2012-13 Certified Hockey Stars in a Belated, Must-See Edition of Panini Unwrapped
With much of the Panini America hockey team on the road last weekend at the 2012 Toronto Fall Expo (and with our “good” camera in tow), we didn’t really have a chance to film a Panini Unwrapped episode with 2012-13 Certified Hockey when it released last Thursday.
But we aim to make that right today. A few days ago, Panini America’s three-man power play of Scott Prusha, Chris Barr and Matthew Davis, the newest member of the team, ripped through some Certified during a must-see edition of Panini Unwrapped.
And because we feel so badly about being so late, we’re going to award five readers/watchers of The Knight’s Lance with their own box of Certified just for answering two simple questions: What’s your favorite insert set in 2012-13 Certified Hockey and why?
Let us know and this time next week we’ll select five winners from all comments received. Thanks in advance for your participation. Now, enjoy the show.
The Knight's Lance 
I like the freshman fabrics the most because I love the rookie type inserts like this, as well as it has JT Brown in it! It’s a great group of guys in that set that I’ve been watching in the AHL this year.
My favorite insert set would have to be the goalie pulls. Not only are they different than anything I have seen, but with the fact that you can get some nice gigantic jersey swatches in some of them makes it a really nice insert chase. Go Sharks!
The Pulled Goalie card is a awesome idea. Someone is using their noggin. And serial #ing on the front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can I choose them all? Every single insert is so well designed, but I guess if I had to choose one, it’d be the Freshmen Fabrics. The die-cut rookie jersey swatch with the foil and the crisp, clean design along with the auto… Always a favourite. Really like how you just tweaked the aesthetics a little bit and made them look even better, didn’t think that was possible!
Omg! I love those acetate pullout goalie cards! Those are sweet!! I am NOW going to have to go out & buy my first hockey cards so I can enter this contest:-) lol Hopefully I can pull one of those cool Acetates!:-)
my favorite insert(s) are the ones that feature Blackhawk players. Seriously though, i like the Fabric of the Game and Path to the Cup (mainly for the split design)
I think that the Path to the Cup subset is a great addition to the product (even though there’s no Habs content in it because, well, they were awful last season) and I hope it will become a regular feature of Certified. I have always loved sets that focus on important elements of the season, and what’s more relevant than the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Giving fans a game-by-game “recap” set makes for a great chase, especially if you’re an LA Kings fan.
I’m liking the veteran sigs and the Path to the Cup double swatches (but how can I not mention the awesome foilboard mirror Fabric of the Game, and Immortals?)
The Goalie Pulls are my favourite insert, they are so cool, specially the ones with the full patch behind them. Most unique card I have seen in a while and very well done. Loved seeing them get pulled at the Expo last weekend.
I gotta go with the Legends and immortals..those guys are the ones I followed so hard as they were coming up and then thru out their careers. Any of the goalie cards are great to. Love the pull out Acetates and the relics or patches with them are awesome. Just another great set in the Certified series. Certified is by far my favorite set in all sports..Come back Hockey!
My favorite set to Certified, and one of the new sets this year is the Path to the Cup. The Stanley Cup is the most coveted trophy in sports so why not celebrate each playoff series that paved the way to lifting Stanley’s chalice? The split design on them is beautiful and I hope these become a staple in upcoming seasons of Certified as well!
BIG FAN OF THE FABRIC OF THE GAME INSERTS. Also love the Goalie Pulls inserts. That is why Panini is the BEST. Always giving the customers’ what they want. Very creative and innovative. LOVE the mirror Blue inserts. Gotta get me a Patrick Kane. GO BLACKHAWKS
Awesome work as always Panini! Absolutely Love the product. I’m not a big hockey collector but this product is my exception. My favorite insert was most assuredly the Fabric of the Game inserts. The normal memorabilia versions were great with the shiny silver foil finish, but what really brought to my attention was the Prime versions #d to 15! The prime versions looked remarkably of what I can remember of the red spectrum inserts in Absolute Memorabilia except way better! I especially enjoyed how the jersey was cut into the team name except abbreviated (Caps instead of Capitals). Of course it did not hurt to have a Great player on the Fabric of the Game insert. All in all a great product for collectors of all ages & will definetly be very memorable opening up some Certified wax in the next few days to follow. Thanks again Panini for being so generous in this stupendous episode of Panini Unwrapped.
I like those Path to the Cup memorabilia cards. Having the cutouts shaped like the Stanley Cup. I got a dual patch version last Saturday at the big card show here in Toronto. It was Kopitar/Pieterangelo 1/10 and nice 2 colour patches with seams for both.
