Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
By Sean Sullivan
Connor Bedard mania has run wild throughout the hockey-collecting community this season, and on April 18, the game-worn jersey collecting segment joined in on the fun – but not without some controversy. Continue reading “Despite Issues, Connor Bedard Game-Used Jersey Fetches $37K”
Back in February, you may recall that a full 16-box case of 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Hockey cards sold for $3.72 million at Heritage Auctions. The case may potentially have as many as 25 Wayne Gretzky rookie cards inside that presumably would get high grades.
Well, the winning bidder still has not paid in full for the case – and he no longer wants it.
Considering how hard it has been to buy almost any recent hockey card products, the idea of actually getting some 2024 hockey cards in 2024 – for free, no less! – is exciting!
This Saturday – April 13 – is National Hockey Card Day in the U.S., in Canada, and in even some other countries around the world. Fans who visit a participating card shop can get a free, exclusive pack of National Hockey Card Day 2024 cards, made by Upper Deck. Continue reading “2024 National Hockey Card Day is This Saturday”
Last week, the 2023-24 SP Game Used Hockey set hit hobby shops and shipped from online retailers.
While several Connor Bedard autographed cards were issued in Upper Deck Series Two, this year’s SP Game Used set has his first truly high-end rookie cards, such as rookie patch autographs (RPAs), and autographed letter mark cards.
Continue reading “High-End Connor Bedard Cards Are Finally Here”
Say the word “rookie” and the name Connor Bedard instantly comes to mind. It’s a reflex. None of us can help.
While the Chicago Blackhawks center may very well be on his way to taking the Calder Trophy, there are other rookies – even sleeper ones – that may be worth gobbling up now given that the majority of people are so laser-focused on acquiring Bedard.
Players like Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Leo Carlsson of the Anaheim Ducks have lived up to the preseason hype, although both have been overshadowed by Bedard mania. Both Hughes and Carlsson remain in the mix – although they are longshots – to capture the Calder.
Instead, here are five NHL rookies from this season (not named Bedard) who remain under the radar and worth chasing:
Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: Rookies You Should Collect Besides Connor Bedard”
You know the feeling you get when you hear the same phrases repeated over and over and over again?
Whether it was your parents yelling things like “Don’t make me come back there,” or “Because I said so,” or that catchphrase your once favorite sports personality now uses as a noun, verb, adjective, and every other part of speech you can think of, certain phrases just get beaten into the ground.
The same can be said for the card-collecting hobby. While those not on social media may not hear these things often, those that are and interact with others in the hobby daily, get bombarded by these words and phrases regularly.
The solution? I think it’s about time that some of these phrases get retired now.
Continue reading “Tim’s Take: Four Hobby Phrases That Should Be Retired Now!”
When You Start at the Top, There’s Only One Way to Go.This past weekend, I set up at the Chicago Sports Spectacular to sell hockey cards and t-shirts. The Spectacular is a twice-annual, three-day show with around 400 vendors and dozens of autograph guests. The show draws a large crowd, and many in the crowd were wearing Blackhawks jerseys with Connor Bedard’s name and number 98 on the back.
The March Chicago Sports Spectacular was the first major Chicago-area show since Bedard’s Young Guns card was released in 2023-24 Upper Deck Series 2 on March 6 – and as you probably have guessed, everyone was talking about him.
At least half of the people who stopped by my booth asked if I had any Bedard cards, though many of them were looking specifically for his Young Guns card. And some even offered to sell me a Bedard Young Guns card, usually asking around $500 to $600. I could have bought that card ten times over.
But I didn’t. Continue reading “The Decline in Value of the Connor Bedard Young Guns Card”
Amid the usual sea of Michael Jordan, Mark Grace and Walter Payton cards and jerseys, another – much younger – athlete was prominently on display at the recent Chicago Sports Spectacular.
Connor Bedard was very much on the minds and tongues of many at the three-day event, the Windy City’s biggest sports collectables gathering and one of the best-attended regional shows in North America.
And Bedard’s Young Guns card was hands down the most-talked about item – even by those who don’t typically buy hockey. It was a card that had shaggy-haired teens carrying silver cases scurrying about in search of it, while seasoned collectors shook their heads (some in disgust) at some of the prices in the showcases.
Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: Connor Bedard’s Young Guns Prices Do Not COMP-ute!”
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:
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.