Box Break: 2013-14 Panini Prizm

2013-14 Panini Prizm Hockey cards hobby boxInitially, I thought that 2013-14 Prizm would be another clunker from Panini. The cards are printed on shiny foil stock, look like pretty much every other Panini set out there and originally cost $100 for a 20-pack box (each pack contains six cards). But I found a box at a recent show for $50, so I took a chance and was pleasantly surprised.

Prizm cards are printed on a silver, mirror-like card stock. Whereas Upper Deck’s Black Diamond are shiny but dark, Prizm cards have bright, vibrant colors that jump out at you. The cards are also printed on heavy stock. After opening a box, I totally understand why baseball card collectors go nuts over sets like Bowman Chrome: they just look so cool. Of course, I was a sucker for “chromium covers” back in my comic book collecting days in the 1990s, so enjoying “chromium” hockey cards isn’t much of a stretch for me.

Anyway, onto the break. Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 Panini Prizm”

Card ‘Toons: Double Gold

Editor’s Note: After an 11-month hiatus, Steve Galvao is back with his latest installment of Card ‘Toons.The 2014 Winter Olympics may be over, but they are not forgotten.

Price double goldSteve Galvao is a good old Canadian kid who grew up loving hockey and collecting hockey cards. To see more of Steve’s work, visit his website, the Shoebox Collection. You can see his earlier blog posts here.

Read my latest Becket article FREE online

beckett_action_packedI am back in the pages of Beckett Hockey this month. “Looking Back at Action Packed” is my latest article. It is on pages 4-7 in the March 2014 issue (#259), and recounts the many attempts former card company Action Packed made to try and break into the hockey card market. They failed, but issued some interesting promotional items along the way.

If you don’t want to buy this issue just to read my article, Beckett also published it on their blog. You can read the he entire article for free here. Please take a look and let me know what you think — either in the comments below, or in the comments on the Beckett blog.

Upper Deck signs exclusive trading card license with NHL, NHLPA. What now?

Upper Deck LogoA joint press release — issued by Upper Deck, the NHL and the NHLPA — hit the hockey card industry like a ton of pucks yesterday when it was announced that Upper Deck has signed an exclusive, multi-year deal with the NHL and the NHLPA.  The agreement, which starts in the 2014-15 season, makes Upper Deck the sole manufacturer of licensed NHL trading cards. This is a huge win for Upper Deck, a huge loss for Panini America and In The Game — and a bit of both for hockey card collectors.

In short, it will be nothing but Upper Deck, more Upper Deck and only Upper Deck when it comes to NHL trading cards over the next several years.

Panini America, whose agreement with the NHL and NHLPA expires on June 30, was quick to respond. CEO Mark Warsop, issued a press release of his own yesterday, stating his discord:

“We are disappointed to learn of the NHL and NHLPA’s decision to go in another direction in the trading card category…During the term of our agreement we faced many challenges, including a late start to the agreement and an NHL work stoppage. Through all of the challenges we established trading card hockey brands that collectors came to love and look forward to…” (link)

I think what the Panini CEO really wanted to say was:

“Thanks for nothing, jerks! Our licensed started later than we wanted — in October 2010 — so Upper Deck still got to be first to market with the 2010-11 cards. We also had to put up with last year’s lockout, and then the absolute dearth of rookie cards due to the NHLPA’s mercurial decision. But we’re not bitter…”

In The Game — who has not had an NHL or NHLPA license since the 2003-04 season — is also shut out once again.The company applied for a trading card license with the NHLPA in October 2013. Getting one seemed possible, since it was the NHLPA who first offered In The Game a trading card license in 2012 — one they wisely turned down — for the 2012-13 season. We all know how that year played out for hockey card collectors and card companies.

So, why would the Players Association first want to expand their licensees, then go to just one two years later? In an interview with Beckett Hockey Editor Susan Lulgjuraj, NHLPA director of licensing Adam Larry stated that the exclusive deal was to cut down on products in the marketplace.

