The Great Zo
Verified Trader,
This hockey card research project is an attempt to catalog an interesting phenomenon in the hobby -- a player appearing in an officially-licensed NHL product before (or without) appearing on a card that counts as an official rookie card.
How is that even possible? There are two means by which this could happen:
1) A player appears in an insert set in an NHL product, without appearing in a RC-eligible base set that product year or earlier.
2) A player appears in a set that qualifies as an XRC, without appearing in a RC-eligible base set that product year or earlier.
I was surprised to find just how many players met these criteria. So, I decided to include summaries of each case in which this occurred. For a few sets with a ton of applicable cards, I printed the entire checklist, annotating each card by its status.
Some definitions going forward:
(Pre-RC) -- A card featuring a player who earned a true RC in a later product year.
(Co-RC) -- A card featuring a player who earned a true RC in the same product year.
(No-RC) -- A card featuring a player who never earned a true RC.
I'm only going to list Co-RCs in cases where I print the entire checklist. Otherwise, they don't really fit the scope of the research.
I recognize that my selection of sets may be somewhat subjective, and that I may have missed one or two along the way. One decision I was firm in making was to exclude the Bowman CHL, Pacific AHL Prospects, and UD Prospects sets. While produced by major manufacturers, those sets were not officially licensed by the NHL and NHLPA.
Images in this post were obtained from eBay, CheckOutMyCards, Kuboth Cards, and Beckett. Images are used for educational purposes only.
-------------------------------------------
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts
This 22-card set featured players on the Central Red Army and Soviet Wings teams. Some of these players never earned RCs, although a few were also included in the 1991-92 O-Pee-Chee insert set.
Full Checklist:
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 1R Ilya Byalsin (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 2R Vladimir Malakhov (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 3R Andrei Khomutov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 4R Valeri Kamensky (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 5R Dimitri Motkov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 6R Evgeny Shastin (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 7R Artur Irbe (Co-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 8R Igor Chibirev (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 9R Maxim Mikhailovsky (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 10R Vyacheslav Bykov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 11R Central Red Army (Super Series part 1)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 12R Central Red Army (Super Series part 2)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 13R Valeri Shirjaev (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 14R Igor Maslennikov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 15R Igor Malykhin (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 16R Dimitri Khristich (Co-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 17R Viktor Tikhonov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 18R Eugeny Davydov (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 19R Sergei Fedorov (Co-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 20R Pavel Kostichkin (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 21R Vladimir Konstantinov (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 22R Central Red Army Checklist
-------------------------------------------
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts
Most of this set is similar to the 90-91 set listed above, with cards featuring players on the Central Red Army, Dynamo Moscow, and Khimik teams. The first ten cards in the set feature players from the expansion San Jose Sharks, and those cards contain a few Pre-RCs/No-RCs/Co-RCs as well.
Full Checklist:
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 1S Link Gaetz
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 2S Bengt Gustafsson
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 3S Dan Keczmer (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 4S Dean Kolstad (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 5S Peter Lappin
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 6S Jeff Madill (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 7S Mike McHugh (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 8S Jarmo Myllys
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 9S Doug Zmolek (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 10S San Jose Sharks Checklist
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 11R Vadim Brezgunov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 12R Vyatcheslav Butsayev (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 13R Ilya Byakin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 14R Igor Chibirev (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 15R Victor Gordijuk (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 16R Yuri Khmiliov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 17R Pavel Kostichkin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 18R Andrei Kovalenko (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 19R Igor Kravchuck (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 20R Igor Malykhin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 21R Igor Maslennikov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 22R Maxim Mikhailovsky (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 23R Dimitri Mironov
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 24R Sergei Nemchinov
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 25R Alexander Prokopjev (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 26R Igor Stelnov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 27R Sergei Vostrikov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 28R Sergei Zubov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 29R Central Red Army (Super Series Scores)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 30R Central Red Army (Super Series Stats)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 31R Alexander Andreivsky (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 32R Igor Dorofeyev (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 33R Alex Galchenyuk (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 34R Roman Ilyin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 35R Alexander Karpovtsev (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 36R Ravil Khaidarov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 37R Igor Korolyov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 38R Andrei Kovalyov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 39R Yuri Leonov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 40R Andrei Lomakin
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 41R Evgeny Popikhin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 42R Alexander Semak (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 43R Mikhail Shtalenkov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 44R Serguei Sorokin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 45R Andrei Trefilov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 46R Ravil Yakubov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 47R Alexander Yudin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 48R Alexei Zhamnov (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 49R Andrei Basalgin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 50R Lev Berdichevsky (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 51R Konstantin Kapkaikin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 52R Konstantin Kurashov
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 53R Andrei Kvartalnov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 54R Albert Malgin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 55R Nikolai Maslov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 56R Anatoli Naida (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 57R Roman Oksyuta (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 58R Sergei Selyanin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 59R Valeri Shiryev (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 60R Alexander Smirnov
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 61R Leonid Trukhno (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 62R Igor Vlanov (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 63R Andrei Yakovenko (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 64R Oleg Yashin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 65R Valeri Zelepukin (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 66R Central Red Army Checklist
-------------------------------------------
1991-92 Parkhurst
Cards 451-475 from the 91-92 Parkhurst set (only created in English) were available through a mail-in offer. Three players earned their first cards in this set, but they are generally considered XRCs. All three players earned legitimate rookie cards in 92-93 base sets.
