News & Views

Attention Canadian Collectors
I need a complete set of the Canadian National Hockey Card Day set, including the Crosby card, two checklists and a wrapper. I will gladly send you the American NHCD set in exchange (1-15 plus the Tim Thomas card plus 2 checklists plus a wrapper).

Also, I was able to purchase 20 additional packs of NHCD and 5 more Tim Thomas cards, and have almost completed 6 more sets. If anyone (Canadian or American) would like to trade for a set–or purchase one outright for just my cost on the set ($10 plus shipping) let me know.

Attention American Collectors
I need the following US NHCD Cards to make complete sets:

3- Henrik Lundqvist x2
4 – Pekka Rinne x 3 2
5 – Jaromir Jagr x 4
6 – Zdeno Chara
7 – Ryan Kesler x 6 4
12 – Willie O’Ree x3
Also looking for extras of Patrick Kane

I have the following for trade:

1 – Gabriel Landeskog
2 – Alex Ovechkin
9 – Ryan Miller
10 – Zach Parise
11 – Andy Miele
13 – Mike Modano
14 – Brett Hull
16 – Tim Thomas

If anyone can help me out–either with a Canadian NHCD set, or some of the US NHCD cards I need to make complete sets–please email me at sjbATpuckjunkDOTcom

And if you didn’t see my (week late) recap of NHCD in America, check it out here.

Last week was perhaps my busiest week in the past 4 years. In addition to teaching 5 college classes and a class at a grammar school, I curated an art show that opened on Wednesday, finished a grueling application for a full-time teaching job, and finished another grueling application for a teaching award that I was nominated for.

So, yes, I did get my free hockey cards on National Hockey Card Day. But I didn’t get the chance to blog about it…until now.  Here is my long-overdue recap of National Hockey Card Day.

The Plan
Shellie and I went to 5 different card shops. She drove (her car is stick shift, which I can’t drive…but I haven’t driven in about a billion years, anyway) so that we could hit some shops in the suburbs too. And, by having someone with me, it would double the amount of free NHCD packs I’d get.

Stop #1
Elite Sports Cards
2028 W. Montrose Ave. 
(773) 784-1396
http://elitesportscards.net/

The guy at Elite Sports card is nice. I had to buy a pack of cards made by Upper Deck to get the “free” pack of NHCD cards. Shellie and I each bought a pack, and he also gave us each a Tim Thomas card. He also gave me the Panini “Player of the Day” sign on his counter top, as that promo was over and he was going to throw it out anyway.

My only complaint about Elite Sports cards is that they don’t really have much of anything when it comes to hockey cards. He carries the new packs…and that’s about it.

Stop #2
Sports Harvest
6031 W. Irving Park Rd. in Chicago
(773) 283-4350
No website

I have never been to this store before. It is in the Portage Park neighborhood in Chicago. My old stomping grounds–a few doors down from my old karate school, and across the street from a theater I used to frequent.

Chuck is the owner, and he gave Shellie and I each a pack of NHCD cards, and each of us a Tim Thomas card. His store has cards, but Sports Harvest really specializes in toys and McFarlane SportsPicks figures.
 
So, I bought a few random single hockey cards that I needed and a Marty Turco Blackhawks figure.

Stop #3
Chicago All-Stars
5754 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago
(773) 631-5566
http://chicagoallstars.com/

This place was CLOSED when I got there. They are supposed to be open until 3pm on a Saturday. We got there at 1:55pm, and it was locked up and the lights were off. No note or explanation as to why they were closed over an hour early. I even called and left my number, and they never called me back.

Stop #4   
Sports & Gaming Cards
205 Golf Mill Center in Niles
(847) 795-9355
No website

The owner was very friendly and loved hockey. I forgot his name, but his second cousin is former NHLer Bates Battaglia.

The shop had a moderate amount of hockey cards, and I picked up a few random Young Guns, including one of Magnus Paajarvi.

Shellie and I were each given a pack of NHCD cards, but the owner would only give me the Tim Thomas card, even though he had a bunch of them. Shellie did buy some WarCraft cards, and I spent $50, so I think he probably could have given us a second TT card. Oh well. 

Stop #5
AU Sports Memorabilia
5629 W. Touhy Ave. in Niles
(847) 647-8311
Facebook Page

AU Sports has quickly become tied for my favorite card shop. Store co-owners Scott and Frank are two of the nicest, most well-adjusted card guys you will ever do business with. Plus, Frank is way into hockey, so he and I geek out and talk about old O-Pee-Chee cards and stuff like that.

