Panini Peek: 2010-11 Dominion Hockey

[The Question]

My hands are a little shaky at the moment so you’ll*have to excuse any typos in this post. I just spent the last 10 minutes marveling at the preliminary product information and images for 2010-11 Dominion Hockey . . . and I can’t stop shaking.

Frankly, I*don’t even know where to begin previewing*a product of this magnitude.



Dominion, without question one of the most anticipated new launches of the entire collecting year across all sports, packs a*stop-you-in-your-tracks wallop that will have collectors buzzing from now until*well after the*product*launches in late July. Heck, the name debate alone — Dominion instead of National Treasures — has had people talking for months already.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned over more than two decades in this industry, it’s that hockey collectors are unique,” says Panini America NHL Brand Manager Al Muir. “They’re an island unto themselves and they expect to be treated in a way that recognizes and celebrates that quality. Dominion is built specifically for hockey collectors, by hockey collectors. The name itself says as much.

“Everyone’s heard of the Stanley Cup, but only true hockey fans know its original name is the Dominion Challenge Cup. We wanted to honor that legacy with Dominion Hockey.”

To that end, the product*promises a*high-end, heirloom-quality collecting experience brimming with cut signatures, hard-signed autographs galore, mesmerizing memorabilia selections and*a guaranteed “wow” factor. Every eight-card box carries a $350 suggested retail price and*delivers six autograph or memorabilia hits (at least three autographs guaranteed including at least one hard-signed Rookie Card).

Highlighting Dominion’s*myriad collection-making cornerstones are . . .

• Kindest Cuts 1/1 cut signatures*honoring the greatest hockey legends of*all time
• The hockey debut of Pen Pals autographs*featuring signatures of*two, three or four hockey greats on one card, with Duals numbered to 50, Triples numbered to 25 and Quads numbered to 5
• Peerless Patches Dual and Quad booklet cards featuring the choicest pieces of memorabilia from hockey’s greatest stars of yesterday and today
• Engravatures cards embedded with*pieces of real silver*that are engraved with the names of*former Stanley Cup*winner –*just like on the real thing — limited to just 10 copies
• The return of Nifty 50, one of the hobby’s most famous insert names,*complete with hard autographs of hockey’s fabled single-season 50-goal scorers
• Brass Bonanza on-card autographs that pay tribute to the legends of the Hartford Whalers, all numbered to 50 or less
• The unique Tape to Tape insert featuring autographs from stars on actual tape sliced from their game-used hockey sticks

“We know what collectors want, and we packed it into Dominion,” Muir says. “You like hard-signed autographs? Every signature in Dominion is on-card. You like ultra short-printed RCs? In the past you’ve had to settle for a handful. Dominion brings 20 hard-signed/patch RCs*limited to just 99 copies. You expect oversized premium swatches? We deliver them with Peerless Patches booklet cards,*Rookie Showcase inserts and the Mammoth Memorabilia cards — those swatches*are so big we could barely fit a photo into the design. We also have some sweet new concepts like Engravatures, Tape to Tape Autographs, Ring of Honour*Memorabilia and many more.

“The hobby is built on supply and demand. We know the demand will be there. But we can also tell you this: The supply will be very limited. Dominion isn’t a product for the masses. This is for the high-end hobbyists, the whales. Even they’ll have to fight among themselves for it with these quantities. Should make for a dynamic secondary market for Dominion.”

Enjoy the following gallery and stay tuned to The Knight’s Lance for complete Dominion updates.




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