SCH_Reviewer
01-27-2010, 07:41 PM
WHO: In The Game, Inc. (http://www.itgtradingcards.com/)
WHAT: 2009-10 Heroes & Prospects (http://www.itgtradingcards.com/products/0910_hp/0910_hp_info.html)
VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMwanPOG21A
SCANS:http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775654940_NJDWx-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775654981_B4NW7-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655013_A249S-O-1.jpg
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655340_CT3vE-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655091_VE8He-O-1.jpg
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655309_AK8mt-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655054_p64mk-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655269_ZP5bT-O-1.jpg
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655194_iqFEx-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655230_PYZhE-O-1.jpg
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655159_VbLYV-O-1.jpg
WHAT WE THINK:
In The Game Heroes and Prospects combines classic players from the NHL and its future stars in the same product! This stuff is limited in print run but delivers a lot of action and chances at some really stellar cards. Each box yields six hits on average!
The main base set is comprised mostly of players from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and American Hockey League (AHL) and totals 150 cards. The cards are thin card stock with a glossy finish on back and front. It took awhile to realize that the background pictures on the base cards are all the same, but since it is faded out, one can hardly notice when up against the excellent quality action shots of the players. On the backside of the card, there is the previous year’s statistics along with a short bio of the player which is extremely helpful, especially when these are up and coming, not yet established players. While ITG has always catered to the die-hard hockey collector, every bit of information is appreciated.
There are five insert sets within the product and each are nicely laid out and thorough. One detraction from the inserts were that none of them were serial numbered - that's always a great way for collectors to get a simplified understanding of the value of the card (by the print run.) In our box, we received cards from the subsets of “Enforcers”, “Calder Cup Winners”, and “Class of 2010.” The class of 2010 card is actually a redemption card with a very unique and fun concept. On the back of the card, there is a silver stamped number. If the player depicted on the card is drafted at that position in the draft, you can send it in for a game-used memorabilia card limited to only 10 copies. This adds a lot of fun and excitement to the standard insert set, as well as the draft!
As stated before, there are six hits per box on average. For an 18 pack box, those are pretty good odds for snagging hits. Our box only produced 5 hits, but all of them were very nice. One thing can be said very clearly about In The Game.....they get it. The autographs and game-used memorabilia cards need to highlight and accentuate the auto/gu piece and not make it hard to find or notice. The autographs are sticker autographs, but placed very nicely with great head shots of the players and their names clearly written on the front. The stickers are clear and over a logo of the player's team. The one downside to the autographs and game used memorabilia cards, just like the inserts, is that they are not serial numbered. One of our game used hits does have a print run listing on the back, but it says “1 of 30” and does not specify which one it is. While it does let you know about the print run and therefore rarity of the card, one can only imagine that every one that ever ends up on eBay will be labeled a “1/1.”
Our memorabilia pieces were terrific - none of them were white jersey pieces! The best one was the dual jersey of all-time NHL great Patrick Roy and current Montreal netminder Carey Price. Again, In The Game gets it as they emphasize the memorabilia pieces as all “game used” and not ever part of a photo shoot or draft event. That is a great promise to get from the manufacturer. The Jumbo Jersey we got of Carter Ashton is a great design that shows off the very large piece of fabric but also has a nice head-shot. Even though that is considered a jumbo, The other jersey we got of Mark Katic is very decent sized and designed extremely well.
One would think that ITG is targeting a smaller audience with the CHL and AHL, but the interest ought to be much greater than followers of those leagues. Who are these cards for? Well hockey fans sure, but any collector of great memorabilia and autograph cards that wants to have fun putting a set together should also try a box of these. In The Game gives you quality hits, fun photos, great inserts and a lot of value in every box.
PULL OF THE BOX
2009-10 ITG Heroes and Prospects Autographs #AJE Jordan Eberle
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655129_xHQ2e-O-1.jpg
Tough call between this and the Patrick Roy, but we're going with the potential of Eberle!
RATING:
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774974058_cZK52-O.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774974058_cZK52-O.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774974058_cZK52-O.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774974058_cZK52-O.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774971804_TXQiX-O-2.jpg
4.5 logos out of 5 on this product! Fun to open and excellent looking hits!
Our thanks to In The Game, Inc. (http://www.itgtradingcards.com/) for providing us with this product to open and review. Please support In The Game, Inc. (http://www.topps.com/) and SCH by purchasing their products.
