Welcome! Yes there is no easy way to tell.
During the '80s some RC cards were produced a few years late. Brett Hull, for example was a year late and some lesser guys were in the league 3-4 years before Topps/OPC noticed.
Then there was the '90s craze where it was the other way around. All these new card brands swooped in and wanted exclusive rights to a player's RC so they took pics of guys playing in World Juniors, etc and called them rookies.
It wasn't until 2001-02 I believe where this act was stopped and players needed to be in their NHL jerseys before companies (mostly Upper Deck and Pacific at this time) were producing their official rooks.
If you decide to start any kind of set-building/team-building projects please PM me. I can offer you anything I have extra for a very fair price.
During the '80s some RC cards were produced a few years late. Brett Hull, for example was a year late and some lesser guys were in the league 3-4 years before Topps/OPC noticed.
Then there was the '90s craze where it was the other way around. All these new card brands swooped in and wanted exclusive rights to a player's RC so they took pics of guys playing in World Juniors, etc and called them rookies.
It wasn't until 2001-02 I believe where this act was stopped and players needed to be in their NHL jerseys before companies (mostly Upper Deck and Pacific at this time) were producing their official rooks.
If you decide to start any kind of set-building/team-building projects please PM me. I can offer you anything I have extra for a very fair price.
Only U.S. trading until further notice....