marka

Howdy, Bummer to have the Vegas dream season end that way. Happy for Ovi to finally get a cup and happy for the Caps fans, even if I'd have preferred to have all their dreams dashed by Vegas going on a 3 game run and stealing it. :-) Mark

Howdy, Yeah, I added another copper to the front of mine so that I had a pair of coppers front and back and that's meant that when the rivets get loose the holder doesn't seem to move. But its still annoying / weird. Mark

Howdy, So will the game tomorrow be the first time Vegas's back is against the wall in the playoffs? Mark

Howdy, When I look at the skates here, I don't see any that are using the Lightspeed 2 holder? http://www.flitehockey.com/shop/index.php/cPath/21_1_24 Mark

Howdy, My experience with sideline swap on a stick that was advertised as new and arrived clearly having been used and with some cracking in the heel was not so great. Luckily it was cheap enough that it wasn't a a huge problem, but I wouldn't expect Sideline Swap themselves to do much if the seller argues with you. That said, it sure wouldn't hurt to go back to the seller and see if they'll do something to make it right. Mark

Howdy, Kinda related... Can any tell me how a Bauer Supreme One.6 fit will compare to the new Vapor/Supreme fits? Mark

Howdy, Didn't he give an interview where he said his kid(s) liked that, so he started doing it again? I'm all about people that make themselves look like idiots to make their kids happy. :-) Mark

Howdy, Also happy for Ovi, but I'm looking forward to Fleury beating him. Again. :-) Mark

Howdy, For me, I use a local store for service, cheap consumables, impulse buys, and emergency needs. Oh, and skates, but I don't think its realistic that a small shop could compete here in any way other than as a custom order/fitter place that doesn't need to have any inventory. For service... I think you have to offer (good) sharpening. Sparx has taken that need away for me, but that's not the norm for folks and I don't imagine it will be any time soon. What I can't do myself is repair stuff or higher end services like profiling. So, being able to do rivet replacement, holder swaps, etc. etc. Don't ignore figure skaters here... They need skate work too. :-) Cheap consumables... Tape / laces / wax / water bottles (branded to you!) Pick a brand (Howie's?), buy enough that you get it cheap. And again... Figure skaters. Surely they have inexpensive stuff they need to replace regularly? Impulse buys... For me, this is the general "cool shit that costs under $30 or so" kinda thing. Fun t-shirts (pick a couple designs targeting your rink residents. Do it in small batches, do new designs. Brand with your logo somewhere). Tape Tiger tools. Sweet Stick emergency sharpener tools. Lace tighteners. Water bottles with your brand. De-stinkify sprays. anti-fog sprays, etc. Emergency needs... Skate steel in common sizes / types. Cheap jerseys in common sizes in a range of colors (buy closeout Tron or ebay stuff for crazy cheap?). Cheap socks. A small selection of basic sticks. Small selection of protective (jocks, elbows/shins, helmet, etc.). Your goal with this is more to have something someone can make work for the "Fuck, I left my XXX at home and I'm here for a game". Cheap (for you and the buyer both) is key. Its not going to move fast. Buy closeout Tron stuff when it comes available. Other thoughts... A used shop is an interesting idea. Either in consignment form or as a play it again sports type of approach where you own the stuff, but take trades in, etc. If you do this, then you can also fill your emergency role out this way, vs. buying new equipment. Sell coffee / long term storage snacks. I can't count the # of times I've taken my son to a morning practice and forgotten my damn coffee. :-) And kids like candy. Dragging mom/dad into your small shop so they can get that $1 piece of sugary goodness as an "after hockey" habit is a great way for them to see that perfect t-shirt for grandma... :-) Match your hours to when people will be there. If your rink sees a lot of adult league stuff, opening at noon on weekdays is kinda pointless for that market. Make your hours 4pm to 10pm or whatever. Be the "if you need jerseys, I know how to make that happen" guy / team order of sticks / whatever guy. No clue on if there's any margin / profit area here though? All just my "I've never been there or done that" thoughts. :-) If it were me doing this, I'd be talking privately with guys like JR, Buzz, etc. :-) Mark

Howdy, Didn't see the game but I saw a highlight or something where they said Ovi played the last 4.5 minutes of the game or something? That's insane. I'm both surprised he was able to do that at all, as well as thinking that indicates a not so great situation for the team. Mark

Howdy, Sounds like worst case (i.e. the AA team can't compete despite the good coaching) it will boil down to how well he'll do if his team is getting its ass kicked all season. If that will end up either not bothering him or motivating him, then I would say in general you're always better off playing "up" for faster development. That's especially true if he's going to have better practices / coaches in the upper league. Mark

