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To be fair - gear has stagnated completely and either innovation is at an all time low, or we’ve reached a point of diminishing returns on currently available materials. I have a hard time getting excited about CCM moving their logo from the bottom of the Ribcore shaft to the top, or Bauer adding different pops of chrome every year and calling it a new stick. Protective hasn’t really gone anywhere in about 8 years since the CL line released and skates, aside from steel/holder enhancements haven’t really gone anywhere aside from perhaps better baking results. We’ve also seen a decline in unique products. We’ve been P92/P28/P88’ed to death and quirky stuff like custom Franchise gloves have completely disappeared. Did I also mention that all of this stuff has been increasing in price at an absurd rate? It’s hard to generate buzz when there is nothing to buzz about. /rant.

Can I get my new Bauer skates with a P91 Curve on the Tendon Guard instead of the P28 curve pictured?

Everyone eventually gets to a point where they are set with what they have. So while they may be in a position to afford new gear, they aren't buying it cuz they are still happy with what they have. I couldn't agree more with the plateau in tech. IMO, I think modern era skates are as good as they are going to get. Same goes for sticks. Protective.....why bother. Really, the only area for new tech is helmets. But, stubborn ass hockey players want their Bauer 4500 and its crusty ass foam because it looks good. I'll leave some of the other stuff be.

The message from Dark Star is about shields and Covid. Placebo or not, DS is getting word that people of snapping them up thinking they will be better protection than a cage.

I guess not enough people have their own private rinks to test out the new skates. not a lot of people have their mind on hockey right now, as many rinks still will be closed for a while.

My Zeus with the 3x100mm/215mm frame and the 50mm lower hockeyboot is more agile than your zoom. But if you can´t use the agility because of a significant lack of stability in gaming situations, than the 4x80mm setup is the better choice for you. And my skating abilities are far away from Bill Stoppard. It was part of the IIHF regulations some years ago. I have Bauer Supreme 6.5 D hockeyskates, the Next is a little bit narrower in the heel an has way more room in the midfoot/toe area and the Zeus(Powerslide) is between them. I even coudn´t slip into Vapors.

Whether you like him or not, here's the video of him driving in goalie pants, jock and chestie to get to a frozen pond.

It takes a special type of goalie to drive with gear on.

That's not related to what this post is about. 🙂

Watch a vintage game from 20 years ago or more on NHL Network now and just look at all the brands that are gone. Each brand drove the others to innovate and punch through the envelope back then. Now ? Not so much. The access to Pro Stock is also another pipeline that has effected everyone in the chain.

My thoughts as someone who is in product development and plays and has a young son playing. -The “innovation” is so incremental in many areas as to be meaningless. -They still haven't nailed the skate fit problem. It is confusing to consumers and the weak link is the value chain, store employees often don’t know what they are talking about. At the same store my son got fit by someone who knew what he was doing while I got the dunce. -Too few brands honestly, it makes things less interesting to me. You get similar design language from the big players in all their stuff. I remember when there were still a lot of other players listed in the Great Skate, Ocean, Kemps, etc catalogs.