News

Former collegiate goaltender Tom Fenton–who appeared as an emergency backup goalie for the Phoenix Coyotes last month–is getting his own hockey card. Today, hockey card manufacturer In the Game announced that Fenton will be a part of the 2010-11 Between the Pipes set.

“You’re not going to see him in any other products this season,” stated ITG president Dr. Brian Price in a press release, “so it was important that we do our best to bring his cards to collectors.”

Between the Pipes focuses exclusively on goaltenders, and this year’s set will feature both signed and unsigned cards of Fenton. As ITG does not have an NHL license, they will most likely show Fenton from his playing days with the American International College Yellow Jackets.

As a hockey card collector, I am excited that Fenton is going to get a card. While Fenton’s role as a one-game backup goalie hardly significant in the grander scheme of pro hockey, it is still pretty darn cool.

Besides, do we really need another card of Brodeur, Roy or Luongo, when we can have one of someone who played a small, but interesting role for a night?

A few months ago, I subscribed to a magazine called The Want List, which focuses exclusively on hockey cards and memorabilia. Recently, they asked some of their readers to rate what they thought the most influential hockey jerseys were.

I just got the new issue yesterday, and on page 37 I am quoted in The Want List’s 25 Most Influential Hockey Jerseys article.

OK, so it’s not like I wrote the Declaration of Independence or anything. But it is still cool to see my name on paper.

Two issues in, and I’m really enjoying my subscription to The Want List. The majority of it is about hockey cards, but some of it also covers hockey jerseys (obviously), hockey toys, hockey pucks, hockey DVDs…the key word here is hockey.

I’m also learning some new stuff from this mag, too. One article in the new ish was about hockey cards made by the Paterson and Paulin chocolate companies during the 1920s. Admittedly, I don’t know too much about cards from that era.

The Want List is chock-full of hockey card articles. If you are interested in learning more or subscribing to the magazine, check out their website.

To the friends and followers of this blog who love the great game of hockey, I want to wish you all a Merry Puckmas.

Bagged with the new issue of Beckett Hockey Magazine (Issue #221) is a 2010-11 Panini Hockey sticker album. The album has 72 full-color pages and  comes with 6 stickers:

Jonathan Toews, Henrik Sedin, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby…

…P.K Subban and Ryan Miller.

Not a bad group of guys to be featured on promotional stickers.

While the newsstand price of Beckett Hockey is high at $10, it might be worthwhile to pick up this issue to get these promo stickers, which are adhered to a larger sheet stapled into the book, instead of on their own individual backings.

The 2010-11 Panini set contains 364 stickers. Each team is given 7 stickers. There are also stickers of logos, season highlights, award winners and a rookie subset. Unfortunately, all 30 of the rookies are guys who debuted late last year (leftover rookies), and not recent draft picks like Taylor Hall of Jeff Skinner.

One nice thing about collecting Panini stickers is that you can order directly from Panini the last few that you need for 20 cents apiece. I plan on purchasing a box or two and putting together this set.

Question of the week: Do you plan to collect the 2010-11 Panini Hockey sticker set? Vote in the poll above (upper right corner of this blog), and post your comments here on why/why not.

Update: You can order packets of stickers directly from Panini. A pack of 8 stickers is $1.00. There are 50 packs in a box, if you want to buy a whole box. An album can be purchased for $1.99. Prices include shipping. Send a check or money order payable to Panini America Inc. Orders can be sent to:

NHL Hockey 2010-11 Direct Sales
Panini America, Inc.
2300 E. Randol Mill Rd.
Arlington, TX 76011

If you got a little money left over after the holidays, maybe you wanna pick up a few dozen packs and get some trades going.

American film director Irvin Kershner passed away this Saturday. Many of you already know this by now, but I just learned the sad news today.

Kershner is probably best known as the director of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. That film holds a special place in my heart, and is my favorite film of all time.

The Empire Strikes Back was the first “non-cartoon” movie that I saw as a child. I was 5 at the time, and I remember my mom taking me to the old Devon Theater in Chicago to see it. The line wrapped all the way around the block! I’m not sure how long we waited, but after that film I would always and forever be a fan of the Star Wars movies.

Coincidentally, the first trading cards I ever had as a kid were movie cards based on Empire. My mom used to buy them for me, and I recall having stacks of these in a shoebox. Now, I only have a few dozen.

Below are some of my cards from the various sets based on The Empire Strikes Back.

The scene with the Imperial AT-AT Walkers was my favorite part of The Empire Strikes Back. If you have 7 minutes to spare, watch this clip and remember how awesome a film Empire is…and how awesome a job Irvin Kershner did when directing it. 

Today is Halloween, and  I would like to point out an article that I wrote in October 2007–back when NO ONE was visiting this site. It is a review of a comic book story entitled The Hockey-Mask of Death.

So bad that it’s good? Or just plain bad? You decide.

Yesterday, I sold hockey cards at a sports card show. Or, more accurately, tried to sell hockey cards at a sports card show.

As good as this show has been in the past (at least, from a buyer’s perspective), a few things kept this show from being profitable for me.

Did I break even? Sort of. The table cost me $40. I sold $40 worth of stuff. 

The show went from 9 AM to 2 PM. Here’s a quick rundown…

8:10 AM – Arrive at the show.

8:45 AM – All set up. If you build it, they will come…

9:10 AM – OK, maybe not. Perhaps this was too ambitious of an endeavour.

9:15 AM – Made my first sale. $20. A few other small sales follow.

