Gavin McKenna's Surprise Rookie Card is a Big Hit
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One of the most sought-after NHL rookies that hockey card collectors will be chasing during the 2026-27 NHL season is Gavin McKenna. For people with that goal in mind, we have some great news. Two previously unannounced Gavin McKenna rookie cards have now entered the hobby market in the past week alone. We will take a look at these two cards from Upper Deck here. One is through Upper Deck Moments, and the other is an off-checklist short print card from 2026-27 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey.
2026-27 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Gavin McKenna SP-1
We start with the surprise card, not featured on the 2026-27 Upper Deck Series One Hockey checklist; this card is numbered "SP-1" and features the #1 overall draft pick with his index finger raised on draft night. What a fantastic surprise to get out of the gate for Upper Deck's flagship release. How hard was it for those within the company to keep the secret? Although we don't get intel on this specific question, we did get some interesting info from Upper Deck.
Doug Plagens, host of the Nonsense on Ice podcast, interviewed Upper Deck Director of Sports Paul Zickler on the Oct. 9 episode. During the show, Plagens asked, "What's standing out for you from the release?" and also mentioned the Gavin McKenna SP-1 cards being posted on social media. In Zickler's response, he gave tremendous credit to the card designers, the Upper Deck team at large, and artist collaborators.
Upper Deck has been able to keep their proverbial cards close to the vest about whether there are any other off-list cards to be found. Therefore, it's anyone's guess if more surprises are to yet to come.
We will have to wait and see what else is discovered in the 2026-26 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey release. For now, let's turn our attention to what is a guaranteed Gavin McKenna Rookie card if you decide to buy the currently available e-pack.
2026-27 Upper Deck Moments Gavin McKenna #7
One of the very few Upper Deck Moments cards ever made features Gavin McKenna in a moment of celebration following his first NHL goal. The Upper Deck Moments cards combine the established infrastructure of Upper Deck's e-pack platform with the card-worthy images and occasions from the NHL season. This particular card, as seen above, is available to purchase through the Upper Deck e-pack website until October 14, 2026, at 9:59 AM Pacific Time for $6.99.
On the same episode of the aforementioned Nonsense on Ice podcast, host Doug Plagens and Upper Deck's President of Sports Paul Zickler also discussed the Upper Deck Moments releases. Zickler shared his thoughts on some of the best aspects of the product, including McKenna's first goal and the emotions involved in such an occurrence: "You could see a celebration ... but what I appreciated most was Austin Matthews' face in the background and how big his smile was."
In case you missed it, check it out with the clip below which shows this momentous occasion.
Zickler sums it all up pretty well as he expounds on this young player's first goal: "You know, that's the cool thing about sports, but we were excited to create a moment based on that first goal of McKenna. I know that there'll be a lot more to come."
With that, we look forward to a lot more to come from McKenna, the NHL season, and this year of hockey cards!
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D. Allen Thompson is a contributing collectibles writer with eclectic tastes. He provides enthusiastic commentary on the ever-evolving world of trading cards against the backdrop of the broader historical, economic, and societal contexts in which they exist. He is on a journey to find fascinating stories and meet interesting people while using trading cards as the guideposts to lead the way to the American Dream.