“Of the benefits, one of the big ones is being able to control number of products a little better,” Larry told Beckett Media. “One of the things we were hearing is there was probably a little too much product out there right now.” (link)

What does this all mean to hockey card collectors? If you like Upper Deck cards, then you have nothing to worry about. We will get plenty of those, like Artifacts, the return of MVP as a standard set, and Upper Deck Series One and Two. Personally, I am glad that UD Series One and Two will continue for its 25th year. It is consistently my favorite set, and is currently the longest-running active set.

But if you like competition, then this is very bad. Don’t get me wrong — I like some Upper Deck Sets and dislike others. What I really like, though, is the innovation that happens when you have competition. Why skate hard for the puck if there is no one to beat you to it? Why try to make better hockey cards when no one else can make them?

Granted, I did not like too many of Panini’s hockey card sets over the years, but at least having Panini in the picture made Upper Deck work harder. Their flagship set (Series One and Two) is always a cut above anything else, while sets like Fleer Retro and Parkhurst Champions have been among my favorites during the “two-company race” we’ve enjoyed the past four years. Would Upper Deck have even attempted a set like Parkhurst Champions if they didn’t have to compete with Panini for our hobby dollars?

Then again, maybe without pressure from direct competition, Upper Deck will double down, innovate, and transform hockey card collecting — much like T.J. Oshie got to work his magic during the shootout in the Olympics, with unlimited time and room and no defender trying to knock him down.

So, just how long is this deal anyway? The press release does not say, and Upper Deck Sports and Social Media Manager Chris Carlin was not at liberty to tell me. The NHLPA did not answer my email inquiry, either.

The previous exclusive that Upper Deck held was for six years (2004-05 to 2009-10). Perhaps the length of the deal is being kept a secret because it is variable, based on Upper Deck’s performance. Do well, and keep your exclusivity. Do poorly, and everyone from Topps to Press Pass will get a license. Of course, this is pure speculation on my part.

In the interest of full disclosure, Upper Deck does provide products to this blog for review purposes. However, all opinions on this blog are my own.

Box Break: 2013-14 Heroes and Prospects

box_sealedHeroes and Prospects, by In The Game Trading Cards, celebrates its tenth season this  year. The set focuses mainly on players who were drafted by NHL teams, players eligible for the 2014 NHL draft, or players eligible within the next few years. There are also “heroes” cards, of former hockey legends, that use  illustrations instead of photographs. Rounding out the 199-card set are 49 short-printed lenticular “Class of 2014” cards that have a cool, 3-D effect. Like all In The Game products, you can also expect autographed cards and game-used jersey cards in every box.

Without further ado, here are the results of the box I opened:

Continue reading “Box Break: 2013-14 Heroes and Prospects”

National Hockey Card Day is this Saturday, January 18

nhcd_usa_3National Hockey Card Day returns once again in both Canada and the U.S. It will take place in both countries Saturday, January 18, 2014. Hockey fans who visit a participating retailer will receive a special, five-card pack of Upper Deck hockey cards. National Hockey Card Day (or NHCD as us cool kids  call it) started in Canada in 2009 and in 2012 in the United States. But this year, there are a few new twists. Continue reading “National Hockey Card Day is this Saturday, January 18”

I’ve been a hockey fan for 25 years today

sal_1989Most hockey fans don’t remember how long they’ve been a fan of the sport, because hockey was always there, always a part of their life. But for me, growing up in Chicago, it was different. The first time I saw a Blackhawks game was 25 years ago today — purely by accident. Continue reading “I’ve been a hockey fan for 25 years today”

Review: 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Leaders

41 of the best players from the ’86-87 season

016_f_zoomA popular trend in the late-1980s was the “leaders” set – a small, inexpensively priced set of trading cards focusing on the best players from the prior year. These cards were smaller in size and cheaper than regular cards, but also seen as premium cards due to their glossy fronts and the better cardstock that was used to print them on. O-Pee-Chee would make a Leaders set in the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons. Back in the day, you could a pack of five “super glossy hockey cards” for a quarter. Continue reading “Review: 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Leaders”