How to Organize Your Ticket Stub and Pocket Schedule Collection

I loved saving the ticket stubs from the Chicago Blackhawks hockey games I went to when I was a kid. Each time I went to a game, I was sure to bring my stub to school the next day to show off to my friends and prove that I was there.

Sometimes the games were important – all-star or playoff games – and sometimes it was just a Tuesday night regular season game. Regardless, it was cool to just go and then have that small, visual reminder that I could look back at.

Over the years, I have also saved pocket schedules, rosters, lineup cards, score cards and any other piece of game or team-related memorabilia I could find. I even saved concert ticket and movie ticket stubs. After a while, all of that started to add up, so I had to get it organized. BCW makes many different sizes of pocket pages that will fit almost any “non-card” collectible you may have. Read the rest of the story at the BCW Supplies Blog. 

Rookie Cards of Every NHL Head Coach for the 2020-21 Season

Although head coaches are an important part of an NHL team, they are usually not included in most hockey card sets. So while Upper Deck may never make a card of John Tortorella — snarling at a referee from behind the bench — that doesn’t mean he wasn’t on a hockey card once upon a time. All of the 31 men who are NHL head coaches played hockey at one time or another in their lives — so that usually means they’ve appeared on at least one hockey card. 

For the past four years, I’ve managed to track down a rookie card for each and every NHL coach who had one. For you non-collectors out there, a “rookie card” is usually understood as that player’s first card in a mainstream set, like Topps, O-Pee-Chee or Upper Deck. 

However, because many NHL head coaches never actually played in the NHL — or if they did, it wasn’t very long — they never got an official rookie card. In those cases, I show off that coach’s first-ever trading card, be it from their minor or junior league playing days, or from a little-known team-issued set. 

As a bonus, I’ve also indicated the value (in US $) and how rare each card is, on a scale of ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ to ★ ★ ★ ★ ★. Some of these cards are ridiculously-easy to find — I’m looking at you, Rod Brind’Amour —  while others are tough. 

So, kick back and enjoy this trip down memory lane, when these bench bosses weighed less and got paid less, but had more hair.

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Blake’s Takes: Rangers Waive DeAngelo

It was a rather calm week in the NHL. That doesn’t mean I don’t have five awesome takes for you. In this week’s column, I’ll share with you one major surprise around the league, one of the funniest things I saw, and a few of the best goals I saw this week. You can thank me later.

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Puck Junk Podcast: Postage and PayPal Problems

Plus: the BVG 10 Bobby Orr Rookie Card
Episode #82: February 4, 2021

In this episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about the recent price increases from the U.S. Post Office and PayPal issuing tax forms to “small-time” eBay sellers — and how these impact the hobby. Plus, they discuss new hockey card releases, Sal’s birthday presents and the BVG 10 Bobby Orr rookie card (which, unfortunately, was NOT one of Sal’s birthday presents). Episode #82 is 1 hour and 56 minutes of pure hockey goodness!

Show Notes and Links: 
Rangers Put Tony DeAngelo on Waivers (NBC Sports)
2020-21 Upper Deck Series 1 is now on ePack (link)
Topps Now Hockey Stickers currently for sale (link)
Topps Now Hockey Stickers Archive (link)
2020-21 Artifacts Hockey checklist (Cardboard Connection)
President’s Choice Game-Used Lace ‘Em Up Cards (link)
President’s Choice All-Star Six Booklets (Facebook)
BVG 10 Bobby Orr rookie card auction (Heritage Auctions)
Follow our buddy Drew Wright on Twitter (@Dr3wskiii)
USPS postage rate increases explained (Stamps.com)
Pirate Ship shipping service (link)
Last Sticker website for trading stickers (link)
Trading Card Exchange (link)
Tim’s cards for sale on Trading Card Exchange (link)
How does PayPal report my sales to the IRS? (PayPal)
Finally, here is video of Tim opening his ePack:

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast opening and closing music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotifyiHeartRadioStitcherPodchaserPocketCastsCastbox , Castro,
OvercastTuneIn and SoundCloud.

Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube

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

Blake’s Takes: GM Moves and Fun Goals

There wasn’t any monumental news around the league this week. At least none that forced me to edit my column at the last minute. This week, I’ll tie up a few more loose ends and highlight a few former GMs that made headlines. I’ll also share with you one of my favorite uniform concepts and a few special goals.

Happy Monday!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: GM Moves and Fun Goals”

Blake’s Takes: Winnipeg and Columbus Make Blockbuster Trade

In this week’s column, I finally caught up on all of the signings I couldn’t report in the past weeks. I’ll touch on those transactions and one notable injury. My favorite story this week involves my favorite team and a fight between two best friends.

Oh, and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets completed a monster trade this week. I’ll lead with that.

Happy Monday!

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Puck Junk Podcast: New Hockey Cards for 2021

Episode #81: January 21, 2021

In the first Puck Junk Podcast of 2021, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about new hockey card sets from Upper Deck, Topps and President’s Choice Trading Cards. Plus, a discussion about the recent World Junior Championships and if Upper Deck should make an annual WJC card set. 

Show Notes and Links:
2020-21 Upper Deck Synergy Checklist (Cardboard Connection)
2020-21 Upper Deck Artifacts Checklist (Cardboard Connection)
President’s Choice Trading Cards Jumbo Memorabilia (PCTC website)
President’s Choice Trading Cards Laundry Tag (PCTC website)
President’s Choice Trading Cards Vezina Collection (Facebook)
Topps Now Hockey Stickers (Topps website)

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast opening and closing music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotifyiHeartRadioStitcherPodchaserPocketCastsCastbox , Castro,
OvercastTuneIn and SoundCloud.

Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube

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

Blake’s Takes: The 2021 Season Kicks Off

The NHL season is back and we are underway. There were so many storylines to pick from and choosing only five was a tough ask. This week, I’ll give my two cents on two of the NHL’s newest captains and a few instances of positive change on the diversity front.

For a few teams in the NHL, this week was monumental. It was also huge for the league as a whole as they successfully returned to play amidst the ever-present coronavirus for the second time.

Happy Monday!

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Top 10 Hockey Collectible Stories of 2020

A lot happened in the humble hobby of hockey card collecting in 2020. Not surprisingly, most of it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which cancelled card shows and affected releases, while also forcing many people to work at home or shelter at home. This, in turn, led to many rediscovering their card collections from their youth, rekindling their interest and causing a surge that the card collecting hobby hasn’t seen in 30 years. Here are the biggest 10 hockey collectible stories from 2020. 

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Blake’s Takes: Team USA Wins the World Junior Championships

NHL games start in a few days. That’s the most important thing about this week. However, last week still provided a ton of news from around the league. We saw another captain named, one of the game’s greats retire, and the end of the World Junior Championships in Edmonton. The NHL also announced a few of their unconventional business plans. I’ll speak to it all in this week’s column. Happy Monday!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Team USA Wins the World Junior Championships”