Alex Ovechkin is an intense player.  Who would disagree with that?

If you haven’t really taken the time to watch a Washington Capitals game, then you may only know Alex Ovechkin as that guy who scores a ton of goals.  But seriously, I don’t think that I have ever seen a player with such a presence on the ice.  With those bright yellow laces on his skates, Ovechkin just seems to be flying out there!  Watching him fall to his knees but then get back up with the puck still cradled on his stick before firing off a wrist shot at lightning speed is just amazing.  I’m pretty sure that his backhand is harder than my slap shot.

What I find incredible about Alex is his passion for the game, his intensity.  And these days, intensity in hockey often manifests itself in the form of body checks.  The NHL’s first overall pick in the 2004 draft is not known for backing...

Which was the greater hockey story, the 1972 Summit Series or the 1980 Olympics’ “Miracle on Ice”?

Do we really need to choose?  Is it possible to say that both of these great hockey tales hold the same kind of sway over Canadians and Americans, respectively, though in two completely different contexts?

The eight games played between Canada and the U.S.S.R. in 1972 – forever known as the Summit Series - ended up being one of the greatest international hockey competitions ever contested, and certainly Canada’s definitive sporting event.  Games 6, 7 & 8 in Moscow were among the most exciting hockey games that I have ever seen!  Even 40 years later you can still feel the tension just pulling out the DVDs and watching these legendary Canadian and Russian competitors getting crushed up against the wire fence (!) atop the boards surrounding the ice.

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“Herb Brooks was smart like a fox […]”, said the more than friendly Ken Morrow.

I got a feeling while interviewing the legendary Ken Morrow that Walt Disney Pictures didn’t exaggerate in 2004 when they reproduced the famous speech from coach Brooks before the February 22nd game. The moment must have been magic. Just unrealistic.

I say that because, even though Team USA realized a miracle on the ice that day, Ken Morrow seems to be certain that their coach was really the one that elevated them to a level where the Russians couldn’t reach them. High as a bird if I may say. As he said himself, “It was a feeling of disbelieve” while talking about the Russian game.

Pretty easy to understand when you think that the Russian team was considered the best team in the world at that time. It was also composed of legends that the American...

Game-worn jerseys are not made of gold and diamonds.  Most of the time, they are in a pretty bad shape.  Sometimes they even smell bad… but they are still one of the most wanted collectibles out there.

Jersey collectors know that when you are buying a game-worn jersey, you are actually buying the feeling that the player had when he wore it on the ice.  You are buying the emotions.  You are buying the impregnated sweat and blood that reflects what it means to play professional sports.  And some jerseys have more to say.

Here’s a list of the 10 most expensive game-worn jerseys ever sold in a Classic Auctions’ online auction.



1.      Paul Henderson "The Goal" 1972 Canada-Russia Series Game-Worn Jersey

Price realized:      $1,275,707 us

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The days and weeks surrounding Christmas and the New Year’s Eve have given us a lot of precious moments over the last 100 years.

Here’s a quick look at a few magic sports moments that filled the Holiday Seasons and made history.

December 24th 1969

Unhappy with his team’s decision to trade him to the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals’ centerfield Curt Flood writes a letter to the MLB commissioner to protest.  In his historic letter, Flood, a three-time All-Star and seven-time Golden Glove winner, was challenging the baseball’s so-called reserve clause preventing players from moving to another team unless they were traded.

The US Supreme Court finally ruled against Flood in 1972.  Flood had already retired from baseball in 1971.  Two years after the court’s decision, the verdict was reversed and the reserve clause was abolished.  Modern...

Detroit is Hockeytown.  True or false?

Well it’s hard to tell the 700,000+ people living in the 18th most populous city in the United States that they are wrong when you look at the stats and history of their team…

Not only that the Detroit Red Wings registered the trademark Hockeytown, they also registered the victories on the ice over the last decades.  As we say, ‘’Detroit Rocks’’.   The Red Wings have made the playoffs in 25 of the last 27 seasons, including the last 20 in a row (1991–2011)!  At the time we are writting these lines, they hold a 21-11-1 record, comfortably sitting in 5th place in the Western Conference.

 



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Want to know how one collects such a great quantity of quality items?

That’s exactly what we asked Scott Peters from Vancouver, who gave us the immense pleasure of handling the sale of his comprehensive collection of historic hockey publications.  Please read further for the interview.

Perhaps the most complete and significant collection of its kind in existence, it includes programs and tickets from nearly every Stanley Cup Final between 1926 and 1972, most of them from the Cup winning game; All Star Game programs from 1948 to 1979; rare guides and yearbooks; early hockey magazines; programs and tickets from dozens of historic and record setting NHL games; championship team autographed programs; vintage scrapbooks and more.

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Not convinced about women ice hockey?  Kim St-Pierre will make you change your mind in just a few minutes!

We had the pleasure to sit down with one of Canada's top athlete and we were able to ask here some questions on her career and on women hockey in general.  Kim, still on maternity leave from her CWHL team, started to play hockey when she was 8 years old and she is still passionate about it like she was at that time.

Kim St-Pierre is a top class athlete on the ice as well as off the ice. Period.

Here's the interview that we did with her at our office in Delson(Qc).





With 9 international gold medals (including the Women's 4 Nations Cup in 2010) and numerous international records like the most shutouts (15), the most wins (24) and the lowest goals against average (0.84), Kim will definitely have some...

Do you want to ship your items for consignment but you are scared that they will be broken, stolen or even worst...that you will be charged with custom duties and fees? Well you are not alone.  Getting your items to an auction house (or to your clients if you are a seller yourself) is a major part of the game and can be an important part of the process or the decision to send them or not.



With the market for hockey and sports memorabilia growing day after day, the issue of shipping becomes more and more important.  The goal is clear and simple: getting your items to the destination in a fast and effective way with a minimum of fees and extra costs.

Here are a couple of points to look at when you are shipping:

Are you shipping internationally or inside your own country? When you ship to a destination...

Well like many of you already know,  we were in Toronto last week for the Toronto International Sports Show.  This edition of the show was really exciting for us and many of you were able to past by just to say hi or to consign items for our following Winter 2012 Auction.  Marc and I were really pleased with all the amazing items that were consigned to us over the week-end.  The Toronto region continues to be a great hockey place indeed.

Visitors at our booth had the opportunity to fill out a quick survey and then get a chance to win a wonderful Toronto Maple Leafs Vintage Jersey autographed by 6 legends.  Congratulations to our winner, a friendly fellow collector from Oshawa!

Finally, I had the chance to chat a little bit with Dr. Brian Price from In The Game, our long-time friend and costumer.  The In The Game booth (In The Gameland) was filled with jerseys from Brian's personal collection which he, for the most, acquired thru Classic Auctions.  Dr. Price's collection of All Star Game jerseys was nicely displayed and you'll see them all in this video. 

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