I really like the Goalie Pulls. I ALMOST like the non-jersey versions more than the jersey version, since it shows the net behind them. More visual that way. I do appreciate the numbering on the front of the jersey versions. I like how the insert makes a large swatch which could be one-color more interactive and interesting.
I love the goalie pull cards! Anything with acetate looks amazing! I also love the path to the cup cards. It’s great to see the story of the playoffs be told like this! Such a subset makes the entire product memorable and stand out from previous years! Awesome job!
I love all of it! The cards are very shiny, and I like shiny. A lot of different things to pull. The goalie pulls are very slick, love the jersey parallel of them. Chris did a great job on Certified this year!!!
my favorite insert has to be the goalie pulls. i really think they are ground breaking and very innovative. not to mention you get a huge jersey piece of you’re favorite netminder.
Fabric of the Game–prime
The Path to The Cup Memorabilia insert set is “BARR” none my favorite! It is all about the cup, and this is a great addition to the Certified brand.
I see what you did there — and I like it.
Another great Panini product. Chris Barr (vegas/paninipuck) was a great addition to the team. Best insert in this years Certified is the Goalie pulls, innovative and very nice, of course auto versions would kick butt. Could we maybe get a hockey product like Plates and Patches football (with the sealed cards!!)… Keep up the great work !
Ive seen the answer mentioned already, but the path to the cup sets are a must have for someone like me. I’m a team collector and the Rangers had a pretty great season making it to the conference finals. I get to relive the entire playoff run through the cards which is awesome. If I was a kings fan the set would be even greater. hah!
The immortals parallels I love refractor type cards
I like the immortals parallels I like refractor type cards!
My favorite is Immortals. I love these cards in both Certified Hockey and Football. These cards capture the greatest players of their time and the cards always remind me of watching unbelievable plays made by these players in countless games over the years.
I like the idea of the path to the Cup……….I also like the goalie pulls and the chance of a mem. background……..the rookie auto mems. are always a good pull ……..but my faves are the Immortals especially with mem. or signed mem. in my opinion you can’t beat that and I look forward to that insert out of Certified across the board every season……….the rookie redeemers also a great add and I am pretty sure you guy’s over there at Panini America are going to make them something special!……..Go Hab’s Go!!!I sure miss my Hockey!!!
I just scanned through a checklist I see there are also Face Off dual sticks those look real cool …only one question with that one I see it has pairings of Shanahan and Roy……Price and Halak I have a problem with those fitting the for-mentioned title Face Off…but the other pairings look real cool ………just thought I would mention it..
Certified all around, every sport, is always a big hit! I’m new to hockey collecting, done a few breaks online, but this is a product I’d buy and can afford. Love the dual cup mems, primes should look really nice, and like that the same metallic theme that was used was in football a’s well. Makes the “certified” ,as a name and style , recognizable. Ps.. I swear I was watching a 25 ur old hackler doing this unwrapped! Had fun as always , keep up the great work!
Path to the Cup memorabilia. Smartest looking card I’ve seen in a while. Love the cup shaped die-cut.
I love the Goalie Pulls as it is something different and love that there is a varation with having a jersey version as well as the regular version of it.
I like the Goalie Pulls and the path to the cup
I love the Path To the Cup. Even though my Red Wings lost in five games, it’s a great concept that really had some thought put into it. And to have Lidstrom on Game 4, his last home game in Detroit (and a game I was at), is a pretty cool touch.
Of the documentary kinds of sets, I don’t recall anyone ever doing one for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s something long overdue, and it would be cool to have great vintage playoff series done in the Path To The Cup style.
Just an idea for you guy’s that I would like to see as an insert set tell me if you guy’s like the idea ….Shootout Showdown cards or you can call them Shootout Winners…there have been some pretty spectacular moves and saves in the Shootout whether from the Goaltender or the Player…example: Crosby’s shootout winner on Theodore sending the water bottle air born…Or the sick little puck hop over Niemi by Datsyuk…Or the Linus Omark spin-o-rama from the face off circle and five holes it on Dan Ellis…just so many spectacular moves that would make for an awesome set….Come on Panini America I fed it to ya make this an insert set!
I have always loved The Fabric of the Game inserts. The Mirror gold foil board really pops.
