2013-14 Prime Pascal Dupuis Prime Skates Extreme 1/1

Here is, by far, one of the coolest cards I own.  Each year that Panini has released Prime, they pushed the boundaries further ahead in regard to what they are able to do with memorabilia cards. This started off with Prime Ties and Prime Gloves Insignia the first couple of years, but this year they gave the players' hockey skates the 1/1 treatment with Prime Skates Extreme.

I was lucky enough to win an Ebay auction for one of two Penguins given the Prime Skates treatment, Pascal Dupuis. Regular versions of the card are numbered /25-/50, depending on the player, and feature a solid square swatch of the skate. The Extreme parallels take the concept to the next level, featuring a jumbo-sized swatch of the stake's logo, and each are numbered 1/1. As you can see, it is a stunning card, and it also has a feature I always enjoy with premium memorabilia cards, in that the logo has an effect of busting out of the card, as the "Bauer" comes up just a little bit higher than the surface of the card.

Upon doing a little research, I was able to identify the skate as a Bauer Vapor X7.0. There is currently a pair of game-used skates on Ebay, which are tempting, but after what I spent on this card, combined with my need to buy a box of Prime (as soon as my LCS gets restocked), and the upcoming release of National Treasures, I think I'll just have to look at these from a distance.