10 Hockey Cards to Buy Right Now
From a $70 Crosby rookie to a $4,000 Gretzky, these are the top 10 hockey cards to buy in October.
Hockey collectors have plenty to chase this October. Alex Ovechkin says the 2026-27 season is his last in the NHL, while Gavin McKenna went No. 1 in the 2026 draft and scored his first goal for Toronto on Oct. 6. The next day, Upper Deck's Series One reached hobby shops with this year's Young Guns rookie cards ready to rip.
I've spread the picks out by price, from cards that cost under $100 to cards that cost up to $5,000. It's important that we report on cards that are obtainable for everyone in this monthly article. All prices are derived from recent sales of the card through Oct. 12.1
Updated on Oct. 12, 2026.
What the odds mean for these cards
| If this happens | Polymarket / Kalshi | Cards on this list |
|---|---|---|
| McKenna wins the Calder Trophy | 22.5% / Not listed | McKenna Bowman U Now PSA 10 |
| Oilers win the 2027 Stanley Cup | 8.5% / 8.5% | McDavid PSA 10 |
| Capitals win the 2027 Stanley Cup | 4% / 5.5% | Ovechkin PSA 9 |
| Maple Leafs win the 2027 Stanley Cup | 3.2% / 1.5% | Matthews PSA 10 |
| Blackhawks win the 2027 Stanley Cup | 0.4% / 0.5% | Bedard PSA 10 |
McKenna's Calder race is the market most likely to move a card this season.
Budget picks
1. Gavin McKenna, 2025 Bowman U Now, PSA 10
If you want a piece of the McKenna hype without breaking the bank, this is the card to start with. PSA 10 copies sold for $45.99 USD to $80 USD between Sept. 19 and Oct. 1, including one that sold at auction for $74 USD on Sept. 28.
Bowman printed this card to order during McKenna's season at Penn State. Once he got to Toronto he wasted no time, scoring his first NHL goal in his fourth game. Polymarket makes him the favorite for the Calder Trophy at 22.5 percent, and I like his chances of living up to it.
The catch is that this isn't his NHL rookie card. Upper Deck's Series One has no McKenna Young Guns card, leaving the NHL Draft 26 Buffalo insert No. SP-1 as his only card in the set. Upper Deck said in June that his Young Guns and other rookie cards will come out this season, and when they do, I'd expect some collectors to move their money over to those cards.
2. Sidney Crosby, 2005-06 Upper Deck Victory rookie, PSA 9
PSA 9 copies sold at auction for about $54 USD to about $72 USD between July 17 and Sept. 4. Two more sold by Best Offer in October for about $80 USD.
A PSA 9 of this card is a cheap way to own a graded Crosby rookie while Sid the Kid, now 39, plays out the last season of his current contract.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said on Sept. 28 that contract talks will go on with no deadline. A new extension would take away the final-contract-year story behind this pick, but even then, a graded Crosby rookie at this price is hard to pass up.
3. Ivan Demidov, 2025-26 Young Guns rookie, raw
Demidov's Young Guns is the one raw card on this list and a fun one to hunt for. Raw copies sold at auction for $64 USD to about $103 USD between Oct. 8 and Oct. 12.
Demidov was a Calder Trophy finalist last season, losing out to Matthew Schaefer. Montreal said on Oct. 6 that a lower-body injury will keep him out two to four weeks, and buyers kept showing up anyway, with every one of those auctions closing after the announcement.
The risk is the injury dragging on past four weeks, though prices might dip lower and give you even better value if you wait. Raw copies also vary in condition, so study the photos on every listing before you pull the trigger.
Mid-range picks
4. Macklin Celebrini, 2024-25 Young Guns rookie, PSA 9
PSA 9 copies sold at auction for about $485 USD to $555 USD from Oct. 3 to 12.
Last season Celebrini scored 45 goals and 115 points in all 82 games, breaking Joe Thornton's Sharks record of 114, and was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award. PSA 10 copies of his Young Guns rookie sold at auction for $2,050 USD to $2,250 USD from Oct. 4 to 11, so the 9 is the sweet spot for collectors who want a rising star without paying the gem mint premium.
A lower-body injury kept him out of the Oct. 5 game at Dallas and the Oct. 8 game against St. Louis before he returned on Oct. 10 against Edmonton, and coming off a franchise-record season I'm expecting another big one from Celebrini.
5. Connor Bedard, 2023-24 Young Guns rookie, PSA 10
Ten PSA 10 copies sold at auction for about $601 USD to about $720 USD between Sept. 30 and Oct. 11. At least 90 PSA 10 copies sold in 90 days, so there's a new one to bid on almost every day.