Congrats to you guys on another great product! I’ve got to say I have become a collector of multiple sports now because of all the great stuff that are packed in these products. The goalie pulls are a very nice insert and i really dig seeing something fresh. The path to the cup insert is really nice. It would be a sick pull to hit a memorabilia version of it. If we were all being honest the best insert would be those found in the hot boxes,but my favorite insert of all is fabric of the game. Hey have to go with an old favorite. From football to hockey across the board i love this insert. Best of all its great to see continued improvement with it. The foil look to these are great!!!!! Glad to see Panini continue to build on one of the standards that makes it great.
Thanks for the preview and keep up the good work!
Definitely have to go with the “Path to The Cup” cards. I love the idea of a set that is tied to a specific event (the 2012 Playoffs in this case).
I love the Goalie Pulls inserts. I am a Carey Price collector and I love it when I can add new cards to my collection that don’t resemble anything else I already have. Well done Panini for making people excited about non game used or autographed inserts again! Last year you had some beautiful inserts (Die Cut NHL stars from Certified was probably my favourite, but the Die cuts and beautiful foil inserts in Elite were pretty awesome also) and this year you look to be raising the bar again. I LOVE all the gorgeous foil inserts in this years certified.
Whether you number them on the front or the back, they are still sexy looking.
Path to the Cup Memorabilia – sharp design incorporates a lot of elements without appearing cluttered.
It’s really hard to choose just one insert. Since you added the extra foil to almost all cards I think the set have been even classier. I liked last season’s product a lot, but this is even better.
Okay, if I had to chose just one I would have chosen the Fabric of the Game-set! Last season there was no foil at all on them, and the white background almost made white jersey pieces invisible. I for example pulled a nice ‘8GOALS’-die-cut numbered to just 10, but the white jersey piece made it feel not that exciting as it could have been. Now, after seeing the new Certified, it’s cool to pull a white jersey piece too. That’s not many sets where it is that, but I think you have made a great job and improved the design very much. I also love the parallels to those cards. Just look at the red parallels to Alex Ovechkins card for example. How well doesn’t that match? And the blue parallels for any player in a blue team… Great job on these. Now it’s realy fun to pull a plain jersey card in a ‘higher-end product’ too!
My favourite insert set is the “Path to the Cup”! Reason for that is it is an awesome idea to document each game with a card and make the later rounds shorter printed. Great job once again Panini and I love to win one of the 5 boxes of Certified that you are giving away!
Shiny! Path to the Cup is such a great idea, and the cup-shaped die cut for the memorabilia hits looks really nice. For collectors who like to look back on their sets as reminders of past seasons, a game-by-game breakdown of the playoffs is perfect.
I love the Path to the Cup cards since I’m a huge sucker for die-cut inserts
I love the Path to the Cup insert cards. It highlights some players that may usually not have memorabilia cards in other sets (for example Dennis Wideman). It also gives insight to some of the great rivalries and legendary games throughout the playoffs. Collecting the set would be pretty fun to do, considering you would have the entire 2012 playoffs in your hands.
I started collecting hockey cards last year and my favourite cards were from Certified. I have some very nice FOTG prime die cuts in my collection, it’s a quite a thrill when you pull one. This years Certified is decidedly different with the foil card face and the serial #’s on front of the card. Path to the cup is nice and I like the different versions of it. Goalie pulls are a great idea but I find the regular card is loose and the goalie is most always trying to get off the ice, perhaps a little fine tuning would help that one. The gold version of that card has none of those issues but of course it’s a gold version. lol… Over all I like this years look and I’m sure it’s just going to get better, the more I see of it…
I love the immortals inserts.I am in the process of trying 2 complete the immortals set gold out of 2012 certifiied football,while everybody wants the autos,patch cards etc,i am trading off a lot of auto patch cards,jersey autos and all trying to complete this absolutely stunnig insert set.I love panini america products.
I would have to say the Path to the Cup insert cards are my favorite of the bunch. The way you get to relive each game of the playoff is genius! Especially having memorabilia versions of them as well. Too bad there wasn’t something like this when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup recently, I would have gone crazy trying to build a set from the Pens playoff games that year! You should consider doing that for next years product if there is no season this year (crosses fingers and hopes we still will have one).
I think this year my favorite hit in the set would be the face off dual sticks. Cool concept and good looking cards with a deep selection of both modern and historical players. I’m a big fan.
Another great one. Love the Ovechkin Fabric of the game. The red foilboard background really works on that card.
gotta love the Goalie Pulls . Two thumbs up
I’m a fan of the Freshman Signatures. Goalie pulls are a creative idea. Path to the Cup are a great way to document the games and the end of the post season. Great way to start the season!?!?!?
