Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
This week was a mix of highs and lows for the world of hockey. Legend Mike Bossy passed away, the NHLPA released its internal investigation into its handling of Kyle Beach, and a longtime play-by-play announcer made his final call. But a first-overall pick also made an impressive debut and women’s hockey might take a giant step forward next year. It’s all recapped in this week’s edition of Snap Shots.
I was so busy last weekend that I didn’t get to write my Snap Shots column for last week. So, this week’s edition has more “shots,” covering the last two weeks of notable hockey stories. But don’t worry — each “shot” is shorter and this will be a quick read. Promise!
Continue reading “Snap Shots: Auston Matthews Sets Maple Leafs’ Goals Record”
Welcome to Snap Shots! This week, we look at a trade that was voided, another third jersey — would that make it a second third jersey or a fourth jersey — for the Maple Leafs, and a team that went from hero to zero in less than a year.
Snap Shots is three days late, but better late than never, as they say. I had a busy weekend selling at a sports memorabilia convention, then other things got in the way. Such is life. But I still wanted to chip in my two cents about what went on around the NHL over the past seven — make that 10 — days. Two players skated in their 1,000th games, and set some interesting records in the process. Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record got a little closer to being broken, and, of course, there was the NHL trade deadline.
I didn’t have as much time as usual to focus on this week’s edition of Snap Shots. So, here is a very quick rundown of the top five hockey stories over the past week.
Continue reading “Snap Shots: Nicklas Backstrom Scores 1,000th Point”
It was another busy week in the NHL, as the league unveiled a new stat, two players hit the 1,000-game mark and the Blue Jackets retired a number for the first time in the team’s 22-year history. Plus, the IIHF took a stance on Russia’s participation in future ice hockey tournaments.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was on all our minds last week. Naturally, talk about the war found its way into hockey circles. Hockey is a global sport. Many of the game’s best players are from Russia, and there are numerous international hockey tournaments, from the annual World Junior Championships and World Championships, to the quadrennial Winter Olympics which just recently took place.
In a life-and-death situation like this, that can impact hundreds of thousands of lives, athletes and sportswriters cannot just “stick to sports.” That said, several prominent current and former NHL players spoke out about the war in Ukraine and what it could potentially mean for Russian hockey players.
Other hockey news this week includes two players reaching career milestones, another player having his jersey number retired, and the passing of one of hockey’s all-time great builders.
Continue reading “Snap Shots: Hockey World Reacts to Russian Invasion of Ukraine”
Happy Monday and welcome to Snap Shots. This week, we will look at two NHL milestones that were reached, a recap of hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and the long-awaited return of one of the league’s star players.
Happy Valentines Day, beloved readers! The NHL was back to business as usual last week. Coaches were hired. Coaches were fired. There was a retirement, a suspension, and an announcement of a — shall we say unorthodox — arrangement between a team and an arena. It’s all covered in this week’s Snap Shots.
Continue reading “Snap Shots: Brad Marchand Becomes Most-Suspended Player in NHL History”
How the pandemic and professional grading have made ticket stub collecting more popular than ever.While trading cards may always be number one among sports memorabilia enthusiasts, ticket stub collecting has gradually heated up over the past two years. It has done so for two reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic and grading companies have both made collecting physical ticket stubs more popular than ever. However, digital ticketing may erode some of that enthusiasm – but maybe not for long.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first caused shutdowns and “shelter at home” orders in March 2020, many people started at-home hobbies. Some discovered, or rediscovered, sports card collecting, causing cards to surge in popularity and price over the past two years. Then, ticket stubs experienced its own uptick in interest.
“The pandemic got more people to look at their ticket stubs and see if they could sell them on eBay,” said Paul White, who has collected ticket stubs for 30 years. “People wanted to see if their ticket stubs are worth something, and to some people, they are. I’ve actually found more ticket stubs on eBay since the pandemic, which has been a benefit.” Read the rest of the story at the BCW Supplies Blog.
