2005-06 In The Game Heroes & Prospects

In The Game is pleased to announce the 2005-06 edition of Heroes and Prospects. For the second year in a row, In The Game is proud to offer a product that pays tribute to the past while celebrating the game's future.

The legends will include Hall of Famers such as Dave Keon, Cam Neely and Patrick Roy. On the side of youth are future household-names such as Marc-Andre Fleury and Mikko Koivu from the AHL and Benoit Pouliot, Carey Price and Gilbert Brule from the CHL.

There is one name on the checklist that collectors will get to know as soon as he makes his major junior debut. Selected first overall in the OHL Midget Draft by the Oshawa Generals, the promise of 14-year-old John Tavares allowed the league to change its policy regarding minimum draft age. As he prepares to make a splash in the OHL, In The Game is proud to be the first company to feature him in a mainstream hockey card release.

In The Game is also pleased to announce the inclusion of Russian prospect Evgeni Malkin. The second overall pick by Pittsburgh in the 2004 Entry Draft, Malkin has the potential to become a star player on a strong young team once he arrives in North America. This will be the first chance for collectors to find a mainstream trading card and they will also have the opportunity to find memorabilia and autograph cards of the young phenom.

"We enjoyed making the 2004-05 Heroes and Prospects product last year and look forward to improving this product this year" said Dr. Brian H. Price, president, In The Game Inc. "We are pleased with the co-operation we receive from the CHL, AHL and PHPA in making this product. It is fun to try and predict the great players of tomorrow."

Once again, Heroes and Prospects will offer collectors an opportunity to obtain some of the earliest certified Autograph cards of today's hottest prospects such as Angelo Esposito, Sidney Crosby and Al Montoya. Throw in signatures from the greatest names in the game, and you've got a solid mix of cards that will appeal to a wide array of collectors. This product will be loaded with these highly collectible cards.

In The Game has also added a new twist to the autograph program for Heroes and Prospects with the release of Dual Autographs. These extremely limited cards will pair up two players and give collectors a chance at some very exciting combinations such as Brett and Bobby Hull and Zach Parise with Frank Mahovlich.

If that wasn't enough, In The Game will also have a strong selection of game-used memorabilia cards available in Hobby packs of Heroes and Prospects. Slated for release are familiar collections such as Game-Used Jersey, Game-Used Number and Game-Used Emblem which will also feature larger swatches.

"Although it is difficult to give collectors large pieces of vintage memorabilia, it is possible to do so with AHL and CHL jerseys" Price said, "we always try and give collectors what they want and deserve."

In addition to these cards, Heroes and Prospects is also slated to include Heroes Game-Used Memorabilia, Aspiring, Net Prospects and National Pride collections. There will also be both Silver and Gold versions of many memorabilia inserts.

Returning for a second season are the incredibly popular Complete Logo cards which feature a full AHL or CHL logo from a game-used jersey. These cards will once again be limited to one copy each and are sure to be highly sought-after by collectors.

Collectors will also notice that there are two new collections of game-used memorabilia cards in this year’s product. Making The Bigs looks a several players that have found their way to the top and includes one piece of a minor league jersey to go along with one they have worn in the NHL. The Future Teammates collection makes its debut as well and pairs up two players depicted in their minor league or junior uniforms that have played together in the past or that will suit up for the same team in the future. With combinations like Dave Keon with Frank Mahovlich and Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, these cards are sure to be highly sought-after.

Fans of traditional insert cards will enjoy two collections that will be offered in Heroes and Prospects. The first will called Shooting Stars and will appear in Hobby packs. It will focus on the 12 members of the Canadian and PlanetUSA starting lineups from the 2005 AHL All-Star Classic in Manchester. Complementing that in the Arena version of Heroes and Prospects is a 13-card collection featuring members of the London Knights who took the junior hockey world by storm as Memorial Cup champions in 2004-05.

The Hobby version of Heroes and Prospects will once again feature In The Game's venerable He Shoots, He Scores Decoy/Redemption Card Program. One redemption card will be included in each pack that does not contain a game-used memorabilia card. These extra-thick cards help deter pack searching and each comes with a value of one point. Collectors who accumulate enough points will have the opportunity to redeem them for unique and limited game-used memorabilia cards which are not available in packs.

2005-06 Heroes and Prospects will be available in both a Hobby version as well as special Arena version. Each Hobby box will include 24 packs with each pack containing five cards plus one decoy card or game-used memorabilia card. Hobby boxes will have autograph cards inserted 1:14 packs and memorabilia cards inserted 1:20. These odds are for the entire production run and are not guaranteed in any individual box.

The Arena version of Heroes & Prospects will be geared more towards hockey fans as opposed to dedicated collectors. Packs will be available at reduced price and will contain lower quantities of Autograph cards and no game-used memorabilia cards or He Shoots, He Scores Decoy/Redemption cards. Each pack will contain five cards, with 24 packs found in every box.

This product is manufactured by In the Game and is not affiliated with, sponsored, endorsed or licensed by or connected to the National Hockey League or National Hockey League Players' Association.