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The overwhelming consensus on this board by folks who know will tell you that Graf quality over the last 15 years has been extremely suspect.

Had all my gear on for the first time since a broken ankle 4 months ago. Took warm-ups with my team, then sat on the bench for the game. We ended up winning 6-0. It was just amazing being out there again after such a long time being off. Probably the first D5 beer league team to have a backup goalie on the bench...LOL.

This game last night was by far the most exciting I have seen in the tournament. NA went up early and was dominating but then let up 4 unanswered to Russia. One of them was kind of a flukey goal off the corner boards but that's how the game goes sometimes. NA battled back to make it 4-3 and it was intense all the way up until the final seconds. Gostisbhere almost tied it up with :05 left by crushing the post with a point shot. Catch this game on replay if you missed it. If not the whole game, definitely watch the 3rd period.

Same can be said about other brands - Easton Stealth S15 forward QC and durability has been so bad. S15 / S17 getting unglued and rivets, Makos - Well its makos endless problems and poor QC with those skates, Bauer NXG - Just about everyone I know the tendon guard is broken, Bauer Edge holders screw up... I know Graf has had issues, I am not taking sides but not sure why so much hate towards Graf. I know lots of guys that have had 709 / 735 IIRC for many many years, and are super happy with them.

Took warmups with my team on Sunday. Did some laps, some stretching, took about 10-15 shots and then sat on the bench. Man, it was nice being out there again. It was totally fine except that when I’d butterfly, I totally underestimated the amount of weight you actually put on the inside of the foot, specifically up near the toe area, while in that position. That made getting up really hard because my other leg is not yet strong enough to get a very good push, so I end up also shoving on my "back" foot a bit to stand. I used to do this a lot when I first started also, before I built up my leg muscles a bit. When I go to stretch I usually do my laps, then get to just inside the blue line on the players bench side, stop down to about 5% speed, then butterfly and slide the rest of the way. No real reason, that's just how I do it. Apparently I let out a loud enough "ARGH!" for a couple guys to stop and check on me. So, that sucked. But honestly, unless I'm just going to sit at home in that position (which I suppose is something I should try) I'm not really sure of the best way to help with that besides just doing it. I didn't wear any kind of brace, though. With that said, I'm playing a pickup tonight. I had absolutely no problem skating or even stopping hard on that leg. So I figure AT WORST, I just play like a 1950s stand-up style goalie if it's too much. And since it's a pickup, it doesn't matter (it's not like I'm letting my team down). I'm thinking next weekend I'm going to do the same thing, doing warmups with my team. Maybe...MAYBE... play a period. If we're either up or down by a lot in the 3rd then I may go in. My planned return to the crease in a league game is still Oct 2nd. But man, it felt amazing to be back out there!

I've been skating with these for a month, and they're awesome. I notice a difference than the Yellow version and I also notice they take up a tiny bit more volume than the Yellow's.