I love the Path to the Cup insert. Maybe it’s because I’m a Kings fan and just about every game on the way to the Stanley Cup brought me great joy! If only there was a card commemorating the sick hit that Dustin Brown put on Henrik Sedin! I’ll definitely be chasing this set.
Easily it’s FOTG, especially the prime versions. I was hoping the ‘Goalie Pulls’ were going to be some sort of rip card with the possibility of something good underneath(auto redemption or patch auto?) Not like a ginter rip w/ a mini inside but a printed saying and code saying what you won right on the card like the McDonalds monopoly pieces.
Face off dual sticks are the greatest! Two players and two pieces of hockey history!
I like the goalie pull inserts and the path to the cup. Its awesome how the path to the cup cover each game of the playoffs
Add me to the list of fans of the Path to the Cup cards! Memorabilia version is a nice bump to the insert.
I will have to go with the Certified Icons Signatures Set Checklis. A awesome list of some iconic star players that will add some serious value to the product. Also, have to love the fact that the Howe is numbered to just 5 copies.
I am going with the Goalie Pulls, for scoring very high in the creativity department. I also like that set because it remembers me of the good old days (aka the 90s) when goalie insert sets were highly coveted and some of the nicest and most well designed cards you could pull. For these reasons, I would really like the chance to “net” one of these cards myself! Plus with the pull out feature, you can even simulate your own highlight save!
Definitely the pulling the goalie inserts. Who doesn’t like a huge piece of memorabilia 🙂
Great work Chris! Really excited about the Rookie Redemptions, can’t wait to find out what the twist is.
My favorite insert set in certified has always been the Freshman Fabric Signatures , I love the autographed rookies , I love how they are numbered , And i love how they have the word ” Rookie” that has been Die-Cut out of the card and has a piece of their jersey in the Background of the Die-Cut word !
My favourite insert from Certified would definitely have to be the Fabric of the Game – Path to the Cup prime inserts. Some much patchy goodness and recapturing all the post season moments! Second favourite would be the Rookie FF Signatures.
Certified is one of those sets where it could be of pretty much anything and look great. Garbage men, crossing guards, whatever. I like the idea of the numbering on the front now and also the hot box-specific memorabilia cards to really add to the chase of that one special box per case. Thanks for showing us the new product guys!
I also like the individual numbering on the front.
I’m a big fan of Goalies, so I have to go with the Masked Marvel set. I hope I get lucky enough to pull a memorabilia variation. My friend pulled one with the piece from the jersey tag, what a lucky son of a gun 🙂
Have to agree about Masked Marvels – the close-up photography is tremendous. Are there actually memorabilia versions this year? Haven’t seen any of those.
Also, the Pavelec patch you guys pulled seems like it is from a Winnipeg Jets jersey (as opposed to a Thrashers one). Do you now have game used Jets items in your products? I have only seen event worn stuff (from their rookies). Please let me know! Will have to change my answer to Fabric of the Game if that’s the case 😉
I love the Face Off cards, very sweet design, and nice big stick memorabilia. Only negative of that subset? No Blackhawks.
I also like the Path to the Cup series of cards. Although certainly more interesting if your team gets past the first round. I imagine if I was a Kings fan, I’d be all over those Path to the Cup cards.
Two things I love about the set are the Path to the Cup and the Freshman Fabrics.
The path to the cup is because I am a huge Devils fan and it nice to have some cards to reflect a pretty decent season where we exceeded most expectations.
The Freshman fabrics are always a favourite of mine and this season is no different. I love the large swatch size and modern design.
Goalie pulls would be my choice as it’s a neat idea and also the only Certified insert set featuring my PC guy this year. I’m for bringing more acetate cards back to the hobby as they are usually very cool-looking. I’ll also have to give a honorable mention to the Mirror parallels which look nostalgic to someone who used to collect cards in mid-late 90’s when jersey pieces were mostly unheard of and inserts looked shiny and pretty.
I think the Goalie Pulls are the most innovative out of this set. You can’t really execute that kind of idea with other sports in my opinion. Second, I love that all the base cards have foil on them. I think it adds slightly more value to the cards, which makes the consumers get more for what they pay for. All in all, another great product!
Path to the cup Mem cards and goalie pulls ….. nuff said. as always great stuff.
The Pulled Goalie cards! Especially the swatch ones are amazing! It was so surprising when I opened a pack of Certified to see Nabokov slide out! Awesome idea Panini!