Go get the March 2013 issue of Beckett Hockey (#247). I have a new article in it, entitled From Patches to Packaging, where I discuss interesting oddball hockey sets.
But I do more than that–I also talk about each set’s significance in a historical context, such as what was going on in the NHL and in the trading card industry at the time. Anyone can look in a price guide to know that there were 70 “Action Patches” released in 1992-93, but what’s the deal with the “prototype” patch? Or why was a certain team omitted from another set?
Hopefully, anyone who buys this month’s issue not only enjoys my article, but learns something from it too.
I won’t have an article in the April 2013 issue of Beckett Hockey, but I am currently working on my next piece for the May 2013 issue.
I was excited that National Hockey Card Day in the USA was “celebrating” its second anniversary this past Saturday. Comic book collectors have “Free Comic Book Day.” Baseball card collectors have (or at least had) “Free Baseball Card Day.” So, it is pretty awesome that hockey card collectors in America have what is basically “Free Hockey Card Day.”
Unlike last year, though, I only hit up two shops. Most stores within Chicago were not participating–though many in the far-off suburbs were. And this year, I only needed to build two sets–one for me and one for Kazi. Last year, I had a few more sets to put together, hence visiting more stores. This year, NHCD was a more streamlined experience.
Store #1
The first shop I visited was Elite Sports. The owner is nice, but his store does not have much in hockey cards. Fortunately, the pack of O-Pee-Chee I bought (to get the free Jonathan Quick card) had a sticker of Marc-Andre Fleur, thus completing my sticker set.
Store #2
The second card store I went to was AU Sports, now in Morton Grove (link). One of the owners, Frank, is a big hockey fan and was proudly wearing his red Patrick Sharp Blackhawks jersey. A few customers at the store gave me their NHCD packs, so after a total of 7 packs (plus a few loose cards Frank threw my way), I had two complete sets. Mission accomplished.
And yes, the collation was much better this year than it was in 2012.
I also purchased a few goodies from AU Sports, including:
13 more Jeremy Roenick Rookie Cards for my “1000 JR RCs Project”
A complete set of 1999-00 Upper Deck HoloGRFX hockey cards
A complete set of 1999-00 Topps Premier Plus hockey cards
A Chicago Hounds (a 1-year UHL team) pocket schedule
You never heard of the Chicago Hounds? Neither did most people in Chicago. The team lasted one season.
Did any American collectors participate in NHCD? If so, let me know how you did.
Also, I have a few extra NHCD cards–check my Singles, RCs & Inserts Trade page. I am looking to trade for the Gretzky/Lemieux Canada Cup card and some of the oversized NHCD Canadian cards.
Now it is America’s turn! National Hockey Card Day in the United States is on Saturday, February 16. Visit a participating card shop and receive a free pack of exclusive Upper Deck trading cards. Each pack contains 5 cards from the 15-card set. A 16th card–of Jonathan Quick hoisting the Stanley Cup–is available if you make a purchase at the card shop.
To find a participating retailer in the United States, visit the NHCD website.
To read more about NHCD in the U.S., check out the Upper Deck Blog.
Last year, there were five shops within reasonable driving distance from my apartment. This year, though, only two or three. My goal for today is to get a complete set for myself and an extra set or two to trade to my Canadian friends.
Check out the February 2013 issue of Beckett Hockey (#246), which has a 3-page article written by yours truly. It is entitled Stars in the Making, and discusses “Pre-Rookie Cards”–that is, cards that are issued before an NHL player’s career.
This is my first article for Beckett Hockey since February 2009–exactly 4 years ago–when I wrote about the history of fighting in the NHL. It is pretty cool to contribute to, and see my name in, a magazine I grew up reading.
If you happen to pick up the latest issue of Beckett Hockey and read the article, please let me know what you think.
I will also have an article in the March 2013 issue.
Today is National Hockey Card Day in Canada. Hobby shops are giving away exclusive packs of hockey cards. Each free pack contains 5 cards from a 15-card set. A 16th card–featuring Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky–can be obtained if you make a purchase.
Toys R’ Us and London Drugs are also participating in NHCD and are giving away oversized cards. There are five different “blow ups” available: Bobby Orr, Jaden Schwartz, Sidney Crosby, Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla.
Set Wanted: If any Canadian collector out there ends up with an extra set, an extra blow-up card or two, or a few extra wrappers, I will trade you for them. I plan on trying to put together several U.S. NHCD sets next weekend, so I should be able to trade you a U.S. set, or something else from my Trade List.
Specifically, this is what I am looking for:
A 15-card NHCD Canadian set
The special Wayne Gretzky / Mario Lemieux 1987 Canada Cup card
2 checklist cards
4 empty wrappers
Oversized Joe Sakic card
Oversized Sidney Crosby card
Oversized Jaden Schwartz card
Oversized Jarome Iginla card
Oversized Bobby Orr card
I am interested to know how NHCD in Canada went for you this year. Did you score one–or many–packs? Did you pull an autograph or get one of the oversized cards? Feel free to post a reply on how your National Hockey Card Day went.