10:00 AM – Still haven’t broken even.

10:30 AM – Haven’t sold a thing in 40 minutes.

11:10 AM – The room has gotten loud. More people. Maybe things will pick up.

11:50 AM – Finally broke even. Just over 2 hours left in the show.

12:05 PM – A hush falls across the room. One dealer has packed up and left.

12:30 PM – The Bears are playing? Really? I wish I thought of that before deciding to sell at this show.

12:50 PM – The only people looking at my table are other dealers. At this point, about half of the 50 or so vendors have either left or are packing up.

1:15 PM – I decide to call it quits, and pack up my table.

1:30 PM – Sal-vis has left the building.

So, what went wrong?

First, few people came. I’ve seen this show get crowded, but unfortunately not this time.

Second, the economy is still bad. Back in the day, most collectors would spend $5 on a card they wanted. Now, they either try to buy it for $3 or don’t buy it at all.

Third, the $%&* Bears were playing! Whatever small buzz the show had was pretty much killed once the Bears game started.

What really riles me, though, is that many of the people I saw were wearing Blackhawks apparel, and yet they didn’t want any of my sweet ‘Hawks stuff.

Anyway, here’s a few pictures of my set up:

Blackhawks cards from 1970 to 2010. .There’s also some old team calenders and a few other odds n’ ends.

Complete sets. Sure, a lot of it is “junk wax” era, but some of it was newer. I even had a few insert sets from the 1970s, and a complete 1982-83 O-Pee-Chee set for sale.

Non-Blackhawks hockey cards, including 2010-11 Victory Rookies, some 2009-10 Young Guns, and other decent cards from the late 1960s through the 1980s.

I had the most hockey cards and memorabilia at the show, my prices were great (seriously), but few people equals few sales.

The promoter–who is a very nice man–asked me if I wanted to do this show next month. I politely told him no, but said that I might be up for trying this again in  a couple of months.

And the crazy thing is, I just might try again. 

Or maybe that’s a stupid thing…

I have more thoughts on this, but those will be saved for a future blog post.

So, for the first time in 15 years, I plunked down some money to rent a table at a sports card show.

Yes, I’ll be at a card show…but to SELL, not to BUY. What a twist!

The show happens this Sunday, October 24.

Everyone near Chicago who reads this blog should come to the show and buy my hockey cards and memorabilia. Here are the details:

Sports Card & More Show

Sunday, October 24, 2010

9 AM to 2 PM

Orland Park Civic Center

1 blk. W. of La Grange Rd at 147th St.

Admission: $1

I’ll even provide this map to make your journey easier….

Still not sure? Well, you can follow this link to get driving directions from your place to the show.

So, why am I selling at card show? Although I am in this hobby for the enjoyment it gives me, I’ve got too much stuff and need to clear out some space. And hopefully make enough cash to buy some of the upcoming products like Certified and Score.

Plus, hockey is (relatively) huge in Chicago right now, so I can’t think of a better time to sell hockey cards and collectibles. At a garage sale in June, I sold quite a few Blackhawks items. And during an “Art & Collectibles Show” in September, I actually did quite well selling hockey cards. Thus, selling at a card show seems like a no-brainer.

Still, there are risks involved–time and money. Cost of the table, gas, food, hiring a dog walker…and cost of placating my girlfriend who will be helping me at the show.

Plus, I’ll probably feel like a fool if I don’t at least break even on my expenses.

I used to sell at card shows in the 1990s, when I was an ambitious teenager. Some days I made a killing, and others I did just OK. But I always had fun. Hopefully, I will have fun this Sunday.

If you read this blog and decide to go to this show, drop by my table and say “hi”.

Today is this website’s 3rd Birthday...or Anniversary…or whatever websites celebrate.

Though I wanted to launch Puck Junk much sooner–I got the idea in fall 2006 and started designing it in spring of 2007–I didn’t actually get around to launch it until October 5, 2007.

I like hockey cards, writing and making websites. This site seemed like a good combination of the three. And I’m glad I followed through with it.

I won’t beat myself up on how I wish I was writing more. We bloggers do the best we can, given that this is a hobby and not a full-time job.

But I am proud to say that I’ve written more during the past year than in either of the previous 2.

In 3 relatively short years, I went from a site that got maybe a dozen visits a month to a site that gets around 2,000. Not quite Amazon.com-level traffic, but I appreciate that anyone would want to read what I write.

And I’ve become “online friends” with other bloggers who also share my passion of collecting and reminiscing.

Some readers have sent me cards to help out my collection–not because they want anything in exchange, but because they enjoy this site.

A few people have told me how they’ve dug out their “old” cards from the 1990s, and have started collecting again. One guy mentioned that he was going try and finish his 1990-91 Pro Set hockey set with his 6-year old son.

So this site has done more than just help me blab about my collection. In some small way, I’ve been able to contribute to the hobby.

But enough about me…and this site. October 5 is an important day for 2 very good reasons…

Both Mario Lemieux and Patrick Roy were born on October 5, 1965.

For those bad at math, that makes them 45 years old. A crazy coincidence that two of the greatest hockey players ever would be born in Quebec on the exact same date.

Why hasn’t Quebec made October 5 a holiday? If not for Puck Junk, then for Mario and Patrick.

The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned goaltender Cristobal Huet to HC Fribourg-Gotteron SA. The team plays in the Swiss National League A, which is Switzerland’s top professional hockey league. Continue reading “Hip Hip Huet!”