Cardboard gold

Any hockey collector, given the financial resources, can go out and buy the top-end jersey-auto rookie card of the NHL's latest phenom. For most of us, though, our goal is a little less lofty.

Thankfully, for both our bank accounts and collections, we have Upper Deck's annual ode to rookies, the Young Guns card. Sure, some of these gems command high prices. But the boxes and packs we open are much more affordable than say, Upper Deck's Ice, The Cup or other premium products.

And while there are a certain number of scrubs (young players snapped in pregame warm-ups during a late-season cup of coffee), there are also a few select cards that any collector, worth his or her salt, hopes to add to their goodie box.

I'm no different. While many of my rookie cards qualify for the bargain bin, I'm fortunate to have pulled these gems from boxes of Upper Deck Hockey Series 1 and 2.

Within this blog, you'll find, in reverse order, the top 10 Young Guns of the collection.

Enjoy!