✅ Set Overview & Why Collectors Care

  • Release: The 2024-25 edition of The Cup (UD’s flagship high-end hockey brand) is officially detailed. Beckett

  • What it is: Top-tier hobby product, high quality materials, very limited print runs, serious chase cards (rookie patch autos, legendary autos, etc).

  • Collector appeal: If you’re into “if I pull one big card it could pay for the box” territory, this is one of the sets. The vibe: luxury-hobby meets “I’m hoping for a 1/1 or very low serial.”

  • Because of that, it’s not “buy for base print runs” so much as “buy for the chase”—you’ll want to know what those chases are.

 

 

 

 

 

🎯 Chase Cards & Checklist Highlights

From the available info:

  • Rookies: The set includes a “Rookie Autograph Patch” line (RAP) that is a major feature of The Cup. Collectors expect the top rookies of 2024-25 season to have autos & patches in this set. Beckett

  • Veteran/Legend Autos: High-end autos of past stars or premier players (on-card autograph, patch, very low print runs).

  • Parallel / numbered versions: As usual in The Cup, expect parallels of each card with very low serials, possibly /50, /25, /10, /1. The checklist preview hints at print runs for many items.

  • Special material or “booklet” or “rare insert” cards: These tend to be ultra-limited in The Cup (think 1/1 black foil shield, etc). While the preview for 2024-25 doesn’t list every one publicly yet, prior years do and the expectation holds.

  • Base set: The “normal” cards (veterans + rookies) form the backbone—but the value lies in the hits/patches/autos.

⚙️ Box Configuration & Known Odds

According to the checklist preview:

  • Hobby Box: ~$1,400+ price (from pre-listings) for this product.

  • Typical HOY (Hit Odds Yield) for The Cup: likely “1 Rookie Autograph Patch per box (minimum) + maybe multiple low-print parallel autos.”

  • From the preview:

    “2024-25 Upper Deck The Cup Hockey checklist details, hobby box breakdown, print runs, odds…” Beckett

  • While exact full odds (for each subset) haven’t all been publicly detailed in the preview, what we do know is that print runs are extremely limited and many cards are serial-numbered very low.

  • Collector interpretation: Expect 1 major hit (auto patch) per box, and the chance of a “case hit” (1/1, extremely low) is there but razor thin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

🎯 Major Chase Cards in The Cup 2024-25

From what the checklist previews show, these are the big-hit categories where you’ll hope to pull something epic. Checklist Insider+1

  • Base Rookie Autograph Patch (RAP): Every Hobby box has 1 of these. Big rookie patch + autograph. Go GTS - Power of Partnership+1

  • Base Set Cards numbered to /249: Even the “regular” base cards are limited print runs. Checklist Insider

  • Autograph Relics / Booklets / Printing Plates: Very low print numbers. Examples: Materialisticks Auto (/15), Monumental Patch Booklets (1/1). Checklist Insider+1

  • Elite Auto Subsets:

  • Ultra-Rare Parallels / One-of-Ones: Think 1/1 printing plates, booklet 1/1s, Shield Black Foil 1/1 for rookies. Checklist Insider

Collector humor note: Pulling one of these is like finding a golden ticket in a cereal box—except the cereal box costs $1,400 and the golden ticket might pay your rent.

🧒 Top Rookies to Chase

Here are several rookie names likely featured in The Cup 2024-25 that have strong upside. Use these as your “rookie target list” when flipping through checklists or singles markets.

  • Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks) – high-draft star, major hype.

  • Cutter Gauthier (Anaheim Ducks) – big forward with skill.

  • Bradly Nadeau (Carolina Hurricanes) – elite junior stats, “can’t miss” profiling.

  • Matvei Michkov (Philadelphia Flyers) – massive hype, international star.

  • Will Smith (San Jose Sharks) – among the promising young forwards.

(These names pulled from rookies lists for UD’s 2024-25 rookie ladder sets.) Checklist Insider

When you combine a rookie like one above with a prime chase subset (like RAP, booklet, 1/1), you have the recipe for a collectible superstar piece.

✅ Why These Matter (and How to Decide What to Buy)

  • Rookie-autos + Patches = biggest potential growth. The Cup’s version gives extremely limited print runs, so scarcity is built in.

  • Autograph Relic Booklets / 1/1s = show-piece display cards; often the “dream pull” from each box.

  • Parallel numbering = even if you don’t pull a massive rookie, finding a #’d parallel (#/49, /25, /10) of a known star gives you a strong piece.

  • Condition & authenticity matter extremely in high-end product—if you pull one of the rarer cards, make sure it’s slabbed, well-protected.

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