Golden Knights Hockey Card Checklist

Being stuck at home isn’t ideal but it does open up time to basically do just about anything. Some are working on loose handrails, others are taking up painting, Netflix binging, but in my case going through boxes and boxes of NHL common cards.

Pulled these from the same box. I now have to explain the business side of hockey to my son. pic.twitter.com/0s4wGmbWlN

— Jason R. Pothier (@JRPothier) March 9, 2020

About six months ago my young son starting getting into hockey and baseball cards. It started with a Golden Knights team set, then grew to a few packs at Target, to eventually pulling singles from the local card shop. On one visit my four-year-old became overly excited when he pulled a random Roberto Luongo card. Valued at .65 cents, it’s become one of his favorite cards. No idea why, but it doesn’t matter.

With time in hand, the boy and I decided to do some inventory. Two full seasons and a paused one later, we found the Golden Knights are well represented in the hockey card world. From common cards like Nick Holden, Jon Merrill or William Carrier, to specially autographed and game-worn jersey inserts from your favorite stars.

According to Trading Card Database, there are a total of 3,811 separate Golden Knights hockey cards. Most are common cards you find in most packs, but there are plenty of insert cards available.

Autographed or signature inserts include; Shea Theodore, Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Alex Tuch, Cody Glass, Zach Whitecloud, Nic Roy. Not shocking, the most valuable auto-cards are Upper Deck’s Marc-Andre Fleury autographed, VGK jersey cards. Most range $175-$200 in value. Autograph cards are hard to find (1:276), as in one per every 276 individual packs.

My personal favorite inserts are game-worn jersey cards. They’re not as elusive as player signature cards. Beckett.com lists jersey cards as (1:40), or one per 40 packs. If you do get lucky, hopefully, it’s a card with value or has some sentiment. As cool as they are, most are overpriced. For instance, on eBay, you can buy an Upper Deck game-used Fleury jersey card for $2,669.99, and an Alex Tuch patch insert for $499.99. As well crafted as these cards are, there are plenty of them released so they don’t hold value. Consider them like a car. However, here are a few that could hold value.

Trading card companies don’t produce as many cards as they used to, so not every player is featured in a series. Also, companies sign contracts with younger players and develop entire lines of cards around those projected stars. Tuch has the most trading cards as a Golden Knight. Fleury would be second, but you’d be surprised who follows. Cody Glass has upwards of ten separate autograph/jersey cards, including several Draft Day autographed jersey cards. At the young age of 20, the 2017 sixth overall pick has 341 different trading cards, most being released before he played a game for Vegas. If Glass pans out like the organization expects his cards could hold and possibly gain value over time.

Of those 3,811 VGK cards, most are common cards, but some are more desirable than others. Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty’s Upper Deck Canvas inserts are sharp looking, as are their Silver Script cards. Those cards are much easier to find, (1:6) packs. Most fan favorites, have some form of alternate card along with a standard card for the past three seasons. Don’t get disappointed when you find them to be worth around $1-$1.75.

Most players to don a Vegas jersey has some sort of trading card. Those include Erik Brannstrom, Nikita Gusev, TJ Tynan, Tomas Hyka and even Vadim Shipaychov. The first retired Golden Knight has multiple game-worn jersey cards that range $50-$200 in cost. Which may desirable for serious collectors wanting to possess every Golden Knight card ever produced. A blip in team history card could become valuable over time. But it’s unlikely.

So, if you’re just a fan or a deliberate collector, the Golden Knights have plenty of cards to fit your needs. Team sets are easy to find, and might be the best way to begin collecting. There are plenty on eBay or other e-commerce sites.

Vegas Card Inventory:

3,811 total cards
560 insert cards (Autograph/Jersey)
120 memorable moment cards
89 rookie cards

If you’re looking for a wider range of cards, Target and some Walmart’s sell Upper Deck boxes and packs. You might find some luck pulling a few inserts on your own, but please wait until the isolation period is over.

Pack Insert Odds:

1:4 Young Guns
1:6 Pure Energy
1:6 UD Portraits
1:6 UD Canvas
1:40 Game Jersey
1:76 Shooting Stars
1:276 Signature Sensations
1:576 Generation Next

If you’re like my kid and are in love with all of these cards, good news,  you can find them all online. Some, if not most are marked up, but in the long run purchasing single cards could save you money and time. It takes a lot of luck and time searching through hundreds of individual packs.

Then again, with the NHL pause still intact, all we have is time.