Panini Prime Hockey

It’s time for a second installment of new additions to my Avalanche card collection and where they come from on Avalanche jerseys.

I’ve found myself, as the card companies use pretty much every part of the jersey now in their cards, being drawn to the non-jersey and non-Avalanche emblem crest and shoulder patch fabric pieces. Cuts from tags and branding from the jerseys have been getting way more of my attention lately. This makes sense based on how I appreciate the smaller details about jerseys the way I do. The first two cards in this post are the latest cards in my collection that are perfect examples of the details I love most about jerseys.

The first card is a Gabriel Landeskog tag card from 2013-2014 Panini Dominion. It’s numbered 3/3.

Most people would look at this card and simply see a plain, boring two-color patch. I see the right side of the Reebok patch from the top of the back of the neck of a white Avalanche jersey. I have a white Milan Hejduk game used jersey from the 2011-2012 season. Here’s the entire back. Look just above Hejduk’s name for the patch.

A closer look:

Next, a P.A. Parenteau tag card from Upper Deck’s 2013-2014 SP Game Used product numbered 3/3. This one caught my eye right away.

This is from the size hang tag located on the inside of the back of the neck. I see this tag on pretty much every jersey in my collection.

The third card is a Paul Stastny patch card from 2013-2014 Edition of Upper Deck’s SP Game Used set. This comes from the far right side of the nameplate and is numbered 4/12.

If I have my facts right the card includes the bottom right side of the “N” and the middle bottom of the “Y” in Stastny from a burgundy Avalanche jersey. For reference:

Next, an Adam Foote Prime Colors Numbers card from Panini’s 2012-2013 Prime release numbered 4/6.

This card is from one of the sleeve numbers on a white Avalanche jersey. And based on how the numbers are cut this piece is from a jersey Adam Foote wore after he returned to the Avs in 2008.

Some of the patches companies place in cards are upside down so keeping this in mind helps as someone tries to figure out where cards came from on the jersey. This card, however, is right side up. The right side of the “5” is on the left and the left side of the “2” is on the right.

The last card in the post is a little older and doesn’t feature a piece of jersey, patch, or tag, but it is new to my collection and definitely work a look. I just thought I would share because of his recent decision to retire from the National Hockey League.

This is a Milan Hejduk 1/1 base card from the 2009-2010 Upper Deck SP Game Used set. Being a one of a kind of one of my favorite Avs players of all-time made it something that I wanted acquire and share.

So that’s it for the second of installment of many in this ongoing series. Hope you enjoyed the cards and the information. Now back to eBay to look for more treasures.

Let’s Go Avs.

My jersey ~~problem~~ ~~addiction~~ passion has been well documented here throughout the years, but cards were my passion way before jerseys. I have been collecting sports cards of all types for over 30 years. My collection and its focus has definitely evolved over time, just like the hobby has, but my interest and “thrill for the hunt” has never wavered. I thought now would be as good as time as ever to share some of my game used Avalanche cards and where they came from on the jerseys. I find it interesting to perform the research and it’s fun for me to document and share. Definitely a win-win.

To best bridge that gap between my jerseys and my cards, Panini America produces a set of Prime Authentics cards in their Prime release. These cards feature tagging that’s placed within the NHL jerseys that are worn by the teams on the ice. The Colorado Avalanche use MeiGray as their authenticator, so their Prime Authentics cards feature the MeiGray tag that’s sewn into every jersey every Avs player wears throughout the NHL season.

To begin, here is one of J.S. Giguere’s Prime Authentics cards from the 2012-2013 Panini Prime set. It is numbered 2/2 (printed on the left side of the front of the card), meaning that there is another one of these full tag cards out there somewhere.

MeiGray releases a population report every season documenting when each jersey was worn so all the details that I need to figure out which jersey this tag was on is pretty simple. It is from Jiggy’s set one alternate jersey worn during the 2011-2012 season.

Next, here is a Gabriel Landeskog card from the same set. It’s numbered 3/3. There is one more of the three on eBay right now, but the seller is asking way too much for it. That happens. That also makes me happy I have this one.

This is also from the Avalanche’s first set of alternate jerseys they wore during the 2011-2012 season.

The last from this set in my collection (until more come along, obviously) is a Matt Duchene numbered 2/2. The original seller of this card started the price at a little higher than what the card was worth but they incrementally dropped the price until I couldn’t resist anymore. Those are the eBay sellers that I prefer. That’s how you move cards and make money.

The number on this tag indicates that this jersey was the burgundy set three jersey Duchene wore during the 2011-2012 season.

Panini Prime Hockey includes many other awesome subsets as well. Next up is the Prime Colors series. This features patches cut from emblems and patches on the jerseys. When I saw this unique patch I had to have this card.

This is a Paul Stastny patch numbered 12/17 from the 2011-2012 Panini Prime Prime Colors set. The patch was worn in one game during Paul Statsny’s rookie season so I easily can track the history behind this jersey as well. It was worn on January 5, 2007 at Pepsi Center. This was a promotional set of jerseys each NHL team created in partnership with Garth Brooks’ Teammates for Kids Foundation. The jerseys were then auctioned off and the proceeds benefited the cause. I have a Ben Guite game issued jersey from that game in my collection so I can share with you exactly what an entire jersey made for or worn in that game looked like.

It’s a little disappointing that a jersey that was worn in only one game has now become pieces of jersey in hockey cards, but when card companies acquire jerseys they obviously have that option.

Last, the Panini Prime set features a subset called Genuine Letters. These cards are entire letters cut from the nameplates of game worn jerseys. I featured my 2011-2012 Milan Hejduk complete Genuine Letters set in a blog post here. And just for reference:

I’m not planning on completing this set, but a Gabriel Landeskog Genuine Letters card from the 2012-2013 set made its way to my collection not too long ago.

This card, as you can see toward the bottom of the front, is numbered 5/9. This doesn’t mean that there are nine of these “E” cards available, this means that “E” is the fifth letter in Landeskog’s last name. Also, it’s easy to see that this comes from an alternate jersey that Landy wore on the ice. Unlike the MeiGray tag cards though, it’s impossible to tell which alternate jersey this came from.

This will be the first of a series of posts that I’ll write about some of the cards in my collection. I’m looking forward to sharing what I already have in my collection, as well as the cards that will join my collection in the future. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

And, as always, whether it’s jerseys or cards, Let’s Go Avs.

Cards and Where They Come From, Part Two

Cards and Where They Come From, Part One