Every Upper Deck Series 1 release brings a new Young Guns class, and comparing this year's group against last year's is a useful way to gauge what's actually different.
Here's a fact-based comparison between 2026-27 and 2025-26's Young Guns classes.
None of this requires having followed both release years closely to follow.
Understanding what carries over and what's genuinely new helps set realistic expectations for the newer set.
Since Series 1's Young Guns typically feature players who debuted or made an impact late in the prior season rather than the newest draft class, 2026-27's class draws heavily on players who broke into the NHL during the 2025-26 season. That's the same structural pattern that shaped 2025-26's own class the year before.
Understanding this cycle helps set expectations for which rookies show up in a given Series 1 release versus a later product.
The core structure — a 50-card Young Guns subset, UD Canvas Young Guns, and returning short prints like Bootleg — stays consistent from year to year, which is part of why collectors can approach a new release with a reasonably familiar framework. What changes is the specific player pool and any newly introduced inserts, like 2026-27's Stencils and Electric Soul.
Knowing what's structurally the same makes it easier to spot what's genuinely new in a given release.
Collectors chasing both years' Young Guns classes benefit from consistent, reliable storage. EVORETRO's 9-Pocket Binder with Elastic keeps a multi-year Young Guns run organized in one place.
For individual pulls as you open each year's product, EVORETRO's Perfect Fit Sleeves offer reliable everyday protection.
Rather than declaring one class definitively stronger than the other before either has had real NHL seasons to build on, the more useful comparison is structural: which players carry the strongest early buzz, and how does that compare to how last year's headline names were perceived at the same pre-release stage. That kind of comparison ages better than early hype alone.
Revisiting this comparison after both classes have a full season of NHL data is the more reliable way to judge which group actually held up.
A collector who's followed Young Guns across several release years develops a genuinely useful sense of how pre-release buzz tends to translate, or fail to translate, into lasting demand once a class has a full season or two of NHL performance behind it. That accumulated pattern recognition is one of the real advantages of sticking with a program over multiple years rather than jumping in and out.
Keeping simple notes on which pre-release predictions held up and which didn't, across past classes, is a genuinely useful habit for evaluating future years more accurately.
This kind of year-over-year comparison is one of the more underrated skills a long-term Young Guns collector can build.
Comparing draft pedigree, prospect rankings, and early performance data across rookie classes gives a more complete picture than looking at either year in isolation. A genuinely strong rookie class tends to produce more long-term valuable Young Guns cards than a comparatively weaker one, regardless of how either year's packaging or insert lineup compares.
Following how each class's top prospects actually perform once their NHL careers get underway is the most reliable way to judge which class holds up better over time.
Comparing rookie classes across different years always involves some uncertainty, since a class's true long-term strength often isn't clear until several NHL seasons have actually played out. Early comparisons are useful directional signals, not definitive rankings.
Revisiting this comparison again in a few years, once both rookie classes have had time to develop, will give a much more accurate final picture.
Names like Matthew Schaefer, Ivan Demidov, and Beckett Sennecke.
Porter Martone, drafted sixth overall.
Yes, including UD Canvas Young Guns and Bootleg, with new inserts added each year.
Series 1's Young Guns typically favor players who debuted late in the prior season.
Whichever class you're chasing, consistent protection matters across every release year. Browse EVORETRO's toploaders and sleeves collection to keep your Young Guns run organized.
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