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First of all, Congrats to JR on hitting the million post milestone. It's a testament to his perseverance and dedication to this community. For anyone that remembers me, sorry for dropping off the face of the planet a few years back and thank you to those that have reached out at various times over the years. After Michelle's suicide, I withdrew from almost everything I previously enjoyed in life. A big part of my disappearance was the realization that I neglected the people I cared about because I was so obsessed with the success of the site and other personal pursuits along with a healing process that required me to step away from here. I miss the friendship, the chats and the getting a chance to see so many of you around the country and world. Skipping all the boring bits... I recently relocated to Key West and finally living a healthy(ish) life again. I wish each of you all the health, wealth and happiness that you seek.

Agreed. Better quality steel is going to yield more ROI than any coating.

I know I sound like “get off my lawn guy,” but coatings aside even I’ll take any aftermarket steel over Bauer’s current steel any day of the week

Quick update: He tried a bunch of stuff on. CCM 100K (Regular), Machs (Fit 1 and Fit 2), Catalysts, TF9s. His face lit up with the Catalysts on his feet. So that is what we are going for. They didn't have the 9s in stock, so we are just waiting on them to come in.

Sara at PAW sells Nash in multiple colors. http://www.protectiveathleticwear.com/materials.htm

That's why I think some company just needs to make a titanium cage with more spacing between the bars to provide better visibility. Doesn't need CSA or HECC certifications as the primary purpose would be for players that are not playing in USA Hockey sanctioned games, such as beer league or pickup.

Here's the reply I got from a teammate of mine: I don't know if thats useful information at all. I just knew the guy had lived in Dubai so figured I'd ask.

Howdy, So, did my first games as a linesman this past weekend. Some kinda U18 showcase thing* here in Youngstown, OH. Full four man system. 17 minute periods, ice cut between each, etc. Pretty neat. Took me a while to reprogram all my "automatic" moves... I'm so used to leading the play (ideally) or trailing the play (because I'm old and slow) into the zone to establish position in the Golden Triangle. I'd catch myself unconsciously doing that and then stop and get back to the line where I was supposed to be. Also had issues after an in zone faceoff, where I would naturally back towards the corner and just watch. Again, I'd catch myself doing that, and have to get back out up to the line. The other weird thing was being at the line calling icings, vs. being deeper in the zone. Lots of times I would have to remind myself that I was still the "low guy" even though I was even with or even ahead of where the pass / dump was originating. Also different with a referee controlling the line change. I've done that once or twice in a 2 man game, but never twigged to "blow the whistle to start the faceoff procedure when the ref drops his arm". Anyway, it was fun. Nice to have four folks out there instead of two. I was quite happy to be lining and have secondary responsibility for penalties / goal & assist rewards, given how fast it was. Also nice to have time between periods to talk, though it makes the games take longer. And that was another interesting thing... These games actually paid a little worse per hour than the lower level stuff does. Sure, it was $75 to $100 (depending on which game I was lining for), but with 17 minute periods and two ice cuts I could almost do two full lower level games at $60 per or whatever. The only other really surprising thing was that with all the $$ they were spending to get there, have lots of ice time, etc. etc. they saved money in really stupid ways... There wasn't an EMT there and they didn't have enough off ice officials / team personal for at least one of the games to run the penalty box. The EMT thing is just ridiculously stupid... This is a showcase deal with kids trying to impress actual scouts going 100 miles an hour. Stuff happens. At one point a coach asked us to see if there was an EMT in the building because a kid that had been involved in a collision was having head pain. None to be found. At least you don't die quickly from a concussion, but who knows about skate cuts, etc. etc. The "nobody to run the box" thing bit me in a funny (after the fact) way. I'm doing the right thing, covering my line, helping my partner cover his, etc. etc. I'm on the side of the ice with the timekeeper and penalty boxes. Team benches are on the other side. Suddenly everyone is yelling. I look around for something wrong. Don't see anything. People still yelling. Eventually I figure out they're yelling "Door". Sure enough, penalty box door is open behind me from when a kid came out of the box. As I realize what's happening and turn to get the door, one of the refs has waited enough and blows it dead. I'm pretty sure that I was literally the only person in the damn arena that didn't realize the door was open. 🙂 Mark * This was the first time that there were legitimately scouts in the stands when I was on the ice. They were not looking at me, however. 🙂

I have seen quite a few people testing them out. I haven't heard anything positive or negative so I dont have an opinion on the new holders yet. I can say that at Bauer World when we got to tinker with them, they were significantly stiffer than the current LS Edge holder. The trigger mechanism is 100% the same as is the actual holder geometry. One player is specifically using the new holders with his old steel. He showed me how he heated the holder with a heat gun and stretched them out so he could use his previously profiled steel. Pretty comical. 😉

We just had a player get called for a minor penalty for the visor tilt in a low level beer league game. Nevermind that the rulebook has no such minor penalty...