News & Views Archives - Page 5 of 90

Clemente’s Corner: Everything You Need to Know About the 2023 National Sports Collectors Convention

Welcome to Chicago! More specifically, the village of Rosemont, which is located just outside the Windy City where this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention takes place.

The 43rd edition of the National will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center between July 26-30, 2023. It is where the hobby — collectors, dealers and the major trading card companies — comes together once a year.

The NSCC dates back to 1980 in Los Angeles and has grown into the collectibles industry biggest event. The 1991 convention, during the height of the Junk Wax era, held in Anaheim is considered the highest-attended National. Last year’s NSCC in Atlantic City, N.J., according to organizers, was also well-attended despite the venue’s location.

This year’s venue, on the other hand, is known to collectors and dealers since it has hosted previous Nationals. It is also home to the Chicago Sports Spectacular, one of the best regional sports card and memorabilia shows in the country.

Here’s what you need to know before heading to Chicago this month.

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The 6th Annual Puck Junk Awards

The National Hockey League really needs to upgrade its hardware game. Sure, there is no better trophy in sports than the Stanley Cup. And the NHL does a pretty good job at honoring its best forwards, defensemen, and goalies each year. But what about honoring the best scorer who can also fight, the player who came out of nowhere and wowed everyone, or the guy who clawed his way back into the league after a year-long hiatus?

Since 2018, Puck Junk has given out awards to such players. They may not have scored 50 goals or posted 15 shutouts, but they were still interesting, exciting — or even infamous — during the past season.

That said, here are your 2023 Puck Junk Award winners!

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How to Prevent Your Sports Cards from Bricking

Longtime collectors remember when sports cards started using a high-gloss protective coating in the early 1990s. This coating – known as UV coating – gave the cards like Fleer Ultra and Topps Stadium Club a slick, premium feel to them. Collectors loved it!. But this eventually led to a problem called “bricking.”

Bricking is when cards get stuck together in a stack resembling a brick. And once they brick, they are hard to unstick. Read on to learn why cards stick together, what to do if they brick, and how to prevent that from happening in the first place. Read the rest of the story at the BCW Supplies Blog.

Clemente’s Corner: Top 5 Connor Bedard Cards to Collect Before He’s Drafted

Hockey fans are already looking forward to the start of next season with the 2023 NHL Draft that’s slated to take place on June 28 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

For only the second time in team history, the Chicago Blackhawks will select the No. 1 overall pick after winning the top spot in last month’s NHL Draft Lottery. The Blackhawks have only had the first pick once and that was in 2007 when the team selected Patrick Kane, who helped Chicago win three Stanley Cups. Sixteen years later, the Blackhawks will most likely add highly-touted prospect Connor Bedard to their 2023-24 roster.

Bedard has had a busy few weeks. Earlier this month, he was one of 106 prospects invited to take part in this year’s NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo. He was also recognized as the most outstanding player in Canadian Major Junior Hockey and given the CHL David Branch Player of the Year Award. This past season, Bedard was ranked the No. 1 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting ahead of draft after finishing first in points in the WHL this season with 143 points (71 goals and 72 assists) in 57 games.

Bedard, who turns 18 on July 17, has been called a generational talent who many have already compared to Connor McDavid. Collectors will have plenty Bedard cards to chase later this year. His Young Guns card and other Upper Deck rookies are likely to turn next season’s releases into some of the most-sought after products in the entire hobby.

For now, there are several options out there for those looking to collect cards of the budding center, especially for those who like junior league and national team cards. These cards don’t generally get hobby love, but they are fun to collect and do give people a chance to get their hands on cards of Bedard before he makes his professional debut.

Here are five Connor Bedard cards to collect ahead of this year’s draft:

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Clemente’s Corner: 6 First Round Playoff Heroes Worth Collecting

Role Players and Small-Market Stars Shine Brightest in the NHL Playoffs

The NHL playoffs rarely disappoint in terms of fun and drama. The first round has been a slog, but also a round tinged with upsets.

The record-breaking Boston Bruins, among the favorites in the Eastern Conference to reach the Stanley Cup Final, were dumped out early by the Florida Panthers in seven games. Over in the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers series with the Los Angeles Kings stood out as the most-exciting – only overshadowed by the Seattle Kraken eliminating the defending champions Colorado Avalanche.

Both upsets – the Panthers beating the Bruins and the Kraken beating the Lightning – went to seven games. Having the President Trophy winners and the defending Stanley Cup Champions bounced out of the playoffs — and in the same night! — is truly amazing.