When Shellie and I walked through the door, Scott immediately gave us each 2 packs of NHCD cards. He also offered to give us each a Tim Thomas card, but he only had 4 left, so we only took one so other customers could get a chance to get one. I bought some pages, a few large toploaders, some random cards from the 1990s and early 2000s to fill some sets and a 1961-62 Topps Wayne Hillman.

I opened the 4 packs that AU Sports gave us, and still did not have one complete set. So Frank kept opening packs and gave me cards that I needed. After about 10 packs, he gave up trying to get me a Pekka Rinne, but that still helped me almost complete 3 sets.

And the verdict
National Hockey Card Day was fun. I ended up with some free cards, and the NHCD promotion prompted me to visit some shops that I never would normally have gone to. Other than the less-than-spectacular collation of the cards, I think National Hockey Card Day was a success. I look forward to it again next year.

The new year is barely 3 weeks old and already I’ve managed to uphold one of my Collecting Resolutions:

I placed an order on the Beckett Marketplace last week and purchased 64 cards. Many brought me closer to completing many different sets. But 16 of these cards were special, because they helped me “kill off” 10 sets. Some of these cards I’ve needed only a short time, and others I’ve needed nearly a lifetime. Here are those 16 “special” cards:

1991-92 Pro Set Platinum #PC20 – Mark Messier
Sheesh, I’ve needed this card for 20 years. I don’t know if that makes me old or lazy. Either way, I finally have every single insert card from the only Pro Set Platinum set ever made.

1993-94 Pinnacle #224 – Ed Belfour & #230 – Mario Lemieux About 2 years ago, I bought a near-complete set of ’93-94 Pinnacle, I think for around $2. These two “quarter purchases” bring my set cost to a paltry $2.50. Just another reason why I love collecting sets from the 1990s.

1984-85 O-Pee-Chee Stickers #244 – Mike Eaves
This is the card that sparked my online purchase. Only two dealers on the Beckett Online Store had this sticker, and the guy I got it from wanted a mere 30 cents. Over the summer, I bought this set and thought it was complete. I thought wrong. It was missing one sticker–this one–but not anymore.

2007-08 Black Diamond #60 – Mike Knuble
Wow, two mentions of Mike Knuble on this blog in one week. Must be the apocalypse. This was the last card I needed from my 2007-08 Black Diamond base set. I still need many Double, Triple and Quadruple Diamonds from this set. If you have any for trade, send me an email.

2003-04 In The Game Toronto Star #17 Jarome Iginla and #31 Chris Chelios
These two cards complete an extra set. This set is available for trade, if you are interested.

1994-95 Fleer Slapshot Artists #6 Mike Modano
The last card to completes my Slapshot Artists insert set.

1995-96 Donruss Team Canada #13 – Darcy Tucker
Another “last card” for a 1990s insert set.

1999 Wayne Gretzky Living Legend #13 and #99
About a year ago, I bought this set online for a few bucks, but didn’t get around to checking if it had all the cards until a few months later. It had two of card number 18 (one in place of 13) and had an extra card 89 in place of 99. Perhaps an honest mistake by the dealer.

1995-96 Playoff One-on-One #54 – Mark Recchi; #161 – Rick Tocchet and #199 – Alexander Selivanov
These three cards complete an extra set, which is now listed on my Sets for Trade page.

1995-96 Upper Deck Swedish Elite #31 – Stefan Polla
To complete another extra set (also available for trade).

I will admit that I paid a bit for these than I would have at a show. Most of the cards that you see above cost me 50 cents each. Some were a quarter, and some were around a dollar. At a card show, these cards are the stuff of quarter bins–if you find them. I guess I’m tired of looking.

Completing sets is fun. Maybe I’ll make it a point to finish off at least one set a month.

I normally avoid jersey cards like the plague, but when I find one of the right player–and for the right price–I usually get a weak in the knees, re-think my dislike of such cards and then end up buying it.

This was the case recently, when I found a 2010-11 Luxury Suite card of  Patrick Kane at my local card shop. It features a red jersey swatch. Not only is that better than the ubiquitous white jersey swatch, but Kane is wearing a red jersey on the card front.

