1521 - Hockey Ramblings

·13 min·1 clip

Dr. James Beckett reveals he's going to Toronto for a hockey card expo for the first time in 26 years.

Dr. James Beckett opens this hockey-focused episode by announcing his upcoming trip to Toronto for a card expo, his first visit in 26 years. He thanks sponsors including Upper Deck, who provided National Hockey Card Day materials and the New York Rangers Centennial set. Beckett opens the Allure box from Upper Deck, discussing the color flow parallels and the challenge of ranking their values. He received a Matthew Schaefer card but notes the complexity of modern parallel systems. The Rangers Centennial set critique follows, where Beckett mentions getting three autographs instead of the promised two and criticizes the design's color scheme compared to previous team sets. He reveals he designed the first issue of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly. Beckett then discusses his expertise across different hockey eras, from pre-war to modern cards. He draws parallels between baseball and hockey statistics, comparing goal scorers to home run hitters and goalies to catchers. The episode shifts to his Toronto trip preparations, where he plans to look for personal collection items, eBay resale, and ComSea submissions. Beckett details his system for quickly evaluating cards at shows and expresses concerns about customs declarations for his purchases. He mentions doing a future episode about ComSea hacks with Rich. Throughout, Beckett emphasizes his preference for disorganized dollar boxes and his bullish outlook on the hockey card market.

As heard by us

A hockey box opening becomes a collector-minded preview of Toronto, goalies, and market instincts.

Upper Deck Hockey Cards and a National Hockey Card Day kit set up a loose, collector-first hockey episode before the host heads to the Toronto Expo.

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Why you'd press play

You can tag along from an Upper Deck opening into the host's expectations for the Toronto Expo and the hockey market waiting there.

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