Celebrini Young Guns 1/1 Sells for $1.28M Record
A 2024-25 Upper Deck Young Guns Outburst Gold #451 Macklin Celebrini 1/1, graded PSA Authentic, sold for US$1,281,000 at Goldin Auctions on 15 August 2026 — the most expensive non-Gretzky hockey card ever sold at public auction, and the first modern hockey card to crack seven figures outside of Gretzky. It was pulled from a $440 hobby box at midnight by a first-time seller named James, who turned down a $600,000 CAD bounty to consign it instead. Fifty-seven bids later, the hobby had a new record.
What Is the Young Guns Outburst Gold?
Eight parallels exist in the 2024-25 Upper Deck Series 2 Young Guns set, ascending in rarity to the Outburst Gold at the top:
- Base Young Guns — unnumbered
- Outburst Silver — unnumbered
- Clear Cut — unnumbered, acetate
- Deluxe — /250
- Exclusives — /100
- Outburst Red — /25
- High Gloss — /10
- Outburst Gold — 1/1 ← the card that sold for $1,281,000
Where Does $1.28M Sit in Hockey Card History?
The only hockey card to sell for more is the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky #18 RC PSA 10, which fetched US$3,750,000 in a private sale brokered by Heritage Auctions in March 2021. Celebrini's card now sits at #2 all-time — the first modern (non-Gretzky) hockey card to reach seven figures at public auction.
The previous non-Gretzky benchmark was a 2015-16 Upper Deck The Cup Connor McDavid Rookie Patch Autograph #197 /99 PSA 10 — approximately half a million dollars in December 2025, per Sports Collectors Daily (US$571,000), though figures vary by outlet. Celebrini's 1/1 cleared that by more than double, without even carrying a numerical grade — Goldin noted the card displayed a "mildly circulated manner of appearance." A record either way.
Why Celebrini, Why Now?
Celebrini was 19 for most of the 2025-26 season and finished with 45G, 70A, 115 points in 82 games — fourth in NHL scoring, the third-highest single-season point total ever by a teenager (behind Gretzky's 137 in 1979-80 and Crosby's 120 in 2006-07), and a new San Jose Sharks franchise record, eclipsing Joe Thornton's 114-point mark from 2006-07.
The week his card hit Goldin, Celebrini signed a five-year, US$94M extension at US$18.8M AAV — the highest annual value in NHL history at signing. Fifty-seven bidders noticed.
How Did a $440 Hobby Box Become a $1.28M Card?
James drove to Chicagoland Sports Cards, spotted Celebrini's base Young Guns for $400, and bought a full hobby box for $440 instead. He pulled the Outburst Gold 1/1 from the 11th of 12 packs — around midnight, while his wife and daughter slept — and filmed it on his phone. "I was chasing a base Young Guns and ended up getting the Grail of Young Guns," he said in a Goldin video.
A $250,000 bounty was already on the card before he even pulled it; after news broke, a Canadian eBay consignor raised it to $600,000 CAD (~US$426,000). James turned it down, consulted his wife and fellow collectors, and consigned to Goldin. "I've never sold a card in my life," he told the Hockey Cards Gong Show Podcast — and he's already planning to replace it with a Celebrini Outburst Silver or Red.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the most expensive hockey card ever sold?
No — the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky #18 RC PSA 10 sold for US$3,750,000 in a private sale in March 2021. Celebrini's is the most expensive non-Gretzky hockey card ever sold at public auction.
What does PSA Authentic mean — why no PSA 10?
PSA Authentic confirms the card is genuine but assigns no numerical condition grade. Goldin noted it showed a "mildly circulated manner of appearance" — and it still set the record.
Why don't Crosby, McDavid, or Ovechkin have an Outburst Gold?
Upper Deck only introduced Outburst parallels from the 2023-24 season. Crosby's and Ovechkin's Young Guns date to 2005-06; McDavid's to 2015-16 — long before this parallel existed.
Does Celebrini have other valuable rookie cards?
The Outburst Red /25 and High Gloss /10 both exist and are rarer than most collectors will ever hold. Without verified recent sales, we won't put numbers on them — snap a photo in CardLoft to see what your copy is actually fetching.