Gavin McKenna’s rookie-card chase has gained two early and notably different entries. An unannounced short print has been found in 2026-27 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey, while an Upper Deck Moments card marking McKenna’s first NHL goal has appeared through the company’s e-Pack platform.
The two releases give collectors distinct kinds of cards to consider. The Series 1 card is a physical flagship-release surprise that was not on the published checklist. The Moments card is tied directly to a particular on-ice event and was made available through the digital-card infrastructure of e-Pack. Neither is simply another routine checklist listing, which is why both have immediate relevance for collectors tracking McKenna’s earliest NHL issues.
The off-checklist Series 1 card: Gavin McKenna SP-1
The first discovery is numbered SP-1 and comes from 2026-27 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey. It was not included on the product’s checklist. The card depicts McKenna, identified as the No. 1 overall draft pick, holding up his index finger on draft night.
In card-collecting language, a short print, often abbreviated to SP, generally refers to a card produced in lower quantities than more standard cards in a release. Here, the SP designation matters for a second reason: its existence was itself a surprise. An off-checklist card is not one collectors could have planned around by consulting the initial card list. It has to be discovered after packs begin circulating.
That distinction is practical. A published checklist helps collectors set goals, judge the likely shape of a set and identify exactly what they are trying to pull or acquire. An unlisted SP changes that calculation after the fact. Its presence introduces a layer of uncertainty that can be fun for pack-opening collectors, but it also means there is not yet a complete public picture of whether SP-1 is an isolated hidden addition or part of a broader group of undisclosed cards.
Upper Deck has not indicated whether further off-list cards are in the release. For now, collectors should treat any expectations of more surprise cards as speculation rather than a confirmed feature of Series 1.
Why the SP-1 discovery is different from a normal rookie checklist entry
Flagship products are often approached as checklist-driven releases: collectors look for base cards, rookies, inserts and parallels that are known in advance. A card such as SP-1 is different because it sits outside that published roadmap. It also attaches McKenna to a recognizable career landmark rather than an ordinary in-game image: draft night and his status as the first overall selection.
That does not establish the card’s production quantity, long-term market value or its precise distribution odds; none of those details have been provided. It does establish that collectors opening 2026-27 Series 1 Hockey may encounter a McKenna card they could not have identified from the original checklist alone.
Related coverage includes Gavin McKenna Rookie Cards Arrive Early With Surprise Upper Deck SP and Moments Release.
For collectors who want a collection organized around officially listed cards, keeping SP-1 separately noted as an unannounced short print may be useful. For player collectors, meanwhile, it is an early McKenna issue with a clear narrative image and a discovery story attached to it.
Upper Deck Moments #7 captures McKenna’s first NHL goal
The other newly available McKenna card is 2026-27 Upper Deck Moments #7. Rather than revisiting draft night, this release centers on McKenna celebrating after his first NHL goal.
Upper Deck Moments uses the e-Pack system to turn select current-season events and images into cards. Its basic appeal is straightforward: instead of waiting for a traditional set to include a player or milestone, the platform can spotlight a specific moment from the NHL season. In McKenna’s case, the chosen event is an obvious one for an early-career collection: the first goal.
The card’s image also includes Austin Matthews in the background. Upper Deck sports executive Paul Zickler highlighted Matthews’ large smile as a detail that added to the scene. That is a useful example of what makes a moment-based card more than a stat-line marker. The goal is the milestone, but the surrounding reaction helps place it in a particular visual memory of the season.
“You could see a celebration ... but what I appreciated most was Austin Matthews' face in the background and how big his smile was.”
Moment cards are designed around that kind of context. A conventional rookie card can establish that a player belonged in a set during a given year. A card commemorating a first goal identifies one discrete event. For collectors building a McKenna run, the two functions can complement one another: Series 1 SP-1 captures the draft-night identity, while Moments #7 records an early NHL achievement.
e-Pack availability and the date collectors need to know
Upper Deck Moments #7 was offered through the Upper Deck e-Pack website for $6.99 until October 14, 2026, at 9:59 a.m. Pacific Time. That is a defined purchase window, not an indication of an unlimited ongoing listing.
Collectors should also avoid conflating an e-Pack card with a standard pack pull. The provided information describes Moments as using e-Pack’s established platform alongside images and occasions selected from the NHL season. The Series 1 SP, by contrast, is tied to the physical flagship release and was discovered as an unlisted card. They are both McKenna rookie issues, but their routes to collectors and their release logic are different.
For a collector deciding which card best fits their goal, the key question is less about declaring one objectively better and more about deciding what they collect:
- Set and pack-opening collectors may focus on SP-1 because it is a surprise addition to Series 1 Hockey.
- Player collectors may want both, as they document separate milestones in McKenna’s early NHL story.
- Event-focused collectors may prefer Moments #7 because the card is explicitly built around his first NHL goal.
- Checklist purists should recognize that SP-1 was not part of the published Series 1 list, while the Moments card is a standalone, time-limited e-Pack offering.
What has been confirmed — and what has not
There is plenty to distinguish here without filling in gaps that have not been addressed. Confirmed details include the card number and draft-night image for SP-1, its absence from the original Series 1 checklist, and the fact that it is a short print. For Moments #7, the confirmed details are its connection to McKenna’s first NHL goal, the involvement of e-Pack, its $6.99 price and the stated October 14 deadline.
There is no confirmed information here on SP-1 print run, pull rate, a full list of possible additional hidden Series 1 cards or any comparative value between the two McKenna releases. Collectors should be cautious about treating early social-media sightings as evidence of scarcity beyond the card’s SP label, or as proof that another surprise is guaranteed.
This is especially important with newly discovered cards. The first few days after a card surfaces can be shaped by incomplete information: collectors may be learning that it exists, trying to determine how it is distributed, and waiting to see whether other examples appear. A disciplined collection record should separate known facts from the assumptions that tend to grow around a surprise pull.
A strong start for McKenna’s rookie-card trail
McKenna now has two rookie cards arriving with unusually specific stories. SP-1 is a hidden wrinkle in a flagship 2026-27 release, framed around the No. 1 pick on draft night. Upper Deck Moments #7 uses the first NHL goal as its focal point, with a celebratory image that includes a memorable reaction in the background.
That gives the 2026-27 McKenna card chase early range: one card emerged from a physical release without checklist warning, and another was built around a milestone through e-Pack. The mystery surrounding whether Series 1 holds further off-checklist cards remains unresolved, but the immediate facts are clear enough for collectors to start cataloging: SP-1 and Moments #7 are separate rookie-card entries with separate paths, subjects and reasons to matter.
Collectors following sports-card discoveries may also want to see how a major vintage-card listing is framed in this look at a rare Ty Cobb T206 with a “Ty Cobb” back.
