Upper Deck

Puck Junk Podcast: Remembering Ken Dryden

Plus: 2024-25 Ice Hockey Cards
Episode #226: September 10, 2025

A discussion on the life and career of all-time goaltending great Ken Dryden, who sadly passed away on September 5. Sal, Tim, and Clemente talk about Dryden’s many accomplishments on and off the ice, as well as some of his most-memorable hockey cards. Plus, a review of the 2024-25 Upper Deck Ice hockey card set, and Clemente’s recap of the 2025 NHLPA Rookie Showcase. It’s 108 minutes of hockey goodness. The YouTube version of this podcast features pictures of the cards and photos from the Rookie Showcase. 

Show Notes and Links
Ken Dryden Career Stats (HockeyDB)
Dryden Quits Hockey for Law Clerk Job (NY Times)
Dryden Ends Holdout, Signs Contract for Record $150,000 (NY Times)
1999-00 Upper Deck Century Legends #23 – Ken Dryden (Puck Junk)
Matthew Schaefer Ready to Anchor Islanders’ Future (Puck Junk)
Clemente’s 2025 NHLPA Rookie Showcase Story (Sports Collectors Digest)

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Follow Sal Barry on X @PuckJunk, Instagram @PuckJunk & Bluesky @puckjunk
Follow Tim Parish on X @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Follow Clemente Lisi on X @ClementeLisi. 
Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube. 

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or Transistor.

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2024-25 Parkhurst Champions Hockey Box Break

Released at the end of the season, the 2024-25 Parkhurst Champions set gives retro flair to modern players. The cards are designed to look like they could be from the 1950s, with cut-out players superimposed over a bright, solid-colored background. 

A box of 2024-25 Parkhurst Champions is currently selling for around $130 for a 20-pack box, plus one bonus “Retro” pack. 

2024-25 Parkhurst Champions Hobby Pack

Each of the 20 packs have eight cards. Packs have six base cards plus two other cards which are either a short print, a parallel, or an insert. A box contains one autograph, memorabilia, or lenticular (“magic motion”) card. 

2024-25 Parkhurst Champions Bonus Pack picturing Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe.

The “Bonus Pack” has five “1953-54 Retro Cards,” which use the 1953-54 Parkhurst design. It is possible to get an autograph or parallel “Retro” card in this pack. 

I recently opened a box of 2024-25 Parkhurst Champions Hockey. Let’s take a closer look at what you get in a typical box. 

Continue reading “2024-25 Parkhurst Champions Hockey Box Break”

Puck Junk Podcast: 2024-25 Parkhurst Champions Hockey Cards

Episode #224: August 20, 2025

Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk all about the new 2024-25 Parkhurst Champions Hockey Card set. Yes, the design looks great – but is it a set worth building? And what’s the deal with the bonus “Retro Pack?” Plus, discussions about Team USA winning the Hlinka Gretzky Tournament, eBay’s changes to its platform, and the NHL Network’s “Quarter Century Team” – and who they snubbed. It’s 107 minutes of hockey goodness, now with chapters so you can skip to your favorite part. The YouTube version of this episode features video and pictures, too. 

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on X @PuckJunk, Instagram @PuckJunk & Bluesky @puckjunk
Follow Tim Parish on X @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Follow Clemente Lisi on X @ClementeLisi. 
Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube. 

Listen
Listen to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Overcast,  
PlayerFM, PocketCasts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher,
or Transistor.

Connect 
Connect with us and other hockey fans on the Puck Junk Facebook Group.

Subscribe
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Email Newsletter and the YouTube Channel. 

Support 
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

2025-26 MVP Hockey Box Break

In recent history, MVP has been Upper Deck’s first hockey card set of the season, usually hitting shelves in August or September. The 2025-26 MVP set was released on July 30 – almost 10 weeks(!) before the start of the season. MVP gives you a lot of bang for your buck. A box costs about $60 USD or $90 CDN and has 20 eight-card packs. Each pack has an insert card and it is possible to pull a serial-numbered card, too. 

Let’s take a look at what’s inside a box of 2025-26 MVP Hockey cards. 

Continue reading “2025-26 MVP Hockey Box Break”

2024-25 Upper Deck CHL Hockey Box Break

Spotlighting many future NHL draft picks, the 2024-25 Upper Deck CHL hockey card set features the best players from the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The set consists of 300 base cards and 100 short-printed cards. 

A box of 2024-25 Upper Deck CHL contains 12 packs and costs around $70. Each pack has 14 base cards, one short print “Star” or “Star Rookie” card, and one insert or parallel card. Each box contains either an autographed card or an Outburst parallel card.

