In the Game Pays Tribute to 1972 with 1972 - The Year in Hockey

A few months back, hockey manufacturer In the Game offered collector's a unique opportunity to pick a future set. An online vote was conducted where participants selected the year they thought was most important for hockey history. The winning year was 1972, synonymous with Canadians for the dramatic Summit Series victory versus the USSR. While the USA and USSR were embroiled in the Cold War over Nuclear weapons and such at the time, for Canadians the real cold war was played on the ice with pucks and sticks replacing bombs and tanks.

Today ITG offered a first look at 1972 - The Year in Hockey, which will combined old school set building with plenty of hard-signed autographs.

1972 also marked the first year in which the rival WHA set up shop and began play. It was a new era of expansion and global recognition for the sport.1972 - The Year in Hockey will consist of a 200-card base set featuring players from the NHL, WHA and international play.

Autographs will all be done on-card and the checklist is extensive. ITG plans to have around 150 signers for the set and judging by the preview you can expect two find a mix of superstars as well as lesser-known fan favorites. ITG also promised some signers from the USSR team, which one would expect to be relatively tough to find. Autographs will be inserted at a rate of 1:7 packs (two or three per box).

ITG also plans for several game-used inserts: Game-Used Number, Forever Linked, Scoring Leaders, Trophy Winners, First All Star Team, Second All Star Team and Quest For The Cup.