WHAT: 2009-10 Heroes & Prospects (http://www.itgtradingcards.com/products/0910_hp/0910_hp_info.html)
VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMwanPOG21A
SCANS:http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775654940_NJDWx-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775654981_B4NW7-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655013_A249S-O-1.jpg
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655340_CT3vE-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655091_VE8He-O-1.jpg
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655309_AK8mt-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655054_p64mk-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655269_ZP5bT-O-1.jpg
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655194_iqFEx-O-1.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655230_PYZhE-O-1.jpg
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655159_VbLYV-O-1.jpg
WHAT WE THINK:
In The Game Heroes and Prospects combines classic players from the NHL and its future stars in the same product! This stuff is limited in print run but delivers a lot of action and chances at some really stellar cards. Each box yields six hits on average!
The main base set is comprised mostly of players from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and American Hockey League (AHL) and totals 150 cards. The cards are thin card stock with a glossy finish on back and front. It took awhile to realize that the background pictures on the base cards are all the same, but since it is faded out, one can hardly notice when up against the excellent quality action shots of the players. On the backside of the card, there is the previous year’s statistics along with a short bio of the player which is extremely helpful, especially when these are up and coming, not yet established players. While ITG has always catered to the die-hard hockey collector, every bit of information is appreciated.
There are five insert sets within the product and each are nicely laid out and thorough. One detraction from the inserts were that none of them were serial numbered - that's always a great way for collectors to get a simplified understanding of the value of the card (by the print run.) In our box, we received cards from the subsets of “Enforcers”, “Calder Cup Winners”, and “Class of 2010.” The class of 2010 card is actually a redemption card with a very unique and fun concept. On the back of the card, there is a silver stamped number. If the player depicted on the card is drafted at that position in the draft, you can send it in for a game-used memorabilia card limited to only 10 copies. This adds a lot of fun and excitement to the standard insert set, as well as the draft!
As stated before, there are six hits per box on average. For an 18 pack box, those are pretty good odds for snagging hits. Our box only produced 5 hits, but all of them were very nice. One thing can be said very clearly about In The Game.....they get it. The autographs and game-used memorabilia cards need to highlight and accentuate the auto/gu piece and not make it hard to find or notice. The autographs are sticker autographs, but placed very nicely with great head shots of the players and their names clearly written on the front. The stickers are clear and over a logo of the player's team. The one downside to the autographs and game used memorabilia cards, just like the inserts, is that they are not serial numbered. One of our game used hits does have a print run listing on the back, but it says “1 of 30” and does not specify which one it is. While it does let you know about the print run and therefore rarity of the card, one can only imagine that every one that ever ends up on eBay will be labeled a “1/1.”
Our memorabilia pieces were terrific - none of them were white jersey pieces! The best one was the dual jersey of all-time NHL great Patrick Roy and current Montreal netminder Carey Price. Again, In The Game gets it as they emphasize the memorabilia pieces as all “game used” and not ever part of a photo shoot or draft event. That is a great promise to get from the manufacturer. The Jumbo Jersey we got of Carter Ashton is a great design that shows off the very large piece of fabric but also has a nice head-shot. Even though that is considered a jumbo, The other jersey we got of Mark Katic is very decent sized and designed extremely well.
One would think that ITG is targeting a smaller audience with the CHL and AHL, but the interest ought to be much greater than followers of those leagues. Who are these cards for? Well hockey fans sure, but any collector of great memorabilia and autograph cards that wants to have fun putting a set together should also try a box of these. In The Game gives you quality hits, fun photos, great inserts and a lot of value in every box.
PULL OF THE BOX
2009-10 ITG Heroes and Prospects Autographs #AJE Jordan Eberle
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/775655129_xHQ2e-O-1.jpg
Tough call between this and the Patrick Roy, but we're going with the potential of Eberle!
RATING:
http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774974058_cZK52-O.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774974058_cZK52-O.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774974058_cZK52-O.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774974058_cZK52-O.jpg http://mattfever.smugmug.com/photos/774971804_TXQiX-O-2.jpg
4.5 logos out of 5 on this product! Fun to open and excellent looking hits!
Our thanks to In The Game, Inc. (http://www.itgtradingcards.com/) for providing us with this product to open and review. Please support In The Game, Inc. (http://www.topps.com/) and SCH by purchasing their products.