The back of the card uses a different photo than the front–perhaps because Luxury Suite is a high-end set. I am glad that they didn’t use this particular photograph on the card’s front, as Kane is wearing the white road uniform here.

Jersey cards look 10 times better when the swatch is the same color as the jersey worn in the photo. Maybe because, at a subconscious level, you think that the piece of jersey is from the jersey the player is wearing. If the swatch does not match the photo (even if it is the “right” team), I am way less likely to buy it.

Question: Are you more likely to buy a jersey card if the swatch matches the photo (white/white or color/color)?

Every year, I try to make some New Year’s Resolutions in regards to hockey card collecting. This year, I’m making them public. Maybe this will make me more accountable for my collecting habits, right?

So, here are my 5 Collecting Resolutions for 2012:

5. Avoid Retail Packs En Masse
I like opening up blaster boxes as much as the next sports card blogger. Packs are fun to open and for $10 to $20 you get an easy blog post out of the deal.

But I also get a pang of remorse. Why spend $20 on a blaster when you can spend $60 or so on a hobby box and have vastly better odds of getting rookies, cool parallels, jersey or autograph cards. Plus, my local Target doesn’t really need my $20.

Will I still buy blasters and/or retail packs? Sure, once in a while. But if I am going to build a set, this year I will stick to hobby boxes.

4. Deal With Empty Boxes and Wrappers
When I buy a box of cards, I put the empty box and wrappers aside to deal with later. I save 4 wrappers with the least amount of tearing along with the top of the card box.

The problem is, I am notorious for putting this off. The boxes and wrappers pile up, taking up space on, under or around the “card table” in my “Room of Hockey” until it becomes unsightly. So in 2012, I will be more diligent in dealing with the empties.

3. Check All Sets When I Receive Them
This is probably my worst habit. I buy a set off of eBay, but don’t bother to actually check and see if each and every card is there until I have leisure time to put the set in pages. But that could be days, weeks, even months after I’ve bought it.

This is bad, bad, BAD.

I’ve been shorted a card numerous times during 2011. And really, you can’t complain to the seller about a missing or damaged card two months after the fact.

The whole reason that I buy sets in the first place is so I don’t have to mess around with tracking down more single cards. So this year I will strive to check the sets the day I get them.

2. Don’t Be A Hoarder
When I like a card, I tend to buy many copies of it. I’m not talking about having one copy of a card in a complete set and another copy for my player collection (a la Chris Chelios). I’m talking many, many copies of the same card, for really no good reason.

Why do I have 6 copies of the 1990-91 Pro Set Stanley Cup Hologram?

Because it’s cool, that’s why. But 6 of them? Wouldn’t that money be better spent towards Young Guns of Sid and Alex, or a Stan Mikita rookie card…or, you know, cards that I don’t have?

This year, I am going to ask myself that question whenever I buy a pricey card that I already have. (That includes you, Mario Lemieux).

1. Complete These @#$% Sets Already
A great deal of my want list–not just what I post online, but my 53-page Word document–is comprised of sets that just a few cards away from completion. And many of the cards I need can be found on the Beckett Marketplace for around a quarter each.

So, what’s stopping me? Sellers on the Beckett Marketplace don’t gouge on shipping, and this is a really good way to kill off many sets at once. Plus it is less time consuming than sifting through quarter boxes at a show in the hopes of finding that elusive Mark Fitzpatrick card.

This year, I am going to knock off as many sets as I can. I might even keep track of how many sets I complete in 2012.

Question: Do you have any collecting resolutions for 2012? I’d love to hear about them.

With all the vintage cards I’ve been showing on Puck Junk lately, you probably think I’ve turned my back on newer cards.

That is so not true.

Over the past month, I’ve picked up 25 different rookie cards. Some were quarter bin fodder too good to pass up, while others were cards of awesome players at great prices. One was even given to me by a ‘Hawk-hatin’ Penguins fan. Which brings me to the first card, actually…

2010-11 O-Pee-Chee #541 – Nick Leddy (Marquee Rookies). At last month’s card show, fellow blogger Tim (The Real DFG) flat out gave me this card–and didn’t want anything in return. I guess Tim doesn’t like offensively-minded, puck-moving defensemen 🙂

2009-10 Upper Deck #203 – Matt Duchene (Young Guns). This one cost me the most out of all of these. I think I got it for less than “half book” if memory serves me correctly. Now, only 26 more Young Guns, and my 2009-10 Upper Deck set will be complete.

