WJHC 2009-10 Preview - Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson

Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson was chosen 10th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently playing for Timrå IK in the Swedish Elite League. Pääjärvi-Svensson is the son of retired ice hockey player and coach Gunnar Svensson, who currently is the agent for Henrik Zetterberg among others.



He made his Swedish Elite League (Elitserien) debut in September 2007 at the age of sixteen, becoming the fourth youngest player in SEL's history. He has become a very fast and skilled winger and he drives to the net like a demon. He can get around opposing defenseman with ease and has a quick wrist-shot. He has good hockey sense and often scores spectacular goals and does things that are hard to define.



During the 2008 World Junior Hockey Championships in the Czech Republic, he became the youngest Swedish player ever to play during a World Junior Hockey Championship. Pääjärvi-Svensson has won silver medals in 2008 and 2009 at previous World Junior Championships and will be looking towards gold this winter.

Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson currently only has European hockey cards available. In The Game and Upper Deck will have cards of him in the future. Keep checking Canada Card World for details on future releases. For more information on Pääjärvi-Svensson, check out his own Website and Blog.

WJHC 2009-10 Preview - Team Canada

Team Canada's quest for a 6th consecutive World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal will get underway on Boxing Day when they face Latvia in their opening game in Regina, Saskatchewan.



As most collectors know, this is the big stage for the future stars of the NHL. Some of the Canadian players in the WJHC will already have rookies cards such as Alex Pietrangelo who had rookie cards in 2008-09 and players such as Jared Cowen, Taylor Hall, and Nazem Kadri who have cards available in various In The Game products.



The team will feature an all Windsor Spitfire top line of Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique and Greg Nemisz. The trio currently sit within the top five of all OHL scorers this season. Taylor Hall is a potential #1 overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and will be the spotlight of many In The Game products this season.



Jake Allen, a second round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft will be the #1 goaltender in the net for Team Canada and the coaching staff has announced that Patrice Cormier, who plays for the Rimouski Oceanic, will be the captain for this tournament. Cormier was also selected in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.

Goaltenders
Jake Allen STL '08 (2nd Round)
Martin Jones LOS (Signed as Free Agent)

Defence
Jared Cowen OTT '09 (1st Round)
Cal de Haan NYI '09 (1st Round)
Ryan Ellis NSH '09 (1st Round)
T. Hamonic NYI '08 (2nd Round)
A.Pietrangelo STL '08 (1st Round)
M. Scandella MIN '08 (2nd Round)
C. Teubert LOS '08 (1st Round)

Forwards
Luke Adam BUF '08 (2nd Round)
G. Bourque NSH '09 (5th Round)
Jordan Caron BOS '09 (1st Round)
P. Cormier NJ '08 (2nd Round)
S. Della Rovere WAS '08 (7th Round)
Jordan Eberle EDM '08 (1st Round)
Taylor Hall 2010 Draft Eligible
A. Henrique NJ '08 (3rd Round)
Nazem Kadri TOR '09 (1st Round)
B. Kozun LOS '09 (6th Round)
B. McMillan ANA '08 (3rd Round)
Greg Nemisz CGY '08 (1st Round)
B. Schenn LOS '09 (1st Round)

For rookie cards of these players in upcoming products, this year and next, visit Canada Card World.

Sunday Fun-Day Fun-Facts

Donald and Russell Weiner founded the Donruss company in 1954 by combining their first names to create the company name.



In the early days of the Donruss company, it mainly produced entertainment-themed trading card sets. Titles like "Saturday Night Fever", "Elvis Presley", "Kiss", and "Dallas" were some of its most popular.

A court ruling in 1981 barred both Fleer and Donruss from using gum in their products. Fleer switched to team logo stickers in 1982 and Donruss decided to include jigsaw puzzle pieces with a pack of cards instead of gum.

The first baseball product produced by Donruss for 1981 was full of errors and printed on flimsy card stock. There were no factory sets and cards were shipped to dealers in 100 count lots which then had to be collated by hand.

1982 Donruss baseball saw the introduction of the fan favourite Diamond Kings subset by noted sports artist Dick Perez.



In the late summer of 2005, Major League Baseball chose to only renew their licenses with Topps and Upper Deck, thereby sealing the fate of Donruss and its baseball card line.

In 2009, Panini Spa. of Italy purchased Donruss.

Upcoming NHL Hobby Box Release Dates

Below is an updated list of all major hockey releases for the next few months. All release dates are subject to change.

09/10 UD Black Diamond Hockey - December 29th, 2009
09/10 UD Collectors Choice Hockey - January 5th, 2010
09/10 Upper Deck SPx Hockey - January 12th, 2010
09/10 UD Trilogy Hockey - January 19th, 2010



09/10 ITG Heroes and Prospects - January 27th, 2010
09/10 UD SP Game Used Hockey - January 28th, 2010
09/10 National Hockey Card Day - January 30th, 2010



09/10 Upper Deck Series 2 - February 9th, 2010
09/10 Famous Fabrics -February 24th, 2010
09/10 Upper Deck Ice - February 24th, 2010
09/10 Upper Deck Champs - March 10th, 2010
09/10 Upper Deck SP Authentic - April 1st, 2010

Visit Canada Card World for great prices on the latest releases.

2010 National Hockey Card Day

Upper Deck's 2010 National Hockey Card Day will take place on Saturday, January 30th, 2010. Drop by your local Canadian hobby store and pick up a free five card pack. With cards of such Canadian-born NHL stars as John Tavares, Martin Brodeur, Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman, this is sure to be a fun day for all who participate.

In the video below, Chris Carlin from Upper Deck and Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks discuss hockey cards and National Hockey Card Day.



For those interested in the details, Upper Deck has a website dedicated to the day and the celebration.
National Hockey Card Day 2010

Upper Deck Releases 09-10 Black Diamond Hockey Checklist

Although delayed until the end of the month, Upper Deck is keeping the anticipation alive with the release of the checklist for 2009-10 UD Black Diamond hockey. Annually a favourite among many collectors, this set delivers stars and rookies in various tiered levels.



With exciting quad diamond rookie cards, Gemography autographs, a beautiful jersey set, and lots of cool inserts, UD Black Diamond is packed with hits.

2009-10 Upper Deck Black Diamond Hockey checklist

Originally scheduled for a December 15th release, Black Diamond has been delayed two weeks until December 29th.



2009-10 Upper Deck Black Diamond will be available at the end of December at Canada Card World. If you are looking for exclusive case discounts, please visit the CCW site and send them a note.

Product Preview - 2009-10 ITG H&P Update

In The Game has just released information on a new, exciting non-memorabilia insert set in addition to their current lineup for the upcoming 2009-10 Heroes and Prospects. There will be a battle between collectors looking to complete this set.



The Real Heroes subset is a great addition to the H&P checklist and the players included are listed below. In this article are also some images of this non-memorabilia insert set. These players interrupted their hockey careers and joined the Armed Forces. Some of these great players such as Hobey Baker and Frank McGee even lost their lives to protect freedom around the world.



Real Heroes Checklist:

Woody Dumart, Milt Schmidt, Gordie Drillon, Ken Reardon, Sid Abel, Turk Broda, Hobey Baker, Frank Brimsek, Syl Apps, Conn Smythe, Red Garrett, Joe Turner, Bobby Bauer, Frank McGee, Howie Meeker, Johnny Bower, Frank Fredrickson, and Bob Carse.

In The Game 2009-10 Heroes and Prospects will be available in late January at Canada Card World.