Checklists are NOT Dead!

A few weeks back, I opined that checklist cards in this day and age are pretty much useless and should be discontinued. I put a poll out on X/Twitter asking collectors if they like checklist cards.

As you can see from the poll results above, 50.7% of respondents still like checklists, while 49.3% do not like checklists.

There are two takeaways here:

Continue reading “Checklists are NOT Dead!”

Puck Junk Podcast: Connor Bedard Young Guns Mania!

Episode #182: March 8, 2024

In Episode #182 of the Puck Junk Podcast, Sal, Tim, and Clemente talk about the Connor Bedard Young Guns rookie card that finally came out with the launch of 2023-24 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey this week. They discuss some of the insane prices Bedard’s Young Guns card, plus the variants and the inserts, have sold for so far – and how and why this card is setting the hockey card market on fire. It’s 78 minutes of hockey goodness! 

Show Notes and Links
The March 2024 Chicago Sports Spectacular Website (link)
Clemente’s Article about Connor Bedard (Sports Collectors Digest)
Connor Bedard Mania is Upon Us (Puck Junk)
Zero Game Goalies: Daniel Altschuller (Puck Junk)
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Newsletter (link)

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on X/Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on X/Twitter @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Follow Clemente Lisi on X/Twitter @ClementeLisi
Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube

Listen
Listen to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAmazon MusicCastboxDeezeriHeartRadioOvercast,  
PlayerFMPocketCastsPodcast AddictPodchaserSpotifyStitcher,
or Transistor.

Connect 
Connect with us and other hockey fans on the Puck Junk Facebook Group.

Subscribe
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Email Newsletter and the YouTube Channel

Support 
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop

Connor Bedard Mania is Upon Us!

Is Bedard’s Young Guns the Most-Wanted Hockey Card Ever?

I’ve never seen anything like this.

In my 35+ years of collecting hockey cards, I have never seen so much hype over one brand-new hockey card.

I was collecting cards in 1990 when Eric Lindros was being called “The Next One,” and everyone was hoarding his 1990-91 Score rookie cards. 

I remember the hype over Sidney Crosby and how tough it was to find 2005-06 hockey cards that were not marked up to (then) ridiculous prices – because there might be a Crosby rookie card inside. 

More recently, I recall the anticipation for Connor McDavid’s Young Guns card, which was fetching $275 right out of the gate when 2015-16 Upper Deck Series 1 launched in November 2015.

But none of that matches the anticipation, the hype, the fervor, caused by Connor Bedard’s Young Guns rookie card – a card that technically comes out today with the launch of 2023-24 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey, but has already found its way on eBay a few days ago.

Continue reading “Connor Bedard Mania is Upon Us!”

Puck Junk Podcast: 2023-24 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

Plus: The $3.72M 1979-80 OPC Hockey Case
Episode #181: March 1, 2024

In Episode 181 of the Puck Junk Podcast, the guys talk in-depth about the 2023-24 O-Pee-Chee Hockey card set – and how the demand for Connor Bedard rookie cards have driven prices for that set. They also discuss the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Hockey card case that sold for $3.72M, the 30th anniversary of “The Forsberg Goal” and more. It’s 1 hour and 55 minutes of hockey goodness. 

Links
1979-80 OPC Case Sells for $3.72M at Auction (Sports Collectors Daily)
The Fake Wayne Gretzky Indianapolis Racers Card (Puck Junk)
Peter Forsberg’s Goal from the 1994 Winter Olympics (YouTube)
2023-24 Upper Deck Star Rookies Checklist (Trading Card DB)
Clemente’s article about European card shows (Sports Collectors Digest)
2023-24 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Checklist (Trading Card DB)
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Newsletter here

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on X/Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on X/Twitter @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Follow Clemente Lisi on X/Twitter @ClementeLisi
Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube

Listen
Listen to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAmazon MusicCastboxDeezeriHeartRadioOvercast,  
PlayerFMPocketCastsPodcast AddictPodchaserSpotifyStitcher,
or Transistor.

Connect 
Connect with us and other hockey fans on the Puck Junk Facebook Group.

Subscribe
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Email Newsletter and the YouTube Channel

Support 
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop

What Would You Do With a Full Case of 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards?

In a record-setting auction that ended Sunday, February 25, a full case of 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Hockey cards sold at Heritage Auctions for $3.72 MILLION DOLLARS.

The winning bid, which was placed Saturday night, was for $3.1 million. The “buyer’s premium” that gets tacked on to the winning bid price was $620,000, bringing the grand total to $3.72M. 

What I want to know is, what would someone do with an entire case of 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Hockey cards?

