Tag: O-Pee-Chee

Aaron Ekblad, Supersized!

ekblad_oversized_cardThis year, the NHL Draft was held in my home state of Florida, and I was lucky enough to be able to make the trip down to the BB&T Center in Sunrise to attend. On day two of the Draft, Upper Deck was sponsoring a free autograph signing with Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. He went first overall in the 2014 draft, and at the time of the 2015 draft was only days removed from claiming the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. So the fact that he was scheduled to sign autographs — and sign them at no cost — was a pretty big deal to me.

After getting in line and waiting a few minutes, the Upper Deck staff, as well as arena staff, came over to the line and informed us that Ekblad would only be signing a card provided by Upper Deck, Continue reading “Aaron Ekblad, Supersized!”

Puck Junk Podcast #7 – July 8, 2015

…with your hosts, Sal Barry and Tim Parish.


Player not working? Listen to the podcast on SoundClloud.

Now that the NHL season is over, Sal (@PuckJunk) and Tim (@TheRealDFG) talk about one of their favorite sets of hockey cards: 1971-72 Topps (and O-Pee-Chee). They also touch on the 2001-02 Topps Retro Hockey set, which used the 1971-72 design. Runtime is a (relatively short) 22 minutes. Pictures of the cards they discuss after the jump.

Continue reading “Puck Junk Podcast #7 – July 8, 2015”

Deja Vu Tuesday: Jaromir Jagr

1990-91_premier_jagrJaromir Jagr’s 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Premier rookie card was one of the most sought-after hockey cards of the season. As far as Jagr RCs went, this was the one to have that year, especially in the United States, where we had to pay through the nose to get OPC Premier cards. Seriously. Full sets were selling for $125; sealed boxes $250. The Jagr card itself was a cool $15. But through some shrewd purchases and trades, I ended up with several.

So imagine my disappointment when I opened a pack of Topps Hockey cards during the 1991-92 season and found this: Continue reading “Deja Vu Tuesday: Jaromir Jagr”

Puck Junk Podcast #1 – May 12, 2015

…with your hosts, Sal Barry & Tim Parish!


Player not working? Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.

This is the first in what will hopefully become a regular podcast series on this website, hosted by Sal Barry and Tim Parish. For those who don’t know, Tim maintains a sports card blog called The Real DFG and hangs out on Twitter @TheRealDFG.

Today, Sal and Tim talk about:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks sweep of the Minnesota Wild
  • The new 2014-15 O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey set
  • The 1989-90 Topps and O-Pee-Chee Hockey sets
  • How Pittsburgh was a big hockey town in the 1980s — and Chicago wasn’t

Total running time is 28:17. Images of some of the cards we talk about are after the jump. Continue reading “Puck Junk Podcast #1 – May 12, 2015”

Review: 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Hockey

Overlooked set has many good rookie cards

1987-88 OPC #53 - Wayne GretzkyLike the previous year, this season’s O-Pee-Chee set contained 264 cards. The first 198 cards were identical to the 1987-88 Topps Hockey set – both Topps and O-Pee-Chee use the same photographs. Cards of players traded in the off-season differ slightly in this set. Players who got traded have a short text blurb mentioning the player’s new whereabouts (“Now with Black Hawks”, “Now with Maple Leafs”, and so forth). The team name on the front of the card is also changed to reflect the player’s new digs. Continue reading “Review: 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Hockey”

Card of the Week: Return to Sender

1983-84 O-Pee-Chee #131 – Ken Solheim

Ken SolheimLook at the back of this card of Ken Solheim, and you will see that he was traded from the Minnesota North Stars to the Detroit Red Wings near the end of the 1982-83 season.

Flip the card over to the front, and you’ll notice that Solheim’s North Stars uniform has been airbrushed over, so as to look like a Red Wings uniform.

However, the card still has a North Stars name and logo at the top, as well as an annoying little bit of text that reads “Now with Minnesota”.

Now with Minnesota? And yet, Solheim’s North Stars jersey has been painted over to look like a Red Wings jersey. What’s going on here? What team is he on? Continue reading “Card of the Week: Return to Sender”