The “New Kid on the Block” of hockey cards is set to make its debut in a big way this coming September!


With a September 22, 2010 release date, Panini will begin its foray into hockey cards with the release of 2010-11 Certified Hockey. Marking the first Certified hockey set since 1997-98, this release is a strike at the mid-range card market. Each box will contain 10 packs of five cards with a retail price of approximately $100. Of the 50 cards collectors will break from this product, the box will (on average of course) contain some of the following perks:


a) 4 Memorabilia or Autograph Cards (at least 1 Autograph amongst them)


Along with the potential for current star and rookie autographs, former legends of the game including Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, Patrick Roy and Bobby Hull are included in the set.







(NOTE: Yes, Howe has an exclusive signing deal with Upper Deck. Short article coming on this in next few days...)


Also among the memorabilia pieces will be die-cut memorabilia cards, dual swatch cards, and dual autographs featuring star players such as Sidney Crosby, Zach Parise, and Ryan Miller.


b) 1 Mirror Red Parallel (short-printed out of 250)


c) 4 additional parallels or inserts

Additional parallels will include Mirror Black 1/1s, Mirror Gold (out of 25) and Mirror Ice memorabilia cards, are featured as potential prime pulls.





The aforementioned inserts will include, amongst others:


1) Big Men On Campus: Memorabilia cards containing swatches of young star players who played in the NCAA.





2) Junior Legacy: Dual memorabilia or autographs of players who played in the CHL.





3) Masked Marvels: Memorabilia cards of top NHL goalies featuring 2 pieces of memorabilia and an autograph.





4) Certified Legends: Autographs of NHL hockey legends


5) Rookie cards of top prospects like P.K. Subban, Nazem Kadri and Zach Hamill. These cards will be numbered as low as 999. Rookie Redemptions will also be included for cards of players debuting early in the 2010-11 season.





Aside from all the goodies of course is the base set. With 188 cards the base set is relatively small in number, but considering that there are only 50 cards per box it’s not likely people will be set chasing this one solely through box buying!





You someone who hates the base cards? Panini has looked out for you by throwing some “Platinum Hot Boxes” into the mix where all common cards have been replaced by exclusive, limited edition parallels. Would be a sweet $100 investment to land one of these guys!


Want to get a hands-on look prior to the release? Panini America will reportedly distribute six-card promotional sets to dealers in Canada and parts of the United States so people can grab a look pre-release.


Shawn Gates
[email protected]
Twitter: ShawnHockeybuzz
Facebook: Shawn Gates
BBM: 311A4F7D
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INDEX


Previous “Who Am I?” Articles

#1, #2, #3, #4, #5


Previous “WHAT IF…?” Articles

#1 What If The NHL Contracted To 24 Teams?

#2 What If Quebec Traded Lindros To The Rangers Instead Of The Flyers?

#3 What If Calgary Drafted Martin Brodeur Instead Of Trevor Kidd?

#3a What If Calgary Drafted Martin Brodeur Instead Of Trevor Kidd?: A RESPONSE

#4 What If The WHA Never Existed?

#5 What If The Position Of Rover Had Not Been Eliminated?

#6 What If Pittsburgh Had Not Been Awarded A Team In 1967?

#7 What If Steve Smith Had Not Scored In His Own Net In Game 7?

#8 What If The NHL Had a Cross-Conference Playoff Structure?

#9 What If The NHL Asked For Fan Ideas For Improving The Game??

#10 What If Henderson Had Missed The Net In Game 8?

#11 What If You Could Sneak Into A Stanley Cup Celebration?

#12 What If The NHL Returned To Quebec City?

#13 What if Toronto and Edmonton Had Traded Teams in 1981?

#14 What if You Could Create Your Own Hockey Dream Team?

#15 What if An Active Player in the NHL “Came Out” as Gay?

#16 You Could Assemble Your Own Fantasy Pick-up Hockey Team?

#17 Hockey Had A Champions League Tournament?

#18 Team "X" Did NOT Make Trade "Y" At The Deadline?

#19 Gretzky Had Been Called For he High Stick?

#20 Star Players Hadn't Had Their Careers Cut Short?


Previous “Devil's Advocate” Articles

Gary Bettman and the Phoenix Coyotes


Previous “According to Twitter” Articles

Olympic Gold Medal Game

Olympic Hockey

Kovalchuk Trade


Previous “Humpday Hockey Videos”

January 20, 2010: Pain for Pleasure

January 27, 2010: National Anthems

February 3, 2010: Dion Phaneuf

February 10, 2010: Hockey Fans



Previous “Who Knew?” Articles
#1: Gordie Howe

#2: The Zamboni

#3: Maurice “The Rocket” Richard

#4: Ron Hextall

#5: Stanley Cup Abuse, Neglect and Versatility

#6: The Puck

#7: Don Cherry

#8: Cam Neely

#9: The Early Years of Les Canadiens

#10: Hockey Superstitions!

#11: Olympic Hockey Pt1



Previous “Town Without A Team” Articles

Booger Hollow, Arkansas

Hell, Michigan



Previous “Hockey Psychology” Articles

State Dependent Learning

Arousal and Performance

Depression