1991-92 Parkhurst 452 Trent Klatt (Pre-RC/XRC)
1991-92 Parkhurst 453 Bill Guerin (Pre-RC/XRC)
1991-92 Parkhurst 454 Ray Whitney (Pre-RC/XRC)
-------------------------------------------
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors
While this set looks very similar to the World Juniors subset in the 91-92 Upper Deck release, it's a completely separate set with a very different checklist. The set is loaded with players that meet the criteria for this post.
Chris and Peter Ferraro both appear in this set. Both players appeared together on a card in 91-92 Upper Deck, but it's not generally considered a RC. Peter has a solo RC in 91-92 UD, but Chris didn't earn one until 93-94.
Full Checklist:
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 1 Header Card
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 2 Vladislav Boulin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 3 Ravil Gusmanov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 4 Denis Vinokurov (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 5 Mikhail Volkov (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 6 Alexei Troschinsky (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 7 Andrei Nikolishin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 8 Alexander Sverztov (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 9 Artem Kopot (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 10 Ildar Mukhometov (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 11 Darius Kasparaitis (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 12 Alexei Yashin (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 13 Nikolai Khabibulin (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 14 Denis Metlyuk (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 15 Konstantin Korotkov (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 16 Alexei Kovalev (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 17 Alexander Kuzminsky (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 18 Alexander Cherbayev (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 19 Sergei Krivokrasov (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 20 Sergei Zholtok (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 21 Alexei Zhitnik (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 22 Sandis Ozolinsh (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 23 Boris Mironov (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 24 Pauli Jaks (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 25 Gaetan Voisard (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 26 Nicola Celio (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 27 Marc Weber (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 28 Bernhard Schumperli (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 29 Laurent Bucher (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 30 Michael Blaha (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 31 Tiziano Gianini (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 32 Tero Lehtera (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 33 Mikko Luovi (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 34 Marko Kiprusoff (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 35 Janne Gronvall (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 36 Juha Ylonen (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 37 Sami Kapanen (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 38 Marko Tuomainen (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 39 Jarkko Varvio (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 40 Tuomas Gronman (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 41 Andreas Naumann (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 42 Steffen Ziesche (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 43 Jens Schwabe (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 44 Thomas Schubert (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 45 Hans-Jorg Mayer (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 46 Marc Seliger (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 47 Ryan Hughes (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 48 Richard Matvichuk (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 49 David St. Pierre (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 50 Paul Kariya (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 51 Patrick Poulin (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 52 Mike Fountain (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 53 Scott Niedermayer
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 54 John Slaney
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 55 Brad Bombardir (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 56 Andy Schneider (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 57 Steve Junker (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 58 Trevor Kidd
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 59 Martin Lapointe
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 60 Tyler Wright (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 61 Kimbi Daniels (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 62 Karl Dykhuis
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 63 Jeff Nelson (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 64 Jassen Cullimore (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 65 Turner Stevenson
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 66 Brian Mueller (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 67 Chris Tucker (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 68 Marty Schriner (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 69 Mike Prendergast (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 70 John Lilley (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 71 Jim Campbell (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 72 Brian Holzinger (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 73 Steve Konowalchuk (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 74 Chris Ferraro (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 75 Chris Imes (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 76 Rich Brennan (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 77 Todd Hall (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 78 Brian Rafalski (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 79 Scott Lachance (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 80 Mike Dunham (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 81 Brent Bilodeau (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 82 Ryan Sittler (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 83 Peter Ferraro (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 84 Pat Peake (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 85 Keith Tkachuk (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 86 Brian Rolston
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 87 Milan Hnilicka (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 88 Roman Hamrlik (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 89 Milan Nedoma (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 90 Patrik Luza (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 91 Jan Caloun (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 92 Viktor Ujcik (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 93 Robert Petrovicky (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 94 Roman Meluzin (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 95 Jan Vopat (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 96 Martin Prochazka (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 97 Zigmund Palffy (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 98 Ivan Droppa (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 99 Martin Straka (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 100 Checklist
-------------------------------------------
1992-93 Score Canadian Olympic Heroes
This 13-card set featured two applicable cards.
1992-93 Score Canadian Olympic Heroes 4 Randy Smith (No-RC)
1992-93 Score Canadian Olympic Heroes 8 Fabian Joseph (Pre-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1992-93 Topps Gold
This set was a parallel to the 529-card 92-93 Topps base set. In the base set, cards 525-528 were checklist cards. For the gold parallel, Topps made cards of four players who did not appear elsewhere in the base set. Two of those cards qualify for this post.
1992-93 Topps Gold 525 Al Conroy (Pre-RC)
1992-93 Topps Gold 527 Rob Robinson (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1993-94 Stadium Club Team USA
...and...
1993-94 Topps Premier Team USA
These two 23-card sets had identical checklists, aside from the card numbering. One player earned No-RCs in both sets. The Stadium Club set also has a Members Only parallel.
1993-94 Stadium Club Team USA 9 Jon Hillebrandt (No-RC)
1993-94 Topps Premier Team USA 10 Jon Hillebrandt (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence
This 15-card set is fairly well stocked with Pre-RCs, and also has one No-RC.
Full Checklist:
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E1 Adam Smith (No-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E2 Jason Podollan (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E3 Jason Wiemer (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E4 Jeff O'Neill (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E5 Daniel Goneau (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E6 Christian Laflamme (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E7 Daymond Langkow (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E8 Jeff Friesen (Co-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E9 Wayne Primeau (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E10 Paul Kariya
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E11 Rob Niedermayer
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E12 Eric Lindros
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E13 Mario Lemieux
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E14 Steve Yzerman
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E15 Alexandre Daigle
-------------------------------------------
1994-95 Parkhurst SE
This European-released set is generally considered to include XRCs rather than RCs, but it made its way over the pond in large enough numbers to become collectable throughout the hobby. The set includes a ton of Co-RCs, but also a bunch of key XRCs / Pre-RCs and No-RCs that are worth noting.
There is also a gold parallel version of this set. The entire set has 270 cards.
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 235 Per Svartvadet (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 238 Jonas Andersson-Junkka (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 239 D. Tarnstrom (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 240 Per-Johan Axelsson (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 241 Fredrik Johansson (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 242 Peter Strom (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 245 Jonas Forsberg (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 251 David Belitski (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 253 Hugh Hamilton (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 261 Daniel Briere (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 262 Justin Kurtz (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 266 Jeffrey Ambrosio (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 270 Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Pre-RC/XRC)
-------------------------------------------
1994-95 Score Team Canada
This set included 24 cards, including two No-RCs.
1994-95 Score Team Canada 22 Wally Schreiber (No-RC)
1994-95 Score Team Canada 23 Allain Roy (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects
Only one player, out of the 40 in this set, earned a RC before the 95-96 product year. Luke Curtin was in 94-95 Select. Most of the Co-RCs in this set could be found in 95-96 Upper Deck. Although Daniel Briere wouldn't earn a true RC until 96-97, it's worth noting that he got an XRC in 94-95 Parkhurst SE (listed above).
Full Checklist:
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 1 Johnathan Aitken (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 2 Chris Allen (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 3 Matt Bradley (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 4 Daniel Briere (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 5 Jeff Brown (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 6 Jan Bulis (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 7 Daniel Corso (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 8 Luke Curtin
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 9 Matthieu Descoteaux (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 10 Boyd Devereaux (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 11 Jason Doyle (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 12 Etienne Drapeau (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 13 J.P. Dumont (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 14 Mathieu Garon (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 15 Josh Green (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 16 Chris Hajt (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 17 Matt Higgins (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 18 Craig Hillier (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 19 Josh Holden (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 20 Dan Focht (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 21 Henry Kuster (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 22 Francis Larivee (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 23 Mario Larocque (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 24 Wes Mason (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 25 Francois Methot (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 26 Geoff Peters (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 27 Randy Petruk (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 28 Chris Phillips (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 29 Boris Protsenko (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 30 Remi Royer (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 31 Cory Sarich (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 32 Jaroslav Svejkovsky (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 33 Curtis Tipler (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 34 Darren Van Oene (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 35 Jesse Wallin (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 36 Kurt Walsh (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 37 Lance Ward (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 38 Steve Wasylko (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 39 Trevor Wasyluk (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 40 Jon Zukiwsky (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors
These are easily some of the most scarce cards in this post, with only 1000 copies of each card made. Although the set features a bunch of players who earned RCs in 94-95, there are twelve players who qualify as either No-RCs or Pre-RCs.
Full Checklist:
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 1 Marc Denis (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 2 Jose Theodore (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 3 Chad Allan
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 4 Nolan Baumgartner
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 5 Denis Gauthier (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 6 Jason Holland (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 7 Chris Phillips (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 8 Wade Redden
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 9 Rhett Warrener (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 10 Jason Botterill
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 11 Curtis Brown (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 12 Hnat Domenichelli (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 13 Christian Dube
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 14 Rob Gordon (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 15 Jarome Iginla
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 16 Daymond Langkow (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 17 Brad Larsen
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 18 Alyn McCauley
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 19 Craig Mills (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 20 Jason Podollan (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 21 Mike Watt (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 22 Jamie Wright (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 23 Brian Boucher
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 24 Marc Magliarditi (No-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 25 Bryan Berard
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 26 Chris Bogas (No-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 27 Ben Clymer (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 28 Jeff Kealty (No-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 29 Mike McBain
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 30 Jeremiah McCarthy (No-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 31 Tom Poti (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 32 Reggie Berg (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 33 Matt Cullen (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 34 Chris Drury (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 35 Jeff Farkas (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 36 Casey Hankinson (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 37 Matt Herr (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 38 Mark Parrish (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 39 Erik Rasmussen
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 40 Marty Reasoner
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 41 Wyatt Smith
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 42 Brian Swanson (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 43 Mike Sylvia (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 44 Mike York (Pre-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1995-96 Parkhurst International
Like the 94-95 Parkhurst SE set, this was a European release that found its way to North America. These cards are generally considered XRCs. An emerald parallel also exists across the entire 540-card set.
1995-96 Parkhurst International 271 Alex Hicks (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 295 Martin Biron (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 308 Mike Prokopec (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 377 Vladimir Tsyplakov (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 419 Mike Bales (No-RC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 481 Brian Loney (No-RC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 525 Kevin Hodson (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 540 Ethan Moreau (Pre-RC/XRC)
-------------------------------------------
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets
...and...
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime
These two sets were rather odd insert sets put out by Pacific in two of their premium products from 97-98. They seem to have been produced in even greater numbers than the base set cards. Because of their large checklists (110 Dynagon Best Kept Secrets cards, and 220 Invincible NHL Regime cards), a few rookies found their way into the set. Hulbig and Murray earned their true RCs in 00-01, while Payne and Olsson never earned NHL cards again.
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets 7 Davis Payne (No-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets 8 Paxton Schafer (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets 38 Joe Hulbig (Pre-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets 66 Christer Olsson (No-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 22 Steve Shields (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 39 Chris Murray (Pre-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 55 Eric Messier (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 98 Jeff Shevalier (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 100 Brad Brown (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 111 Patrik Elias (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 137 Lance Pitlick (Co-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1997-98 Score Team Sets
In 97-98, Score created thirteen team sets with 20 cards in each. These sets feature vastly different checklists from the regular Score release, and can also be differentiated by foil stamping on the card front. Two parallel versions also exist of each card -- Platinum Team and Premiere Club.
Due to regional distribution and uncomprehensive checklists, these cards may not actually count as XRCs. However, they were created by a major manufacturer and are fully licensed. For the sake of completeness, I decided to include them in the analysis.
1997-98 Score Anaheim Mighty Ducks 5 Matt Cullen (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Anaheim Mighty Ducks 17 Pete LeBoutillier (No-RC)
1997-98 Score Anaheim Mighty Ducks 20 Espen Knutsen (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Boston Bruins 1 Shawn Bates (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Boston Bruins 3 Rob Tallas (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Boston Bruins 12 Randy Robitaille (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Buffalo Sabres 2 Steve Shields (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Colorado Avalanche 20 Yves Sarault (No-RC)
1997-98 Score Detroit Red Wings 20 Mike Knuble (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Montreal Canadiens 16 David Ling (Pre-RC)
1997-98 Score New Jersey Devils (none)
1997-98 Score New York Rangers 13 Vladimir Vorobiev (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Philadelphia Flyers 18 Vaclav Prospal (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Pittsburgh Penguins 16 Robert Dome (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Pittsburgh Penguins 20 Domenic Pittis (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score St. Louis Blues 17 Libor Zabransky (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Toronto Maple Leafs 20 Martin Prochazka (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Vancouver Canucks (none)
-------------------------------------------
2003-04 BAP Memorabilia
...and...
2003-04 ITG Action
These two sets were both updated via a late-season box-set, limited to just 1000 copies produced. The cards in this set are generally considered XRCs, but there are four players who earned their only NHL cards in this update product.
2003-04 BAP Memorabilia 216 Frederic Henry (No-RC)
2003-04 BAP Memorabilia 222 Eric Heffler (No-RC)
2003-04 BAP Memorabilia 237 Chad Alban (No-RC)
2003-04 ITG Action 637 Andrew Allen (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Class
One player appeared in the 05-06 Rookie Class set, but earned his true RCs in 06-07.
2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Class 14 Michel Ouellet (Pre-RC)
-------------------------------------------
2000-01 SPx Rookie Redemptions
2001-02 SPx Rookie Redemptions
2001-02 UD Top Shelf Rookie Redemptions (TS1-TS4)
2002-03 SPx Rookie Redemptions
2004-05 SP Authentic Rookie Redemptions
2007-08 Be A Player Rookie Redemptions
2008-09 Be A Player Rookie Redemptions
2009-10 Be A Player Rookie Redemptions
Depending on how these sets are defined, they might be XRCs, and they might just be insert cards. They don't really fit the spirit of this research, however, since the cards were produced the following season. I am not aware of any cases in which a player earning a card in one of these sets did not earn a RC by (or before) the next consecutive product year.
-------------------------------------------
LONGEST HOLDOUTS
Nine players earned cards that met my Pre-RC criteria, and then had to wait over six years to be featured on an official NHL rookie card.
8 Years -- Milan Hnilicka -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 99-00 (various sets)
8 Years -- Brian Rafalski -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 99-00 (various sets)
8 Years -- D. Tarnstrom -- 94-95 (Parkhurst SE) to 02-03 (various sets)
7 Years -- Justin Kurtz -- 94-95 (Parkhurst SE) to 01-02 (various sets)
6 Years -- Brad Bombardir -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 97-98 (various sets)
6 Years -- Rich Brennan -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 97-98 (Be A Player)
6 Years -- Martin Prochazka -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 97-98 (various sets)
6 Years -- Dan Focht -- 95-96 (Bowman Draft Prospects) to 01-02 (various sets)
6 Years -- Casey Hankinson -- 95-96 (Donruss Elite World Juniors) to 01-02 (various sets)
-------------------------------------------
FUTURE WORK
* I am fairly certain that the Topps and O-Pee-Chee sticker sets from the 1980s contain some Pre-RCs. I did not attempt to catalog these occasions, but I can certainly see how this may fit into the research. It might be something worth doing at a later date.
* I am not sure if any other sets eschewed checklist parallels in favor of unique players (such as 1992-93 Topps), but if so, there could be applicable cards in there.
* I mentioned the Chris Ferraro anomaly in 91-92 Upper Deck, as he appeared solely on a card with his brother in that set. There were a few other multi-player cards in the early Upper Deck sets, and there could be one or two players who would also qualify for this post under those circumstances. EDIT: This has been completed and posted below.
* If anyone else can think of any other sets I missed, please let me know!
-------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading!
How is that even possible? There are two means by which this could happen:
1) A player appears in an insert set in an NHL product, without appearing in a RC-eligible base set that product year or earlier.
2) A player appears in a set that qualifies as an XRC, without appearing in a RC-eligible base set that product year or earlier.
I was surprised to find just how many players met these criteria. So, I decided to include summaries of each case in which this occurred. For a few sets with a ton of applicable cards, I printed the entire checklist, annotating each card by its status.
Some definitions going forward:
(Pre-RC) -- A card featuring a player who earned a true RC in a later product year.
(Co-RC) -- A card featuring a player who earned a true RC in the same product year.
(No-RC) -- A card featuring a player who never earned a true RC.
I'm only going to list Co-RCs in cases where I print the entire checklist. Otherwise, they don't really fit the scope of the research.
I recognize that my selection of sets may be somewhat subjective, and that I may have missed one or two along the way. One decision I was firm in making was to exclude the Bowman CHL, Pacific AHL Prospects, and UD Prospects sets. While produced by major manufacturers, those sets were not officially licensed by the NHL and NHLPA.
Images in this post were obtained from eBay, CheckOutMyCards, Kuboth Cards, and Beckett. Images are used for educational purposes only.
-------------------------------------------
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts
This 22-card set featured players on the Central Red Army and Soviet Wings teams. Some of these players never earned RCs, although a few were also included in the 1991-92 O-Pee-Chee insert set.
Full Checklist:
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 1R Ilya Byalsin (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 2R Vladimir Malakhov (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 3R Andrei Khomutov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 4R Valeri Kamensky (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 5R Dimitri Motkov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 6R Evgeny Shastin (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 7R Artur Irbe (Co-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 8R Igor Chibirev (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 9R Maxim Mikhailovsky (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 10R Vyacheslav Bykov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 11R Central Red Army (Super Series part 1)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 12R Central Red Army (Super Series part 2)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 13R Valeri Shirjaev (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 14R Igor Maslennikov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 15R Igor Malykhin (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 16R Dimitri Khristich (Co-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 17R Viktor Tikhonov (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 18R Eugeny Davydov (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 19R Sergei Fedorov (Co-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 20R Pavel Kostichkin (No-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 21R Vladimir Konstantinov (Pre-RC)
1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Red Army Inserts 22R Central Red Army Checklist
-------------------------------------------
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts
Most of this set is similar to the 90-91 set listed above, with cards featuring players on the Central Red Army, Dynamo Moscow, and Khimik teams. The first ten cards in the set feature players from the expansion San Jose Sharks, and those cards contain a few Pre-RCs/No-RCs/Co-RCs as well.
Full Checklist:
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 1S Link Gaetz
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 2S Bengt Gustafsson
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 3S Dan Keczmer (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 4S Dean Kolstad (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 5S Peter Lappin
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 6S Jeff Madill (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 7S Mike McHugh (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 8S Jarmo Myllys
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 9S Doug Zmolek (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 10S San Jose Sharks Checklist
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 11R Vadim Brezgunov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 12R Vyatcheslav Butsayev (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 13R Ilya Byakin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 14R Igor Chibirev (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 15R Victor Gordijuk (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 16R Yuri Khmiliov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 17R Pavel Kostichkin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 18R Andrei Kovalenko (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 19R Igor Kravchuck (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 20R Igor Malykhin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 21R Igor Maslennikov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 22R Maxim Mikhailovsky (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 23R Dimitri Mironov
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 24R Sergei Nemchinov
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 25R Alexander Prokopjev (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 26R Igor Stelnov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 27R Sergei Vostrikov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 28R Sergei Zubov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 29R Central Red Army (Super Series Scores)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 30R Central Red Army (Super Series Stats)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 31R Alexander Andreivsky (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 32R Igor Dorofeyev (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 33R Alex Galchenyuk (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 34R Roman Ilyin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 35R Alexander Karpovtsev (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 36R Ravil Khaidarov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 37R Igor Korolyov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 38R Andrei Kovalyov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 39R Yuri Leonov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 40R Andrei Lomakin
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 41R Evgeny Popikhin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 42R Alexander Semak (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 43R Mikhail Shtalenkov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 44R Serguei Sorokin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 45R Andrei Trefilov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 46R Ravil Yakubov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 47R Alexander Yudin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 48R Alexei Zhamnov (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 49R Andrei Basalgin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 50R Lev Berdichevsky (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 51R Konstantin Kapkaikin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 52R Konstantin Kurashov
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 53R Andrei Kvartalnov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 54R Albert Malgin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 55R Nikolai Maslov (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 56R Anatoli Naida (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 57R Roman Oksyuta (Pre-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 58R Sergei Selyanin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 59R Valeri Shiryev (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 60R Alexander Smirnov
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 61R Leonid Trukhno (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 62R Igor Vlanov (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 63R Andrei Yakovenko (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 64R Oleg Yashin (No-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 65R Valeri Zelepukin (Co-RC)
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Inserts 66R Central Red Army Checklist
-------------------------------------------
1991-92 Parkhurst
Cards 451-475 from the 91-92 Parkhurst set (only created in English) were available through a mail-in offer. Three players earned their first cards in this set, but they are generally considered XRCs. All three players earned legitimate rookie cards in 92-93 base sets.
1991-92 Parkhurst 452 Trent Klatt (Pre-RC/XRC)
1991-92 Parkhurst 453 Bill Guerin (Pre-RC/XRC)
1991-92 Parkhurst 454 Ray Whitney (Pre-RC/XRC)
-------------------------------------------
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors
While this set looks very similar to the World Juniors subset in the 91-92 Upper Deck release, it's a completely separate set with a very different checklist. The set is loaded with players that meet the criteria for this post.
Chris and Peter Ferraro both appear in this set. Both players appeared together on a card in 91-92 Upper Deck, but it's not generally considered a RC. Peter has a solo RC in 91-92 UD, but Chris didn't earn one until 93-94.
Full Checklist:
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 1 Header Card
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 2 Vladislav Boulin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 3 Ravil Gusmanov (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 4 Denis Vinokurov (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 5 Mikhail Volkov (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 6 Alexei Troschinsky (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 7 Andrei Nikolishin (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 8 Alexander Sverztov (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 9 Artem Kopot (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 10 Ildar Mukhometov (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 11 Darius Kasparaitis (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 12 Alexei Yashin (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 13 Nikolai Khabibulin (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 14 Denis Metlyuk (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 15 Konstantin Korotkov (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 16 Alexei Kovalev (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 17 Alexander Kuzminsky (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 18 Alexander Cherbayev (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 19 Sergei Krivokrasov (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 20 Sergei Zholtok (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 21 Alexei Zhitnik (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 22 Sandis Ozolinsh (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 23 Boris Mironov (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 24 Pauli Jaks (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 25 Gaetan Voisard (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 26 Nicola Celio (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 27 Marc Weber (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 28 Bernhard Schumperli (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 29 Laurent Bucher (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 30 Michael Blaha (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 31 Tiziano Gianini (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 32 Tero Lehtera (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 33 Mikko Luovi (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 34 Marko Kiprusoff (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 35 Janne Gronvall (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 36 Juha Ylonen (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 37 Sami Kapanen (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 38 Marko Tuomainen (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 39 Jarkko Varvio (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 40 Tuomas Gronman (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 41 Andreas Naumann (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 42 Steffen Ziesche (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 43 Jens Schwabe (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 44 Thomas Schubert (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 45 Hans-Jorg Mayer (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 46 Marc Seliger (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 47 Ryan Hughes (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 48 Richard Matvichuk (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 49 David St. Pierre (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 50 Paul Kariya (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 51 Patrick Poulin (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 52 Mike Fountain (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 53 Scott Niedermayer
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 54 John Slaney
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 55 Brad Bombardir (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 56 Andy Schneider (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 57 Steve Junker (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 58 Trevor Kidd
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 59 Martin Lapointe
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 60 Tyler Wright (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 61 Kimbi Daniels (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 62 Karl Dykhuis
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 63 Jeff Nelson (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 64 Jassen Cullimore (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 65 Turner Stevenson
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 66 Brian Mueller (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 67 Chris Tucker (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 68 Marty Schriner (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 69 Mike Prendergast (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 70 John Lilley (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 71 Jim Campbell (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 72 Brian Holzinger (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 73 Steve Konowalchuk (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 74 Chris Ferraro (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 75 Chris Imes (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 76 Rich Brennan (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 77 Todd Hall (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 78 Brian Rafalski (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 79 Scott Lachance (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 80 Mike Dunham (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 81 Brent Bilodeau (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 82 Ryan Sittler (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 83 Peter Ferraro (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 84 Pat Peake (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 85 Keith Tkachuk (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 86 Brian Rolston
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 87 Milan Hnilicka (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 88 Roman Hamrlik (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 89 Milan Nedoma (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 90 Patrik Luza (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 91 Jan Caloun (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 92 Viktor Ujcik (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 93 Robert Petrovicky (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 94 Roman Meluzin (No-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 95 Jan Vopat (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 96 Martin Prochazka (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 97 Zigmund Palffy (Co-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 98 Ivan Droppa (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 99 Martin Straka (Pre-RC)
1991-92 Upper Deck Czech World Juniors 100 Checklist
-------------------------------------------
1992-93 Score Canadian Olympic Heroes
This 13-card set featured two applicable cards.
1992-93 Score Canadian Olympic Heroes 4 Randy Smith (No-RC)
1992-93 Score Canadian Olympic Heroes 8 Fabian Joseph (Pre-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1992-93 Topps Gold
This set was a parallel to the 529-card 92-93 Topps base set. In the base set, cards 525-528 were checklist cards. For the gold parallel, Topps made cards of four players who did not appear elsewhere in the base set. Two of those cards qualify for this post.
1992-93 Topps Gold 525 Al Conroy (Pre-RC)
1992-93 Topps Gold 527 Rob Robinson (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1993-94 Stadium Club Team USA
...and...
1993-94 Topps Premier Team USA
These two 23-card sets had identical checklists, aside from the card numbering. One player earned No-RCs in both sets. The Stadium Club set also has a Members Only parallel.
1993-94 Stadium Club Team USA 9 Jon Hillebrandt (No-RC)
1993-94 Topps Premier Team USA 10 Jon Hillebrandt (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence
This 15-card set is fairly well stocked with Pre-RCs, and also has one No-RC.
Full Checklist:
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E1 Adam Smith (No-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E2 Jason Podollan (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E3 Jason Wiemer (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E4 Jeff O'Neill (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E5 Daniel Goneau (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E6 Christian Laflamme (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E7 Daymond Langkow (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E8 Jeff Friesen (Co-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E9 Wayne Primeau (Pre-RC)
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E10 Paul Kariya
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E11 Rob Niedermayer
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E12 Eric Lindros
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E13 Mario Lemieux
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E14 Steve Yzerman
1993-94 Upper Deck Program of Excellence E15 Alexandre Daigle
-------------------------------------------
1994-95 Parkhurst SE
This European-released set is generally considered to include XRCs rather than RCs, but it made its way over the pond in large enough numbers to become collectable throughout the hobby. The set includes a ton of Co-RCs, but also a bunch of key XRCs / Pre-RCs and No-RCs that are worth noting.
There is also a gold parallel version of this set. The entire set has 270 cards.
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 235 Per Svartvadet (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 238 Jonas Andersson-Junkka (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 239 D. Tarnstrom (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 240 Per-Johan Axelsson (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 241 Fredrik Johansson (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 242 Peter Strom (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 245 Jonas Forsberg (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 251 David Belitski (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 253 Hugh Hamilton (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 261 Daniel Briere (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 262 Justin Kurtz (Pre-RC/XRC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 266 Jeffrey Ambrosio (No-RC)
1994-95 Parkhurst SE 270 Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Pre-RC/XRC)
-------------------------------------------
1994-95 Score Team Canada
This set included 24 cards, including two No-RCs.
1994-95 Score Team Canada 22 Wally Schreiber (No-RC)
1994-95 Score Team Canada 23 Allain Roy (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects
Only one player, out of the 40 in this set, earned a RC before the 95-96 product year. Luke Curtin was in 94-95 Select. Most of the Co-RCs in this set could be found in 95-96 Upper Deck. Although Daniel Briere wouldn't earn a true RC until 96-97, it's worth noting that he got an XRC in 94-95 Parkhurst SE (listed above).
Full Checklist:
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 1 Johnathan Aitken (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 2 Chris Allen (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 3 Matt Bradley (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 4 Daniel Briere (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 5 Jeff Brown (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 6 Jan Bulis (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 7 Daniel Corso (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 8 Luke Curtin
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 9 Matthieu Descoteaux (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 10 Boyd Devereaux (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 11 Jason Doyle (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 12 Etienne Drapeau (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 13 J.P. Dumont (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 14 Mathieu Garon (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 15 Josh Green (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 16 Chris Hajt (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 17 Matt Higgins (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 18 Craig Hillier (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 19 Josh Holden (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 20 Dan Focht (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 21 Henry Kuster (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 22 Francis Larivee (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 23 Mario Larocque (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 24 Wes Mason (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 25 Francois Methot (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 26 Geoff Peters (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 27 Randy Petruk (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 28 Chris Phillips (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 29 Boris Protsenko (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 30 Remi Royer (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 31 Cory Sarich (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 32 Jaroslav Svejkovsky (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 33 Curtis Tipler (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 34 Darren Van Oene (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 35 Jesse Wallin (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 36 Kurt Walsh (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 37 Lance Ward (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 38 Steve Wasylko (No-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 39 Trevor Wasyluk (Co-RC)
1995-96 Bowman Draft Prospects 40 Jon Zukiwsky (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors
These are easily some of the most scarce cards in this post, with only 1000 copies of each card made. Although the set features a bunch of players who earned RCs in 94-95, there are twelve players who qualify as either No-RCs or Pre-RCs.
Full Checklist:
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 1 Marc Denis (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 2 Jose Theodore (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 3 Chad Allan
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 4 Nolan Baumgartner
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 5 Denis Gauthier (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 6 Jason Holland (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 7 Chris Phillips (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 8 Wade Redden
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 9 Rhett Warrener (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 10 Jason Botterill
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 11 Curtis Brown (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 12 Hnat Domenichelli (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 13 Christian Dube
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 14 Rob Gordon (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 15 Jarome Iginla
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 16 Daymond Langkow (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 17 Brad Larsen
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 18 Alyn McCauley
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 19 Craig Mills (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 20 Jason Podollan (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 21 Mike Watt (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 22 Jamie Wright (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 23 Brian Boucher
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 24 Marc Magliarditi (No-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 25 Bryan Berard
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 26 Chris Bogas (No-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 27 Ben Clymer (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 28 Jeff Kealty (No-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 29 Mike McBain
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 30 Jeremiah McCarthy (No-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 31 Tom Poti (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 32 Reggie Berg (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 33 Matt Cullen (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 34 Chris Drury (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 35 Jeff Farkas (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 36 Casey Hankinson (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 37 Matt Herr (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 38 Mark Parrish (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 39 Erik Rasmussen
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 40 Marty Reasoner
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 41 Wyatt Smith
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 42 Brian Swanson (Pre-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 43 Mike Sylvia (Co-RC)
1995-96 Donruss Elite World Juniors 44 Mike York (Pre-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1995-96 Parkhurst International
Like the 94-95 Parkhurst SE set, this was a European release that found its way to North America. These cards are generally considered XRCs. An emerald parallel also exists across the entire 540-card set.
1995-96 Parkhurst International 271 Alex Hicks (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 295 Martin Biron (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 308 Mike Prokopec (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 377 Vladimir Tsyplakov (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 419 Mike Bales (No-RC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 481 Brian Loney (No-RC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 525 Kevin Hodson (Pre-RC/XRC)
1995-96 Parkhurst International 540 Ethan Moreau (Pre-RC/XRC)
-------------------------------------------
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets
...and...
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime
These two sets were rather odd insert sets put out by Pacific in two of their premium products from 97-98. They seem to have been produced in even greater numbers than the base set cards. Because of their large checklists (110 Dynagon Best Kept Secrets cards, and 220 Invincible NHL Regime cards), a few rookies found their way into the set. Hulbig and Murray earned their true RCs in 00-01, while Payne and Olsson never earned NHL cards again.
