National Hockey Card Day is back for Saskatchewan collectors

It’s time to dust off those old hockey card binders because Saturday is National Hockey Card Day.

Tanner Piper, the owner of the Nut Man Cards and Collectibles, said the store has been slammed with customers.

“National Hockey Card Day is an exciting day,” he said. “It’s put on by Upper Deck and Diamond Dealers across North America to give back to the customers and create excitement about hockey cards and give something back.”

The packs of cards are free, but anyone who spends $10 on Upper Deck products gets a special Connor Bedard Rookie Moments card. The former Regina Pats star is an NHL rookie with the Chicago Blackhawks, who took him first overall in the 2023 NHL draft.

The cards come in various sets.

“There’s a base set of cards,” Piper said. “Then there’s a set of rookies. There’s some Moment cards, which are special moments in their rookie career. Then there’s some more rare cards, it’s a subset called the Victory cards. So there is a Victory Rookie set.

“One kind of neat thing they did this year was there’s a set of NHL mascot cards. And in addition to those, there’s some autographs of some legends and autographs from the actual mascots.”

There’s a total of 30 rookie cards. The $10 Bedard card is No. 31 to complete the full collection.

There are three chances to collect a Bedard; he has a Prominent Rookies card, a Victory Black Rookies card and a Rookie Moments card.

“But sometimes there are Easter eggs and secrets and stuff,” Piper explained. “You don’t really know until you open the pack if there’s going to be some extra inserts.”

READ MORE:

• Hockey card collectors begin search for coveted Bedard rookie card
• Connor Bedard’s mom says 18-year-old’s NHL debut feels ‘surreal’
• Saskatchewan family finds the white whale of hockey card collections

Piper has been collecting cards since he was a kid in the early ’90s.

“It’s definitely not a cheap hobby,” he said. “But there’s so many products nowadays that nobody can collect everything. So my advice for young or new collectors is to pick a set that you really enjoy and try and just work on that set.

“Upper Deck provides sets for any budget. So there are more-affordable sets and more-expensive sets. Some people collect their favourite player or favourite team only. There’s levels to it like any other hobby, but we always say there’s something for everyone.”

He said the best way to get started is on National Hockey Card Day with a free pack.

“Come into the store and get a pack,” he said. “If your friend or your mom or dad or your brother gets a pack, then you can trade each other the cards that are duplicates and start working on sets and it really teaches the fundamentals of card collecting without having to put out any money.”

This is the 15th anniversary of National Hockey Card Day.

The day came at the perfect time for Piper and his family business. Their hockey card show is Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Regina’s Turvey Centre. The show, which includes 60 vendors from Regina and Western Canada, costs $5 to attend.

“You get to see the heart of the collecting community,” Piper said.