ITG Has Turned to the Dark Side...

[brian045]

But bill gadsby signed! 88 years old and still returned the cards on time with a legible auto, pretty impressive

[TRDouble]

#8 - I was very sad to see ITG go to Leaf; ITG cards make up the bulk of my collection. This is how I have looked at the Leaf hockey releases so far:

* In the Game Draft Prospects (2014): For all intents and purposes, this was a ITG product. At least, it felt pretty much the same as their past products.

1. Ultimate Hockey 14th Edition (14/15): Always too high end for me (so none for me), but it was a stark difference from previous product. The across the broad airbrushing was the biggest shocker and is the biggest thing former ITG collectors have to get accustomed to.

2. Leaf Metal Hockey: Leaf's own hockey product leveraging ITG's licenses. It was okay looking (I did not get a box). I did not like the way the sticker autos looked on the cards (ITG was a master at designs that minimized the obvious sticker autograph), but some of the die cuts were nice. Lots of parallels though. Yuck. Another trend to get used to as a former ITG collector. And country exclusives. I forget the price, but with five autos, it seemed cheaper than upcoming, similar product.

3. Heroes and Prospects: The first Leaf hockey product I purchased. Another shocker for longtime ITG collectors was turning this former full product into a Hits product. And as a result, having a much higher price. With 5 autos and 4 memorabilia, it's hard to really argue the price. The cloud design was not that great, but there was some decent stuff in there. The BTP inserts that replaced the solo release of BTP were some of the better cards in the product.

... skipping Leaf Best Of Hockey...

4. Leaf Signature Series: Another Leaf brand. And my second purchase. I thought the designs were showing improvement, especially with incorporating the sticker autograph into the design. There are some nice sets here with an emphasis on current NHLers and Legends. Another Hits product, with 8 autos, and a steeper price to match. But again, it's hard to argue the price for the content.

5. In The Game Used Hockey: I am still waiting on my box, but from what I have seen, the designs have taken another step forward and look very sharp. The content seems to be very good, taking full advantage of ITG's vintage memorabilia stock. Another Hits product with 5 memorabilia cards (one more than last year), but the price seems about right for this type of product. The redemption cards were a shocker though, after not having to deal with them in an ITG product for so long (and never since I started collecting).

IMO, each release from Leaf has improved from the previous release. And the boxes have retained their market value compared to other, recent ITG releases, so some of their strategies must be working.

In the end, it comes down to the quality of the product. While H&P was just eh for me, Signature Series was good enough to give ITG-Used a try and if I get a box resembling anything I have seen online so far, I will probably be in for the next Leaf/ITG release as well.

It's different from the ITG we all knew and loved, but don't give up on Leaf yet.

[Inferno]

At this point I think we're all aware that it says ITG on the box, but it's not ITG anymore. It's Leaf through and through. TRDouble's post above does an excellent job breaking down the recent timeline and the changes that have worked their way through the lineup that indicate Leaf gradually taking full control over the production.

It'll be a culture shock to longtime ITG supporters (myself included) but it is what it is.

It's not so much "ITG goes to the dark side" rather than "the company who now uses ITG's name is doing things the way they've always done things".

[LeafGregg]

Hey Guys, just back from The National. I can tell you the response to ITGU at the show was fantastic! Now, about the redemptions.....WE hate them as much as you. The options were to wait and not have the product out for the show or remove Bourque, Parent, Bobby Hull, Lindros and Fedorov. Both options were not pleasing. The good news is they will be filled quickly. I believe a few are already in house with the rest close. StickWork and Superlative are the next 2 up!

[brian045]

Thank you for ITGU! Being able to chases tag pieces of lafleur is a dream come true!