2008-09 Champ’s #137 – Darren Helm. Only 5 more cards and I’ll have all 100 of the Champ’s Rookies from this set.

2007-08 O-Pee-Chee #596 – Mayson Raymond (Marquee Rookies). I like Raymond, and couldn’t pass this up for a quarter.

2007-08 MVP #208 – David Krejci. Totally worth the buck I paid for it.

2007-08 Black Diamond #158 – David Krejci (Rookie Gems). I am slowly putting together the 2007-08 Black Diamond set, including all short prints. I think I got a sizable stack of the short prints for next to nothing (including a Quadruple Diamond Wayne Gretzky), so I pick away at this set when I find a card. This cost me only $2.

2006-07 Upper Deck Ovation #178 – Shea Weber. I’ve been a fan of Weber since his rookie season. Hie is an awesome defenseman, and I always try to pick up his various rookie cards when I find them.

2005-06 MVP #431 – Brent Seabrook. When I see a rookie card of a decent Blackhawk for a quarter, of course I’m going to pick it up. You all may know Seabrook as Duncan Keith’s defensive partner. The two are effective together – in fact, Seabrook was on the 2010 Canadian Olympic team so that Keith could be paired with him at the Olympics.

2005-06 Fleer Ultra #201 – Braydon Coburn. Coburn spent a season with the Chicago Wolves (2005-06) and has since developed into a reliable defenseman who always comes back. (If you don’t get the reference, watch this 30-second video).

2005-06 Fleer Ultra #220 – George Parros. This was Parros before his mustache phase.

2005-06 Fleer Ultra #241 – Ryan Clowe. I got all 3 RCs from this set for a quarter each. I bought the Coburn and Parros cards because I like those players, but this one I actually needed for my set. I’m 34 cards away from finishing it, including Sid and Ovie, so it’s gonna take a while.

2005-06 Victory #298 – Braydon Coburn. Glad they didn’t use the same photo as the Fleer Ultra card pictured above.

2005-06 Victory #280 – Ryan Getzlaf. I couldn’t belive that I found this card for only a quarter. Two of them, in fact.

2005-06 Victory #277 – George Parros. Another RC of the Ducks’ enforcer. 

2005-06 Victory #253 – Brent Seabrook. Another RC of “Seabs”.

2005-06 Beehive #103 – Jeff Carter. I like the portrait style, head-and-shoulder photographs used for the rookie cards in this set. 

2005-06 Beehive #126 – Henrik Lundqvist. A rookie card of “King Henrik”. Worth every cent of the one dollar I paid it for.

2005-06 Beehive #104 – Corey Perry. His bright blue eyes make Perry look like one of the Fremen in Dune.

2005-06 Beehive #122 – Brent Seabrook. Yes, another Seabrook RC that I couldn’t pass up.

2005-06 Beehive #134 – R.J. Umberger. This guy has been a solid player for the Columbus Blue Jackets the past 3 seasons.

2005-06 Upper Deck #216 – Henrik Lundqvist (Young Guns). This card has a “book value” of $12 to $30, so I thought it was an absolute steal for $10.

2005-06 Upper Deck #215 – Jimmy Howard (Young Guns). This photo of Howard stepping out onto the ice is pretty cool. Also note that he’s wearing his mask from his days with the University of Maine.

2005-06 Upper Deck #203 – Dion Phaneuf (Young Guns). Did you know that Phaneuf came in third in voting for the 2006 Calder Trophy? At one time, Phaneuf was considered a better prospect (and defenseman) than Duncan Keith. How times have changed.

2005-06 Upper Deck #230 – Duncan Keith (Young Guns). Speaking of Keith, I got this Duncan Keith rookie card from AU Sports, which is one of my favorite card shops. Now I am only 23 Young Guns away (including Crosby and Ovechkin) from having the entire set.

2002-03 Upper Deck #204 – Sean Avery (Young Guns). I also got this Sean Avery card from AU Sports. This reminds me of my favorite Sean Avery video of all time. (It’s 39 seconds well-spent).

On a whim, I decided to start building the 1960-61 Topps Hockey set. This was at a card show last month. While I’ve been prioritizing other sets, like 1963-64 Parkhurst, I came across a dealer who had 21 cards in decent shape–most priced at $5 to $6 each. Another dealer had 2 more cards from the set at $3.75 each. Take a look at what I got: