Box Break: 2023 Team Canada Juniors Hockey Cards

The 2023 Team Canada Juniors set was released in November of 2023. The set features Canadian players who played in the 2023 Under-20 World Junior Championship and the 2023 Under-18 World Junior Championship, as well as women who play on the Canadian Women’s National Team. 

2023 Team Canada Juniors hockey cards cost around $230 for a 15-pack hobby box. Each pack has six cards. The box – which pictures Connor Bedard on it – claims that you can get “at least 4 hits per box!” Bedard also happens to be the main reason why a box of 2023 Team Canada Juniors is rather pricey; it is possible to get an autographed card of Bedard, who was drafted first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023. Bedard also has two cards in the base set, one card in the  short-printed “Program of Excellence” subset, several insert cards – plus the plethora of parallels those cards have. 

In other words, if you are looking for cards of Connor Bedard, this is a good box to break. 

Besides autographed cards, other hits you can get in a box of these cards includes a jersey card or a high-end insert card printed on plexiglass. 

I recently opened a hobby box of 2023 Team Canada Juniors. Here is what was inside. 

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Box Break: 2022-23 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey Cards

Now three years into its comeback, Skybox Metal Universe hockey cards feature colorful designs of NHL players superimposed over space backdrops, with metal design elements. Hence, “metal” and “universe.” The cards are also printed on shiny, foil cardstock, While the designs aren’t quite as over-the-top as the Metal Universe cards from the 1990s, they will still appeal to both oldschool collectors who remember those sets, as well as the newer collectors who want something different.

A hobby box of 2022-23 Skybox Metal Universe contains 15 packs. Each pack has seve cards, for a total of 105 cards. Hobby boxes originally cost around $130, but are now down to around $120 per box. A box has 15 various insert cards – including autographs, though those are not guaranteed – and 30 short-printed cards.

I recently opened a hobby box of 2022-23 Skybox Metal Universe hockey cards. Here is what was inside.

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2021-22 Credentials Hockey Box Break

The 2021-22 Credentials Hockey set by Upper Deck was released in August 2023, just a few months shy of the 2023-24 hockey season. That makes Credentials a bit of an “old” product, with rookie cards from almost two seasons ago. More so, Credentials also contains cards from the cancelled 2020-21 Credentials cards, as well as rookie update cards from 2019-20 Credentials – meaning, you can get rookie cards from three different seasons in one box!

A box of 2021-22 Credentials hockey has eight packs. Each pack has six cards for a total of 48 cards. When 2021-22 Credentials was released, it cost about $150 per box. Now, it’s around $110 per box. A hobby box contains either an autographed card OR a non-autographed acetate card.

I recently opened a box of 2021-22 Credentials. Here’s what I got in my box. 

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2021-22 Stature Hockey Box Break

Upper Deck’s Stature Hockey cards, first released during the 2019-20 season, features serial-numbered cards printed on thick, shiny foil stock. These accoutrements give Stature a sense of gravitas to them. The cards are shiny and thick, while most are numbered. Upper Deck released its 2021-22 Stature Hockey set in August of 2023; yes, that is a full year after the season it is based on had ended! 

Regardless, if you liked Stature hockey cards from the past two seasons, then you will like the 2021-22 Stature set as well. A hobby box contains eight cards and costs around $145. That’s a bit cheaper than last year, when Stature was selling for around $180 for an eight-card box.

A box of 2021-22 Stature Hockey contains two base cards, one rookie card, one autographed card, one insert card, and two numbered parallel cards. The eight card in the box is either an additional rookie card, autographed card, or numbered parallel. 

I finally got my hands on a hobby box of 2021-22 Stature Hockey. Here is what is inside. 

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2022-23 Upper Deck AHL Hockey Box Break

Upper Deck issued its 2022-23 American Hockey League trading card set in June of 2023. The set has 150 cards of AHL players – some prospects who will go onto long careers in the NHL, and others who played a handful of NHL games but went on to long careers in “The A.” 

Fortunately for minor league hockey card enthusiasts, this set isn’t too hard to put together. There are 100 base cards and 50 short-printed Star Rookies – and you get one Star Rookie in each pack!

