Panini Peek: 2013-14 Crown Royale Hockey

A few aspects of the 2013-14 Crown Royale Hockey sales solicitation that just crossed my email inbox really struck me, so I figured I’d begin this Panini Peek preview with these thoughts: Crown Royale’s trademark Silhouettes remain some of the coolest cards you’ll ever see, no matter how many times in how many different sports you see them — and you’ll see them again (with a few aesthetic tweaks) when 2013-14 Crown Royale Hockey releases in late February.

Something else you’ll see, as I did almost immediately when scouring the solicitation, is that 2013-14 Crown Royale Hockey features some elaborate new die-cutting that injects considerable pop to cards from the Regal Achievements and Heirs to the Throne inserts.

To be sure, there’s a lot more to like about 2013-14 Crown Royale Hockey, too — like the return of the popular Fans of the Game autographed insert, the pyramid power of the Panini’s Choice Award autographs and fit-for-a-king die-cuts of the base set.

The product’s hobby highlights are many and include . . .

• One autograph or memorabilia card per pack with a minimum of one autograph per box; there are four packs per box (five cards per pack) and 12 boxes per case.
• Find all-new Silhouette Autographs for rookies and veterans falling roughly four per case.
• Panini’s Choice Autographs this year feature four collectible tiers of players.
• In addition to the return of Fans of the Game, 2013-14 Crown Royale Hockey also includes the return of Voices of the Game highlighting NHL television personalities and National Anthem singers.

As luck would have it, the legendary Joe Nieuwendyk stopped by Panini America HQ this morning to sign his 2013-14 Crown Royale Hockey Silhouettes, so we included a picture of that masterpiece in the gallery that follows. (Stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance later today for a must-see episode of Panini Unwrapped starring Nieuwendyk and 2013-14 Titanium Hockey.)

We’ll have more pre-release coverage of 2013-14 Crown Royale Hockey in the coming weeks. But until then, enjoy this extended first look:

All information is accurate at the time of posting. Content is subject to change. Card images are solely for the purpose of design display.