Product Preview: 2 packs of 2012-13 Panini Certified

Today marked the release of 2012-13 Panini Certified Hockey. I will admit that I was underwhelmed with last year's issue. The cards ended up slightly warped, they attracted fingerprints like crazy, and I ended up with two boxes worth of average to below-average hits (Box 1 Box 2).

Still, with me being hockey-starved during the lockout, I had to jump into this new release headfirst.

I ended up buying two boxes and two packs from my LCS. I'll show you the two individual packs now, and then reveal the contents of the boxes.

That's what we in the industry call a "tease."

Pack 1:
Base: Loui Eriksson, Brad Marchand, Rene Bourque, Matt Martin
Insert: T.J. Oshie & Jonathan Quick Path to the Cup (Semifinals Game 4) 167/299

Pack 2:
Base: Nicklas Lidstrom, T.J. Oshie, Sam Gagner, Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Gonchar
Hit: Chris Kunitz Fabric of the Game 43/299

I actually like the look of this set overall, and they managed to use a foilboard this year that doesn't smudge so easily. I also like how they concentrate more on just the image of the player, instead of overdoing the background and border, like last year's issue.

I ended up getting some cool stuff in my boxes, too, including another Penguin hit! I'll get them posted up as soon as I get them written (hopefully one Saturday night and one Sunday night).

Anyway, if anyone is looking for a good hockey product, go give them a look.