Past, present AHL goalies in new card set

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The 2009-10 version of the Between the Pipes trading card set, featuring dozens of current and former American Hockey League goaltenders, has been released by In the Game. The card set is available for purchase at ahlstore.com, from major retailers and in select AHL arenas.

The 150-card base set is stacked with many of today’s “Future Stars,” including Jonathan Bernier (Manchester Monarchs), Jhonas Enroth (Portland Pirates), John Curry (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins), Cedrick Desjardins (Hamilton Bulldogs), Matt Climie (Texas Stars), 2009 AHL Baz Bastien Award winner Cory Schneider (Manitoba Moose) and 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Michal Neuvirth (Hershey Bears).

An AHL Rookie insert set features nine standout AHL rookie netminders, including Braden Holtby (Hershey Bears), Dustin Tokarski (Norfolk Admirals) and 2010 AHL All-Stars Alex Stalock (Worcester Sharks), Anton Khudobin (Houston Aeros) and Alexander Salak (Rochester Americans).

The “Stars of the Game” subset features former AHL All-Stars Ryan Miller, Tuukka Rask, Tomas Vokoun, Miikka Kiprusoff, Ray Emery, Kari Lehtonen and Jimmy Howard, along with other notable AHL alumni like Roberto Luongo, Tim Thomas, Carey Price, Ondrej Pavelec, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Evgeny Nabokov and Marc-Andre Fleury.

Former AHL players featured in the “Greats of the Game” cards include Calder Cup champions Terry Sawchuk, Patrick Roy, Gerry Cheevers and Billy Smith, along with other legends such as Glenn Hall, Grant Fuhr and AHL Hall of Famer Johnny Bower, a three-time AHL MVP.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 85 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 6.5 million fans per season have attended AHL games across North America since 2001. Over the past 74 years, the AHL has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.