2025–26 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey Checklist: Young Guns and Parallels

Matthew Schaefer #451, Easton Cowan #462 and Michael Misa #487 are three exact starting points for a 2025–26 Upper Deck Series 2 Young Guns collection. Upper Deck highlights those players alongside Ben Kindel and Zeev Buium in its Series 2 overview. Their regular Young Guns anchor a player collection; numbered parallels and acetate Clear Cut versions give collectors other ways to pursue the same subjects.

Series 2 continues the season’s flagship base set with cards 251–500. Upper Deck describes the 250-card installment as 198 veteran cards, 49 Young Guns rookie cards and three checklist cards in its Hobby product overview. Start a want list with the subject, card number and version together.

Where the base cards give way to Young Guns

Olen Zellweger #251 and Cutter Gauthier #252 open the Anaheim sequence. The checklist’s Clear Cut section repeats Jackson LaCombe #253, Alex Killorn #254 and Frank Vatrano #255 under those same numbers. Connor Bedard #285 and Cale Makar #289 are other useful base-card anchors.

At the end of the regular base portion, #449 pairs Jack Hughes with Cole Caufield and #450 pairs Jack Eichel with Tage Thompson. Both are checklist cards under the Base Set heading. Schaefer #451 begins the Young Guns section in the official checklist.

A Hughes or Caufield collector can record #449 as a shared checklist appearance; a full-set collector needs it as one numbered card. Keeping that distinction on a want list makes abbreviated seller titles easier to sort.

Young Guns names and card numbers

The Young Guns numbering reaches #500, but the run should not be described as 50 individual player rookie cards. Upper Deck’s High Gloss and Clear Cut Young Guns sections identify #498 as Tusky of the Utah Mammoth, #499 as Matthew Schaefer/Marc Gatcomb, and #500 as the Michael Misa/Matthew Schaefer checklist. Schaefer’s individual #451, his shared #499 appearance and the #500 checklist are separate targets.

These selected entries offer starting points for player and team collections. Use Upper Deck’s complete checklist for the remaining numbers and versions.

For a Minnesota collection, Yurov #452 and Buium #486 are two distinct rookie targets. For a Misa collection, #487 identifies his individual Young Guns and #500 identifies the shared checklist. Record each appearance separately, then add the parallel name if you pursue another version. Upper Deck’s highlighted names offer a starting list, rather than a prediction of future card values.

Match the stated odds to the format

Upper Deck’s Series 2 overview states six Young Guns per box, on average. The checklist gives the following format ratios beside the regular base and Young Guns entries. The labels reproduce its wording without expanding the abbreviations.

These are rates for card groups, not the odds of pulling Schaefer or another named subject. Keep the exact format beside any comparison, especially the tin’s 2:1 notation. The manufacturer’s odds column is the reference for the group and format together. An insertion rate helps set expectations for opening packs; an exact card number helps compare singles.

Numbered parallels and Clear Cut

The checklist repeats base subjects under Deluxe /250, Exclusives /100 and High Gloss /10 headings, including Young Guns entries. Those numbered rows describe random inserts in Hobby and e-Pack. A Deluxe Schaefer #451 keeps his regular rookie number while adding a serial-numbered edition.

Clear Cut changes the material: Upper Deck identifies it as acetate and a Hobby-exclusive parallel. Its regular-base and Young Guns groups have different stated Hobby odds. Those rates describe insertion of the groups, rather than the print run or pull rate of a particular player.

The checklist supplies the Deluxe, Exclusives, High Gloss and Clear Cut details; the product overview identifies Outburst Red and Gold. Upper Deck also states one Outburst Silver parallel per box, on average. The regular-base Outburst rows carry 1:30 h, 1:30 e, 1:90 r, 1:90 b, 1:90 mega, 1:45 hanger and 1:90 tin. Keep those ratios attached to that group when comparing versions.

A player collector can choose a numbered edition for its documented limit or Clear Cut for its acetate construction. Keep the full identity together when comparing listings: 2025–26 Series 2, Matthew Schaefer #451, Deluxe /250, for example. Serial numbering identifies the edition size; the actual card’s condition and asking price still need their own judgment.

Inserts and box averages

The rookie chase shares the product with several returning insert lines. Upper Deck’s box-break summary lists these averages, rather than a fixed allocation for every box.

UD Canvas adds the next 150 cards of its intra-series set, with Black & White variations and printing plates also listed. Dazzlers contributes the next 50 cards, pairing star veterans and rookies in Blue, Pink and the new rare Gold version. These offer collecting routes built around a recurring insert line alongside the flagship base cards.

UD Portraits adds 30 veteran-star and rookie cards on foilboard, with Speckle, Black, Red /99 and Gold /10 parallels. Sizzle Reel adds 35 cards whose backs carry QR codes linking to videos of the featured moments. Encore returns with Light FX technology and the next 100 cards of its intra-series set. Those material and presentation differences give collectors concrete reasons to favor one insert run over another.

The official overview states 12 cards per standard pack. For a particular rookie, start with the exact numbered single and inspect its pictured version; for a set-building project, keep the regular #251–500 run separate from the insert and parallel lists.