ITG Delivers

Well a while back this post got deleted and unfortunately it is going to be much more abbreviated.

In less than three weeks I had my redemption in, filled and returned! You hear that UD and Panini? Now I knew my chances were about 50-50 of getting something decent and well here is the return. I will let you be the judge. Personally, I like the players, but they are both Flyers which means this card is up for sale/trade.

Front Side

Here are the swatches. The Schenn piece is pretty cool and the Couturier isn't white which is a plus. I do wish these cards were autographed considering the lengths people have to go through to get one of these redemptions.

The Back Side

The best feature of the card could be the fact it is number 1. That matters to some collectors.

So there you have it. A pretty decent return, I consider this a success myself, but as always beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Fly my pretties, fly!

Ok, so I am not unleashing an army of monkeys. But yesterday I finally assembled an army of He Shoots He Scores redemption cards, 200 to be precise. I packed them up and sent them off in the hopes that they will return with something good. Well, not really return, the rules state they will not be returned, but a redemption card numbered to 20 will be sent back in exchange for my points. Who will it be? That part is kinda fun. I looked at the list, and odds are 50-50 I will be really happy with the results. When it arrives I will share.

Maybe Nail?

Have you ever done the exchange program with ITG? Were you happy?

11/12 Heroes and Prospects Box Break and Review

Last year, I busted a box of 10/11 H&P and I was very happy with the results. I had 5 hits and all of the cards were pretty decent. It is now one year later and the Gaunce auto could be a card that REALLY makes that box cool. After that box, I had every intention of buying one this year and when I landed one for 30 bucks below LCS prices I was elated.

Here are the results of the break!

Base cards
The look of the cards are nice! I think the design and layout certainly rivals anything UD and Panini put out in that price bracket and the fact that the cards get no Rookie respect is something that irks me but I imagine I am a part of the minority. Here is an example of the front, each card has a nice gloss to them which you can't see on the scan.
Back side

The backs are simple enough with a good balance of stats, vitals and information.

Subsets

Like last season, the set features a few subsets and the increased set size from 150-200 allows ITG to include many more stars as part of the Grad subset and a few specialty cards like this Bourdon card.

The Hits:

Boone Jenner Game Used Number Black /6

Boone makes his second appearance in my ITG busting history. Last year I pulled his Subway Series game used card and this year I topped it with the nicest H&P card I ever pulled. This swatch is beautiful and the size allows for all three colours and a small piece of jersey to peak through the window.

Devan Dubyk Moving Up Silver Version /50
A really cool swatch! It is a two colour seam and it is BUSTING out of the card. Another example of what ITG gives collectors, best bang for their buck!

Subway Series Trio /70
This didn't scan as well as I hoped, but this card represents my bonus hit. I ended up with three game-used cards which is nice, but the fact a Devils prospect is on the card is just that much cooler! Swatches aren't the best, but Wedgewood's is white which is nice as my other Wedgewood swatch is red.

Auto Hits

Blake Kessel
Phil has a brother? Turns out he does and his career thus far has been pretty strong, but taking it to the NHL level will be a challenge and time will tell if he will experience the same success Phil has.

Sven Bartschi
Sven is going to be a superstar and getting this card was another hit that turned a normal box into a great box. Sven's name is spelled a variety of different ways which might be why his auto is just an S. B. This Calgary draft pick already has 5 NHL games under his belt with 3 goals to his resume. I think he will be a full-timer next season and a reason why Iginla might be playing somewhere else in the near future.

I also pulled two inserts, one was a Cory Locke Calder Champions card and the other was a Zack Fitzgerald Tough Customers card.

This box was a blast and the set looks nice. I am about 60 cards short of a complete set, and I think I might try and pick up another box or two in the summer. I am also going to try and collect the 200 He Shoots points so if ANYONE out there wants to sell them or trade them please contact me and I will try and make it worth your while.

Most of my hits are also up for trade with the exception of Sven!

If you find yourself with an extra 100 bucks, grab a box, you won't be disappointed.

The Future is looking bright!

Each year, ITG impresses me more and more. There was an insert card out there in the new Heroes and Prospects that just spoke to me!

Here are three prospects in the Devils organization that have me believing that we can keep up the success after Marty retires.

I found this gem a little while back on eBay. I paid a little more than I probably normally would for a game-used card but still brought it home for a respectable 10 bucks.

This is the silver version of the insert, so they are numbered to 50.

After getting this card, I was inspired to buy a box of 11/12 Heroes and Prospects. The results were pretty good and I will share those in a post soon!