Connor Bedard rookie cards already going for big bucks

After lighting up the Western Hockey League for the last three years, the long-awaited release of Connor Bedard’s Chicago Blackhawks rookie card is fast approaching.

A resurgence in the industry is helping drive demand and prices for hockey cards, meaning you probably won’t see any Connor Bedard cards flapping in the spokes of bicycles this summer.

“This is going to be the most sought-after rookie card of the year for him,” said Robbie Logan, part-owner of RAD Cards and Collectibles. “The young guns always are the most sought after, most collected cards of the year.”

The Upper Deck Series One collection has already hit shelves. And in it, there’s a Connor Bedard card.

“There's a Connor Bedard card with a Chicago jersey from Draft Day.”

But Logan says collectors are eager to get their hands on the Connor Bedard "Young Guns" card that will be released at the end of February.

“Series two, which comes out February 28th, has his Young Guns card that everyone's looking for,” he said.

Logan’s father and part-owner of Rad Cards and Collectibles, Dave Logan says the industry has seen a resurgence in the past few years.

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“It’s different,” he said, adding it’s partly due to the pandemic when people dug out their old collections from the basement and rediscovered their passion for hockey cards.

But the prices he’s seeing for Bedard cards are like nothing he’s seen before. That includes other stars like Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid.

“Connor Bedard’s SP One card is going for over $10,000 on eBay,” said Logan. “There’s actually two of them that are over $10,000 a card for something that’s an insert card.”

Logan says cards can be graded for quality on a scale up to 10 by companies like Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), and the cards fetching five figures are of the highest quality.

“Connor McDavid never had those prices coming out,” said Logan, who checked with his son on the market for a PSA-graded 10 Connor McDavid Young Guns card.

“About $4,000,” said Robbie.

Logan’s father says a raw, ungraded Connor Bedard SP1 card would trade for around $700. He says the difficulty in obtaining a PSA 10 grade comes down to the black bar at the top of the card, which is prone to chipping.

“The centring of the card could be off a little bit, there could be a little nick in the corner, so it's not easy to get some cards,” he said. “It's easier to get a ten on some than others. If it’s a shiny card, those are hard to get tens — because the foil chips off.”

With the buzz around hockey cards, and specifically Bedard’s rookie card, Logan has been flooded with customers asking about it.

“There’s tons of people coming in asking about it, finding out what it’s worth and where they can get one,” he said.

And in an increasingly digital world, Logan says there’s something about the ritual of opening a physical pack of hockey cards that just doesn’t go out of style.

“To me, there’s nothing better than opening up a pack of cards and pulling the card you want,” Logan told CTV News. “You can have a picture of it on the internet, you can go look at any picture on eBay or any other site. But to actually physically hold the card, you just can’t beat it.”

And while Robbie would love to land the coveted Connor Bedard Young Guns card, his treasure is painfully close, yet still far away.

“Biggest one I want would be my dad’s [Alexander] Ovechkin Young Guns card,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been trying to get that one off him for years.”