For the first time since 2014-15, Fleer Ultra Hockey cards are back as a physical card product. After the 2014-15 season, Fleer Ultra went away for a while. Then it came back in 2021-22 as an e-Pack only product consisting of digital cards that could be combined into special – and physical – parallels. 2025-26 Fleer Ultra marks the brand’s return as a physical product that comes in physical packs and has, you know, actual physical cards. The set is is also available on e-Pack.
Shortly after its release, 2025-26 Fleer Ultra Hockey shot up to about $400 for a 15-pack box. Each pack contains 8 cards. Perhaps part of the excitement about this year’s Fleer Ultra set is that you get four serial-numbered cards per box, plus one PETG (“Clear Cut”) card. Since its release, the set has cooled – if you could call it that – down to about $360 a box.
Although we talked about the 2025-26 Fleer Ultra Hockey set in dtail during Puck Junk Podcast Episode #245, I thought it would be nice to share a breakdown of all of the cards that I got in the box that I opened.
60 Base Cards
Each pack of 2025-26 Fleer Ultra Hockey cards had four base cards. Cards 1-100 make up the base set, while the next 100 cards are short prints.
Card backs use the same photo as the front, though they screen out the background a bit with a sepia tone, which looks nice. Card backs also have player’s vitals such as height and weight, up to five years of statistics, and career totals.
15 Short Printed Veterans Cards
Seeded one per pack are the short-printed veteran cards, numbered 101-150. These look identical to the base cards. In fact, at first, I thought these were base cards, too.
Card backs of the short-printed veteran cards look the same as the base cards.
15 Rookie Cards
Also seeded one per pack are the Rookie cards – can we call these “Ultra Rookies?” These cards have the word ROOKIE along the right side. Cards 151-200 are Rookie cards.
Card backs of the Rookie cards have a few years of stats from the rookie player’s most-recent team, plus that league’s total. For example, Matthew Schaefer’s rookie card has stats from his two years of playing for Erie of the OHL, plus his junior league totals.
Parallel Cards
You get a lot of parallel cards in 2025-26 Fleer Ultra – almost one per pack.
7 Rainbow Foil Parallel Card
As you have probably guessed, Rainbow Foil parallels are printed on a shiny rainbow foil cardstock. The background is shimmery, but the player is not, which really makes him pop off the card.
1 Rainbow Foil Rookies Parallel Card
Rookie cards get the Rainbow Foil treatment, too.
2 Gold Parallel Cards /250
Gold Parallel cards swap out the silver foil stamping on the front with gold foil and are numbered out of 250. The two Gold Foil Parallels in my box were Matvei Michkov (047/250) and Josh Norris (082/250).
1 Gold Rookies Parallel Card /250
There was also a Gold Foil Rookie card in my box, of Islanders’ winger Max Shabanov (097/250). Not gonna lie – I got really excited at first because I saw “Sha” and thought it might be Matthew Schaefer…until I saw the full name of the player.
Insert Cards
There is also at least one insert card per pack of 2025-26 Fleer Ultra Hockey cards.
3 Rising Stars Inserts
Rising Stars – or should we say, “Cards of Rookies That are Not Rookie Cards” – are found one in every five packs. My box had Rising Stars cards of Beckett Sennecke (Ducks), Joakim Kemell (Predators), and Danila Yurov (Wild).
1 Rising Stars Platinum Parallel Inserts /199
The box also had a Rising Stars Platinum Parallel – this one of Blackhawks defenseman Sam Rinzel. The card swaps out the silver foil for silverish-blue (platinum?) foil. The card is also serial numbered 58/99.
1 Rising Stars Red Parallel Inserts /49
But wait! There’s more parallels! The box also had a Rising Stars Red Parallel, which uses red foil in place of silver foil, and looks kinda snazzy. The red foil reminds me of a goal light. This Quinn Hutson (Oilers) Rising Stars Red Parallel card is serial numbered 21/49.
3 Medallions Inserts
So…much…foil. I wonder if all this excess foil drives up the price. Anyway, Medallion cards use a silver foil background. The three I pulled from my box are of Tage Thompson (Sabres), Martin Necas (Avalanche), and J.T. Miller (Rangers). Medallions are seeded one in every five packs, and there are 50 to collect. There are also six different parallel versions of Medallions cards, but I didn’t pull any of those.
2 Ultra Structures Inserts
Honestly, I am not sure if it is “Ultrastructures” (one word, as spelled on the front) or “Ultra Structures” (two words, as spelled on the back). I also don’t know what the heck is behind the player. Ultra Structures – I’ll go with the two-word spelling – are found one in every nine packs. I got two in my box, so I guess I beat the odds? The two Ultra Structures cards in my box are Macklin Celebrini (Sharks) and Jonathan Lekkerimaki (Canucks).
2 Ultra Teams Inserts
Ultra Team was an insert set idea that was previously used in 2021-22 Fleer Ultra Hockey cards. These cards really “put on the foil” around the borders and really have a 1990s vibe to them. The two Ultra Team inserts I got are Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs) and Kent Johnson (Blue Jackets).
2 Outlining Inserts
Now, these cards really look like they are from the 1990s, as they use a black-and-white photograph with blue outlines drawn on the player. I like the look of these inserts, which are found one in every nine packs. The two I got are of Dalibor Dvorsky (Blues) and Nils Hoglander (Canucks).
1 Outlining Red Parallel Insert /99
Outlining inserts also come in Red and Green Parallels, as well as autographed versions. I got an Outlining Red Parallel of JJ Peterka (Mammoth), serial numbered 89/99.
1 Ultra Powers Inserts
“Ultra Power” – no “s” at the end – inserts were found in 1994-95 Fleer Ultra Hockey cards, and again in 2024-25 Fleer Ultra. “Ultra Powers” – with an “s” at the end – is a different insert set, I guess. The Ultra Powers insert in my box of this year’s Fleer Ultra is of Adam Fox of the Rangers.
1 Ultra Stars Insert
Ah yes, the promised PETG card printed on clear plastic. This Ultra Stars card is of Quinn Huges of the Vancouver Canucks (and now the Minnesota Wild). Not only is the background clear, but it also uses rainbow foil.
1 Mise-En-Scene Insert
I saved this Mise-en-Scene card for last, as these are found only one in every 225 packs. That’s once in every 15 boxes – and a case has 10 boxes – so you find these twice in every three cases! There are 20 of these Mis-en-Scene cards to collect, so have fun building that set. Anyway, “mise-en-scene” is a French term for “what is put into the scene,” and has to do with what elements – actors, props, background- compose what a movie camera captures. This Mis-en-Scene card is of Islanders rookie – and Calder Trophy Winner – Matthew Schaefer, pictured in front of a floral background.
I did get two Matthew Schaefer cards in my box – including a card tougher to pull than a case hit – but overall, I am lukewarm to the 2025-26 Fleer Ultra Hockey set. At around $360 per box, it is an expensive product. True, you do get at least four numbered parallels – my box had six – and a clear PETG card. But for a box of cards that costs upwards of $400, it should guarantee at least one autographed card, if not more. Likewise, the Fleer Ultra Rookie cards sell for far less than a Young Guns card of the same player. For example, a Young Guns card of Matthew Schaefer currently sells for around $250, while a Fleer Ultra Rookie card sells for around $30. Granted, Fleer Ultra Rookies are not as tough of a pull as a Young Guns rookie card, yet the price of Fleer Ultra is about $150 more than a box of Upper Deck Series 2. Fleer Ultra is not a product for me, but it might be a product for you if you want to chase big hits and/or like serial-numbered cards.
Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, listen to the Podcast, subscribe to the Newsletter and YouTube Channel, and support this site at the Online Shop.
Follow Sal Barry on Bluesky @PuckJunk and on X/Twitter @PuckJunk. ■
Related Posts:
