Saturday was National Hockey Card Day and while some US shops saw solid traffic, it’d be fair to say that the center of the hockey card universe was Edmonton.
Connor McDavid is back on the ice and when fresh cards of the rookie phenom hit the shelves, it’s Katy, bar the door.
Free #nhcd packs!! pic.twitter.com/BY2vqKMWRp
— OT Sports Cards (@OTCards) February 6, 2016
It started in the early morning hours for Wayne Wagner of Wayne’s Sports Cards and Collectibles with an appearance on Global TV’s morning show.
They actually began lining up two hours before the doors opened at his shop and there was more media coverage.
Clarence & Bill are handing out free packs & bonuses to 1st people through the door. #ItBegins #NHCD #CollectConnor pic.twitter.com/SNkuyczu4w
— Wayne Wagner (@WaynesCards) February 6, 2016
“The last time we saw this was in ’05/’06 with Sidney Crosby.” Wagner told 880 AM in Edmonton. “And it created the same type of fever: Everybody wants to own the card, it doesn’t matter whether you’re in Pittsburgh or Edmonton, this year vice-versa whether you’re in Edmonton or Pittsburgh, you want to own that next generational hockey player that can change face of the way the game is played.”
While US stores had only packs, in Canada a couple of retail outlets had special uncut sheets to give away.
It's National Hockey Card Day!! Come in and get yours before they're gone! #HockeyDayInCanada pic.twitter.com/PDzjfpe192
— London Drugs HighSt (@LD_Highstreet) February 6, 2016
Chores OFF@UpperDeckHockey #NHCD ON pic.twitter.com/g4vAAKZUde
— David Wright™© (@LongFlyBall) February 6, 2016
Lots of kids & parents enjoying @UpperDeckHockey National Hockey Card Day which started at the rink #nhcd #NHCDErie pic.twitter.com/4YuDAvsEwc
— Mike Estrich (@mebu22) February 6, 2016
Upper Deck says it distributed “hundreds of thousands” of free National Hockey Card Day packs to shops in both countries this year. Some of those packs contained exclusive hits. You can see everything that’s made its way to eBay by clicking here.