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Hockey · Edmonton Oilers · 2015-16 Upper Deck Young Guns #201

Estimated ranges from public sale archives: grade-dependent, not an appraisal. Card prices move with the market; treat every figure below as a starting point and check live comps before a big buy or sell.

Connor McDavid rookie card value by grade

Grade decides almost everything for this card, so values are given as ranges by tier rather than a single price. Iconic rookie insert, high graded population, genuinely common relative to its fame.

Estimated value by grade for the 2015-16 Upper Deck Young Guns #201.
Condition Estimated value
Base Young Guns, raw SportsCardsPro/Sports Card Investor recent sale near $862; range widened for normal market variance. $700 – $1,100
Base Young Guns, PSA 9 Card Ladder/SportsCardsPro recent sale around $1,175. $900 – $1,400
Base Young Guns, PSA 10 Card Ladder guide price ($2,900) and recent sales range of $2,100 to $2,525 reported by Sports Card Investor. $2,100 – $3,000

Values last checked: July 16, 2026.

Is this really the rookie card?

This is McDavid's headline rookie card and the one every collector means by his Young Guns, but it is genuinely his most available true rookie, not a scarce insert. Upper Deck deliberately printed extra Young Guns copies of McDavid in 2015-16 anticipating demand, so it should be understood as an iconic but common card.

Key versions and parallels

  • Base Young Guns #201 (the standard, widely available version)
  • Young Guns Foil (distributed through Upper Deck's e-Pack digital redemption program, much scarcer than base)
  • Exclusives parallel numbered to 100, and High Gloss numbered to 10 (genuine short prints)
  • Printing Plates (true 1/1s)

How rare is it, really?

Iconic rookie insert, high graded population, genuinely common relative to its fame.

  • Print run: Upper Deck does not officially disclose Young Guns print runs; the base Young Guns insert is distributed at roughly 1 in 4 hobby packs across a 50 card checklist, which collector estimates translate to tens of thousands of copies for a card as popular as McDavid's.
  • Graded population: Be honest about commonness: PSA alone has graded roughly 3,200 copies at PSA 9 and about 3,260 at PSA 10, one of the largest graded populations for any modern hockey rookie, which keeps the base PSA 10 price modest despite McDavid's superstar status.

History

Upper Deck's Young Guns insert has been the standard for identifying NHL rookie cards since 2005, and McDavid's arrival as the presumptive best prospect since Sidney Crosby made his 2015-16 Series 1 Young Guns one of the most anticipated hockey cards in years. Anticipating heavy demand, Upper Deck printed McDavid's Young Guns in larger numbers than a typical rookie that year, which is why it remains attainable in high grade. His much rarer patch autograph rookies, such as The Cup Exquisite Collection numbered to 97, have sold for well over $200,000, dwarfing the base Young Guns market.

How to spot a fake

  • Young Guns cards use a specific foil stamp and card stock finish for that insert year; compare against verified images of the exact 2015-16 Series 1 design before buying raw copies from unfamiliar sellers.
  • The base Young Guns card should not be confused with McDavid's OPC (O-Pee-Chee) Update or Series 2 cards, which use different card numbers and are cheaper cards sometimes mislabeled as Young Guns in listings.
  • McDavid's autograph is a known forgery target given his popularity, so any autographed version of this card should carry a PSA/DNA or Upper Deck Authenticated hologram, not just a seller's word.
  • As with all high value graded cards, verify the PSA, BGS, or SGC certification number directly on the grading company's website rather than trusting the slab alone, since fake slabs exist.
  • Buy from established marketplaces with return policies for raw copies, since Young Guns counterfeits do circulate given the card's popularity and accessible price point.

Before you grade it

  • Centering is the most common grade limiter for this card, since Upper Deck's Young Guns border design is thin and shows off center prints clearly.
  • Surface scratches on the glossy stock are easy to miss without raking light; check carefully before assuming a raw copy will grade Gem Mint.
  • Corner wear from pack-fresh handling is common since the card was so heavily collected out of packs at release; sharp corners are a meaningful price driver even among otherwise similar raw copies.

Related rookie cards

See also our guide to what your sports card is worth and how card values really work.

Sources

Every figure on this page traces to a published reference or recorded sale: