Upper Deck

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.

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Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube. 

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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?”

Puck Junk Podcast: 2024-25 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

Episode #215: April 4, 2025

In Episode #215 of the Puck Junk Podcast, the guys talk about the new 2024-25 O-Pee-Chee Hockey card set. Plus: National Hockey Card Day 2025, 2024-25 Emanate Under Wraps Hockey, and John Tortorella gets fired again. It’s 92 minutes of hockey goodness – now with chapters so you can skip to your favorite parts. 

Links
Tortorella Fired by Flyers (NHL.com)
Book Review: A Guy Like Me by John Scott (Puck Junk)
Video: John Tortorella in a Fight in the Flames Hallway (YouTube)
National Hockey Card Day Website (Upper Deck)
National Hockey Card Day Trade Group (Facebook)
Review: 1998-99 Panini Photocards (Puck Junk)
Emanate Hockey Listing on GameStop Website (GameStop.com)
2024-25 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Checklist (Trading Card DB)

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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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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.

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

Puck Junk Podcast: 2024-25 Synergy Hockey Cards

Episode #213: March 8, 2025

In this episode, the guys give their review of the 2024-25 Synergy Hockey set – which could be the last-ever Synergy set. Other topics include Sidney Crosby’s recent milestones, the passing of longtime Penguins announcer Mike Lange, Seth Jones’ trade to Florida, the recent Stadium Series, Shoresy Season 4, and the upcoming Chicago Sports Spectacular. Plus, would a 24-hour long card show be possible? It’s 90 minutes of hockey goodness – now with chapters, so you can skip ahead to your favorite parts. 

Links
2024-25 Synergy Box Break & Images (Puck Junk)
2024-25 Synergy Checklist (TCDB)

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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. 

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.

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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. ■

PWHL Cards are Hot!

That’s Great! But How Long Will It Last?

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) finally has a set of trading cards – and those cards have been well-received by The Hobby.

Since it was released on January 22, the new Upper Deck “2024 PWHL First Edition” cards have been a hot commodity. In just two short weeks, box prices have more than doubled – going from around $80 and now selling for between $180 and $200 at hobby shops…that is, if you can even FIND a box. 

Big online retailers like Steel City Collectibles, Blowout Cards, and D.A. “No Bounty to See Here” Card World are currently sold out of PWHL cards.

Continue reading “PWHL Cards are Hot!”

Clemente’s Corner: PWHL Cards all the Rage this Winter – and it’s About Time

It’s not often that a card set causes as much of a stir as the 2024 Professional Women’s Hockey League First Edition set, released last month by Upper Deck. Collectors were ready, eager and determined to get their hands on these cards – and the demand was evident from the moment the set dropped.

Within a week of the January 22 release, hobby boxes — originally priced between $75 to $100 — were flying off the shelves. Many big online retailers sold out, and local card shops in New York City, and elsewhere, were left scrambling to keep up with the surge in interest.

By that point, boxes were already reselling for over $200 on the secondary market. If you were around for the craziness of 2020 — when cards exploded in value due to the pandemic — it was a familiar feeling. Only this time, the excitement wasn’t for a male star like Connor Bedard. This time, it was for women’s hockey, and that’s a game changer for the sport and the hobby.

Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: PWHL Cards all the Rage this Winter – and it’s About Time”

Puck Junk Podcast: New Hockey Cards for Early 2025

Episode #210: February 1, 2025

In this episode of the Puck Junk Podcast, Sal and Tim look at some of the new hockey cards for early 2025, including the PWHL set, 2023-24 Parkhurst, and 2024-25 Topps Hockey Stickers. Plus, the Utah Hockey Club’s naming woes continue, the big Colorado-Carolina trade, and more. It’s 88 minutes of hockey goodness – now with chapters, so you can skip ahead to your favorite topics.

Links
2024-25 Upper Deck Ultimate MVP Winner (UD Blog)
Topps Now Hockey Cards Signup Form (Topps 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
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or Transistor.

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

Puck Junk Podcast: 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 2 Young Guns

Plus: Four Nations Face-Off Cards?
Episode #209: January 18, 2025

In this episode, the guys talk about the 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 2 Young Guns checklist that was recently leaked on Reddit. What are the best prospects – and the notable omissions – in Series 2? Plus, the delay of EX-2000, the potential for 4 Nations Face-Off cards, the top hockey card of 2024, and more. It’s 90 minutes of hockey goodness – now with chapters, so you can skip ahead to your favorite topics.

Links
2024-25 Upper Deck Series 2 Checklist image (Reddit)

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.

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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: The Bogus Bedard Bounty

Plus: World Juniors & Winter Classic
Episode #208: January 11, 2025

In the first Puck Junk Podcast for 2025, the guys talk about the $1 million dollar bounty that was offered for the Connor Bedard Young Guns Gold Outburst parallel – and then quietly revoked when no one was looking. Plus, the Winter Classic, World Junior Championships, Shoresy Season 4, the upcoming PWHL cards, and more. It’s 99 minutes of hockey goodness – now with chapters, 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. ■