The BHP Billiton Family Hockey Fest moves to Regina, SK today at Evraz Place. The event commemorating the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships runs Dec. 26-31. Doors are open from 11:30am to 9:00pm each day.
The event is designed for families and is totally free to its patrons. The event ran Dec. 17-22 in Saskatoon before moving to Regina. The event will involve school programs, inner-city hockey leagues, minor hockey and much more, including major NHL and other trophies on display for the event. The Stanley Cup will be on display.
Canada begins its quest for a sixth-straight IIHF World Junior Championships gold medal today. The tournament runs Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.
The Upper Deck Company has launched the official webpage for the 2010 National Hockey Card Day. The 2010 promotion, which takes place Jan. 30 at hobby stores across Canada, delivers free hockey cards to everyone and anyone.
This year’s set features five Rookies (John Tavares, Matt Duchene, Jamie Benn, Evander Kane, Logan Couture), five Pride of Canada players (Sidney Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin Brodeur, Brad Richards, Rick Nash), and five Heroes (Jarome Iginla, Jonathan Toews, Roberto Luongo, Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman).
The BHP Billiton Family Hockey Fest kicks off in Saskatoon, SK today at TCU Place. The event commemorating the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships runs Dec. 17-22 in Saskatoon and Dec. 26-31 at Evraz Place in Regina. Doors are open from 11:30am to 9:00pm each day.
The event is designed for families and is totally free to its patrons. It will involve school programs, inner-city hockey leagues, minor hockey and much more, including major NHL and other trophies on display for the event. The Stanley Cup will be on display in both Saskatoon and Regina.
Canada is aiming for a sixth-conseuctive IIHF World Junior Championships gold medal. Just yesterday, the team announced its roster for the annual holiday tournament. The Canadian lineup includes six returning players from last year’s championship: defencemen Colten Teubert, Ryan Ellis and Alex Pietrangelo and forwards Jordan Eberle, Stefan Della Rovere and Patrice Cormier.
The 16 new players to the team are goaltenders Jake Allen and Martin Jones, defencemen Travis Hamonic, Marco Scandella, Jared Cowen and Calvin de Haan, and forwards Taylor Hall, Gabriel Bourque, Nazem Kadri, Brayden Schenn, Adam Henrique, Brandon McMillan, Greg Nemisz, Brandon Kozun, Luke Adam and Jordan Caron.
In The Game has confirmed that In The Game Heroes & Prospects will return for the 2009-10 hockey-card season. This year’s product will be released in January 2010 and will feature prospects and graduates from both the Canadian Hockey League (junior ranks) and American Hockey League (minor pro).
The 2009-10 series will mark the sixth year for the In The Game Heroes & Prospects brand. In past years, ITGHP has produced pre-NHL cards of stars like Sidney Crosby (2004-05), Alex Ovechkin (2004-05), Evgeni Malkin (2005-06), Patrick Kane (2006-07), Steve Mason (2007-08) and John Tavares (2005-06 through 2008-09). Taylor Hall, a top prospect for the 2010 NHL draft, is expected to be featured for a third-straight season in ITGHP.
The San Jose Sharks will auction off its last group of Hallowe’en jerseys today at the Sharks-Avalanche game. The jerseys are available via blind bid auction format. Items are only available at the game and bids cannot be made via proxy over email or phone. Proceeds from the auction benefit the 2009-10 Sharks Foundation’s Grant Recipients.
The first group of jerseys were auctioned off on Oct. 29. The jerseys were all worn during the morning skate on Oct. 12 before a Sharks-Coyotes game. The limited-edition jerseys feature “an orange pumpkin on each player’s number.”
“We’re so thankful to the supportive fans we have here in San Jose,” noted Sharks Foundation Manager Laura Johnston. “With the current economic climate we had no idea if these jerseys would remain as popular as they have in the past, but like always, the Sharks fans came out in full force for this fundraiser.”
The Minnesota Wild have released a special Mikko Koivu bobblehead on Oct. 28. The bobble is available at all Xcel Energy Center Hockey Lodge locations. Each bobble costs $25 (limit two per person). Koivu is featured in his red jersey with the captain’s “C”. Koivu was just recently named captain for the 2009-10 hockey season.
The Upper Deck Company has posted the fourth installment of its NHL Rookie Boot Camp video series on youtube.com. The new vignette is titled “Lace ‘Em Up” and features rookies Logan Couture, P.K. Subban and Eric Tangradi.
Lace ‘Em Up is part of a fun video series produced by UDC at this year’s first-ever NHL Rookie Debut photo shoot in Mississauga, ON. The series features a fictitious hockey coach named “Ron Cherry”; this episode features Cherry teaching the rookies how to lace up their skates.
All the NHL Rookie Boot Camp videos can be watched at www.theWantList.ca in the Reviews section.
The Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bears have announced a partnership to help promote their clubs in their market. The “cross-branding promotional initiative includes commercials, representation inside the United Center and Soldier Field during home games for each team and a wealth of other activities.”
The Blackhawks play in the National Hockey League while the Bears play in the National Football League. Blackhawks Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell will join forces with Bears Jay Cutler, Devin Hester, Robbie Gould, Lance Briggs and Greg Olsen in these spots.
