There is a new face in the hockey card world starting this fall, and information about Panini’s line of products is starting to be released.  It looks like the first product released by Panini will be 2010-2011 Certified Hockey.  It is not an entry level product, more mid-range, with pack prices in the $10 range.  The configuration looks like 5 cards per pack, 10 packs per box, 8 boxes per case.  That should end up around $100 for a box, if my math is correct.

This is a bit of a departure – for the duration of the Upper Deck Exclusive, the season kicked off with Victory and other low-end products.  As a higher end offering, it remains to be seen how well Panini does without the newest rookies, and also with player changes over the summer.  I’ve seen a checklist, and there are lots of TBA slots on it, so hopefully it can be as up to date as possible.

Panini is bringing back some of the old school parallels, including Mirror Black (1/1) and Mirror Gold (/25).  A box of Pinnacle Certified should yield the following:  1 autograph, 2 memorabilia cards, an additional autograph or memorabilia card, 1 Mirror Red (/250),  and 4 more parallels or inserts.

Notable insert sets for Certified include:  Big Men on Campus (featuring top players who spent time in the NCAA) and Junior Legacy (dual cards featuring players who came up through CHL ranks).  There are also rookie cards of the held back players from last season, including Nazem Kadri, Brayden Irwin and PK Subban.