Configuration: 24 packs per box. 5 cards per pack.
Every insert set features a signed variation! If you're an autograph hound, Contenders is the brand for you!
Lottery Winners features the most coveted prospects selected over the past five years!
A brief interview with Panini America Hockey Brand Manager Al Muir, the creative mind behind the development of 2010-11 Contenders Hockey:
It's no secret that Contenders has a long, rich history on the football field. What about the brand that makes it so well suited for the hockey rink?
Hockey collectors tend to be pretty narrowly focused on our own stuff--most of us collect hockey and nothing else--but every nowand then, we'll run across a chase set or a brand from another sport that makes us wonder what it would be like to see something similar in hockey. I always felt that way about Contenders. I mean, it's an instantly identifiable brand--nothing else looks quite like it--and I think that will make it compelling to hockey collectors who are looking for something unique to pursue. Add that to the brand's legacy of value thanks to the Rookie Tickets subset and it was the most obvious choice from Panini's stable of brands to make the transition to hockey.
What does the collector in you find most appealing in the history-making hockey premiere of Contenders?
Tough not to mention the Golden Tickets. It's a set loaded with the hottest rookies--Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Jeff Skinner--, the stars of today--Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos--and the game's greatest legends--Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Patrick Roy. They're not just 1/1s...these things have real, intrinsic value based on the 11 grams of real gold that goes into making each one. I can only imagine what a thrill it'll be for the lucky collectors who pull these. And I really dig The Great Outdoors set that captures highlights from the Winter Classic and Heritage Classic. Great design, sharp photography and an autographed parallel. I think this will be one of those insert setsthat everyone wants to build.
Obviously, this product's calling cards will be the autographed Rookie Tickets, but what will Contenders Hockey bring to the brand that perhaps football and basketball have not?
Contenders as a brand has a lot going for it, but there's no way hockey collectors would accept a pre-fab release that was lifted directly from a previous football or basketball program. This will be recognizable as a Contenders release, but our team knew it had to *feel*like a hockey set, so we came up with some great concepts. The Great Outdoors is certainly one of them. So is Against The Glass, a chase set that really makes the most of acetate, and Leather Larceny, a set that captures stellar glove stops on a leather card stock. These are all elements that really couldn't be done for the other sports, and that's what made them so vital for a hockey version of Contenders.
