Hockey Cards Canada: A Beginner’s Guide to Buying, Trading, and Collecting

Hockey cards in Canada have seen a boom in interest. We all know there are avid hockey fans all around the country, whether from nostalgia, rising values or collection purposes. But before you start buying and trading, there are key facts to learn from different formats of cards, to various brands to know about, and learning how to identify rarer cards, along with risks to watch out for. 

Buying, hunting for a rare pull, or looking to cash in on your collection? Exor Games is here to guide you. With the right knowledge and the right shop, you’ll be trading like a pro in no time. 

What “Sports Card Trading” Means

Sports card trading involves buying and selling cards, whether you’re chasing your favourite players or aiming for a big return. You might pick up hobby boxes, rip retail packs, or collect singles, and later trade or resell them to build your collection or turn a profit.

Hockey cards are available to buy in various formats, including:

  • Hobby boxes: Premium boxes with exclusive cards, often better odds for rare hits.

  • Retail packs: Budget-friendly, widely available options with more limited insert odds.

  • Singles: Handpicked individual cards, perfect for completing sets or targeting specific players.

Major hockey card brands in Canada include Metal Universe, which makes cards with a distinct metal-like surface, such as our Skybox set. 

Along with O-Pee-Chee, a historical Canadian brand, it often makes cards available in French on the packaging and the back of the card, such as our Platinum Hockey 21/22 pack.

History and Culture Behind Hockey Cards in Canada

  • Canadian hockey cards have been around since 1879, which predates baseball and football cards. 

  • Between 1910 and 1913, cigarette packs included the first named-player cards (C55, C56, C57 sets), featuring stars like Georges Vezina, Cyclone Taylor, and Art Ross. 

  • In 1923, the NHL Debut Set included the William-Patterson set, which marked the first official NHL cards, introducing players like Howie Morenz, Aurele Joliat, and King Clancy.

  • O-Pee-Chee began producing cards during the 1920s and continued until WWII paused production in 1940. 

  • After the war, Parkhurst, which was a dominant brand and had discontinued production, made O-Pee-Chee the market leader in Canada in 1968. They were later licensed by Topps and then Upper Deck.

  • Upper Deck’s high quality gives its cards longevity. New brands like Pro Set and Score entered, but Pro Set collapsed by 1993. 

  • O-Pee-Chee remained dominant until 1995. 

  • By the late 90s, oversaturation and collector fatigue would cause market instability.

Many of these historic brands or cards have been around for over 100 years; heritage cards can fuel demand, and certain brands or hockey cards come from a different era, making them worth more to collectors.

What Influences Hockey Card Value?

For a hockey card to maintain its value, it should have undamaged corners and edges, a clean, unscratched surface with full gloss, and accurate image centring. Cards are graded on these criteria using scales like mint, near mint, or gem mint, representing varying degrees of condition from pristine to heavily worn.  

How to Research Card Value

The best way to assess a hockey card’s value is via market research by checking how much similar cards have sold for.

  • eBay’s “sold items” filter shows what cards have sold for, not just what people are asking.

  • Canadian auction platforms, such as Facebook hobby groups, can provide price comparisons and insights into local market trends.

  • Local card shops such as Exor Games can help explain what’s currently hot by seeing lots of trade-ins.

Rare Cards: What to Look For

If you’re looking for rare cards in particular, keep an eye out for:

  • Rarity runs: Cards produced in lower quantities are more valuable and tend to attract collectors.

  • Rookie cards: Collectors chase true rookie cards, especially when those players turn into NHL stars.

  • Young Guns: A must-have rookie subset from Upper Deck, highly collectible, such as the Cup Hockey 22/23 pack.

  • Autographs: Certified signatures or embedded gear make cards more desirable and valuable.

  • Series 1: Upper Deck’s Series 1 includes strong rookie inserts, often the most anticipated release of the season.

Buying and Selling Hockey Cards in Canada

Where you buy your cards matters as much as the cards themselves. Building a new collection or chasing a legendary pull? Exor Games has you covered. Shop our hockey cards in-store or online for packs, hobby boxes, and singles from top brands like Upper Deck and O-Pee-Chee. You can find options like Series 1 hobby boxes, perfect for chasing Young Guns rookies, or affordable blaster boxes for casual collectors.

Once your collection grows, or if you’ve landed something valuable, selling becomes part of the game. That’s where Exor Games comes in. We buy hockey card singles, sealed products, and entire collections. Bring your cards into one of our stores or connect with us online to get a quote. Whether you're clearing out older boxes or offloading high-end cards, we make the process easy. Visit our sellers page to learn how to sell your hockey cards to Exor Games.