Chicago named Bedard its 37th captain on Sept. 15 after a season of 30 goals and 45 assists in 69 games. The C on his sweater tells you the Blackhawks are building around him.
He missed Chicago's first six games while recovering from left shoulder surgery in July, but on Oct. 11 he practiced in full contact for the first time this season. Coach Jeff Blashill didn't rule him out for the Oct. 13 game against Pittsburgh, though he said a doctor's exam of the shoulder will decide when Bedard plays his first game. I'd rather buy now than wait for the captain's season debut.
6. Cale Makar, 2019-20 Young Guns rookie, PSA 10
For collectors who love defensemen, Makar's Young Guns is the card to own. Six PSA 10 copies sold at auction for about $624 USD to about $705 USD between Sept. 24 and Oct. 11.
Makar was a Norris Trophy finalist last season, though Zach Werenski took home the award, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Makar right back in that conversation this year.
I'd bid at auction, because the Best Offer and fixed-price buyers paid up for convenience, with six of their seven copies sold for $710 USD or more through Oct. 11.
7. Auston Matthews, 2016-17 Young Guns rookie, PSA 10
Six PSA 10 copies sold at auction for about $660 USD to $760 USD between Sept. 3 and Oct. 5. The latest copy sold for $1,099 USD on Oct. 10.
Matthews assisted on McKenna's first NHL goal, and with the No. 1 pick now in Toronto, Maple Leafs collectors have a fresh reason to look at the team's stars, starting with Matthews himself.
If McKenna becomes the face of the team, collectors' money could follow him. I'd treat the $1,099 USD Buy It Now as an outlier and bid near the auction range.
High-end picks
8. Alex Ovechkin, 2005-06 Young Guns rookie, PSA 9
Ovi's farewell season puts his Young Guns rookie front and center. Seven PSA 9 copies sold at auction for $1,100 USD to $1,425 USD between Aug. 28 and Oct. 4.
As we reported earlier in October, a PSA 10 Ovechkin sold for $4,100 USD the day he announced his final season. Through Oct. 11, other PSA 10 copies sold for up to about $4,559 USD. In September, PSA 10 copies had sold at auction for $3,555 USD to $3,750 USD, so the 10s have already priced in higher as we progress toward Ovechkin's final games.
The PSA 9s haven't followed yet. As of Oct. 12, one PSA 9 had sold since the announcement, for about $1,157 USD on Oct. 9.
The population report is why I'd buy the 9. As of Oct. 12, PSA had graded 1,879 copies of this card a 9 and 1,387 a 10, so the 10 isn't much scarcer than the 9 and I read the price gap between them as what collectors pay for the top grade. With the 10s running up on the farewell news, I expect more of the collectors who want this rookie to step down to a 9, though PSA 9 prices may not follow the PSA 10s. A slump in his last season is the other risk, but I'd rather own the Great 8's rookie during his farewell tour than wish I had after he hangs up his skates.
9. Connor McDavid, 2015-16 Young Guns rookie, PSA 10
You can't put together a hockey list without the best player in the world. Seven PSA 10 copies sold for $3,100 USD to about $3,870 USD between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11.
McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award last season and was a finalist for the Hart Trophy. PSA 10 copies of his Young Guns rookie sold 30 or more times in 90 days, so even at this price you can let a hot auction go and catch the next one.
This is a cornerstone card for any modern hockey collection.
10. Wayne Gretzky, 1979-80 Topps rookie, PSA 7
Gretzky's Topps rookie is the grail of hockey cards, and in PSA 7 it's within reach. PSA 7 copies sold on eBay for $3,850 USD and $4,042.83 USD in late September, and three more sold in one Heritage auction on Sept. 19.
Across all grades, his rookie sold 109 times in the 30 days through Oct. 12, so if a PSA 7 stretches your budget, a lower grade still puts a Gretzky rookie in your collection.
A big consignment of mid-grade copies, like the three in that Heritage sale, could soften the price, and if it does, I'd treat it as a chance to grab the Great One's rookie at a discount.
We'll update this list every month.
Notes
- Prices are completed sales on eBay, Fanatics Collect and Heritage, checked on Oct. 12, 2026, against the recent sales recorded for each card at the same grade. Auction-house prices include the buyer's premium. Sales priced in Canadian dollars are shown at eBay's conversion. Prediction-market odds are from Polymarket and Kalshi, read between 10:07 and 10:13 a.m. Pacific on Oct. 12. PSA population counts are from PSA's population report as compiled by GemRate on Oct. 12, 2026, and leave out autographed copies. ↩
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