BOX BREAK: 2008/09 ITG Heroes And Prospects

This box break comes from the 'Traders Night' I went to back in October. The box was on for a great price and I couldn't pass it up.

As it was, I almost missed the deal...I managed to land the last full box on the shelf.

Good thing as you'll see.

2008/09 ITG Heroes And Prospects

This is a 100 card set (with a 50 card update set which was later released), so a good chunk of the base set was built in just one box. There are some great names in this season's release. Most notable would be Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Luke Schenn and Simeon Varlamov. Add to that P.K. Subban, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle and this is one stacked set.


This set has a real retro feel to it. The card color is not the white or off-white we are accustomed to. Instead, it's more of a tan color. It's a subtle change, but really gives the cards a different feel and look.


To add to the retro feel is the green, yellow, orange and blue backgrounds used behind the photo cutouts. That reeks of the 70's. Bold shapes and font styles really finish the cards off.

When it cames to the prospects side of the break, I landed a number of fantastic young players. In addition to the names mentioned above, I can add Michael Del Zotto, Alex Goligoski, Tyler Ennis, Matt Duchene, John Tavares and Drew Doughty. Awesome!


The heroes side of the break was a little less exciting. The cutouts of just the players heads really didn't do it for me one bit. And I have no clue what Chris Osgood is doing in this set. Hero.....really?

Still, to get an Ovechkin in the break can't be so bad.


The inserts really took this good break and made it a great one.

The Draft Picks insert is kind of a cool layout. A little photoshoppy, but nice. I wish I could have landed one of the other cards in the insert set. Boedker is not really the pick I was hoping to get.


The Calder Cup and Memorial Cup inserts have a nice horizontal design with some great background texture.

A pair of trophy lifters for me. Maybe they'll turn into something in the big show. That's part of what makes this set a great product. The potential.


Now onto the bigger hits. This jersey card has a nice sizable chunk of cloth in it. Something that I've noticed lacking with some releases this year (Certified and UD1). Again, a nice design. This silver jersey card is numbered to 100.


BOOM! What a great pull. Eberle looks to be one of the big three to rejuvenate the Oilers franchise for years to come. If his first ever NHL goal is a sign of things to come, the Oilers have a bright future.



That's a nice goal.


But not as nice as this card! BOOM TWO! A complete jersey card. I've never pulled one of these from a pack before. Marc Staal might be third in line on the Staal depth chart, but he's got the makings of a great star defenceman. This card is numbered to only 9!

I gotta say that this box break was a ton of fun, has a lot of variation and hits to it and is a small enough base set to build without breaking the bank.

While I doubt I'll buy another box of this stuff, I'm glad I picked this one up.