puckpilot

Another thing to think about for release is the flex some of the NHL players use relative to their weight/strength. Matthews is 223lbs and uses an 80 flex. I bet that helps him get an easier and quicker release while maintaining more stability in the blade. I don’t know about anyone else but I see beerleaguers who are not as big or strong use 80+ flexes

I don’t know if there’s a difference in release speed, but I do notice a difference in feel when loading and releasing. I find it’s a lot easier to shoot snappers with a QRE or Ribcore than a Supreme or Tacks. As for Barzel and McDavid using Tacks, do we know if they’re using the low kick version of the Tacks stick or not? And didn’t Matthews switch to an Alpha for last playoffs because he was having issues scoring? Edit: I also find if I drop flex with something like a Tacks or Supreme, they take a step towards feeling more like shooting with a low kick stick.

Doesn't seem like they have that much more than what you'd find in retail right now for Intermediates and juniors. Was hoping they'd have the option of a p28 in a lie 6. Nope. Hopefully more options to come once things have been running for a bit.

I wear 7.5-8 shoes and size 4.5 skates. When I got my current skates, I came down from a size 5. Took me a little while to notice that I was more unstable and my foot was sliding out from under me with my underpush in my cross overs. Blamed it on user error. So spent 6 months working to correct the issue with little improvement. Then last April, I tried changing my profile to a 12' +1, and it made the world of difference. I'm in a 13' +1 profile now, and after 6 months, barely notice any loss of agility. Only notice the positives now.

Was at stick and puck today and saw some guys wearing VH skates. One of them had their laces wrapped around the ankles, strangling the outside of the boot. I wanted to cry. :(

I'm in the same sized steel as you, and for the first time in 30 plus years of my hockey life, I got my skates profiled. I'm on size 4.5 N9000s, and I was running stock LS3 on stock profile, with a 3/8ths hollow. I followed Nicholas G's recommendation of a 12' single radius to start with. He also recommended a neutral pitch, but I went with a +1 and 5/8ths hollow. I specifically bought new LS3 steel to experiment on, because I'm in the middle of playoffs right now and wanted to be able to turn back if I had to. One of my biggest issues was my underpush slipping out on me when I tried to drive into it. Always thought it was user error, but after a few minutes on my profiled steel, I knew I made the right decision. It felt like every aspect of my skating had levelled up. For 4.5 hours I was trying everything from stop-starts to tight turns to one-foot slaloms, but most of all, I was working the crossovers. It all seemed to be clicking. I was able to push things so hard on turns and stop-starts, one of my laces broke. After 4.5hrs, I still didn't want to leave the rink because I was so excited about trying stuff just to see if I could do it. I'm usually a center but from time-to-time I fill in at defense. One of the things that I'd dread was the forward stop transitioning into the backward's crossover. It was always 50/50 whether the inside leg would slip out from under me. With the new profile, my leg wasn't slipping, and the only time I blew a tire was when I was trying to see how far I could push before it blew. For me, I didn't notice any detriment to my agility or turns. I think it might be in part to me feeling steadier on crossovers and hard turns. Or maybe it's because of the small runners. I'm liking it so much, I'm considering going up to a 13' radius, and maybe in time, I'll consider something more complex. Now, this isn't to say that I'm suddenly Connor McDavid. Not even close. I'm just saying that before, parts of my skating seemed to be stagnant. I wasn't making any progress no matter how much I practised or how much I studied technique. But making this adjustment feels like it pushed me free of that stagnation, and now, doors to being better are open. Any way my 2 cents. It's worth what you paid for it.

Hahhah. A high level player on one of my teams says that eating a banana helps with this. Something in the banana makes your bowels tighten up so uhhh... less sloshing in around. I find my trigger is having a little too much liquid before or during the game.

Yeah, I agree. When a guy shows up wearing old, worn out gear, they're usually the ones to watch out for. They're usually the ones skating circles around everyone else. As for what you witnessed, yeah, F those guys. Their moms and pops need to bend them over and show them some old-time corporal punishment. Or maybe someone needs to go into the corner with one of them and take a stomp down on their high end stick.

I find that with new skates, it takes a lot more effort to close the area around the ankle. I found as they break in, it becomes easier, but then again, I have less of a reliance on lateral support from the skate, so what's good support for me may not be enough for someone else. I sometimes train without tying the top three eyelets. One thing I used to do was use two sets of laces for each skate. What I mean by this is I would have my bottom eyelets threaded with one lace, and then I would thread the top two or three eyelets with a second lace. This separated the skate lacing into two zones. I could keep the bottom of the skate snug but comfortable, and if I needed to, I could really yank on the top lacing to close the boot for more lateral support without crushing my forefoot or instep.

For me, it's less about eating. Don't get me wrong, some carbs and/or a little something something a couple of hours before does me some good. BUT for me, the most important thing is getting a nice warm up before I hit the ice. Get the blood flowing, muscles moving, etc. I try to get to the rink at least 45 min before a game--idealy and hour. I do some stickhandling with a ball, and then I do some foot work, cariokas, a few lunges, jumping jacks anything that gets my feet moving, so I get a light sweat and can feel my heart pumping.. Five minutes of warm up on the ice is not enough for me. With that limited time, the engine is cold and definitely not ready to go.

I got the QX on release day. I was using a Super Tacks 2.0 and compared to that the QX blade felt definitely softer. Heck, the whole stick felt a bit soft. But CCM has IMHO one of the stiffest, if not the most stiff, blades and shafts on the market. But after a few ice times fooling around with the QX, I liked it more and more. Yeah, the blade doesn't have as much pop as say the Super Tacks 2.0, but I find I can shoot just as hard if not harder. And the blade doesn't affect my accuracy at all. Definitely doesn't feel like its opening up.

Ditto on the wide head. I went with a Warrior Krown. It's adjustable in all four directions. No more headaches during or after games. I think at least one other brand has a helmet that can adjust in all directions, but I don't recall which.

Wow, I just skimmed through this thread, and it's pretty cool to see you make progress. Boo on the nay sayers. As someone who when through some health issues a few years back and had to literally relearn how to skate, shoot, and stick handle I empathise a lot with your struggles. As I was skimming through this thread, I took notice of something about your stick handling, and I thought this video I found on youtube might help. It was extremely helpful to me in not only getting me back to where I was before my health issues. It helped me surpass my previous skill level. The instructor works with a lot of NHL players, and is I believe a skills coach for the Maple Leafs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgEHrq59czk Oh, if you're looking for open ice in Vancouver, check out Richmond Ice Center. They usually have stick and puck every day from 9am-3pm. Cheers.

Nertz... the per stick price is reasonable enough, but I was hoping I could experiment with different specs. Oh well. Thanks for the response. Saved me a trip down to the shop to ask.

Was thinking about maybe trying a Warrior custom. Do the custom sticks cost more than buying stock?