News & Views

4 Nations Face-Off Delivered What it Promised

Does This Mean the End of the All-Star Game?

Like pretty much every other hockey fan, I was excited about the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament that the NHL held instead of its usual NHL All-Star Game Weekend.

I watched as many games live as I could, and even recorded games that conflicted with my night classes so I could watch them on “tape delay” when I got home that night. (I took extra care to NOT go on social media while on break from class, on my commute home, or while I was watching a game that was about over by the time I started watching it. No spoilers for this guy.) 

So exciting was the tournament that even non-hockey fans were talking about it. Continue reading “4 Nations Face-Off Delivered What it Promised”

Blake’s Takes: 4 Nations Face-Off Proves Hockey is Better than Hoops

NHL Goes Toe-to-Toe with NBA – and Wins!

After a three-year-plus hiatus, I’m back. After watching the entirety of the NHL’s 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, I had to share my thoughts on the tournament with the hockey community. 

First off, it’s great to be back. I’m always grateful for Sal and the opportunity to write for Puck Junk. 

Second, what a freaking tournament! Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: 4 Nations Face-Off Proves Hockey is Better than Hoops”

PWHL Cards are Hot!

That’s Great! But How Long Will It Last?

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) finally has a set of trading cards – and those cards have been well-received by The Hobby.

Since it was released on January 22, the new Upper Deck “2024 PWHL First Edition” cards have been a hot commodity. In just two short weeks, box prices have more than doubled – going from around $80 and now selling for between $180 and $200 at hobby shops…that is, if you can even FIND a box. 

Big online retailers like Steel City Collectibles, Blowout Cards, and D.A. “No Bounty to See Here” Card World are currently sold out of PWHL cards.

Continue reading “PWHL Cards are Hot!”

Clemente’s Corner: PWHL Cards all the Rage this Winter – and it’s About Time

It’s not often that a card set causes as much of a stir as the 2024 Professional Women’s Hockey League First Edition set, released last month by Upper Deck. Collectors were ready, eager and determined to get their hands on these cards – and the demand was evident from the moment the set dropped.

Within a week of the January 22 release, hobby boxes — originally priced between $75 to $100 — were flying off the shelves. Many big online retailers sold out, and local card shops in New York City, and elsewhere, were left scrambling to keep up with the surge in interest.

By that point, boxes were already reselling for over $200 on the secondary market. If you were around for the craziness of 2020 — when cards exploded in value due to the pandemic — it was a familiar feeling. Only this time, the excitement wasn’t for a male star like Connor Bedard. This time, it was for women’s hockey, and that’s a game changer for the sport and the hobby.

Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: PWHL Cards all the Rage this Winter – and it’s About Time”

Topps Gives Stickers the “Fanatics” Treatment with Serial-Numbered Parallels

The 2024-25 Topps NHL Sticker Collection was released last week. Full 50-pack boxes are available on eBay and Amazon. Unlike the print-on-demand Topps Now NHL stickers, the Topps NHL Sticker Collection stickers are available in stores and are made to be put into an album. 

What is really interesting this year is that Topps is giving its NHL album sticker set the full “Fanatics” treatment by including serial-numbered parallel stickers. 

Continue reading “Topps Gives Stickers the “Fanatics” Treatment with Serial-Numbered Parallels”

Calling Out DA Card World on its Bogus Bedard Bounty

It’s easy to talk the talk but not walk the walk.

Last month, DA Card World surreptitiously posted on its blog that the $1 million dollar bounty for finding the 2023-24 Upper Deck Connor Bedard Gold Outburst 1/1 Young Guns card was “no longer an active bounty, it has expired.”

Now, I realize that DA Card World made this sneaky “announcement” on December 9 – over one month ago – and that this is old news.

However, like a lot of things that happen in December, this got lost in the shuffle, flew under the radar – whatever metaphor you want to use – because of its timing around the holidays. Heck, I didn’t even hear about this until December 20. 

I also needed some time to stew on this a bit and mull things over before I chimed in my two cents. Continue reading “Calling Out DA Card World on its Bogus Bedard Bounty”

My Collecting Resolution for 2025

Happy New Year Puck Junk readers! I hope the holidays have been great for you, that you got a cool present, and had some time to relax and watch some hockey.  

About two weeks ago, I started thinking about what my Collecting Resolution for 2025 should be while I was trying to find room to put some cards away in my “card closet.” Continue reading “My Collecting Resolution for 2025”

Puck Junk’s Top Articles of 2024

Happy New Year, Puck Junk readers! The holidays were great for me – but they also kept me away from this blog quite a bit during the month of December. Hopefully, I will have more time in 2025 to write about hockey and hockey collecting. 

Looking back at the past year, we published 40 articles on Puck Junk – in addition to releasing 34 episodes of the Puck Junk Podcast (more about that here) and sending out 52 issues of the Puck Junk Newsletter. 

Not surprisingly, the most popular article on this website was about Connor Bedard – specifically, his Young Guns rookie card. In fact, four of the top five articles were about card values. Here’s a look at the five most-read articles published on Puck Junk in 2024. 

Continue reading “Puck Junk’s Top Articles of 2024”