2009-10 ITG Heroes and Prospects

In The Game is quickly becoming my favourite Hockey card producer. I know that my choices are currently limited, but sometimes ITG knocks something out of the park, like BTP last year, or 1972. The only set I have a problem with really is their Heroes and Prospect set, which will be the focus of this review.

I have no problem with a set for upcoming hockey players. I'm sure there are people out there who value such a set. Its just that I'm employed full time, trade hockey cards, post a blog and live a life, so if I have to choose between watching NHL hockey and the various, younger leagues, (CHL, AHL, etc.) unfortunately the NHL wins. Sometimes these younger players makes some great plays, don't get me wrong. Its just that I feel that the on-ice quality of the product (presentation, skills, frequency, availability, etc.) is covered nicely in NHL level hockey.

ITG has released a Heroes & Prospects set every year since 2004-05. Its a nice mixed bag product which features base cards, autos, inserts and some really kicking pieces of game used jerseys. In addition to some really nice designs on the jerseys, the back of the card will actually tell you from which team the jersey comes from. This is a pretty big plus when compared to Upper Deck's certification which even leaves question marks as to whether you are even getting a jersey piece at all.

I'm generally not impressed with the designs from ITG, but I think they really look nice in this set. You can take a look at their release page. I would be supremely happy if other sets followed suit in terms of design. The base cards have a sharp player picture, although I would like to see a variety of backgrounds. Why is everyone staring up and to the left except for the bearded guy? While its nice to see Santa Claus in the back there enjoying some hockey in his time off, its a little creepy seeing him in every photo.

One of the best designs in this set seems to be the enforcers insert. Each card seems to show an action shot of an enforcer in action. Its not often you get to see an enforcer in action on a card, so its a very unique opportunity.

There's also a secondary set in here that seems to be gathering a nice quiet following. There's a small Real Heroes set which honours those hockey players who fought in the war. I haven't gone through every name, but a cursory glance shows quite a few Toronto Maple Leafs, and its owner, Conn Smythe, pictured below. If you aren't familiar with this period in history, the short version is this. Before the draft, you may have been looked down on by your neighbour if you didn't go bravely off to fight. It was considered the patriotic thing to do, especially for a young strapping Hockey player. If you didn't want to go, playing hockey didn't necessarily save you from the draft. Sometimes NHL players got drafted and in  war times, the NHL was short of players who went off to serve their country. A couple died (literally two - both of whom are in this set), most lived. All of them served proudly. If you're interested about learning more about this issue. I suggest this article by Joe @ the Greatest Hockey Legends & more at your local library.

 
On to the print runs. ITG is great for posting print run numbers for most of their product. You can view the majority of the runs on this page. Generally, they don't provide the print runs for base or inserts, so that's what's going to be covered. From the product info page, each box should pull two auto cards and two game used cards (auto versions of the game used cards count as game used cards). The good news is that we can figure out the following:

Total production is ~520 Cases
Of the 119 Autos (ITG promos say over 125, but their auto list on the website only lists 119 different cards), the average print run is ~90 which is just about right for this release. Although, there will likely be short prints which means the average print run for the autos will be higher.

Unfortunately, that's all I can give. Until I know how many and which kinds of inserts get released in a box, its all a toss up for the rest. Ill post an update as soon as I find something. The degree of breaks for this product will probably be less than SPX, but way more than Collector's Choice.