Most Wanted: Two Panini Prime Captain's Cloth Cards

Well, for this post, I'm putting two of my most wanted together, because they are from similar sets and I want them for the same reason.

When Panini released their Prime hockey product in 2011, they took out to focus a hockey product on the memorabilia side of the hobby. Now, of course, autographs would pe a part of it, too, but it took its name from a jersey swatch unique to hockey. For Panini, at least, a "prime" jersey swatch isn't quite a patch, but more than just a plain piece of fabric. In most cases, "prime" refers to a seam of a jersey, and in most cases with hockey, involved two different-colored fabrics, giving it a very unique look. 

When I was heavily into box breaking, Prime was a somewhat regular break of mine, and I did pull quite a few interesting pieces of fabric-on-cardboard, but with these two, they came from purchases. The Captain's Cloth cards are limited to just two each, and feature half of a player's "C" for captain or "A" for alternate captain

Being a Pittsburgh Penguis fan and collector, a Sidney Crosby card like this is FAR out of my price range, but Brooks Orpik wasn't. He was named alternate captain for the team in 2008, following an injury to Sergei Gonchar, and held the designation until 2014, when he signed with the Washington Capitals.

There are so many things to like about this one in particular. It's great that they were able to include a photo of him on the side of the card without taking away from the swatch itself. As far as the fabric goes the colors are great, there's a cool texturing of the black fabric, and I love how the shoulder seam goes through the letter. And whether intentional or not, I love how it's the same version of the jersey depicted in the photo.

Next is the same type of card, from the year before. This one is of Zach Parise from 2011-12 Prime. While I became a big fan of Parise during his time with the Minnesota Wild, this is from his time with the New Jersey Devils, where he served as alternate captain from 2008-2011 and captain for the 2011-12 season. 

Like the Orpik card this one features the top half of the "A," but that is where the similarities end. the fabric itself is a little more plain, and no shoulder seam. This jersey could have been from before a design change. It also feature his time with the New Jersey Devils, which even though an important part of his career, isn't the team he was with when I became a big fan during his time with the Minnesota Wild.

Really, even just getting one of these would be huge, and make for an awesome hobby display. I haven't been the most dilligent in looking for these the past decade, so who knows if these are even for sale? They could have been tucked away in someone's closet, or maybe even still in unopened packs! Still, I plan on keeping my eyes open, just in case.