2024-25 Upper Deck Engrained Icons Hockey

2024-25 Upper Deck Engrained Icons Hockey centers on retired NHL names and keeps sticks at the heart of the design. The set pairs a 100-card base checklist with wood styling, low-numbered parallels, multi-player cards, memorabilia, and autographs, while Carved in Time adds the only standard insert on wood stock.

A set built around hockey history

This release leans into Engrained’s established stick-centered identity, but its scope is firmly retrospective. The checklist is made up of retired players, so the appeal is in collecting past stars and notable names rather than chasing current rosters. The base set uses a modern layout with a wood motif, which gives the cards a consistent look even when the checklist branches into parallels, autographs, and memorabilia. For collectors who like a theme to run through every tier, that continuity is one of the product’s strongest features.

The base set totals 100 cards, and the parallel structure stays relatively restrained. Standard parallels are Ebony (/199), Mahogany (/75), and Rosewood (1/1). That mix gives the set a clear ladder without spreading the chase across too many variants, which can make it easier to focus on a specific color or finish instead of trying to cover every version.

Autographs, multi-player cards, and memorabilia

Autographed base cards follow the same wood-driven naming pattern. Select cards have Ebony autographs numbered to 49 or less, Mahogany autographs numbered to 10 or less, and Rosewood autographs numbered to 5 or less. Collectors who prefer layered rainbow projects can build around those tiers, while those who want a single statement piece can focus on the one-of-one Rosewood option. The structure makes the autograph side feel tied to the base design instead of treating signatures as a separate lane.

The checklist also includes Duals (/49), Triples (/25), and Quads (/10), all using multiple players. Gold versions exist for each, topping out at 25 copies for Duals, 15 for Triples, and 5 for Quads. On the memorabilia side, Remnants uses a tiered setup with cards numbered to 100 or less and Gold parallels to 25. Other memorabilia sets include Highlight Tapes, Complete Sticks, Rough Cuts, and Stickside Splinters, which gives the release several ways to collect memorabilia without relying on a single format. Complete Sticks also include autograph versions numbered to 25.

Distinctive insert and signature concepts

The most unusual memorabilia concept here is Highlight Tapes, which combines stick tape and a VHS tape design. Those cards come as singles numbered to 35 and duals numbered to 25, with Gold parallels numbered to 10. The idea fits the product’s retro lean very well, since it connects a familiar hockey-material detail with an older media format in a way that stands apart from the rest of the checklist.

Autographs are not limited to base cards. Beehive Portrait Signatures draws from a vintage hockey line for its visual cue, and the Red Ink parallels are numbered to 5. Because this is an all-retired release, those signatures fit the set’s overall character: the interest is in players from earlier eras presented through a design language that echoes hobby history without abandoning the Engrained stick theme.

The lone standard insert

Carved in Time is the only standard insert on the checklist, and it is numbered to 100. These cards are done on wood stock, which makes them feel aligned with the rest of the product rather than like a separate detour. That matters in a set like this, where the most appealing collecting choices tend to be the ones that stay close to the core concept.

For a collector building around theme rather than sheer volume, this release offers a few clear paths. You can chase the base set and its modest parallel ladder, collect retired-player autographs with a focus on the wood-themed tiers, or narrow the scope to a memorabilia subset such as Complete Sticks, Rough Cuts, or Highlight Tapes. Since the product mixes multi-player cards, signatures, and game-used pieces in a consistent design style, it works best when approached with a specific collecting lane in mind.