Card Shows

Puck Junk Podcast: The Upcoming 2025 National Convention

Episode #221: July 18, 2025

Sal, Tim, and Clemente talk about the upcoming 2025 National Sports Collectors Convention, which is taking place in Chicago from July 30 to August 3. Topics include what to expect at this year’s biggest-ever National Convention, plus the hockey autograph guests – or lack thereof – this year. Clap on! Clap off! It’s 88 minutes of hockey goodness. 

Links
National Sports Collectors Convention website

Follow
Follow Sal Barry on X @PuckJunk, Instagram @PuckJunk & Bluesky @puckjunk
Follow Tim Parish on X @TheRealDFG & Instagram @therealdfg66.
Follow Clemente Lisi on X @ClementeLisi. 
Podcast music by Retro Game Remix – follow them on YouTube. 

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Clemente’s Corner: Connor Bedard’s Young Guns Prices Do Not COMP-ute!

Amid the usual sea of Michael Jordan, Mark Grace and Walter Payton cards and jerseys, another – much younger – athlete was prominently on display at the recent Chicago Sports Spectacular.

Connor Bedard was very much on the minds and tongues of many at the three-day event, the Windy City’s biggest sports collectables gathering and one of the best-attended regional shows in North America.

And Bedard’s Young Guns card was hands down the most-talked about item – even by those who don’t typically buy hockey. It was a card that had shaggy-haired teens carrying silver cases scurrying about in search of it, while seasoned collectors shook their heads (some in disgust) at some of the prices in the showcases.

Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: Connor Bedard’s Young Guns Prices Do Not COMP-ute!”

Clemente’s Corner: Card Shows You Must Attend in 2023

National Sports Collectors Convention

What makes collecting cards most fun is meeting others who share the same interests. There’s no better way to do that than attending card shows. It’s also a great place to meet other hockey collectors.

I got to attend a good number of shows in 2022. I went to my first National Sports Collectors Convention last summer in Atlantic City, N.J. A few weeks prior to that, I attended my first Sport Card Expo in Toronto.

Sure, buying hockey cards on eBay or other platforms is easy, but card shows bring people together, spark debates about the hobby and help create friendships. As a result, I hope to get to more shows in the new year.  

So many shows, both local and regional, have popped up just as the hobby has grown in popularity since the pandemic. There’s more demand for such get-togethers and that’s a great thing. The explosion in “Trade Nights” is another example of how the demand for get-togethers (as well as the chance to buy and sell cards) has also gone up in popularity.   

There’s yet a date for the 2023 Toronto Sport Expo (typically held in the spring and fall), but here are five other shows you should circle on your calendar scheduled for the first half of this year.  

Continue reading “Clemente’s Corner: Card Shows You Must Attend in 2023”

Puck Junk Podcast: RC…or Not RC? That is the Question

Episode #112: Feb. 25, 2022

In this episode of the Puck Junk Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about what makes a hockey card a “rookie card.” Plus, the upcoming National Hockey Card Day, a recap of the Olympic hockey tournaments, the Blackhawks and Bobby Hull parting ways, and the return of Sean Avery. 

Show Notes and Links:
Sal talked comic books on the 21st Century Boys ComicCast (Spotify)
Review of Sean Avery’s Autobiography (Puck Junk)
2022 NHL Stadium Series Time-Lapse (YouTube)
2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Platinum on e-Pack (Upper Deck e-Pack)
National Hockey Card Day 2022 (Upper Deck)
The same photo being used on 2 different Patrick Kane cards (Puck Junk)
Peeling the film off of 1994-95 Topps Finest Hockey cards (Twitter)
The pile of protective film that no one wanted to buy (Twitter)
Chicago Sports Spectacular Show March 18-20, 2022 Show (Website)
Tim’s Twitter discussion about hockey rookie cards (Twitter)
How Hockey Cards Led to the NHL Player Strike in 1992 (The Hockey News)

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

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

Puck Junk Podcast #8 – July 27, 2015

Player not working? Listen to the podcast on SoundClloud.

In Puck Junk Podcast #8, Sal (@PuckJunk) and Tim (@TheRealDFG) talk about the upcoming 2015 National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, with a focus on hockey cards and collectibles. Topics include autograph guests, redemption sets, VIP sets and finding that diamond in the rough.

Total time is 36 minutes 28 seconds.

For more information about The National, visit their website here.

PODCAST INTRO AND ENDING MUSIC CREDITS:

“Disco Medusae” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/