Rare Connor Bedard rookie card has Sask. collectors lined up down the block
American company has put a $1-million bounty on 1 particular version of card
The phone was ringing off the hook at The Nutman Cards and Collectibles in Regina Wednesday. The reason? The quest for a rare Connor Bedard rookie card.
On Wednesday, stores started selling the 2023-24 Upper Deck Series Two collection, which contains the Connor Bedard "Young Guns" rookie card — what collectors say is his official rookie card.
Each pack of sealed cards comes with a chance to find one of several Bedard cards, which vary in rarity.
There is one card unlike any other: the Outburst Gold Connor Bedard card, which has a gold shimmering background. Only one single copy of that version exists.
An American collectibles company called Dave and Adam's Card World posted a bounty of $1 million on social media for the gold card.
Wednesday's release had collectors buzzing at the The Nutman Cards and Collectibles.
"We probably had 500 phone calls already. We sold out our first order in 43 minutes," said Tanner Piper, the store's owner.
"This morning people lined up at 7:00 a.m., waiting two hours out in the cold just to get stuff."
Piper did open a Bedard rookie card himself. It wasn't the gold version, but he said he was still able to resell it that same morning for about $1,500.
Bedard made his name by being a hockey phenom in the WHL, playing for the Regina Pats, where he broke decades-old records, and then being drafted the NHL by the Chicago Blackhawks at 18 years old.
"He's big everywhere in the world, but we kind of adopted him as our own because he played on the Pats, he's like our hometown kid, even though he's from B.C.," said Piper.
Million-dollar bounty
Stephanie Pettit, a co-owner of 306 Sports Cards in Saskatoon, said the NHL have done an exceptional job of publicizing Bedard, bolstering his popularity.
She said even though there are other kinds of Bedard rookie cards, the Upper Deck "Young Guns" collection is considered his first "true" rookie card.
"This is probably the most highly anticipated release of products that we have ever seen, the interest has been astronomical," said Pettit.
Pettit said the store has been getting calls about the Bedard rookie cards for months and had people lined up out the doors early in the morning, waiting to get their hands on a pack.
At the store on Wednesday, Pettit's husband and co-owner Paul Houk was livestreaming on Facebook while opening packs for consumers who pre-ordered the cards in anticipation months ago.
"And we got another Connor Bedard!" screamed Houk as he found one of the sought-after rookie cards live stream. He estimated that version would go for more than $100 on resale.
Pettit said the store would most likely sell out of the packs before the day ended, but said that there would be a chance to get some more in upcoming weeks.
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With files from Louise BigEagle and Alexander Quon