Howdy, Ok. Yeah, that's similar to what I found via google. I haven't used a Sweet Stick, but they're completely different products. The sweet stick looks to basically be like a knife hone / sharpener, where the goal is to get back an edge that has dulled/rolled. It works only on the edge itself, not on the steel surface in the hollow. Wissota's Speed Skate is the opposite of that... It doesn't touch the outside of the blade at all. Instead, it has a (fine) abrasive that, with some elbow grease, polishes the steel surface inside the hollow on the skate. I would assume people use the Sweet Stick to keep their edges sharper longer. You'd use the Speed Skate to reduce friction between the blade and the ice, without affecting the sharpness of your edge one way or the other. How much it reduces friction will depend on how "un-polished" the hollow was in the first place. Hope that helps! Mark

Howdy, Thanks. To be clear... I'm mostly just curious vs. anything else. Getting rivets replaced at a shop isn't usually a huge problem and its cheap. Mark

Howdy, So what's the deal with Mako holder rivets? I take out the footbeds every time I skate and they still get rusty / loose all the damn time. I've had them a little less than two years and at this point I think I've replaced all the rivets at least once... Doesn't seem like other folks talk about rivets rusting out / getting loose that fast. Mark

Howdy, I don't think I have... Certainly I'm not familiar with what the Speed Stick is. This is one of the google results... Is this what you're taking about? https://www.amazon.com/Smarthockey-Speed-Re-Edger-Sharpener-degree/dp/B079VHG3KR If it is... That's an entirely different product and is nothing at all like the Wissota Speed Skate. Mark

Howdy, True intermediate 65/68 flex sticks seem to be a little longer than average. Certainly they were longer than the Warrior 70 flex intermediates I was using before those. The 58 flex Trues are shorter though. Mark

Howdy, I've had mine for a couple weeks now. I use it after a fresh sharpening on my Sparx. There's a definite visual difference before and after use. I do short back and forth strokes, moving up and down the blade, then finish with 20 to 40 strokes the full length of the skate. Afterwards, there's more shine / the hollow is more polished than what it is straight out of the sharpener. I've not done a back to back test of pre and post polished blades on the ice. I would say that I thought there was a touch more glide than I was expecting when I first started using the Speed Skate polisher as compared to "normal", but it wasn't a huge difference to me and it was 100% not blind, so maybe it was all in my head. I've only used it on one other person's stakes and she liked it, but she's 9 years old or something and impressionable, so also not scientific. I've continued to use it, solely based on the visual / more polished appearance. In general, I'm pretty happy with it and like it as a finishing step, but I'm unable to quantify if or how much improvement there is. Mark

Howdy, It'll be pretty epic if Fleury beats them. Again. Mark (yeah, yeah, Vegas has to get there first...)

Howdy, It seems like the majority of guys I play with that are pretty good are using 10+ year old stuff. Goalies included. Not that a couple of those good guys aren't gear whores and have new / cool stuff, but "Do I have the best gear?" doesn't seem to be any type of indicator that someone is a good hockey player. I'd use it for sure, unless you see something that makes you want to change it up. Mark

Howdy, So, re Marsblades and feeling like ice... Has anyone compared Marsblade to a rockered wheel setup? My roller blades started out with all wheels on a line but after I dropped the front and rear wheels down in diameter, the feel became much more like the ice I was used to. I've never skated on Marsblades though, and was curious how they would compare. Mark

Howdy, Didn't the league already warn Marchand about licking people? I imagine if they sit him for a game, it'll stop pretty quick. Mark

Howdy, You all are nuts. The only time I notice my cage bars is when I'm trying to stick my water bottle straw through them. :-) Mark

Howdy, Maybe this helps, maybe not... I have the 7092 girdle. Size M and I'm 5'10". If anything, its a touch short. No way would I want that length if I had longer legs. The only part I'm not sure about is how the adjustable length range on the Super Tacks compares to the 7092's non-adjustable length. Mark

Howdy, Think anything will happen with Wilson? https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/05/tom-wilson-washington-capitals-pittsburgh-penguins-controversial-hit All my friends (that are Pens homers) are screaming for his head, basically. 2nd game in a row (Dumoulin was last game) , this one ends up with a broken jaw/concussion. At some point it seems like its not "bad luck"? Even if its just barely this side of "legal" as a new hockey person I'm starting to see some reasons why that whole "code" thing might have something to it. Mark

Howdy, To me, this series is about how Murray plays. If he continues to be able to save the team from defensive mistakes, the Pens will win. If Murray breaks down (or gets injured), the Caps will finally move past the Pens in a playoff series. Mark