Category: News & Views

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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When to Pivot Your Collecting Focus

Sometimes, you have to look at what you’re not looking for.

When I went to the Sport Card Expo in Toronto back in November, one of the things I wanted to buy was an Auston Matthews Young Guns rookie card. In fact, there were a few different rookie cards of current stars that I was looking for.

The problem was, they were all more than I wanted to pay. Much of the new stuff was graded. And even ungraded copies of cards that I wanted were in the neighborhood of $500 or more. 

That’s when I reminded myself of one of my long-standing card collecting strategies: know when to pivot your collecting focus, because you won’t know what you might find. 

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Clemente’s Corner: An Interview with Ken Reid

Canadian sports broadcaster Ken Reid knows hockey. He also knows hockey cards. A collector since childhood, Reid, who works for Canadian broadcaster Sportsnet, has written books about the hobby.

Author of “Hockey Card Stories: True Tales from Your Favorite Players” and “Hockey Card Stories 2: 59 More True Tales from Your Favorite Players,” Reid’s writing exudes passion and love for the cards we all grew up collecting.

It is Reid’s blend of humor, nostalgia and concise storytelling that makes him one of the finest sports journalists of our era. When he’s not making you feel like a kid again, Reid does a very good job telling stories you’ve never read before. You always come away entertained and learning something new at the same time whenever you pick up one of his books.

Reid, 49, has a new book out called “Hometown Hockey Heroes,” released this past October. This one – a series of inspiring and entertaining stories about local legends who defined the game in Canada – is another great addition to your bookshelf. Once again, he does a great job in both the nostalgia and storytelling department.

“Ken Reid’s writing style feels like shooting the breeze with a good friend,” said Tim Micallef, a fellow Sportsnet host. “In his new book, we find out where Reid’s unmatched passion for the game comes from. Take the trip from Pictou County, Nova Scotia, all the way to Kimberley, British Columbia, and discover the legends that dotted every corner of this country, the kind of stories that helped elevate the game from sport to religion in many parts of Canada.”

In fact, Reid’s latest book was inspired by his childhood adoration for Dana “T-Pot” Johnston, who played Junior C for the Pictou Mariners in Nova Scotia. The book also delves into other hometown heroes, including Robbie Forbes, who arrived in Newfoundland in the mid-80s with NHL dreams and ended up leading the Corner Brook Royals to a Canadian Senior Hockey title. Forbes, it should be noted, is also Sidney Crosby’s uncle; something else I learned from Reid’s book.

I caught up with Reid at the recent Sport Card Expo in Toronto, where we talked about his new book, hockey cards, goalies and why Wayne Gretzky is still the man after all these years.

Clemente Lisi: What’s your new book about?

Ken Reid: This book is from the heart. It’s based on my childhood hockey hero,  Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: An Interview with Ken Reid”

Puck Junk’s Top Podcasts of 2023

With 2023 now fully behind us, I wanted to take a look back at the Puck Junk Podcast and how it did last year. During 2023, we released 36 episodes of the Puck Junk Podcast. That was five more episodes than we released in 2022 (31 episodes), and 10 more episodes than we released 2021 (26 episodes). 

In 2023, our podcast had more listeners than ever, experiencing about a 25% growth over 2022.

As for our listeners, 55% of our listeners are from the United States and 38% are from Canada. No surprises there. But rounding out the top five countries that listened to the Puck Junk Podcast are Germany, Finland, and…Singapore? 

Yep. We also have listeners from Australia, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic. 

If you are a recent subscriber to the Puck Junk Podcast, you may have missed out on some of our best episodes from 2023. Or maybe you are a longtime listener and one of these episodes flew under your radar. Either way, here are the five most-listened to episodes of the Puck Junk Podcast from 2023. 

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