With the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, there was little doubt that Connor Bedard was going to be taken first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks®. While the team’s fans were excited by the impending arrival of the game’s top prospect, fans around the world were excited to see what he could deliver on the ice for a team that needed a future superstar on its roster.

Whenever a talent of great promise hits the ice for the first time, card collectors begin to buzz about their rookie cards. In many cases, the buzz hits a feverish pitch with the arrival of their Young Guns® card in Upper Deck’s annual flagship release. For this past season, the excitement was in overdrive as Bedard’s coveted card arrived in packs of 2023-24 Upper Deck NHL Series 2. At this point, hockey fans were already aware of what he was doing on the ice, and after returning from an injury, he had turned his game up a few notches in the quest for the Calder Trophy.

In the days following this coveted card’s release, Bedard enjoyed his biggest game of the year as he scored once and set up four other goals as Chicago defeated the Anaheim Ducks®. By the end of the regular schedule, the Blackhawks were long out of a playoff spot – but hopes are high heading into next season and beyond. The team holds the second overall pick at the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft in Las Vegas, NV and already has a pool of promising prospects whose skills will continue to develop.

The impact Bedard has had on the hockey world in such a short period has rarely been matched, but there are a few first picks in recent hockey history have created a similar amount of excitement. Players such as Patrick Kane (2007), John Tavares (2009), and Nathan MacKinnon (2013) were instant favorites – but the term “generational talent” became part of hockey’s lexicon in 2015.

With the first overall pick that year, the Edmonton Oilers® and their fans felt hope return as they added a true generational talent to their ranks in the form of Upper Deck spokesman Connor McDavid. His arrival sparked renewed interest for many Oilers fans that had been through the toughest times in franchise history. A year later, the Toronto Maple Leafs® picked Auston Matthews first and the high-scoring superstar’s impact was instant, not only with a four-goal debut and Calder Trophy honors, but his presence on the ice quickly returned the Original Six franchise to playoff contention. Today, both players continually aim higher and reach for greater heights with Matthews delivering a 69-goal effort in 2023-24 while McDavid captained the Oilers to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2006.

Several recent top picks have also been making a mark on the ice and in the collecting community. Jack Hughes, who went first in 2019, has been an offensive juggernaut for the New Jersey Devils® and is poised to become one of the greatest players in franchise history. Upper Deck spokesman Alexis Lafrenière was claimed first by the New York Rangers® the next year and hit career highs this past season before making a deep playoff run to the Eastern Conference Final. The Montreal Canadiens® are also pleased by the big improvements in 2022 first-pick Juraj Slafkovsky’s game as he hit the 20-goal and 50-point plateaus as a sophomore.

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