A box of 2022-23 Upper Deck AHL costs around $50 and has 12 packs. Each pack has 10 cards. Here’s a look at what’s inside a box of 2022-23 Upper Deck AHL. 

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2022-23 Upper Deck Synergy Box Break

First released during the 2017-18 season, Upper Deck Synergy hockey cards feature all the bells and whistles. Synergy cards are two layers thick. Like past years, the 2022-23 Synergy cards have a top layer that is printed on die-cut foil board, and a bottom layer is printed on clear plastic. 

One thing that makes Synergy an odd release is that the base cards are very hard to find. You read that right; the base cards are tough pulls. Synergy base cards of veteran players are serial-numbered to 13 copies each, while Synergy rookie cards are numbered to 23 copies each. What you will normally get in a box is mainly Red Parallels, which some may mistake for the base cards.

That said, Synergy is not a cheap product. A box has eight packs, with each pack containing three cards, for a total of 24 cards. When 2022-23 Synergy launched at the end of June 2023, a box was $100; now the price has settled to $85. 

I opened a hobby box of 2022-23 Synergy. Here is what was inside. 

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2021-22 Upper Deck ICE Box Break

For the first time in three years, Upper Deck Ice is back. Ice was last released for the 2019-20 season, then was cancelled for 2020-21. The 2021-22 Ice set came out at the end of the 2022-23 season. So, it is the first Ice set in two seasons, but took three years to come out.

Anyway, now that Ice has been out for a while, the price of a box has gone down a bit, from $130 to $110. A hobby box has 12 packs, with each pack containing six cards. A box also includes a “Bonus” pack of 2020-21 Ice – so if you really want to build the cancelled Ice set, you could, though it would be tough.

One selling point of Ice is that all autographs in the set are “hard-signed,” meaning that the autographs are on the card itself and not on a sticker later applied to the card. A box of Ice also contains at least two Ice Premieres rookie cards, which are printed on acetate (clear plastic). 

I opened a box of 2021-22 Ice, which was also the subject of the Puck Junk Podcast recently. But I thought it would be nice to show off what I got in my box. So, let’s take a look at what my 12 packs of 2021-22 Ice – plus the 2020-21 Ice bonus pack – had inside. 

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2022-23 Upper Deck Extended Series Box Break

Like the final part of a three-act play, Upper Deck Extended Series rounds out the company’s most-exciting card set. Extended Series adds 200 more base cards and 30 new Young Guns to collect, as well as 20 “Round 1 Draft Picks” short prints, making Upper Deck’s flagship release the biggest set of the 2022-23 season. 

2022-23 Upper Deck Extended Series costs about $95 per box and contains 24 eight-card packs. This is the last Upper Deck flagship set that will have this pack configuration, as the set will increase the card count – but decrease the number of packs – starting next year. 

I opened a box of 2022-23 Extended Series. Here is what was inside. 

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2022-23 Upper Deck Series Two Hockey Hobby Box Break

If you collect Upper Deck Series One, then collecting Upper Deck Series Two is a must. The 2022-23 Upper Deck Series Two set features 200 base cards and 50 Young Guns rookie cards. The Young Guns are short-prints that are seeded one in every four packs. 

While I opened a box of Series Two a few months ago (to discuss in Episode #154 of the Puck Junk Podcast), I still wanted to post a full box break so you could see the sheer variety of inserts that you get in a box.

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2022-23 Trilogy Hockey Box Break

After being cancelled for the 2021-22 season, Trilogy came back for 2022-23 — albeit, near the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Trilogy is perhaps best known for its “Signature Pucks” cards that feature a small rubber puck with an autograph on it, embedded right into the card. Trilogy — or should I say Trilo3y, with a “3” as the “g” since that is how it is spelled — also tends to use the number 3 as a recurring theme. 

A box of Trilogy Hockey cards costs around $130 for a six-pack box. Each pack contains four cards, and the box promises one autographed card and one memorabilia card. 

I recently opened a box of 2022-23 Trilogy. Here is what I found inside. 

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