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For anyone reading this in the future, as there seems to be very little information out there on the Peakspeed lineup: I went with the 7700s, and after a couple of small, resolved issues, am quite happy with them. The fit, to me, is extremely similar to the G75 XI (blue piping, not green). Coming out of Jetspeeds that I was in last season, they feel quite similar, but with more forward flex and a slightly lower ankle (I drop an eyelet in the Jetspeed, not in the Peakspeed), and are roomier in the forefoot - slightly wider, slightly more volume from bottom to top. Now, something that should be said - I referee. I am often in my skates for long periods of time. Using this week as an example: On Monday I was in them for 3 hours; all but 15 minutes of that was skating/standing on ice, I'll be in them 5 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday as well as 90 minutes each Tuesday through Friday. The perfect fit for me reffing is different than the perfect fit for me playing. If I was only playing, I'd definitely still be in the jetspeeds. But they weren't going to cut it long term reffing, they just pinched my feet too much after the first game. So I like the slighty roomier feel. Somewhat similar to the Tacks I tried on in the store, but the tacks felt like being in cement; wayyyyy too stiff with no flex available. The Peakspeeds are definitely stiff, but I'm still able to roll my ankle all around. I did have the Peakspeeds profiled to 11', like the old Grafs have always been. I had two issues with the skates, both have been resolved. Footbed and Heel lock. The stock, foam footbed in my previous Graf Skates - going back to those made in Switzerland - was phenomenal. Really, I loved them. I even used them in my CCM skates. The ones that came with the Peakspeeds, and this may have been a mistake as it was prior to Vaughn buying them and QC wasn't all that great from what I understand, looked the same but were nothing but rivet covers. The foam was not rigid whatsoever; I may as well have used a cotton rag instead of them. I reached out to Graf (Vaughn), asking about it. They sent me this footbed. This solved the Heel Lock problem that I had. This footbed was much more substantial than even my old footbeds, I'm thrilled with it. There was a small piece of molded plastic/fake leather that was sticking up above the ankle pad on the top of the boot. It was rubbing a very small part of my ankle raw; you could tell it was from a mold and just went a little bit too far. I just cut it with a scissors - we're talking about 1/2 mm here - and the problem was solved My only complaint left about them is that they weren't using the green logo at this time. That has been resolved. One other thing: I had an issue. I emailed Graf (Vaughn). Their reply was so over-the-top, out of their way to make me happy. If I ever win the lottery, I'm heading to their HQ and dropping a boatload of money on a custom skate and custom Eagles, based on this experience alone. Definitely happy to support a small business here.

So our league returned to play a couple of weeks ago and its great to be back on the ice. I had skated in a couple of clinics and shoot arounds but it was really a full year since I had played a game. That first game had my head spinning!!! We played a big, fast team and I felt like I had no idea where to be or what to do. My transitions and change of direction were really clunky. After a few games though its pretty much ok. Frankly I am surprised how quickly it came back. Now that I am vaccinated I have also been able to drop the mask. What have been your experiences?

Not to mention IMO one of the worst holders ever....

There's an old saying, it's not the hammer, it's the carpenter. IMO, kick point has zero impact on where the puck ends up, i.e. low or high. That's more a technique. Some patterns make certain things easier. For example, open face patterns help the user get the puck up high but it won't do it for you. Also, there is no right or wrong, better or worse when it comes to curves paired with kick points. A hockey stick is a tool. Some tools make jobs easier, others can make them a bit more difficult. You aren't looking for the best tool, you're looking for the tool that best suits you. My recommendation to all new players is a mid kick P88.

