The Story Behind the Biggest Hockey Card Pull of the Year
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The hockey card community was abuzz when news broke that the Matthew Schaefer O-Pee-Chee Platinum Golden Treasures 1-of-1 was found. Best of all, the moment was captured on a video that is filled with genuine excitement. The chase itself was a thrill.
The story behind it is compelling and isn't over. We reached out to Ty Duncan, the owner of the sports card business, Ty The Card Guy, who partners with Wayne's Sports Cards, for the breaking part of the business, to fill us in on the details. Ty was kind enough to participate in an interview that was conducted over email.
Breaking News:
Ty let us know that a first-time breaking customer is now the owner of the Matthew Schaefer 1-of-1 Golden Treasures Rookie Card and has decided to put the card up for auction on eBay, with the auction closing on Thursday, June 18th. It will be fun to see how collectors value this unique card featuring a generational hockey talent. What makes this even more fun is knowing the story behind this card’s discovery and the people involved.
How Ty Got Into Breaking
Ty Duncan of Edmonton grew up loving all things hockey, including the cards. One summer, he added his entire 8,000+ card collection to a database and noted, “It was probably the first sign that this hobby was going to be a big part of my life.” Another sign came when, after a stint playing junior hockey, he went to university and bought and sold cards to help pay for his textbooks. Then, he sealed the deal in 2020 when he graduated, landed a full-time job, and started his card business.
Ty grew his business through the often-hidden parts of the card business grind, like streaming for hours after a full day at his day job, then staying up into the wee hours of the morning to pack and ship cards. If determination is the foundational part of his recipe for success, Ty's secret ingredient is his dedication to others in his life, including the community of fellow card enthusiasts. It's these people whom he derives his proudest accomplishments and points out, "... our streams have become a safe space ... a place where they can unwind, chat with friends, have some fun, and be part of a community... (s)eeing friendships and relationships form through something that started with sports cards is incredibly rewarding."
As Ty’s business blossomed, so did his personal life. He and his wife-to-be, Breana, had a shared dream of marrying abroad in Italy, and they worked for years toward this goal. In May of 2026, the couple set off to make their dream a reality and traveled to Europe for a wedding and honeymoon adventure.
While preparing for his time away from Edmonton, Ty entrusted his longtime employee, Blake Wilejto, to the breaking part of the business. Blake would be taking on his first-ever release-day stream for 2025-26 O-Pee-Chee Platinum, according to Ty.
Ty and Breana pulled it off and tied the knot across the pond, and then, the next day, Ty recounts that he received an interesting message, "you need to go check out what Blake just pulled..." and continues, "I'm lying in bed in Italy, still half asleep, when I skim through the replay of the live stream. The second I see the card, I wake my wife up and say, 'Blake just hit the biggest card in the product!'"
The Viral Moment of the Matthew Schaefer Pull
Ty provided a great breakdown of the card reveal, and we share it here: "Blake's reaction is priceless. You can tell he's in complete shock. He notices the Golden Treasures shimmer right away, then slowly reveals that it's a rookie card. At that point, he's just hoping it's one of the top rookies. Then the top of the helmet gets revealed, and you can literally see the moment he realizes it's Matthew Schaefer. From there, it's pure excitement and disbelief."
This is how one of the biggest card pulls of the year happened, in a series of amazing events that created a priceless moment, especially for Ty and those close to him, as conveyed in his own words, "what I'll remember most isn't the card itself. It's the reaction. It's seeing our community celebrate together. It's being able to give someone a once-in-a-lifetime moment while experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime moment ourselves."
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D. Allen Thompson is a contributing collectibles writer with eclectic tastes. He provides enthusiastic commentary on the ever-evolving world of trading cards against the backdrop of the broader historical, economic, and societal contexts in which they exist. He is on a journey to find fascinating stories and meet interesting people while using trading cards as the guideposts to lead the way to the American Dream.