Continue reading “What Would You Do With a Full Case of 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards?”

Video: Bernie Parent Interview

In this video, Flyers legend and Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Bernie Parent talks with Sal Barry about his NHL and WHA career. Topics include what it was like for Parent to play with Jacques Plante, why he left to play in the WHA, and the problem with today’s goalie gear. It’s 10 minutes of hockey goodness. 

Special thanks to the Sport Card Expo for video of the interview. 

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on X/Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk.
Intro/outro music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, listen to the Podcast, subscribe to the Newsletter and YouTube Channel, and support this site at the Online Shop

Follow Sal Barry on X/Twitter @PuckJunk

Puck Junk Podcast: Bernie Parent Interview

Episode #180: February 23, 2024

Flyers legend and Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Bernie Parent talks with Sal Barry about his NHL and WHA career. Topics include what it was like for Parent to play with Jacques Plante, why he left to play in the WHA, and the problem with today’s goalie gear. It’s 10 minutes of hockey goodness. 

Links
Watch a video of the Bernie Parent interview on YouTube
Bernie Parent career statistics at HockeyDB.
Special thanks to the Sport Card Expo for recording the interview. 

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on X/Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk.
Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube

Listen
Listen to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsAmazon MusicCastboxDeezeriHeartRadioOvercast,  
PlayerFMPocketCastsPodcast AddictPodchaserSpotifyStitcher,
or Transistor.

Connect 
Connect with us and other hockey fans on the Puck Junk Facebook Group.

Subscribe
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Email Newsletter and the YouTube Channel

Support 
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop

Tim’s Take: Is Cleaning Cards a Dirty Business?

All we are is dust in the wind…

Those words, made immortal by the poetic genius of Kansas, were true when they were written and are true today. It’s also true that I hate dust, who doesn’t? The only thing I hate more than dust is dusting. But sometimes, even our cardboard collections succumb to the annoyingly random, floating, airborne particulate. Or maybe something worse. So what do we do about it?

I think there is certainly a difficult and layered discussion that can be had regarding the differences between dusting off your cards, cleaning, restoration, and alteration. We live in a world where the hobby is particularly focused on the gems, gem rates, and population counts among the best of the best. Finding the best quality so that you can maximize your “profits” is and has been, the direction the hobby has trended heavily since around 2015.

Sure, collectors have always wanted the best looking cards in the best condition possible, but since we’ve regularly eclipsed six figure sales for cards, the thoughts of dollar signs take over and the only way to get them is to grade. There is a ton of money at stake now and with half dozen or more card grading companies (the alphabet soups) that will rate your card on an arbitrary scale of 1-10 (with no industry regulation, oversight, certification, or standardized operating procedure), there’s extra incentive to help stack the deck in your favor.

Before I continue down this potential rabbit hole, keep in mind that I’m not talking about taking out the Swiffer duster once in awhile to run over your boxes, binders and bro cases. I’m not even talking about taking the dust off the individual cards themselves. I’m talking about where we draw the line between wiping off a thumb print or some dust particles vs. physically changing or altering the state of a card.

Continue reading “Tim’s Take: Is Cleaning Cards a Dirty Business?”

Connor Bedard’s O-Pee-Chee Rookie Cards are Hot!

But Will They Be This Hot for Long?

It’s a mad, mad world we hockey card collectors are living in right now. Earlier this month, the hobby got turned on it’s head – again! – thanks, in large part, to the hype surrounding Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard.

Upper Deck released its 2023-24 O-Pee-Chee Hockey set on February 7. Traditionally, OPC is issued at the start of the season and does not include any of the “big name” rookies, who would normally get OPC cards later in the year as a part of an update set.

But this year, OPC was released mid-season. That means that Upper Deck could include Connor Bedard in the ’23-24 OPC set – and boy, did they ever! 

Continue reading “Connor Bedard’s O-Pee-Chee Rookie Cards are Hot!”

Rookie Cards of Every NHL Head Coach for the 2023-24 Season

Every NHL head coach has either played or coached at some level before becoming a “bench boss” in The Show. Maybe he was a solid NHL player. Or maybe he was a minor leaguer who grinded out a career. Or maybe he quit playing after junior hockey and got into coaching at a relatively young age. 

Thus, almost every NHL head coach for the 2023-24 season had at least one hockey card issued during either their playing or coaching career. Here is each coach’s “rookie card” if they played in the NHL, or “first-ever” card if they played elsewhere. This list includes all the coaching changes made during the 2023-24 season. 

Continue reading “Rookie Cards of Every NHL Head Coach for the 2023-24 Season”