The annual Artifacts Hockey formula returns for 2026-27 with its familiar promise: there is a lot happening at once. The release combines a tiered base set, serial-numbered parallels, rookie cards, redemptions, autographs, memorabilia, acetate cards, and the returning Aurum code-collecting chase. In short, it is a product built for collectors who like their binder project to come with several optional side quests.
2026-27 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey is currently scheduled to release on September 16, 2026, subject to change. Hobby boxes are listed with eight packs of four cards, while a hobby case contains 20 boxes split into two 10-box inner cases.
The listed hobby-box configuration calls for two total autographs, memorabilia cards, or premium inserts; four serial-numbered base cards or base parallels; one Rookie Redemption or acetate card; and one Aurum insert. Those are stated category totals rather than promises of a particular player, subset, or serial number. Anyone reading the odds should keep that distinction in mind: a slot can produce different kinds of cards, and the more extravagant pull remains appropriately evasive.
Collectors new to modern sports-card shorthand can brush up on what terms such as numbered parallels, inserts, and rookie cards mean in this guide to card terms. The terminology carries over neatly from baseball to hockey, even if the jerseys have more ice involved.
A 240-card build with four base-set tiers
The main Artifacts checklist is arranged as 200 standard cards plus 40 Rookie Redemptions, for a 240-card total. The non-redemption portion is divided into four sections:
- Base, cards 1-100: 100 players.
- Stars, cards 101-150: 50 cards, each numbered to 699.
- Greats, cards 151-170: 20 cards, each numbered to 699.
- Rookies, cards 171-200: 30 cards, each numbered to 999.
The standard Base section includes names ranging from Matt Coronato and Nick Suzuki to Connor McMichael, Frank Nazar, Ryan Leonard, Wyatt Johnston, Luke Hughes, Gabriel Landeskog, Artyom Levshunov, and Cole Perfetti. Its numbered parallel ladder begins with Ruby /599 and runs through Orange /149, Sparkle /99, Copper /75, Rose /65, Yellow /50, Pink /35, Purple /25, Amber /15, Emerald /10, Black /5, and the one-of-one Masterful Artifacts version. Sky Blue is listed at 1:2 blaster packs, while Jade Green /100 is a blaster exclusive.
The Stars tier carries many of the set’s headline active names, including Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Connor Bedard, Cale Makar, Macklin Celebrini, Matvei Michkov, and Nikita Kucherov. The Greats tier mixes in retired stars such as Gordie Howe, Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, Pavel Bure, Mats Sundin, and Marian Hossa.
On the rookie side, the 30-card group includes Porter Martone, Anton Frondell, Carter Yakemchuk, Konsta Helenius, Sacha Boisvert, Oliver Bonk, Cole Hutson, Brayden Yager, James Hagens, Victor Eklund, and David Reinbacher. They have the same broad color progression, alongside Clear Cut acetate cards and hobby-only Leather, Wood, and Plexi treatments. Those material-style parallels also appear for Stars and Greats, with stated pull rates differing by section.
The autograph and memorabilia lanes
Artifacts has a large autograph and relic menu beyond the core base-card parallel structure. Black Base Autographs are numbered to five, and the Stars autograph checklist includes McDavid, Matthews, Bedard, Makar, Celebrini, Draisaitl, Ivan Demidov, and several more. The Greats autograph group includes Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, Pavel Bure, Marian Hossa, and Mats Sundin. Rookies such as Martone, Frondell, Yakemchuk, Helenius, Hagens, and Reinbacher also appear in Black Base Autographs /5.
Material Gold cards span standard base players, Stars, Greats, and Rookies. The print runs vary by tier: regular-base Material Gold cards are generally numbered to 249, Stars are generally /149, Greats are generally /99, and Rookies are generally /399. Emerald, Purple Patch, and Black Patch parallels lower those numbers further, though the exact availability changes for specific players. That player-by-player variation is worth checking before building a rainbow rather than assuming every name reaches every color.
Auto Material Gold combines signatures and memorabilia. Its Stars checklist is particularly deep, with names including Will Smith, Cole Caufield, Connor Hellebuyck, Connor McDavid, Bedard, Makar, Celebrini, Demidov, Lane Hutson, and Michkov. Some players are noted as having only certain versions, such as a Black-only appearance or no base version within the subset.
New and returning relic concepts
One new addition is Cold Hard Facts, a 12-card memorabilia set numbered to 25 with a Premium /15 parallel. The checklist includes Adam Fantilli, Matthews, McDavid, David Pastrnak, Jack Hughes, Mitch Marner, MacKinnon, and Victor Hedman.
