November Coming Fire
The countdown to Connor Bedard’s Rookie Card is on. 2023-24 Upper Deck Series 1 (which we preview on pg. 7) is officially on the calendar.
And while there are sure to be redemption cards in earlier releases, this likely will be the first opportunity for collectors to bust a pack and pull a live RC of the long-awaited and much-hyped hobby sensation.
We’ve seen how a player like this month’s cover star Connor McDavid can impact the market. Bedard has a chance to match that, and then some. e 17-year-old, who is sure to be the top pick in the upcoming dra, finished his
Western Hockey League regular season with 71 goals and 143 points in just 57 games. His total was a whopping 36 points ahead of the runner-up, overager Chase Wheaton and his 2.509 points per game average was the highest the league had seen in more than 30 years.
He led his Regina Pats to their first playoff appearance in five years, and though they fell in seven games to Saskatoon, Bedard tallied 10 goals and 20 points in the series and stood as the playoff-scoring leader aer the first round.
So now it’s just a matter of waiting to see what he’ll do to keep himself busy as he waits for the dra on June 28. Although he’s eligible to play for Canada at the U18 Worlds, he’s more likely to join the national team for the Men’s World Championship, giving everyone one last chance to watch him in action before he embarks on a career that could have an even larger impact on the hobby than McDavid’s.
And Bedard won’t be the only throw-a-party pull from UD1. Devon Levi of the Buffalo Sabres stacks up as one of the most promising netminders we’ve seen in years. e 21-year-old claimed back-to-back Mike Richter Awards as the top goalie in college hockey, and his game has current NHLers like Jusse Saros looking to him for tips. As you’ll read in our feature on pg. 14, he’s a collector himself who’ll be playing in a hobby market that can be as good as any in the league. And he might be the final piece for a young and exciting team that seems built for Stanley Cup contention in just a few years.
Add in other young hopefuls like Nashville netminder Yaroslav Askarov, Toronto winger Matthew Knies, New Jersey defender Luke Hughes, and likely secondoverall pick Adam Fantilli, and this could be a Young Guns crop for the ages.
November can’t get here soon enough!