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Wednesday morning felt like Christmas for hockey card collectors in Saskatchewan and around the world.
The day marked the official release of Upper Deck’s latest hockey cards for the 2023-24 NHL season. The release of the new cards means Connor Bedard’s rookie card is up for grabs for the first time ever, and as usual, there’s no shortage of hype around the former Regina Pats star.
There was a line of people waiting outside the doors of 306 Sports Cards in Saskatoon at 9 a.m., and the store even opened early to mark the special occasion.
“I would say this is probably the most anticipated (launch) we’ve ever seen yet,” said Stephanie Pettit, the store’s co-owner.
In a search reminiscent of the hunt for golden tickets in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ many buyers spent hundreds of dollars on sealed packs of cards just for the chance to get their hands on a one-of-a-kind Bedard rookie card.
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There are standard Bedard rookie cards inside the packs, but the card everyone around the world was looking for on Wednesday is a one-of-one “outburst gold” Bedard rookie card, which is truly unique.
The hype is so high that Dave & Adam’s Card World in the United States is offering to buy the unique card for $1 million USD from whoever is lucky enough to find it.
Collector David Pelletier said if he’s lucky enough to pull the special Bedard card that he wouldn’t even consider selling it.
“I would send it away for a grading and put it away for my grandson,” Pelletier said.
He said he can’t believe how much hockey card collecting has changed over the past half-decade.
“I’ve seen cards from when I was a kid selling for $1,500 to $2,000. It’s unreal. A lot of guys I never expected to be in the hobby are now jumping into it,” Pelletier explained.
“A lot of guys are getting into it for the investment. For me, it’s an investment for my grandkids – that’s who I collect for.”
Scott Roesch was also waiting in line on Wednesday. He said this edition had more hype behind it than the launch of Connor McDavid’s rookie card did.
“I’m a huge McDavid collector, but Bedard is something different because he’s in the States. He went to the (Chicago) Blackhawks, and having that exposure in the States has really got the U.S. into card collecting,” Roesch explained.
“Before, hockey was always sort of a secondary sport that they collect. It was all about baseball and football. (Bedard’s card) has changed their take on it.”
Roesch said he would have some tough calls to make if he snagged the unique rookie card.
“I would keep quiet for a while and make some decisions, I guess. It’s not too often you get a chance to be an instant millionaire,” he said.
“I would probably end up selling it in the end, but I would probably let the excitement wear off a little bit.”
Roesch said he’d use the money to retire early.
Some who purchased the hockey cards on Wednesday were eager to crack open their packs, but others decided to hang onto the boxes and not open them at all, hoping the value will increase over time.
Recently, a sealed box of hockey cards found in a spare room in Saskatchewan sold for more than $5 million at auction. That box could contain a number of coveted Wayne Gretzky’s rookie cards.