November 11, 2007

In The Game, Inc. began putting out the Heroes and Prospects hockey card set during the 2004-05 hockey season. This set has proven to be a favorite among hardcore and casual hockey card collectors alike. Each year the set delivers a great bang for your buck as it is fully loaded with autograph and game used memorabilia pieces of hockey equipment actually worn by players. The mix of hockey icons along with today's top players from the AHL, CHL and the International scene puts the Heroes and Prospects hockey card set in a class of its own.

This year’s set is better than previous years including an all new base card design with a retro twist and featuring a “more and less” theme. The “more and less” theme features fewer boxes being produced, making the set very limited, and 40 more hockey cards added to the regular base set. The additional 40 cards will be game used memorabilia cards from the CHL Top Prospects Game, the CHL’s showcase of future hockey stars.

The odds of pulling a CHL Top Prospects Game memorabilia hockey card are 1:20 or one in every 20 packs of hockey cards opened. Hockey players you will find in these cards are Brandon Sutter, Patrick Kane, Angelo Esposito, and Sam Gagner to name a few. Each hockey card from this part of the base set will feature an oversized piece of game worn jersey from the prominent CHL Top Prospects Game.

"We decided to push the envelope slightly with the Heroes and Prospects base set this season and wanted to offer collectors even more value in every box," said In The Game President Dr. Brian H. Price.

The set also features several familiar game used memorabilia insert sets, along with a few spectacular new memorabilia hockey cards. The memorabilia hockey card insert sets making their return are Game-Used Jersey, Game Used Emblem, Game Used Number, Heroes Memorabilia, Net Prospects, Complete Jersey, Double Memo, Quad Emblem, Triple Memo, and Complete Logo.

Game-Used Jersey Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

For the third year in a row, the Game-Used Jersey cards will feature a large swatch from a game-used jersey and the 60 different featured players are sure to appeal to prospect hunters.

Game Used Emblem and Game-Used Number Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

The Game-Used Emblem and Game-Used Number hockey cards often include colorful pieces that have strong visual appeal.

Heroes Memorabilia Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Heroes Memorabilia features top hockey stars in their junior or minor league uniforms. These hockey cards give you a shot at a piece of game-used hockey equipment.

Net Prospects Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Net Prospects depicts many of today's most popular young netminders such as Carey Price, Tuukka Rask and Justin Pogge.

Complete Jersey Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Throw in Complete Jersey with either three or four pieces from a player's sweater and the roster of memorabilia cards will dazzle even the most experienced of collectors.

Double Memorabilia and Triple Memorabilia Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Multiple swatches also abound in Double Memorabilia and Triple Memorabilia, collections that pair up top young stars that are sure to make an impact now or in the future.

Quad Emblem Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Last year's release of Heroes and Prospects saw the introduction of the Quad Emblem cards and collectors immediately started buzzing about this amazing set. With four premium pieces from game-used jerseys and a limited nature, there was a lot of excitement over them and they're back again in 2007-08 with even more collectible combinations.

Complete Logo Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Finally, we come to Complete Logo and longtime collectors of Heroes and Prospects are well-aware of these amazing cards. Each one contains a complete CHL or AHL logo from the depicted player's jersey and are limited to one copy each!

The newest additions to the memorabilia cards are My Country/My Team, Glovers Are Off, and Canada/Russia Challenge.

My Country/My Team Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

My Country, My Team takes players that have represented Canada at the international level and features two pieces of game-used memorabilia which have been taken from their national and club jerseys.

Gloves Are Off Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Gloves Are Off gives you the leather as pieces of game-used gloves from some of hockey's best young prospects are available on an attractive design.

Canada/Russia Challenge Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Canada/Russia Challenge is a salute to the amazing junior talents that took part in the 2006 ADT Canada/Russia Challenge and depicts players from the OHL, QMJHL and WHL.

Autograph Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

In addition to these memorabilia sets an autograph set of hockey cards will be featured as its own insert set. In The Game will not publish the exact number of copies, or serial number each of the hockey autograph cards. However, they will be noted as limited or extra-limited. The autograph cards will have a unique design and card number on the back of each hockey card.

CHL Duals Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

There will also be a subset of the base/regular cards called CHL Duals. The CHL Duals showcase a hockey player who is a current or recent junior player and displays them on the hockey card with a legend that played for the same club. The CHL duals should be found somewhere in the 140 hockey card base set.

Non-memorabilia Insert Heroes and Prospects Hockey Cards

Finally, Heroes and Prospects will also feature the following non-memorabilia hockey card insert sets once again this season: Calder Cup Champions (found in Hobby packs) and Memorial Cup Champions (found in Arena packs) cards.

The previous two insert sets, widely popular in previous sets, are joined by a new concept called Tavares' Firsts. These cards will only be found in the Arena Blaster Versions of the cards.

Tavares’ Firsts feature some exciting events so far in the junior career of The Oshawa Generals’ John Tavares. Tavares is one of the hottest prospects in the hockey card collecting hobby today. During the 2006-07 CHL Season this teenage sensation broke the record for most goals by a 16 year old at 72. Previously the record was held by Wayne Gretzky at 70. During the same season Tavares was the CHL Player of the Year and was named the OHL MVP. During his rookie season, 2005-06, he was named the CHL Rookie of The Year. John Tavares’ future prospects in the game are unlimited making the Tavares’ Firsts insert set a perfect fit into this year’s Heroes and Prospects hockey card set.

He Shoots He Scores Decoy Redemption Hockey Cards

Hockey card collectors will also have a chance to earn limited game-used memorabilia cards through the popular He Shoots, He Scores Decoy / Redemption Card Program. For every pack of hockey cards that does not have a memorabilia card inside an extra thick redemption decoy card, valued at one point, will be inserted. Once 250 points are accumulated hockey card collectors can redeem them for unique and limited edition memorabilia hockey cards.

Obviously, In The Game has put a lot of thought, care, and effort into bringing this top notch hockey card product to the market. Its no wonder In The Game has earned a reputation for producing some of the most impressive game used memorabilia hockey cards in the hobby. You are sure to find some of the most attractive and highest quality cards every produced with consistently low production quantities to ensure collectibility. Last years set of Heroes and Prospects blew away collectors and the 2007-08 version is even better. It’s obvious that ITG has over delivered with this years set of Heroes and Prospects hockey cards. For ordering information and checklists visit ITG Inc.’s 2007-08 Heroes and Prospects hockey cards information page.