Connor Bedard Cards: Collect the Face of Chicago's Rebuild

The Case for Getting In Early

First overall pick. Calder Trophy winner. Highlight-reel goals as a teenager on a rebuilding roster. Connor Bedard entered the NHL in 2023 carrying expectations that few teenagers in any sport have ever faced, and he delivered immediately — posting elite production and winning Rookie of the Year while anchoring a rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks team. His combination of elite skating, a lethal release, and playmaking vision at 17 drew direct comparisons to Sidney Crosby's arrival in Pittsburgh. That kind of generational narrative is what turns rookie cards into long-term cornerstone pieces, and Bedard's story is still just beginning.

Bedard's collector base spans the full spectrum. Prospectors who bought pre-release products are sitting on early gains. Set builders prioritize the flagship Young Guns for their PC. High-end collectors chase The Cup RPAs and SP Authentic autos for display-worthy pieces. The depth of demand across every price tier makes Bedard the most liquid name in modern hockey cards.

Key Cards at Every Price Point

2023-24 Upper Deck Young Guns #451

The flagship Bedard rookie and the card every hockey collector needs. The print run is large relative to other products, but relentless demand keeps PSA 10 copies at a premium. This is the benchmark card for tracking his market.

2023-24 SP Authentic Future Watch Auto

The premier on-card autographed rookie with limited numbering. Future Watch carries decades of brand equity in hockey collecting, and Bedard's version is the most sought-after auto in the entire 2023-24 product cycle.

2023-24 The Cup Rookie Patch Auto

The pinnacle of Bedard's rookie card market. Numbered to 99 or less with premium patch windows and on-card signatures, Cup RPAs regularly command five-figure prices and represent the ceiling for any modern hockey player's cardboard.

What to Watch For — and When to Buy

On-ice performance is the primary catalyst. Every scoring streak, milestone, and Blackhawks win amplifies demand in real time. His Calder Trophy win validated the generational hype, and postseason contention would be the next major turning point, as Chicago's rebuild timeline directly affects how quickly Bedard's market matures from speculative to established. Your best buying windows are during cold streaks, after Blackhawks losses, or during the offseason when attention shifts — that is when prices cool and sellers are more willing to negotiate.

Here is what the supply picture means when you are shopping: the Young Guns base card has a large print run, which keeps raw copies accessible but puts a premium on high-grade examples. PSA 10 copies command a significant multiplier over PSA 9s, and population reports will increasingly drive pricing as more cards enter the grading pipeline. If you are targeting a PSA 10, watch for new grading batch results — a sudden jump in the gem-mint population can briefly soften prices before demand catches up.

Mantel Tracks It All

A four-point night in Chicago can reprice Bedard's Young Guns within hours, and if you are waiting to manually check listings after the highlights hit social media, you are already behind. Mantel's Wish List alerts notify you the moment a specific Bedard card appears at your target price, so you can act on scoring streaks and breakout performances before the broader market adjusts. SLAM scores measure actual sales velocity, price trends, and trading activity, telling you whether a hot stretch is generating real sustained demand or a short-lived spike. Comps show what Bedard cards are actually selling for — not just asking prices — so you know exactly where fair value sits before you buy. Real-time listings from eBay and Fanatics Collect flow into one searchable feed, letting you compare across sellers and products without hopping between platforms. And the Mantel community is where Bedard collectors connect, sharing pickups, breaking down how the Blackhawks rebuild is shaping his trajectory, and reacting to every milestone as it happens.

Bedard's market moves on performance, and the collectors who benefit most are the ones who get the alert before the price adjusts. Mantel gives you Wish List notifications, real-time data, and a collector network tracking every game in Chicago. Start tracking Bedard cards on Mantel and get ahead of the next chapter.