Also, not having any team sweep was certainly a sign of how talented even the lower seeds have been this spring.

Teams aside, the playoffs are also about individual skill. For card collectors, the playoffs can help or hurt a players’ value. Of course, this is just the start. The playoffs are a two-month grind that involves lots of grit and some luck.

One of the biggest storylines from this first round is the ability of second-fiddle players, not the stars, to shine. Whether it meant scoring key goals or making that big play, it was the sidekicks that have shined brightest so far.

Here’s a look at six players who have done just that, while seeing their stocks go up. All figures cited below based on eBay sales and COMC.com.

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No Stanley for Old Men: 2023 Edition

Every year, many new players make their NHL debut. Some play in only a handful of NHL games, while a few are good enough to stick around for over a decade. Eventually, the fresh-faced rookies of yesteryear become the grizzled old veterans of today, who toiled season after season in the hopes of winning the Stanley Cup one day. And that day might be soon.

With the 2023 NHL Playoffs starting tonight, here is a list of the oldest player from each team in the postseason — and why we should be rooting for each of them.

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Clemente’s Corner: Alexis Lafreniere Needs Time to Be a Hockey Hobby Star

I am a New York Rangers fan. I don’t hide that fact from readers. It’s also the reason why I feel like I have to defend Alexis Lafreniere.

Chosen first overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Lafreniere has been a topic of conversation even before ever skating a shift for the Rangers. That’s because he came into the league during the pandemic at a time when interest in the overall hobby skyrocketed. Sal and Tim tackled this very topic on the Puck Junk Podcast back in March 2021, during Lafreniere’s rookie season.

Three years later, there’s still debate over whether Lafreniere is a bust or has yet to come into his own. I choose to argue the latter. Let me explain.

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Clemente’s Corner: 5 “Patricks” You Should Start Collecting in March

It’s March! That means a great many things. There’s the start of March Madness, followed by spring. For hockey fans, it is the end of an anxious time following the NHL trade deadline.

It’s also the month where many celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. In fact, there’s a hockey connection.

The name Patrick and hockey have a very long history. There was once a Patrick Division. It was formed in 1974, then a part of the Campbell Conference. The division moved to the Wales Conference in 1981 and existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was originally named in honor of former New York Rangers defenseman Lester Patrick. It has been known as the Metropolitan Division since 2013.

There’s also the Lester Patrick Trophy presented each year by the NHL and USA Hockey since 1966. Since the award takes into consideration of the recipient’s contribution to the sport in the United States, it is not considered an NHL trophy because it can be awarded to players, coaches and officials outside the NHL.

There have been a great many NHL players named Patrick. Maybe you are considering becoming a player collector. If so, here are five players named Patrick you should consider collecting:

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Clemente’s Corner: Hockey Cards I Love

February is a month devoted to love. The shortest month of the year features as its centerpiece Valentine’s Day every February 14. It’s a day devoted to buying flowers and greeting cards for that special guy or girl in your life.

For those of us who collect hockey cards, Valentine’s Day could also be a day to reflect on what cards we love the most. Whether you’re a set collector or you just buy up singles (or both!), everyone has cards they love most.

A major part of the hobby for those of us who have been around for a while is nostalgia. It isn’t unusual to associate a card or set with a special moment from our past, especially if your collecting days date back to childhood. I can still tell you 30 years later where I was when I purchased or pulled a certain card.

Yes, loving little pieces of cardboard featuring photos of men in hockey gear isn’t for everyone. Having said that, this hobby is a lot more than that. It’s about love of a sport, fandom around a certain team and a connection to the people and places of our past. In other words, it’s more than cardboard.

Here are three cards from my collection that I love most and why:

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Goodbye and Thank You, Bobby Hull

Chicago Blackhawks legend Bobby Hull — nicknamed “The Golden Jet” — passed away on Monday at the age of 84. I had heard rumors late last year that Hull was in poor health, but I was still surprised when the news broke of his passing.

There are two camps of writers who have eulogized Bobby Hull over the past few days.

There are those who want to stick to his myriad of accomplishments, only touching on Hull’s history of domestic abuse and racist comments.

And there are those who really just want to demonize him, but will begrudgingly acknowledge that Hull was one of hockey’s all-time greats.

I am going to take a third approach. Continue reading “Goodbye and Thank You, Bobby Hull”