2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey Hobby Box Break #1

Don’t call it Series Three! The 2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey card set was released in August of 2022, and adds another 250 cards to Upper Deck’s Series One/Two set. Extended Series has 200 base cards and 50 Young Guns rookie cards; technically 198 base cards, two base checklists, 49 Young Guns, and one Young Guns checklist. This makes Upper Deck’s flagship set a whopping 750 cards over three series. 

Admittedly, there was less fervor over the release of Extended Series as there was for Series One and Series Two; perhaps because it doesn’t have the big-name rookies like Series One (Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras) or Series Two (Moritz Seider, Mason McTavish) had. 

However, what it does have is a plethora of interesting, retro insert cards; some styled to look like cards from the mid-2000s, and others that have designs inspired by late 1990s hockey cards. 

2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series is currently selling for around $100 for a hobby box. Each hobby box has 24 packs, and each pack has eight cards. Let’s take a look at what is inside a box of Extended Series. 

Continue reading “2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey Hobby Box Break #1”

Puck Junk Podcast: Upcoming Hockey Cards for 2022-23

Plus: How a Fanatics/Panini Merger Could Affect Hockey Cards
Episode #129 – September 22, 2022

Sal Barry and Tim Parish discuss some of the upcoming hockey card releases for the 2022-23 season, including Upper Deck Series One and O-Pee-Chee. They also talk about the hockey cards that are still coming out for the 2021-22 season, and how a merger between Fanatics and Panini America could potentially affect hockey cards in the future. It’s 77 minutes of hockey goodness! 

Show Notes and Links:
Sept. 24, 2022 LUDEX Card Show at the Skyline Room (Facebook)
Puck Junk Podcast: 2022 National Recap Episode (Puck Junk)
Trading Card Database and Sportlots Announce Partnership (Sportlots)
Puck Junk Podcast: How to Complete Your Card Sets Episode (Puck Junk)
Puck Junk Podcast: Is Alexis Lafreniere Living Up to the Hype? (Puck Junk)
2022-23 Upper Deck Series One Young Guns Checklist (Upper Deck Blog)
The Great Hockey Card Comeback (The Hockey News)
Brady Tkachuk autographs some upcoming hockey cards (Twitter)

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Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk. 
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard (Instagram @flyingV2112)

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Charlestown’s Secret Roller Hockey Scene

“PING” was the sound heard as a little orange ball smacked the metal post. “TAP!” “TAP!” “TAP!” echoed into the night sky as carbon fiber blades slammed on the concrete rink.

Flying down the rink at breakneck speeds are seven young men carrying hockey sticks. “Vroom” was the distinct sound their skates made as they swept along the pavement and fired backhanders into the crossbar of the net. Once someone scores, they do their best to celly like Bergeron, Marchand, or McAvoy.

If you ever find yourself in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, make your way to the western edges of the neighborhood. Not far from Sullivan Square and the infamous traffic circle lies Ryan Playground. Nestled by the banks of the Mystic River, this playground is where the local Townies spend their summers honing their hockey skills and having fun.

All summer, local roller hockey players from the Town frequently meet to play seemingly endless two-on-two hockey games.

These hockey games can be a challenge to find. Continue reading “Charlestown’s Secret Roller Hockey Scene”

Puck Junk Podcast: 2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey

Episode #128 – September 15, 2022

After a bye week, the Puck Junk Podcast is back! This time, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about the new 2021-22 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey cards, including who are the best rookies in the set and if there is such a thing as too many inserts. Plus, if a tree falls on Tim’s house, does it make a sound? It’s one hour of (mostly) hockey goodness.

Show Notes and Links
Review: 2021-22 Seattle Kraken Box Set (Puck Junk)
Review: 2017-18 Upper Deck Vegas Golden Knights Boxed Set (Puck Junk)
Puck Junk Podcast: Hockey Sets We Want to See Return (Puck Junk)
Goldin video where a kid talks about investing in cards (Twitter)
Tim’s Tweet with commentary about above video (Twitter)

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk. 
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard (Instagram @flyingV2112)

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Subscribe to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Overcast,  
PlayerFM, PocketCasts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher,
or Transistor. Subscribe to the Puck Junk Channel on YouTube.  

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Support 
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Review: 2021-22 Seattle Kraken Box Set

Release the Kraken Hockey Cards!!!

The Seattle Kraken hit the ice as the NHL’s newest team last fall. But despite the interest in all things Kraken, Upper Deck was slow in releasing hockey cards of Kraken players. Oh  sure, there was that ONE Kraken card of Philipp Grubauer in the 2022 National Hockey Card Day USA set. There was also ONE Kraken card — a rookie card! — of Kole Lind in the 2021-22 Parkhurst set…but it actually pictures Nathan Bastian. Whoops! Finally, a handful of Kraken were included in Upper Deck Series Two. 

Chris Driedger

But just as the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals were coming to a close, Upper Deck released the Seattle Kraken Commemorative Box Set, which contains 35 cards and includes many of the players who took to the ice in the Kraken’s inaugural campaign. 

Continue reading “Review: 2021-22 Seattle Kraken Box Set”

Clemente’s Corner: Collecting the ’72 Summit Series

The 1972 Summit Series Between Canada and the USSR has Some Great Collectibles

The year was 1972 and the Cold war was in full swing. Relations between the West and the Soviet Union were tense, sometimes teetering on the brink of nuclear war. It was also a time when the USSR dominated international competition, displacing Canada as the world’s hockey power.

