Hockey Cards

2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series Box Break

2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey comes out today. As the name implies, Extended Series extends Upper Deck’s flagship release by another 250 cards for a total of 750 cards between the three series. 

Since 2020-21, Extended Series has made a good thing better by making Upper Deck’s flagship release the largest set of the season. Extended Series usually brings along with it loads of fun, retro-themed insert cards, drawing inspiration from the late 1990s to mid-2000s. In the past, many of the inserts you found in Extended Series were seral numbered, too. 

A box of 2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series is selling for around $120 for a 12-pack box. Each pack consists of nine base cards and three insert cards for 12 cards total. There is even a very long shot at pulling an Alex Ovechkin Young Guns buyback autographed card. There’s only eight of those Ovie Autos floating around, so your chances of getting hit by lightning are probably better. And no, I don’t mean Victor Hedman…though he does have a card in this set. 

Today, I opened a box of 2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey. Let’s see what was inside. 

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2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #5

After opening four boxes of 2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers, I was down to needing 71 stickers to complete the 800-sticker set. And yet these Topps sticker sets are notoriously difficult to build, so I knew that would probably be impossible. But I figured having more doubles on hand to trade could only help. Plus, there are those parallels. My fourth box had a Red Foil Parallel. Would this box also have a Red Foil Parallel? It could happen, as they are found one in every five boxes, or about three per 16-box case. Or could this box have two Blue Foil Parallels of players that I collect, or even – dare to dream – a Gold Foil Parallel?

That said, let’s see what my fifth and final box of 2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers had inside. 

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2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #4

Since this year’s Topps Hockey Sticker Collection consists of 800 stickers, you would need to purchase four 50-pack boxes (or at least 160 packs) to get enough stickers to try to build a set. I don’t like buying single packs because they cost $1 each, whereas a 50-pack box can usually be found for $35 or $40 if you look hard enough. Heck, even paying $50 for a box is OK because you know you will get the two parallels inside.

Over the past few days, I’ve opened three boxes of 2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers (see the first, second, and third breaks before reading this). I’m down to needing 122 stickers to finish my set. Let’s see how I did with my fourth box. 

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2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #3

I love opening packs of stickers – and hate sorting them. But writing these blog posts about what I get in my boxes of 2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers has motivated me to sort these in a hurry so I can write about them. Plus, it’s more fun to complete a set while the season is still going on, instead of over the summer or even years later, like I’ve done with other sets. Heck, it took me 17 years to complete my 1990-91 Panini Hockey Sticker set. 

Anyway, a box of 2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers has 50 packs. Each pack has 4 regular (paper) stickers and one shiny foil sticker. Let’s see what was inside my third box of this year’s Topps NHL stickers. 

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2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #2

The 2024-25 Topps NHL Sticker Collection consists of 800 stickers. A pack has five stickers, so you need at least 160 packs to get 800 stickers. Of course, you are going to get doubles. That’s the nature of the beast.

Since packs cost $1 at retail, I decided to instead buy full boxes, which consist of 50 packs and cost around $35 to $40 if you buy them online.

This year, I decided to buy five boxes of Topps NHL Stickers because the set is so massive – and because you get two Blue Parallel stickers, serial numbered out of 100, per box. Yesterday, I posted the results of my first box break. Let’s see what’s inside my second box. 

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2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers Box Break #1

Topps has made a set of NHL hockey album stickers since the 2019-20 season. Each year, packs of five stickers sell for around $1, with the album selling for around $2. Unlike Panini, who made NHL stickers during the prior decade, you cannot order a few stickers you need directly from the manufacturer. That means that you either have to get every single sticker you need in the packs you open – which is highly-unlikely – or you have to trade your doubles and/or buy the singles you need on eBay or COMC.

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2024-25 Synergy Hockey Cards Box Break

The 2024-25 Synergy Hockey set came out in mid-January of 2025. Other than Upper Deck’s flagship release and O-Pee-Chee – which are always released during the season they represent – nowadays, it seems odd to have a 2024-25 set of cards released, you know, actually during the ’24-25 season. 

When it launched, Synergy was about $110 a box. Now it is around $100. Hobby boxes have eight packs containing three cards each. That’s about $4.50 per card, which to me is a lot considering that not all cards are serial-numbered, nor does every box have an autographed card. 

I recently opened up a box of 2024-25 Synergy. Let’s see what I got. 

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The Puck Junk Bad Hockey Card Hall of Fame: Class of 2024

With 2024 coming to a close, it was now or never for announcing the Puck Junk Bad Hockey Card Hall of Fame: Class of 2024. But there’s nothing quite like a deadline to get things done, right? 

This year’s Hall of Fame class sees three new members added to the Bad Paint Job Category, four new members enshrined in the Bad Photograph Category, two new members honored in the Bad Idea Category, and – for the first time since 2021 – a new addition in the Bad Mascot Category. 

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2023-24 Upper Deck AHL Hockey Cards Box Break

Many collectors overlook minor league hockey cards – and that is a shame, because the 2023-24 AHL hockey card set by Upper Deck is definitely worth a look. It is a great mix of up-and-coming NHL prospects along with longtime AHL stars. The set consists of 100 base cards plus 50 short printed “Star Rookies,” and has a fabulous, old-school design. 

The 2023-24 Upper Deck AHL set was released mid-July, well after the ’23-24 season had ended – and that is a good thing, as the later release date allowed Upper Deck to get up-to-date photos of players with their current teams. No outdated photos here. 

Another great feature of the 2023-24 Upper Deck AHL set is its retro-esque design Cards are printed on low-gloss stock much like today’s O-Pee-Chee cards. Anyone who collected hockey cards back in the 1980s, the 1990s, or even the 2000s would love the look of this set. 

A box of 2023-24 Upper Deck AHL costs about $60 for a 12-pack box. Each box has 10 cards, with an average of one autographed card and two numbered parallels per box. 

I recently opened a box of 2023-24 AHL. Let’s take a look at what was inside.  

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