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:

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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.

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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?

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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. 

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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.

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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! 

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Is There Too Much of a Good Thing?

After I launched the Puck Junk Newsletter last summer, a reader commented about the sheer number of hockey cards coming out over the next few months. 

That got me wondering: are there too many hockey sets being released at once? In other words, is this too much of a good thing? 

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Clemente’s Corner: Stephane Matteau Recalls His Memorable Playoff Goal 30 Years Later

The year was 1994 and the New York Rangers were having a magical season. Captained by Mark Messier, the Broadway Blues were a team built to win under coach Mike Keenan. Featuring veterans Adam Graves, Kevin Lowe, Glenn Anderson and Steve Larmer, the Rangers would eventually hoist the Stanley Cup by season’s end after beating the Vancouver Canucks.   

The win ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought. Thirty years later, Rangers fans still fondly recall that championship run.

Along the way, the team gave fans a series of memorable moments. The biggest is undoubtedly Stephane Matteau’s incredible game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils. Looking back, those seven games were one of the best playoff series ever contested.

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How to Safely Display Your Favorite Cards on a Shelf

We as collectors spend a lot of time seeking out the trading cards that we want. But do we spend any time enjoying the cards once we have them? It seems like once I got a card that I liked, it would be tucked away in a nine-pocket page or filed into a box, seldom to be seen again.

That is understandable, since exposure to light over a long period of time can cause cards to fade. But recently, I got into the wonderful practice of putting my favorite cards on display. Here’s how you can safely display your favorite sports or gaming cards to show off to your friends and family – or just to enjoy having in your collection. Read the rest of the story at the BCW Supplies Blog.

Player Collecting: The à La Carte of Card Collecting

Once upon a time, it was possible to collect every hockey card released during the season – especially when there were only two major sets available. But nowadays, it is impossible to collect every hockey card out there, especially when you consider all the parallels, autographs, jersey cards, and one-of-one cards.

Since it is impossible to collect everything, many card collectors focus on player collecting – that is, collecting just the cards of their favorite players.

Like an à la carte menu at a restaurant, which lets you order smaller portions of certain foods without the side dishes, player collecting allows you to sample every, base, parallel and insert set out there.

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