I recently opened a box of 2024-25 Upper Deck CHL hockey cards. Let’s see what I got:

Continue reading “2024-25 Upper Deck CHL Hockey Box Break”

2024-25 SPx Hockey Box Break

Upper Deck changed its configuration for SPx with its 2024-25 SPx set. Once upon a time, a box of SPx had more than just a handful of cards. Back in 2015-16, a box of SPx hockey cards had 10 packs, each with four cards, for a total of 40 cards. The next season, SPx downsized the number of cards you got in a box significantly, lowering the quantity while raising the quality. Here’s how many cards SPx had over the past seven seasons: 

      • 2016-17 SPx – four cards per box
      • 2017-18 SPx – four cards per box
      • 2018-19 SPx – four cards per box
      • 2019-20 SPx – four cards per box
      • 2021-22 SPx – four cards per box
      • 2022-23 SPx – five cards per box
      • 2023-24 SPx – five cards per box

As you can see, you didn’t get a lot of cards for your money, but all of the cards were some sort of “hit” – be it an autograph, a jersey card, a low-numbered insert, or the like. 

This year, Upper Deck upped the number of cards in a box of SPx, including many more base cards in a box so you can actually build the base set. A box of 2024-25 SPx contains eight packs, each with three cards, for a total of 24 cards. Each pack has one base card plus two other cards – be it a rookie card, parallel, or insert. 

Let’s see what was inside my box of 2024-25 SPx Hockey: 

Continue reading “2024-25 SPx Hockey Box Break”

Puck Junk Podcast: Fanatics Fest NYC 2025

Plus: Panthers Repeat as Champs
Episode #219: June 27, 2025

In this episode, the guys talk about the Florida Panthers repeating as Stanley Cup Champions – and why they can three-peat next year. Clemente gives his recap of the Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 sports convention. Plus, thoughts on some recent trades, and more. It’s 101 minutes of hockey goodness – now with chapters, so you can skip to your favorite part. 

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on X @PuckJunk, Instagram @PuckJunk & Bluesky @puckjunk
Follow Tim Parish on X @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Follow Clemente Lisi on X @ClementeLisi. 
Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube. 

Listen
Listen to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Overcast,  
PlayerFM, PocketCasts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher,
or Transistor.

Connect 
Connect with us and other hockey fans on the Puck Junk Facebook Group.

Subscribe
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Email Newsletter and the YouTube Channel. 

Support 
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Puck Junk Podcast: Interview with Paul Zickler of Upper Deck

Plus: UD’s New RPA Authentication
Episode #218: May 30, 2025

Sal Barry talks with Paul Zickler, the Director of Sports Brands at Upper Deck, about Upper Deck’s new Rookie Patch Auto Authentication. The feature will deter the practice of “patch swapping” on high-end rookie cards starting with the 2023-24 The Cup. Zickler also talks about the success of PWHL trading cards and plans for the next release, future Four Nations Face-Off cards, Alex Ovechkin autographs in 2024-25 Extended Series, and a look at 2025-26 Upper Deck Series One. It’s 37 minutes of hockey goodness – now with chapters so you can skip to your favorite parts. 

Links
Upper Deck Unveils New Feature to Combat Fraud (Sports Collectors Digest)
The Authority website (TheAuthority.com)
Can Ovechkin Save Extended Series? (Puck Junk)
2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series Box Break (Puck Junk)

Rookie cards in 2023-24 The Cup will come slabbed and feature a serial number to verify its authenticity at TheAuthority.com website.

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on X @PuckJunk, Instagram @PuckJunk & Bluesky @puckjunk
Follow Tim Parish on X @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Follow Clemente Lisi on X @ClementeLisi. 
Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube. 

Listen
Listen to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Overcast,  
PlayerFM, PocketCasts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher,
or Transistor.

Connect 
Connect with us and other hockey fans on the Puck Junk Facebook Group.

Subscribe
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Email Newsletter and the YouTube Channel. 

Support 
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

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. 

Continue reading “2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series Box Break”

Can Ovechkin Save Extended Series?

Will Hype and Hope Help the Often-Overlooked Set?

Upper Deck announced that Alexander Ovechkin has autographed eight copies of this 2005-06 Young Guns rookie cards, which will be randomly found in packs of 2024-25 Upper Deck Extended Series. Each card will bear Ovie’s autograph in bright blue ink and be hand numbered out of 8. These are original Young Guns cards that Upper Deck purchased to get signed (a.k.a. “buybacks.”)

Will the hype and hope of pulling an autographed Ovechkin Young Guns rookie card give Extended Series that push it needs?

Continue reading “Can Ovechkin Save Extended Series?”