National Hockey Card Day is just around the corner–February 9 in Canada and February 16 in the United States. Recently, I spoke with Chris Carlin, Sports Marketing and Social Media Manager for Upper Deck. Chris answered some questions about NHCD for 2013, including autographs and collation improvements. Continue reading “Interview: Upper Deck’s Chris Carlin talks about National Hockey Card Day”
I’m a bit behind in doing the “start of the year stuff,” like posting 2012 retrospectives or goals for 2013. I was sick for the first few weeks of the new year, then got caught up in teaching the new semester. But I finally got around to checking out my site stats for 2012. Here are the top 5 articles on Puck Junk for 2012:
1. Review: Check Out My Cards Purchase
I ordered some hockey cards from Check Out My Cards back in November 2012, and wrote a review of the ordering process–from using the redesigned COMC website, to the shipping and handling of the cards.
2. Lost Cards: 1999-00 Upper Deck Century Legends Ken Dryden
In June, I ran a 5-part series called “The Lost Cards,” ending about a Ken Dryden card that was planned but never produced. The article features the “card” that was made in its place–a few of them leaking out and sold on eBay. It also speculates why Dryden was not in the set featuring the best-ever NHL players.
3. Review: 1988-89 ProCards AHL/IHL
In 1988, an expansive minor league hockey card set was released, featuring both AHL and IHL teams. Many future NHLers would appear in this set, like Ed Belfour, Tony Twist, Mark Recchi and Jeff Hackett.
4. Lost Cards: 1990-91 Pro Set Kari Takko
A card of Minnesota North Stars goaltender Kari Takko was featured in ads and on packaging for 1990-91 Pro Set Series Two, but was mysteriously absent when the set came out. This was my first entry in the “Lost Cards” series.
5. 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee Case Break
Well, I guess it it isn’t every day that someone opens a whole case of cards. That probably explains why it was the 5th-most popular article of 2012, despite it being written towards the end of the year.
Honorable Mention – Movie Review: Goon
I loved the movie Goon (“It is beach ball…”), and I am pretty proud of the write-up I did about it. If it had only 6 more views, my review of this awesome hockey film would have surpassed the (relatively boring) case break article mentioned above.
***
OK, enough about 2012. Time to start focusing on 2013.
Upper Deck co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Richard P. McWilliam died unexpectedly in his home in Rancho Santa Fe, CA on Saturday, January 5. He was 59 years old, and leaves behind one of the largest trading card companies.
McWilliam was the subject of the book Card Sharks (1995), and was a polarizing figure in the trading card industry.
Upper Deck became a leader in the trading card industry almost overnight because of their quality production values. McWilliam was integral in securing the financing to produce their inaugural set of baseball cards. Under his leadership, Upper Deck also grew the market for autographed memorabilia with their “Authenticated” line of signed merchandise.
On the other hand, McWilliam was at the helm for some of Upper Deck’s biggest controversies. The company was sued by Major League Baseball for trademark infringement, and by Konami for reprinting/counterfeiting their own Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards.
Regardless, McWilliam helped the trading card industry grow into the mufti-million dollar industry it is today.
Happy Holidays to those of you who read the blog–or just look at the pictures–and to those of you who have traded cards with me and helped my collection grow.
Earlier today, Upper Deck announced on their blog that National Hockey Card Day will be back in 2013. NHCD–as the cool kids call it–will take place on February 9 in Canada and on February 16 in the United States.
Five-card packs of special cards will be given out at participating retailers. Like last year, each country will have its own exclusive set of cards–15 different cards found in the packs, and a 16th card that can only be obtained if you make a purchase at the card shop.
Autographed cards will be randomly inserted in NHCD packs, and Upper Deck promises improved collation. The collation was particularly bad in the U.S. for their 2012 NHCD promotion–ten 5-card packs did not yield me even one complete 15-card set–so it is great to hear that Upper Deck is doing something about it.
The Canadian set will feature 15 cards of players suiting up for Team Canada. The bonus card will show Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky playing at the 1987 Canada Cup tournament.
The U.S. set will consist of 15 cards of the best American-born players.The bonus card will feature Kings goalie and 2012 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick hoisting the Stanley Cup. This is a nice parallel to the 2012 US NHCD set; the bonus card was American-born, Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas with the Cup. (Hopefully, a US-born goalie will win the Conn Smythe Trophy next year to continue this trend).
Considering that we are in the third month of the NHL lockout, this is great news for hockey card collectors. The lockout has resulted in a weak rookie class. less sets overall and lukewarm Ebay sales. Hopefully, this will give hockey card collecting some spark in a season that is all but cancelled.
Go get the March 2013 issue of Beckett Hockey (#247). I have a new article in it, entitled From Patches to Packaging, where I discuss interesting oddball hockey sets.