Pre-pandemic I was reffing and/or playing most days. I've only played 2 organized indoor ice hockey games (in early October 2020) since March 13, 2020. After being off the ice from March 13, 2020 until mid-August, I officiated some tournament games in late August and September. Some of the games were being officiated with one official; pre-pandemic I used skate 2 hour solo shinny sessions for a bunch of 9 year old AAA kids that are all excellent skaters with ease. It was obvious I hadn't done enough cardio during my down time as I was sweating buckets when I started skating 40 minute games in August. Oh, and then after doing a few one official games with young kids, I was asked to skate a couple high level 2-man games; the assignor told me it would be competitive hockey, but when I got out there on the ice I saw a bunch of OHL helmets mixed in with the usual AAA helmets. I've officiated some AAA games, high school hockey and high level inline, but even in pre-COVID condition the pace of OHL players would be an adjustment. I had a good partner, they were no hitting games and most of the players and coaches were well behaved (there was one PITA coach and a couple minor situations to manage, but overall it went well); so it was a good experience and one I may not have had if it weren't for the pandemic. My endurance definitely improved after a couple of weeks and by the end of September I was much closer to my pre-pandemic condition (but not quite there). For the games I played in October, I'd already built up a bit of endurance via reffing, but my hands weren't great as I'd only skated outdoors with blades and a ball a couple times. Then, in mid-October, all hockey in Toronto was shut down again, hasn't opened back up and it still looks like it'll be forbidden for at least another few months. Hockey also hasn't been allowed on the outdoor rinks all winter (only pleasure skating); so I haven't skated indoors or outdoors since October 9. Once the ice is taken out and the snow melts, I do plan to start skating on the outdoor rinks with roller blades. I'm hoping to be able to do that by late March or early April. I can't see them allowing indoor hockey until at least May (and probably later; the doctors and politicians are really hesitant to open things up here due to the variants floating around and the fact that only a very small percentage of people have been vaccinated. I can understand that, but wish it was safe to play sooner). There are plenty of cities and towns across the province where hockey is allowed now, but I've been staying close to home. I really miss it, but I'm trying to respect the guidelines and stay safe; it's just been a long time with no hockey. I did get a spin bike in late December that I've been using; so hopefully my cardio won't be as bad as it was in mid-August. Toronto was one of, if not the biggest, hockey hotbeds in the world pre-pandemic, but during the pandemic it hasn't been a great place to be for playing or officiating organized hockey. Driving to other regions, having a backyard rink (I'm in an apartment style condo; so that's not an option) or trying to find a safe pond are options, but it's definitely a challenging area to live in for a hockey fanatic right now. I was born in the smaller city of London, Ontario and still have family there; my cousin's kid plays competitive hockey and he told me there was hockey until December there and it's allowed again now. So they went a few months without hockey, but in Toronto there's been far more time without hockey than with it in the past year. It doesn't help that the vaccine rollout in Canada is much slower than in a lot of other countries, but even in Canada, it seems like Toronto is the worst place to be in Canada if you want to play hockey anytime soon. I expect when I come back that it'll take a few games to get my legs back and several weeks to start getting my hands and shot back, but most people in the area will be in a similar situation. Since I've been doing some cardio and weight training, I hope I feel better than when I returned in August.

My biggest takeaway from this is that my wife’s 3S Pros are better than my 2S and now I have to upgrade my skates because patriarchy.

Or for those rapidly slowing down aged players who were way faster and shooting harder in their youth. Heh. I still use a mid-kick P88.

no problems with the holders. They seem solid enough and if they do break I can put a set of spare tuuks on them but I quite like the prolite 3. They dont put you on your toes as much but I like them

Totally agree xstartxtodayx. Those arrows on the hosel really stood out to me as well. Loved the old green Z-Bubble as well. The Taper Wall goes back to at least 1994, however what they are hyping up about it isn't legible.

How is the holder? Be careful, it could be very brittle.

hell yea they do. They really take away any remaining negative space in the heel pocket too. I love them

This is only my opinion so take it for what it is. If you can shoot the puck hard, bar down or if you can rip a clapper, low from the point, you should be able to do it with any stick as long as the flex/lie/length is correct. When you have the proper shooting technique down, the other attributes of the stick is more about personal preference. Changing from a mid-kick to a low-kick to a variable kick is not going to dramatically change your shot...how your mechanics change is going to alter the shot much more. Personally, I think curves don't alter shots as much as people think (unless it's an illegal curve). Look at Sidney Crosby's stick. He has a very flat blade, but he can roof the puck, hit corners, etc cause he has incredible technique. Focus on proper flex, lie, length, and technique. Then from there, just find what you like in terms of kick point, curve, weight, etc. My 2 cents.