisfying 750-card assembly. That’s right—750 cards of pure hockey bliss! This expansive set provides not just a mere extension but a grand slam of offerings that no self-respecting collector can ignore.
Now, let’s take a slap shot into what the checklist holds. The Extended Series unveils an additional 250 cards that promise to be as iconic as the mullet flowing behind Jaromir Jagr circa 1992. The first 200 entries in this card crusade feature veteran players looking fresh in their new colors or toting updated jerseys. It’s like seeing your favorite NHL star after a long summer, back with new stories and adventures to tell.
But let’s be honest—the true stars of this release are the Young Guns. Taking center stage in the final 50 slots, these rookie cards are as essential to a collector as the crease is to a goalie. Hot off the press, these cards are like golden tickets, appearing roughly in every other pack, and are certain to make any collector’s heart race faster than an end-to-end rush.
However, it’s not just the rookies that are capturing the spotlight. Enter the realm of parallel cards, those elusive gems of the card collecting world that tease and excite. With variants like Outburst—appearing once every 30 hobby packs—and Clear Cuts popping up only once in 96 packs, the hunt for these rarities rivals that of the most storied puck battles on ice. The dream card for many is undoubtedly the Outburst Gold, a one-of-a-kind piece that could transform even the most humdrum collection into a shrine of enviable exclusivity.
If that weren’t enough, the 2024-25 Upper Deck extends beyond parallels with an impressive array of inserts and special features that would leave even the most casual collector nodding in approval. Beloved sets from yesteryear make triumphant returns. Rejoicing fans will celebrate the UD Canvas cards, popping up four times per hobby box. These include nuances of Young Guns, Legends, and NHL All-Stars, enabling collectors to relive the glories of games past. Black and White parallels and the sought-after Printing Plates add layers of rarity to these collector favorites.
Adding new vibrancy to this colorful collection are the glittering Dazzlers, taking sparkle to stratospheric levels in Blue, Pink, and exclusive Green variations found in convenient Blaster boxes. But the true coup de grâce comes with the mystical Oracles collection. Imagine tarot meets hockey—mystery and majesty intertwined in cardboard form, making new strides as instant collector conversation pieces.
As if managing all these exciting additions wasn’t adventurous enough, the revisiting of Upper Deck classics through inserts like Pros and Prospects, Beehive, or Upper Deck Encore beckons collectors with a warm nostalgia. Triple Dimensions Reflections serve up multitudes of rarity, from base versions found in one of every six packs to the coveted Sapphire numbered to just ten.
For the statistically inclined collector fretting over configurations, worry no more. Here’s how the numbers stack up: Hobby boxes are loaded with 12 packs of 12 cards each, arranged in a way to ensure a balanced collection full of choice finds. Each case consists of twelve boxes, or over in the Blaster realm, twenty boxes vying for your affections.
This new release is set to hit the shelves on May 29, 2025—timed perfectly for a pre-summer frenzy capturing the spirit of both the sub-zero rink and sun-drenched patios. The lineup promises Beehive alongside Pros and Prospects or Upper Deck Encore at eight inserts total per box, Blue Dazzlers and Oracles inserts popping at least once or twice, and a myriad of other surprises. For those in pursuit of sheer beauty and rarity, aim to pull a Special Find like a Clear Cut or those beguiling Black and White Canvas cards.
What Upper Deck has achieved in the 2024-25 Extended Series is a launch pad for dyed-in-the-wool puck pursuers and fledgling collectors alike. It combines cornerstone rookie development, veteran player updates, and an array of card options so diverse and thrilling that it could make Zamboni runs seem pedestrian. By cherishing hockey’s past and elevating its future, Upper Deck delivers a collectible experience worthy of its fans’ passion. So gear up, crack those packs, and let the collector’s journey begin!
