Jerseys, cards and memorabilia were on display in downtown Winnipeg as fans gathered for the PegSpo 2026 sports collectibles expo at the RBC Convention Centre on Saturday. 

Now in its fifth year, the PegSpo organizer Peter Jordan says the event is about bringing collectors across the hobby — from hockey jerseys to Pokémon cards — together in one space. 

“It’s about community, getting everybody out,” said Jordan, who collects game-worn jerseys from Czech hockey players. 

He’s been collecting for more than a decade and loves the thrill of the hunt. 

“Every piece has some sort of story behind it and part of the chase is the fun of it,” he said.

Jason Glutek’s collection of game-worn jerseys, which includes a unique Alexander Ovechkin jersey from before he entered the National Hockey League as a rookie, has been growing for about 30 years. 

He also owns a Pavel Bure jersey that he bought by swapping a Mats Sundin jersey in addition to a sizable chunk of change. Although he wouldn’t give the exact figure, Glutek says it cost “more than what a normal person would think was sane.”

One of his earliest pieces of sports memorabilia was a Paul Reinhart jersey he’s had for about three decades. 

“It kind of really snowballed from there. I don’t know if it’s healthy or not,” said Glutek, who got his nine-year-old son into collecting game-worn jerseys — he has one from Dominic Toninato — and hockey cards. 

Hockey cards for young rising Canadian stars like Matthew Schaefer and Macklin Celebrini can bring in hundreds of dollars each, fans told CBC News. 

Some were on the hunt for the hot-ticket cards on Saturday, but Mike Wolanski was one of the lucky ones to pull a Schaefer rookie card from a box ahead of the expo. 

He said Schaefer is “the real deal” and worth the hype, calling him “the next Cale Makar.”

Wolanski said collecting is all about “connecting the fan to the player,” likening each card to “a little bit of history in your hands.”

“Personally, it’s reliving the dream of being a kid again and opening packs and hopefully you get the one you’re chasing,” he said. 

While some attendees and vendors chased childhood dreams at the convention centre, others hoped selling bits of their collections could help fund future goals.

Eleven-year-old Gage Remillard says his Pokémon cards can go for hundreds of dollars, once selling a rare Charizard card for about $500. 

“Some people can sell one card for $100,000,” said Remillard, who also sells hockey cards — including two Celebrini rookie cards that were for sale on Saturday. 

He hopes that his card collection will help him pay for a car when he’s old enough to drive. 

“Sports cards are one of the most fun hobbies,” he said, adding he plans to keep collecting cards for the rest of his life.