11 Best 2025 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2 Rookie Cards Rankings

Finally, the long-awaited Upper Deck Series 2 has dropped, and the best 2025 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2 rookie cards deliver a sweet Young Guns hunt for collectors.

With a loaded mix of NHL-tested defensemen and forwards with real PC upside, this series promises to deliver. Our ranking of the best 2025 Upper Deck Series 2 Young Guns blends big-league ice time, franchise upside, and some hobby sizzle that Series 2 has become known for.

Two years ago, Connor Bedard was the headliner, with Macklin Celebrini dominating “Wanted” lists last year.

By the way, you can get your very own Happy Hobby Collection Checklist, complete with a Want List, a Have List, and more, helping the Budget-Minded collector track his collection. Just sign up for the “Happy Hobby Sports Cards Newsletter for Collectors” for free, and you’ll get the link for the free download!

You can also catch our rankings of the 7 Best 2025 Upper Deck Hockey Rookie Cards from Series 1.

Now, let’s rank the best 2025 Young Guns from Series 2, and start moving players from our “Want” list to our “Have” list!

Most of the sports card links on this page will take you to eBay. That means I will get a commission on the sales from this page. If you end up buying from these links, I personally thank you for supporting my website! Even if you don’t buy anything, thank you for reading my article! Enjoy!

11 Best 2025 Upper Deck Series 2 Rookie Cards

We had Happy Hockey Hobbyist Randy Litzinger help us with our 2025 Upper Deck Series 2 Young Guns rankings. He’s a sports photographer, with several photos that have made their way to sports cards through the years!

1. Matthew Schaefer, D, N.Y. Islanders

• Matthew Schaefer – Card No. 451 – View on eBay!

According to Litzinger, “Schaefer is already one of the best skaters in the NHL — as an 18-year-old! He has 19 goals and 44 points already, and he’ll be one of the league’s three superstar offensive defensemen for years to come, along with Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes.

“Think Macklin Celebrini of defensemen.

“Schaefer’s better than Lane Hutson, last year’s standout rookie defenseman. Interestingly, Schaefer is Canadian and plays for a big market U.S. team, whereas Hutson is American and plays for a huge market Canadian team. Both will likely be playing for the USA and Canada in the next Olympics.”

2. Michael Misa, C, San Jose Sharks

• Michael Misa – Card No. 487 – View on eBay!

Misa fits right into San Jose’s young skill core as a dynamic, attacking center with the talent to grow into a top-line producer. If the Sharks’ rebuild works around Celebrini and Misa,then the latter’s rookie card has legitimate long-term upside, just behind his Shark-mate.

3. Ben Kindel, C, Pittsburgh Penguins

• Ben Kindel – Card No. 453 – View on eBay!

Kindel is carving out a nice NHL role on one of the top brand-name franchises in the NHL, making him a sneaky-strong rookie card play. In April, he’ll turn 19 years old, giving him a great runway to building up his counting stats for the next decade-plus.

If Kindel can stick in Pittsburgh’s top six and eventually help bridge the post-Sidney Crosby era, his cards will benefit from both opportunity and market.

4. Easton Cowan, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs

• Easton Cowan – Card No. 462 – View on eBay!

Our first winger on the list, Cowan also has that Maple Leafs logo helping his card stock climb. He’s a high-motor guy with great offensive instincts, and a versatile game coaches love – which means he’s earning trust. Any Toronto forward who sticks even as a complementary scorer gets a decent hobby bump.

5. Sam Dickinson, D, San Jose Sharks

• Sam Dickinson – Card No. 479 – View on eBay!

Tread those hockey hobby waters carefully because there are a lot of young Sharks out there ready to feed on goaltenders.

Dickinson is big, mobile, and stepping into a rebuild where he can grow into heavy minutes. He may not have the early offensive pop of others on this list, but he could become San Jose’s centerpiece workhorse on the back end.

6. Brady Martin, C, Nashville Predators

• Brady Martin – Card No. 459

The fifth overall pick from the 2025 NHL Draft showed up for a cup of coffee in October before returning to the minors. He turns 19 years old before the NHL season ends, which already ranks him as one of the better upside picks on this list. He’s a physical player, but he’s going to need better players alongside him before he becomes a hobby favorite.

7. Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D, Detroit Red Wings

• Axel Sandin-Pellikka – Card No. 484 – View on eBay!

Sandin-Pellikka projects as a power-play QB in an Original Six market, which is exactly what hockey card collectors want from a young defenseman. If the Swedish first-rounder from 2023 locks down a long-term role on Detroit’s top unit, A.S.P.’s rookie cards could age very well.

8. Zeev Buium, D, Vancouver Canucks

• Zeev Buium – Card No. 486 – View on eBay!

The 12th overall draft pick in the 2024 NHL Draft by Minnesota was traded to Vancouver last year. Buium’s parents are Israeli immigrants, but the 20-year-old defenseman was born in San Diego, and he enjoys dual citizenship. He helped the United States win back-to-back gold medals in the 2024 and 2025 World Junior Championships, and now he’s looking to bring more hardware to Vancouver.

If Buium settles in as a high-minute, all-situations defender on a competitive Canucks team, his rookie cards could quietly climb into that second-tier chase range.

9. Alexander Nikishin, D, Carolina Hurricanes

• Alexander Nikishin – Card No. 461 – View on eBay!

Nikishin is a 24-year-old Russian import, working among the top-four blue-liners in Raleigh. The problem for collectors is two-fold – he’s mostly a defensive defenseman, and he’s already several years older than most of the other players on this list.

Carolina could do some serious damage in the NHL Playoffs, which could increase Nikishin’s collectability.

10. Danila Yurov, RW, Minnesota Wild

• Danila Yurov – Card No. 452 – View on eBay!

The Russian winger has already produced overseas, and now he finally gets a chance to translate that game to Minnesota. If he finds chemistry in the Wild’s top six and the points come early, his rookie cards have the kind of breakout profile collectors love to be early on.

11. Arseni Gritsyuk, LW, New Jersey Devils

• Arseni Gritsyuk – Card No. 459

Another Russian! Another winger! … another 24-year-old with days left until his 25th birthday. He’s a later-round draft pick who has been quite helpful in New Jersey’s lineup, and he could work up into becoming a top-six forward, making his Young Guns a decent stash play.

• Best Hockey Rookie Cards From Every Year
• 7 Best 2025 Upper Deck Hockey Rookie Cards from Series 1

We hope you pull tons of great Young Guns every year, as you try to pull our list of the 11 best 2025 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2 rookie cards!