Since the Olympics were only open to amateurs in those years, Canada could not field their NHL players. The Soviets, on the other hand, claimed their players were amateurs because they had been employed as military officers. In reality, they exclusively played hockey, skirting the rules and gobbling up gold medals in the process. Canada, upset that it could not use NHLers, withdrew from the 1970 IIHF World Championships.

In 1971, the Canadian embassy in Moscow learned of the Soviets’ interest in playing a series of games after reading an article Soviet newspapers. The negotiations for the series were finalized at the Hotel International Prague during the 1972 World Ice Hockey Championships. The deal included the playing of eight games – four in Canada and the other four in the Soviet Union – and would pit players such as goaltender Vladislav Tretiak against future Hall of Famer Phil Esposito. 

The games – known as the “Summit Series” – were contested between September 2-28. The expectation was that Canada would win given that they featured the world’s best players; a roster that also included goaltender Ken Dryden, defenseman Serge Savard and center Bobby Clarke.

Canada won the series 4-3 after the third game ended in a 4-4 tie. The hero of the series, however, was Paul Henderson, a player who otherwise had a relatively average NHL career. He played in all eight games for Canada, tallying seven goals and three assists. Henderson scored the winning goal in the 6-5 win in Game 8 that won Canada the series.

On the 50th anniversary of that epic series, here’s a look at the collectables, from trading cards to pucks to signed photos, that continue to grab the fascination of hockey fans everywhere.

Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: Collecting the ’72 Summit Series”

2021-22 Upper Deck Series Two Hobby Box Break

Upper Deck Series Two usually comes out in March or April — just in time for the Spring Sport Card and Memorabilia Expo. However, with all of the delays and production problems, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021-22 Upper Deck Series Two set did not see its release until mid June of 2022 — right as the Stanley Cup Final was underway. Late or not, Series Two is always a hotly-anticipated hockey card set, as it features cards of many rookies who made their debut earlier that season. 

Originally a hobby box of Series Two was selling for around $100, but has since settled to about $90 per box. Each box has 24 packs, and each pack has eight cards. Let’s see what’s inside a hobby box of 2021-22 Upper Deck Series Two Hockey. 

Continue reading “2021-22 Upper Deck Series Two Hobby Box Break”

Puck Junk Podcast: The Mount Rushmore of Hockey Cards

Plus: The NHL ’23 Video Game Cover
Episode #127 – September 2, 2022

This week, Sal Barry and Tim Parish discuss and debate what four trading cards are THE most important, most significant, most iconic pieces of cardboard to depict a hockey player. Or rather, what four cards should be on the “Mount Rushmore of Hockey Cards.” Sure, you have to have the Wayne Gretzky rookie card up there. But what would the other three be? Plus, the guys talk about the upcoming NHL ’23 video game and how it will feature two cover athletes — including, for the first time, a woman hockey player. It’s one hour and 25 minutes of hockey goodness! 

Show Notes & Links:
I Was a Teenage Card Show Promoter (Sports Collectors Digest) 
Five Examples of the EA Sports NHL Cover Curse (The Hockey News)
1952 Mantle Sets Record at $12.6 Million (Sports Collectors Daily)
Zegras, Nurse Grace NHL 23 cover (ESPN) 

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk. 
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard (Instagram @flyingV2112)

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or Transistor. Subscribe to the Puck Junk Channel on YouTube.  

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Puck Junk Podcast: 2022 3ICE Patrick Cup & World Junior Championship Recap

Episode #126 – August 25, 2022

Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about two recent hockey tournaments: the 3ICE Patrick Cup Championship and the 2022 World Junior Championship. Plus, should Upper Deck make hockey cards from the World Junior Championships like they did way back in the 1990s? It’s one full hour of hockey goodness! 

Show Notes & Links:
Inside 3ICE 3-on-3 Hockey’s Revolutionary First Season (ESPN)
3ICE Official website (link)
Brandon Hawkins Amazing Penalty Shot Goal (YouTube)
2022 IIHF World Junior Championship website (link)
1983 Canadian National Junior Team set (Puck Junk)

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk. 
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard (Instagram @flyingV2112)

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Subscribe to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Overcast,  PlayerFM, PocketCasts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher, and Transistor. Subscribe to the Puck Junk Channel on YouTube.  

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Puck Junk Podcast: The Last of the 2020-21 Hockey Card Sets

Plus: 3ICE and NHL Free Agency
Episode #125 – August 18, 2022

Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about some of the very last hockey card sets from the 2020-21 season: Ultimate Collection, Premier, and SP Authentic. Plus, a look at the 3ICE hockey league’s season and its upcoming tournament this Saturday and recent NHL free agent signings. It’s 90 minutes of hockey goodness. 

Show Notes & Links:
The LUDEX Card Show at the Skyline Room on August 27 (Facebook)
The Great Hockey Card Comeback (The Hockey News)
3ICE Website (link)
Puck Junk Podcast #121: Interview with Craig Patrick (Puck Junk)
Box Break and Images of 2020-21 Ultimate Collection Hockey (Puck Junk)
Box Break and Images of 2020-21 Premier Hockey (Puck Junk)
Box Break and Images of 2020-21 SP Authentic Hockey (Puck Junk)

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk & Instagram @PuckJunk. 
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Follow Clemente Lisi on Twitter @ClementeLisi.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard (Instagram @flyingV2112)

Subscribe
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Castbox, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Overcast, PlayerFM, PocketCasts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Spotify, Stitcher, and Transistor. Subscribe to the Puck Junk Channel on YouTube.  

Connect 
Connect with us and other hockey fans on the Puck Junk Facebook Group.

Support 
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■