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets 7 Davis Payne (No-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets 8 Paxton Schafer (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets 38 Joe Hulbig (Pre-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Dynagon Best Kept Secrets 66 Christer Olsson (No-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 22 Steve Shields (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 39 Chris Murray (Pre-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 55 Eric Messier (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 98 Jeff Shevalier (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 100 Brad Brown (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 111 Patrik Elias (Co-RC)
1997-98 Pacific Invincible NHL Regime 137 Lance Pitlick (Co-RC)
-------------------------------------------
1997-98 Score Team Sets
In 97-98, Score created thirteen team sets with 20 cards in each. These sets feature vastly different checklists from the regular Score release, and can also be differentiated by foil stamping on the card front. Two parallel versions also exist of each card -- Platinum Team and Premiere Club.
Due to regional distribution and uncomprehensive checklists, these cards may not actually count as XRCs. However, they were created by a major manufacturer and are fully licensed. For the sake of completeness, I decided to include them in the analysis.
1997-98 Score Anaheim Mighty Ducks 5 Matt Cullen (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Anaheim Mighty Ducks 17 Pete LeBoutillier (No-RC)
1997-98 Score Anaheim Mighty Ducks 20 Espen Knutsen (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Boston Bruins 1 Shawn Bates (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Boston Bruins 3 Rob Tallas (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Boston Bruins 12 Randy Robitaille (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Buffalo Sabres 2 Steve Shields (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Colorado Avalanche 20 Yves Sarault (No-RC)
1997-98 Score Detroit Red Wings 20 Mike Knuble (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Montreal Canadiens 16 David Ling (Pre-RC)
1997-98 Score New Jersey Devils (none)
1997-98 Score New York Rangers 13 Vladimir Vorobiev (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Philadelphia Flyers 18 Vaclav Prospal (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Pittsburgh Penguins 16 Robert Dome (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Pittsburgh Penguins 20 Domenic Pittis (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score St. Louis Blues 17 Libor Zabransky (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Toronto Maple Leafs 20 Martin Prochazka (Co-RC)
1997-98 Score Vancouver Canucks (none)
-------------------------------------------
2003-04 BAP Memorabilia
...and...
2003-04 ITG Action
These two sets were both updated via a late-season box-set, limited to just 1000 copies produced. The cards in this set are generally considered XRCs, but there are four players who earned their only NHL cards in this update product.
2003-04 BAP Memorabilia 216 Frederic Henry (No-RC)
2003-04 BAP Memorabilia 222 Eric Heffler (No-RC)
2003-04 BAP Memorabilia 237 Chad Alban (No-RC)
2003-04 ITG Action 637 Andrew Allen (No-RC)
-------------------------------------------
2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Class
One player appeared in the 05-06 Rookie Class set, but earned his true RCs in 06-07.
2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Class 14 Michel Ouellet (Pre-RC)
-------------------------------------------
2000-01 SPx Rookie Redemptions
2001-02 SPx Rookie Redemptions
2001-02 UD Top Shelf Rookie Redemptions (TS1-TS4)
2002-03 SPx Rookie Redemptions
2004-05 SP Authentic Rookie Redemptions
2007-08 Be A Player Rookie Redemptions
2008-09 Be A Player Rookie Redemptions
2009-10 Be A Player Rookie Redemptions
Depending on how these sets are defined, they might be XRCs, and they might just be insert cards. They don't really fit the spirit of this research, however, since the cards were produced the following season. I am not aware of any cases in which a player earning a card in one of these sets did not earn a RC by (or before) the next consecutive product year.
-------------------------------------------
LONGEST HOLDOUTS
Nine players earned cards that met my Pre-RC criteria, and then had to wait over six years to be featured on an official NHL rookie card.
8 Years -- Milan Hnilicka -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 99-00 (various sets)
8 Years -- Brian Rafalski -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 99-00 (various sets)
8 Years -- D. Tarnstrom -- 94-95 (Parkhurst SE) to 02-03 (various sets)
7 Years -- Justin Kurtz -- 94-95 (Parkhurst SE) to 01-02 (various sets)
6 Years -- Brad Bombardir -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 97-98 (various sets)
6 Years -- Rich Brennan -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 97-98 (Be A Player)
6 Years -- Martin Prochazka -- 91-92 (Upper Deck Czech World Juniors) to 97-98 (various sets)
6 Years -- Dan Focht -- 95-96 (Bowman Draft Prospects) to 01-02 (various sets)
6 Years -- Casey Hankinson -- 95-96 (Donruss Elite World Juniors) to 01-02 (various sets)
-------------------------------------------
FUTURE WORK
* I am fairly certain that the Topps and O-Pee-Chee sticker sets from the 1980s contain some Pre-RCs. I did not attempt to catalog these occasions, but I can certainly see how this may fit into the research. It might be something worth doing at a later date.
* I am not sure if any other sets eschewed checklist parallels in favor of unique players (such as 1992-93 Topps), but if so, there could be applicable cards in there.
* I mentioned the Chris Ferraro anomaly in 91-92 Upper Deck, as he appeared solely on a card with his brother in that set. There were a few other multi-player cards in the early Upper Deck sets, and there could be one or two players who would also qualify for this post under those circumstances. EDIT: This has been completed and posted below.
* If anyone else can think of any other sets I missed, please let me know!
-------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading!
Last edited:
