WEDNESDAY SPORTS: JACKPOT!

REGINA – A case of old hockey cards uncovered in a Regina home is being hailed as a “once-in-a-generation” treasure trove of the game’s Great One.

And the bidding has already topped $1 million.

Jason Simonds, the sports consignment director at Heritage Auctions, says the lot contains 16 sealed boxes of O-Pee-Chee’s 1979-80 hockey card collection, amounting to more than 10,000 cards.

Odds suggest that means there could be 25 to 30 copies of the Wayne Gretzky rookie cards in the collection.

This highly coveted first-edition cardboard collectible of the NHL’s all-time leading scorer draws thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in bids.

A mint condition card fetched $3.75 million when it was auctioned in 2021.

“This is really a once-in-a-generation find, because as far as we know, this is the first time a case has been made available since 1979,” Simonds said Tuesday from New York.

Simonds said he got involved after a man and his father in Regina came across the case when they were clearing out a storage room in the house. The son texted Simonds, telling him he thought he found something great.

Simonds and two of his colleagues then came to Regina in January to check it out. He said he was blown away with the find.

“This really, truly is the Holy Grail of hockey cards. It’s hockey’s most valuable card.”

Simonds said the father has been a longtime collector, noting he also had a set of baseball cards in the storage room worth about $200,000.

“(The room) was filled wall to wall and floor to ceiling with boxes,” he said. “As you were pulling back, you’d start to find older and older material.”

The family has asked to remain anonymous.

Heritage Auctions took the hockey case and drove to Indiana in an armoured vehicle to get it authenticated. Baseball Card Exchange, which inspected the boxes, found them to be in pristine condition and sealed.

NHL

• Lawyers say four NHL players have been charged with sexual assault in connection to allegations involving Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team. Lawyers for Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dubé, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart and New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenceman Cal Foote have issued statements on behalf of their clients saying they intend to plead not guilty. The four are among five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior squad who recently went on indefinite leave from their pro clubs amid a report that five members of that roster were asked to surrender to face sexual assault charges.
• Meanwhile Dmitri Voronkov’s third-period goal snapped a scoreless tie, and the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped the St. Louis Blues’ season-high five-game NHL win streak with a 1-0 victory. Elvis Merzlikins made 21 saves to record his 10th career shutout and first since blanking Carolina on January 13th, 2022, ending a 94-game span between shutouts.
• Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s goal at 7:27 of the third period snapped a scoreless tie and lifted the San Jose Sharks to a 2-0 NHL victory over the visiting Seattle Kraken. Jan Rutta scored into an empty net with 21 seconds left. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 32 shots to record the shutout. The Kraken have lost six of their past eight.

WHL

• LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Hayden Pakkala’s goal at 11:18 of the third period proved to be the winner as the Lethbridge Hurricanes built a 3-0 lead and then held on to edge the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings 4-2 in Western Hockey League action on Tuesday night at the Enmax Centre.
• SEATTLE, Wash. — Terik Parascak’s power-play goal with two minutes left in the third period snapped a 2-2 deadlock and lifted the visiting Prince George Cougars to a 5-2 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
• SPOKANE, Wash. — Austin Roest scored three goals and Parker Berge added three assists as the visiting Everett Silvertips beat the Spokane Chiefs 7-4.
• POKE CHECKS: The Saskatoon Blades are ranked No. 1 in this week’s Canadian Hockey League Top 10. The Portland Winterhawks are No. 6, followed by the Prince George Cougars at No. 7 and Everett Silvertips at No. 8.

NBA

• Gary Trent Junior scored 24 points, Bruce Brown added 19 and seven rebounds, and the visiting Toronto Raptors snapped a season-high five-game NBA losing streak with a 118-107 win over the struggling Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. Jordan Nwora scored 17 points for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points for the Bulls and Ayo Dosunmu added 21. The Bulls have lost three of their past four.

MLB

• Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein has reached an agreement to buy the Baltimore Orioles for 1.725-billion-dollars (U-S), according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Rubenstein, a Baltimore native, would take over as the team’s controlling owner.
• Meanwhile World Series MVP Corey Seager had surgery yesterday for a left sports hernia repair and the Texas Rangers shortstop will miss most of spring training. General manager Chris Young says Seager had the surgery in Arizona, where the team has spring training, and will remain there for rehab. The Rangers are hopeful to have him ready by opening day. Seager hit .318 with six homers in their 17 post-season games.

(Canadian Press)