Kick off the hockey card season with one of the most anticipated releases of the year. 2025–26 Upper Deck Series 1 is an excellent starting point for retailers who want to introduce or grow a sports card offering. With its well-known Young Guns rookie cards, strong collector demand and a wide range of inserts, Series 1 remains one of the most reliable products for steady in-store interest. This release features an exciting rookie class, appealing chase elements and formats suited for every type of buyer. If you are looking for a product that captures the energy of the hockey hobby and supports consistent sales throughout the season, Series 1 is a smart choice.

If you’re curious about what’s included in this release, we’ve broken it down for you below and included details about what you expect. Not sure about some of the terminology? Refresh your sports card knowledge with this reference post. 

Base Set

2025-26 Upper Deck Series 1 includes a 250 card base set, featuring 200 veteran base cards and 50 new Young Guns rookie cards. Young Guns are one of the most iconic rookie cards in the hobby, making them a must-have for anyone’s collection. 

Some of the key rookies in 2025-26 Upper Deck Series 1 include Montreal Canadiens phenom Ivan Demidov and St. Louis Blues forward Jimmy Snuggerud.

You can chase after a variety of base parallels including Outburst Silver parallels in all formats of 2025-26 Upper Deck Series 1, while the hobby version has Deluxe (#’d to 250), Exclusives (#’d to 100), Clear Cut (1:36 hobby packs), Outburst Red (#’d to 25), High Gloss (#’d to 10), and the elusive 1-of-1 Outburst Gold parallels.

There are also tough-to-find base image variations like Swagnificents (1:288 hobby packs) that showcase players’ pre-game outfits, Celebration Variations (1:2000 hobby packs) which feature the iconic celebrations of some the game’s biggest stars, and Snow Spray Autograph Variations (1:4000 hobby packs).

Rare Inserts

New to Series 1 are Bootlegs (1:1440 hobby packs). All 18 Bootleg cards feature a unique design and this set is exclusive to Series 1.

Holotypes (1:504 hobby packs) are another shortprint insert set that is exclusive to Upper Deck Series 1. The second year of Holotypes adds another 30 cards to the multi-year checklist that won’t feature any duplicate players.

The final rare inserts are Fanimations. Printed on canvas, this year’s Fanimation set features portraits of players with a tear splitting a photo and a hand–drawn illustration.

Inserts Galore

2025-26 Upper Deck Series 1 brings back many of the core sets collectors know and love, including UD Canvas (1:3 packs), Dazzlers (1:12 packs), and UD Portraits (1:5 packs).

There are 8 new insert sets in 2025-26 Upper Deck Series 1 this year, including Cup Quest (1:8 packs) which features players who are hoping to win their first Stanley Cup.

Upper Deck reintroduced Encore (1:3 packs) inserts to Series 1 this year. Printed on foil LTFX, this 100 card set will get an additional 100 cards when the 2025-26 Upper Deck Series releases later this year.

Sizzle Reel (1:4 packs) inserts showcase some of the top highlight reel plays from the past season with a QR code that you can scan on the back that allow you to relive the moment again.

Other inserts include Compositions (1:5 packs), Goal Oriented (1:8 packs), Bustle (1:8 packs), Compadres (1:10 packs), and Tracking Systems (1:5 packs).

Final thoughts

If you’ve seen success carrying Pokemon and other TCGs in your store, Upper Deck hockey is the next brand to consider when expanding your trading card category. If you’re looking for more information, or want to learn about the ways that Upper Deck could fit into your store, feel free to reach out to us, or contact your account manager directly any time.