2021-22 Allure Hockey Box Break

The Allure hockey card set that was supposed to come out last year — during the 2021-22 season — came out this year, in 2023. That’s pretty standard these days, with the trading card industry still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some sets come out on time, while others — such as the 2021-22 Allure hockey card set — are late by a season or more. 

Allure cards are known for their thick, chromium cardstock, giving the cards a nice heft and a metal look to them. A hobby box of 2021-22 Allure has eight packs, with each pack containing eight cards. Allure promises you one autographed card per box, on average. Not too long ago, I opened a box of 2021-22 Allure. Let’s see what’s inside.

37 Base Cards

Cards 1-100 are the base set. None of my 37 base cards were doubles of each other. Allure cards don’t scan too well and always look darker, but they are a shiny silver in color. 

Card backs have five years of stats and career totals, as well as vitals like height and weight. 


Related: Puck Junk Podcast #150: 2021-22 Allure Hockey Cards


8 Allure Rookies

Cards 101-150 are Allure Rookies. You get one Allure Rookie in each hobby pack, for a total of 8. That makes the full set (1-150) fairly easy to put together. 

3 Black Rainbow Parallels

Oh yes, there are parallels galore because — as I like to say — Deck gonna deck. First up, I got three Black Rainbow Parallels: Tim Stutzle, Mitch Marner, and Quinton Byfield, who also appears on the box. 

2 Red Rainbow Parallels

Red Rainbow Parallels look sweet! They have a pixel-y background, kind of like the Red Mosaic Prizm cards that Panini put out a decade ago. The two I got in my box were Kole Lind and Nikita Kucherov. 

1 Orange Slice Die-Cut Parallel

It’s orange…and it’s been sliced! Sigh! Anyway, Orange Slice Parallels are die-cut and have a shiny orange background.

1 Blue Line Parallel

The last parallel I got was a Blue Line Parallel of Kirill Kaprizov. This card has a shiny blue foil background and is numbered 08/35.

Rainbow Inserts 

There are Rainbow insert cards that either have the full spectrum behind the player — known as “Double Rainbow,” or five different two-color Rainbow inserts: Red/Orange, Orange/Yellow, Yellow/Green, Green/Blue, and Blue/Purple. When you collect all five and put them together, the backgrounds and bottom borders all flow into each other, making for an interesting visual presentation like this: 

No, I did not get these in my box. But look at how cool it is when you chase the Rainbow and then complete it!

2 Red/Orange Rainbow Inserts

As the name implies, Red/Orange Rainbow have just red and orange in the background. I got Jesse Ylonen and Hendrix Lapierre. 

1 Green/Blue Rainbow Insert 

Another Hendrix Lapierre, but this one is the Green/Blue Rainbow. That’s my THIRD Hendrix Lapierre card in this box of Allure. Not sure why, but this card is serial-numbered 242/299. It seems kind of cruel to make thise cool, colorful five-card puzzle and then just arbitrarily make one of the pieces serial-numbered to make something that is already challenging unnecessarily  even more challenging. 

1 Yellow/Green Rainbow Insert 

Jack Huges was my lone Yellow/Green insert. 

1 Double Rainbow Inserts

Another Jack Hughes! Yay…? I guess these are called Double Rainbow because they are twice as thick as the standard Rainbow inserts? This card also features the full spectrum behind the player. 

Other Inserts

The rest of the inserts were less-colorful. 

2 Quartz Inserts 

There were two Quartz inserts in my box: Joe Pavelski and Jamie Drysdale. I’m not sure I see the appeal or — sorry — allure of these inserts 

1 Hustle, Hit & Never Quit Insert

Anders Lee is the only Hustle, Hit & Never Quit insert that I pulled from my box of Allure. Like the Quartz inserts, they are printed on a shiny chromium cardstock and do not scan too well. 

1 Control Room

OK, I kinda like the Control Room inserts. There’s a bunch of little screens behind Trevor Zegras, which re-use parts of his picture. It’s like you are in a security office, with all the little TVs…or a control room, I guess. Reminds me of the scene in “The Matrix: Reloaded” where Neo meets the Architect, and there’s all those little TV screens in the background with bits of his life playing over and over. 

The Guaranteed Autograph

Allure boasts one autograph per box, on average. And I got one autograph. Guess that makes me — or rather, my box of Allure — average. 

1 Allure Rainbow Autograph

I got Parker Kelly because why not? After going on a tear in 2020-21, scoring one goal in exactly one game, Kelly has cooled down, scoring eight goals and eight assists in 96 games played over the next two seasons.  Yes, it is a “sticker-graph” but at least the sticker wasn’t affixed upside down. 

My ennui for Allure last year stemmed from the fact that it cost around $140 per box. This year, Allure has quickly cooled to about $110 per box, making it a little more palatable. (Hey, that’s *only* $13.75 per pack instead of $17.50 per pack!) I do like the various Rainbow Inserts that make a large, five-card  “pentaptych.” Plus, getting an autograph in a box in this day and age where that’s not so common anymore is a huge plus. Allure is great if you like shiny cards, a fairly easy set to build, and being guaranteed an autographed card. 

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Author: Sal Barry

Sal Barry is the editor and webmaster of Puck Junk. He is a freelance hockey writer, college professor and terrible hockey player. Follow him on Twitter @puckjunk

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