The Alex Ovechkin-focused Arena Artifacts Salute to GR8Ness Seat Relics is a 10-card series numbered to 40. Each card links an Ovechkin milestone or memorable moment to a relic piece from seats at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Events represented include his first NHL game on October 5, 2005, his 500th goal on January 10, 2016, the 2018 Stanley Cup banner raising, and the April 10, 2025 all-time goals ceremony.
Other relic-driven sets include NHL Remnants, listed at 1:150 hobby packs and 1:160 blaster packs; Threads of Time at 1:400 hobby packs; Shutout Stubs /10; Puck Luck Souvenirs /4; Heavyweight Tickets /10; Timeless Tandems /25; and Tundra Teammates. The latter has Duos /49 and Quads /25, with Premium parallels /25 and /10 respectively. The checklist reaches from contemporary combinations such as Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar to historical pairs including Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.
Autograph-oriented specialty sets include Auto Facts at 1:38 hobby packs, Top Tier Rookie Signatures at 1:1,000, Antiquity Signatures /25, Admirable Impressions /24, Esteemed Endorsements /28, Signs of Success, Signature Apparel, Classic Franchises Signatures, Checkmates Dual Signatures, and a New York Rangers-focused Bench Marks selection. Wayne Gretzky is listed in the Rangers Bench Marks group /10 and in Esteemed Endorsements /28 as an Edmonton Oilers card.
Aurum is both an insert set and a race
Aurum returns as the product’s bounty program, and this year’s checklist reaches 84 cards. The first 48 are veteran cards at 1:13 hobby packs and have Teal /150 parallels. The remaining sections become progressively more difficult: Holdover Rookies 49-62 are listed at 1:64 hobby packs, All-Stars 63-72 at 1:107, and Greats 73-84 at 1:160.
Each Aurum card carries a scratch-off code. Entering all 84 codes at UpperDeckBounty.com makes a collector eligible for cards 85 and 86. Speed matters for additional awards: the first three finishers are slated to receive a 12-card Aurum set, an Aurum Autograph, and an Aurum Dual Autograph; the next seven receive the 12-card set plus an Aurum Autograph; and the following 15 receive the 12-card set. Later completers receive cards 85 and 86 only.
The Aurum roster crosses eras and categories. Its veteran run includes Bedard, McDavid, Crosby, Matthews, Draisaitl, Kucherov, Marner, and Hellebuyck. Rookie names include Frondell, Martone, Hagens, Helenius, Yakemchuk, Hutson, Yager, Bonk, Reinbacher, and Eklund. The Greats portion includes Bobby Orr, Darryl Sittler, Eric Lindros, Iginla, Gordie Howe, Marcel Dionne, Patrick Roy, Mike Bossy, Brian Leetch, Pavel Bure, and the Sedins.
For collectors who enjoy turning a manageable want list into a multi-tab spreadsheet with sudden urgency, the Aurum setup is likely the centerpiece. For everyone else, it is still a clearly defined 84-card insert project with stated tiered odds.
Rookie Redemptions leave room for the season to develop
The final 40 cards, RED201 through RED240, are Rookie Redemptions numbered to 999. They include a team-based redemption for each listed club plus eight Wild Card entries. Player names will be revealed later in the 2026-27 NHL season. The delayed approach reflects league restrictions around players appearing in official regular-season games before appearing on cards, allowing the product to arrive before every eligible debutant can be printed into the initial checklist.
The redemption program also extends beyond the base redemption cards. Listed variations include Platinum Sparkle, Yellow, Purple, Emerald, and Masterful Artifacts, along with Black Autographs, rookie relic redemptions, Rookie Auto Variations, and Horizontal Rookies Auto Redemptions. Many remain labeled TBD, so collectors should treat the eventual player assignments as information still to come rather than as a finalized rookie lineup.
Finally, the release adds several update cards: a Mats Sundin 2020 Honoured Members Signatures card /27, a Sergei Bobrovsky 2022 Signature Apparel card /12, and 2025-26 update material that includes 50 Clear Cut Rookies. That update list features Beckett Sennecke, Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, Easton Cowan, Ben Kindel, Sam Dickinson, and other players.
Whether the aim is a favorite team, a rookie chase, a specific autograph, or simply the colorful pursuit of one parallel too many, a little organization will help. The emotions that accompany that plan may be less orderly, as explored in The Collector’s Five Stages of Buying One Small Thing.
