Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Sticks with the Oilers

The first overall draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, has played his tenth game with the Oilers this year meaning he will stick with the club for the rest of the year barring any unforseen issues. Nugent-Hopkins has impressed in his first handful of games and he has the Oilers at the top of the standings early in the season. Hockey fans everywhere are excited to see if Nugent-Hopkins can become a star like recent first round picks Steven Stamkos and Patrick Kane.

Because the jury is still out on Nugent-Hopkins, conservative collectors will likely take a wait and see approach with the rookie as he still has room to boom or bust. However, prospect hunters will be out in full force, especially after Nugent-Hopkins' early season success. You can expect Nugent-Hopkins rookie cards to be among the most sought after hockey cards of this year. Probably the most popular and expensive non-autograph (or severely limited) card will be the 2011-12 Upper Deck Young Guns Ryan Nugent-Hopkins rookie card. Any Edmonton Oilers collector should grab at least one Nugent-Hopkins rookie card early in case he becomes an instant star.

Will he be a superstar like Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby? Will he be a budding superstar like Steven Stamkos? Will he be a next-big-thing youngster like John Tavares? Will he be a work in progress like Taylor Hall? Few know at this point. One thing for certain is that as a hockey card collector, it is hard to go wrong with targeting the first overall draft pick.