Panini Unwrapped Special Edition: Newest Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk

It's not every day you find out that a true-to-life NHL legend will soon be in your midst. So when Panini America NHL acquisitions specialist Alex Carbajal told me last Friday morning that three-time Stanley Cup champion Joe Nieuwendyk was coming into the office later that afternoon to sign some of his autographed cards, I did what anyone in my position would do: I picked my…

On the Routing Table: Zenith Hockey, Gold Standard Basketball, Prestige Football

It's been way too long since last we visited the fabled Panini America Routing Table, what with its seemingly never-ending stack of early looks at products in various stages of early development. Admittedly, its location in the new building near Product Development and Design -- far, far away from the marketing department -- makes frequent sojourns to its four-legged loot more difficult, but…

Panini Peek: 2010-11 Luxury Suite Hockey

In early June, just as the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs are reaching their crescendo, Panini America will revolutionize high-end hockey collecting with the launch of 2010-11 Luxury Suite Hockey, a $50-for-three-cards thrill ride in which every card in the set is either a memorabilia card, an autograph card, an autographed memorabilia card or a Rookie Card. By design, the truly unique concept -- names like "Nothing…