“We are honored to partner with one of the most recognized brands in the world,” Blackhawks Senior Vice President of Business Operations Jay Blunk said. “The privilege and honor of associating with the Bears, one of the largest brands in professional sports, is one of the highlights of our young season. This will give our players and organization exposure to millions of loyal Bears fans.”
“Partnering with the Blackhawks is a unique relationship that showcases two storied Chicago franchises,” said Senior Director of Sales and Marketing Chris Hibbs. “The collaboration of the two teams and our star athletes is something we hope the passionate Chicago sports community can rally around.”
The Upper Deck Company will host 14 of the top NHL prospects at an NHL Rookie Debut photo shoot on Wed. Aug. 26 in Mississauga, ON. The photo shoot will allow the league’s official trading-card company to get up close with top prospects expected to make their NHL debut this season. The event is produced in partnership with Upper Deck Co., the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
UDC will use the session to take photos and gather stories for potential trading cards to be produced this season. Prospects must make their NHL debut before UDC can produce their cards. Rookie cards are amongst the most popular cards in the hobby.
Prospects expected to be in attendance are John Tavares (NYIS), Victor Hedman (TAMP), Matt Duchene (COLO), Cody Hodgson (VANC), Colin Wilson (NASH), Tyler Bozak (TORO), Jared Cowen (OTTA), P.K. Subban (MONT), Jonas Gustavsson (TORO), Bobby Sanguinetti (NYRA), Logan Couture (SANJ), Mikael Backlund (CALG), Eric Tangradi (PITT) and James van Riemsdyk (PHIL).
For more information on Upper Deck trading cards, please visit www.upperdeck.com.
The Upper Deck Company has signed Steve Yzerman to a license and autograph deal for its 2009-10 hockey-card season. That means the Hall of Fame legend will appear on trading cards in the mix of current NHL stars.
“Steve Yzerman amassed a multitude of awards and accolades during his playing career both with the Detroit Red Wings and as a member of the Canadian National Team,” said Josh Zusman, UDC brand manager for hockey. “To be able to provide collectors access to a player like Yzerman who is so popular in key hockey markets like Detroit and throughout Canada provides a huge boost to our new hockey releases for the upcoming season. We know collectors have been waiting a long time to see content from this legendary player and Upper Deck is thrilled to deliver his autograph.”
Says UDC, it has been a few years since Yzerman has signed cards for the hockey-card market, so “there is a short supply of his autographs in the market.” The first Yzerman autograph cards are scheduled to be featured in 2009-10 Upper Deck Black Diamond which hits stores in December.
Hockey fans can look for the first Steve Yzerman autograph cards in 2009-10 NHL Black Diamond, which is scheduled to arrive in stores in December. Things will really get revved up with products like 2009-10 NHL SPx and NHL SP Game-Used Edition.
“For SPx, collectors can look for him to appear in the popular ‘Flashback Fabrics’ set, but we will also have autographed ‘Dual Winning Combos’ cards of Yzerman paired with legends like Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux,” said Matt Bromley, Upper Deck product manager for hockey. “SP Game-Used will feature some really great multi-signed autograph cards with Yzerman signing on cards with players like Lemieux and Gretzky, Howe and Lidstrom, even current Red Wings star Henrik Zetterberg. The cards should command huge values and be the centerpiece of a true hockey fan’s collection.”
Yzerman is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, having won the title in 1997, 1998 and 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings. He will become an honoured member of the Hockey Hall of Fame this fall.
The BHP Billiton Family Hockey Fest moves to Regina, SK today at Evraz Place. The event commemorating the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships runs Dec. 26-31. Doors are open from 11:30am to 9:00pm each day.
The Upper Deck Company has launched the official webpage for the 2010 National Hockey Card Day. The 2010 promotion, which takes place Jan. 30 at hobby stores across Canada, delivers free hockey cards to everyone and anyone.
In The Game has confirmed that In The Game Heroes & Prospects will return for the 2009-10 hockey-card season. This year’s product will be released in January 2010 and will feature prospects and graduates from both the Canadian Hockey League (junior ranks) and American Hockey League (minor pro).
The San Jose Sharks will auction off its last group of Hallowe’en jerseys today at the Sharks-Avalanche game. The jerseys are available via blind bid auction format. Items are only available at the game and bids cannot be made via proxy over email or phone. Proceeds from the auction benefit the 2009-10 Sharks Foundation’s Grant Recipients.
The Minnesota Wild have released a special Mikko Koivu bobblehead on Oct. 28. The bobble is available at all Xcel Energy Center Hockey Lodge locations. Each bobble costs $25 (limit two per person). Koivu is featured in his red jersey with the captain’s “C”. Koivu was just recently named captain for the 2009-10 hockey season.
The Upper Deck Company has posted the fourth installment of its NHL Rookie Boot Camp video series on youtube.com. The new vignette is titled “Lace ‘Em Up” and features rookies Logan Couture, P.K. Subban and Eric Tangradi.
The Upper Deck Company will host 14 of the top NHL prospects at an NHL Rookie Debut photo shoot on Wed. Aug. 26 in Mississauga, ON. The photo shoot will allow the league’s official trading-card company to get up close with top prospects expected to make their NHL debut this season. The event is produced in partnership with Upper Deck Co., the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
