VegasHockey

That sounds about right. IMO, many people do too many passes when most times they only need 1-2 passes to freshen up the edges since the hollow is still intact. You typically only need 3-5 passes if you have some trauma to the blade. I also have seen a lot of people was passes as ell when the hollow and edges were cut just fine after two passes but they were not diligent with honing the steel after the sharpening.

Correct, extra wide skates are usually slightly longer than a standard. This is still accurate as of today.

I am going to ignore all of the Fit1/2/3 stuff from Bauer and just focus on standard D and EE fits for simplicity skate. When you go down a half size from a 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 size skate you usually end up with a smaller holder. This gets even more complicated when you add width it's the equation. Example: Bauer 6.5D = 254 Bauer 6.5EE = 263 Bauer 7D = 263 Bauer 7.5D = 263 Bauer 7.5EE = 272 Bauer 8.0D = 272 Bauer 8.0EE = 272 Now imagine you wear a Bauer 7.5EE and therefore skate on a 272 holder and now need a size 7 or smaller TRUE skate. You would be going from 272 to 263 or a 254. Let's take this a step further. Imagine you are going from a 7.5EE Bauer to a 6.5 TRUE skate, you would be going from a 272 to a 254. Does this make things a little more clear? Perhaps clear as mud in some ways. Let's please not get CCM and Mako sizing added to this as well since that in itself is a whole other can of worms. With all of this being said I really wish that manufacturers would all standardize skate length and holder sizing, but that is likely not going to happen in my lifetime.

Ill have to give that a try.

I skated with a guy yesterday who puts a small amount of canned spray insulating foam sealant in his sticks claiming it helps make the stick have a better feel, doesn't add any weight, and makes the stick slightly stiffer. He is a small but stocky guy so he uses intermediate sticks and it does seem like the spray foam does make the stick a little more rigid though I imagine if it ruins the kick point as well. I recall at one point some manufacturers used to put foams in composite shafts but couldn't remember what manufacturers did that. Does anyone recollect which ones?

The 2S Pro, Vapor 1x LE, and 80k skates are all good looking. Much better than these very loud looking skates. I prefer a much more subtle look than something so flashy.

Looking at the scan I agree you have a very unique foot type/shape. I dont think CCM or Bauer retail or even customs would work for you. I would absolutely recommend a TRUE custom for your foot.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2020/12/21/nhl-back-new-divisions-winners-losers-realignment/3973309001/

What do they look like when on and laced? Pic from top, front and side, please?

If you dont have time for laces untied practicing I would recommend trying to drop the top 3 or 4 eyelets when you practice. It will be a struggle at first but over time you'll build up your balance and muscle and pretty soon won't even care about lacing your skates super tight.

I seriously thought I was one of the only people using a wooden end but apparently, there is a lot of others doing such. Maybe it's time for a comeback?

Yup. They did.

Depends on how excessive the pronation is.

The wooden end plug I use is quite small and does have some effect on balance but it feels better to me. I also like that it dampens the vibration and makes the stick feel more solid.

There are quite a few Mako skates: https://sidelineswap.com/shop/hockey/skates/player-skates/l72?q=mako&state[]=available&sort=relevancy_desc

My buddy decided to have a BBQ this weekend and while the group of us are sitting in his game room which is also full of hockey memorabilia and many unique sticks from 1970-2010 someone commented on how most of the sticks on the wall, aluminum, kevlar, and composite, all had wooden ends but current composite sticks no longer have wooden ends. I know some pros still put in their own wooden ends but it seems right around the time period when Innovative was sold that all companies stopped putting wooden ends in sticks. I still put a small wooden end plug in all of my sticks as I like how it makes the stick feel more solid. Any idea why this change happened? Was it to just save a few bucks?

Having the ability to slow the game down in person's mind is an amazing skill that I think many people tend to overlook. The best players in hockey have had the ability to do this, break down the play, slow things down in their minds, and even generate time and space to create new opportunities. I think in Europe they are better at teaching these skills than in the USA.

I have some steel in the mail and @kkskate is going to profile each set with a different Elliptical profile. I'm going to have them done as "blind testing" so they will just be marked as Set 1, Set 2, and Set 3. I can then test them out and see how I like them. I also have the Quad 0, Quad 1 and Quad 2 at home. I'll also have these marked by a friend randomly so I don't know what is what. My control set will be a Zuperior M, Standard Bauer LS5, and a standard Step Stainless. The LS5 and Step have been checked for accuracy rating, making sure they are indeed 10' radius. I was going to add Flare to the mix but since I love their steel.so much I think it would just be unfair to put it up against anything else.

The current steel is made by Tydan. It's VERY good quality.

He is always smiling at practice, during skate sessions, and when doing open ice/stick time, etc. The kid is truly a rink rat and spends all of his free time at the rink. With the 1:1 sessions he has been taking them for a while now, not sure how long, but long before I was in AZ. He seems to enjoy them and the instructor does make things fun for him. The teaching method is very unorthodox and unique, similar to how Katy Jo and Maksim Ivanov really change things up. The only time he isn't smiling ear to ear is when it's game time. When it's game time he looks very serious.

We actually had one of our top defensemen get sick with the flu, not C19, so we were a defenseman short yesterday for practice and I asked him if he wouldn't mind helping out on defense drills. We were doing a lot of corner/half-wall 2 vs 1 drills and also continuous shooting drills for defense from the point and forwards from the top of the circles. He played very well, but as mentioned, he always does well in practice. After practice finished I asked him how he felt playing defense and he said it was ok. He didn't seem overly enthusiastic. I am going to meet with his power skating coach late this afternoon, he does 1:1 sessions with him twice a week. Maybe he has some suggestions or the player has shared more with him than us.

He plays center. We tried wing and that was no better or worse for him. Haven't considered a defense role, he is a bigger kid and a good skater so maybe that is an option. He could be a solid two-way defenseman. I might suggest to the head coach moving him to D in practice just to see how that goes. He moved to AZ from MN and I don't know any of his previous coaches though I am sure I can find that out easily. His stats previously are very good, but he was playing with same-age kids and no he is playing up a level with kids that are older than him. I understand a slump but have been told it's been this way since the start of the season. His mom and dad are at every practice and game. They seem like great parents and are very involved. In fact, they are just as concerned as we have been. We have scrimmaged the lower AA team and he absolutely dominated them in the game... and I truly mean dominated, something like 3 goals and 4 assists. He had no problem skating with the puck and seemed very confident. He knows many of the players on those teams though which is why I think he seemed more confident and comfortable and was happy to skate the puck instead of making panic decisions. Big in physical size., especially for his age. I asked him his motivations and he said "everything about hockey" but didn't say much more than that, he is a bit of an introvert. He does seem afraid of getting hit. In practice, we have a strict light contact policy so it would make sense if he isn't afraid in a practice situation but then in a game, he is terrified of getting blown up. As for puck locked, I think he is very good with creating time and space for himself. Just something he gets into a panic and throws the puck away as fast as he can without looking or waiting even though he has a good 8 ft of space between him and another player. He just seems rushed and panics.

Growing like crazy. Plus there is a huge influx of people moving to NV from CA, OR and WA. I am hoping that this will eventually lead to being able to expand into AZ. While AZ has BTM and Ice Den, they need a real pro shop.