The American Hockey League announced today that it is prominently featured in the 2009-10 Heroes & Prospects trading card set, manufactured by In The Game, Inc.

The set, which pays tribute to the past while celebrating hockey’s future, was released today and can be purchased in the official on-line store of the AHL, ahlstore.com.

The 150-card base set features many of the most promising young stars in the AHL today, including Cory Schneider, Nathan Gerbe, Bobby Sanguinetti, Jonathan Bernier, Kyle Turris, P.K. Subban, Tyler Ennis and Lars Eller.

Insert sets include a 20-card collection of AHL All-Star Legends such as Mike Cammalleri, Zach Parise, Eric Staal, Jason Spezza, Patrice Bergeron and Miikka Kiprusoff. There is also an 18-card Calder Cup Champions insert set, commemorating the 2009 AHL champion Hershey Bears and including players such as Alexandre Giroux, Keith Aucoin, Chris Bourque, Karl Alzner, John Carlson and Michal Neuvirth.

The Heroes and Prospects set also includes autograph cards as well as game-used memorabilia cards.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today’s NHL players are graduates of the American Hockey League, and more than 6 million fans attend AHL games across North America every season.