flip12

Do you mean reducing the facing so there's less wrap?

I have a W10-Gionta in my basement. The P88 flatness of the last 3/4 of the blade always threw my shooting off. I like the curve though. It's nice to stickhandle with. With a PM9 shape would be insane. Kovalchuk's pretty close to that though.

If you want Pro19 without the toe rocker and thinnish blade face, that's just a classic P92. It's a pretty round toe, but you can always shave it down a bit. Might want to try the superglue with baking soda trick to toughen the exposed part up again.

It's strange because I've used it half a dozen times now, but I really can't say. It feels like a 95. Just like a 95 I don't feel in tune with. For comparison, it took me a few skates to adjust to a 95 Catalyst because it's been so long since I've used a mid kick. I had the hope that the variable would work even easier--whether I shot with low or mid kick emphasis, it wouldn't matter. Instead it just feels dull. It's not a bad stick, but for the money and compared to my good impression of the OGs, I'm disappointed with the purchase. I'll just stick to the budget lines from now on. I will say, I have noted it feels soft when I shoot with my bottom hand really low, like past halfway down the shaft, but I don't often have my hands that far apart.

100%. My best balanced stick is a Kovalev gamer. It's around 550g. It's surprisingly blade light. It's an awesome piece of ingenuity. I didn't weigh my trio of VF, OGRed, and OGBlue. I really should have. But both the blue and red felt much better balanced stick handling in the basement and on the ice. I was going to say better balanced in spite of their "heavier" weight (it feels wrong to call them heavy), but I have a suspicion that they're better balanced because of the added weight. It's tempting to thin out the shaft at the top, because that's the least abused part of the stick, but that's where the weight has the most effect, it seems.

I've tried a few different Praux sticks. I kind of loathe Geppetty's style, but I can't deny the value intrigue and potential offer of his sticks. First go round I tried the old Kovalchuk because I wanted to see how his twist on the E4-with-a-toe-curve was. It's a nice handling curve, but I got a 3rd Line 85 Flex. It kicks alright and stickhandles nicely, but I've never been able to get it to balance out. I realized it was a bit top heavy, so adding a Nexus plug helped. I'm still sitting on that experiment. Second go I went for a Red Line, because some teammates got Red Lines and they kicked a lot better for me and felt better balanced as well. This time I got a 77 Flex Kane-Praux curve. I loved the curve. It was magic for making passes under pressure forehand or backhand. Again I struggled with the balance issue. It was also 395g instead of the 375 that was advertised. I get that there's variation due to pattern differences, and Kane's a massive blade, but I was still a little bummed. That one broke clean in the "taper" part of the shaft on a wrist shot from a player with three years of experience (an incredible player for so little experience, but still). Third time, quite recently, I wanted to get a load of sticks before any potential tarrific world events shifted the stick supply/market so I got three P28s: OGs Blue and Red, as well as VF, all 95 flex. I have to say I was happily surprised by the spec of the OGs--shaft shape and balance feels much better than any Praux I tried previously (though my friend with Red Line Hossas from last season doesn't like his new OG Red Hossa). The VF has the balance issue again. This time it feels blade heavy, especially in comparison with the OGs. Adding a Kovalchuk Tacki-Mac helps a bit. It might need a wooden plug as well. I don't really feel anything with the variable kick. It just feels neither here nor there. The Blue has played nicely so far. I'm kind of just seeing how durable the VF is at this point, but I'm thinking I may dedicate it to off-ice/roller. As for his curve selection, I'm tempted by some fun ones, like the Ovechkin for instance. I'm pretty sure his Barkov is my jam, but I'd rather stick to P28 so I don't get addicted to something limited and tethered to the whims of one Dude. Another note on the curves, I find it a bit annoying, especially considering his branding choices, that he manipulates the curves. The Kane was nice, but it's more like a Pro Kane mixed with a P28 compared to actual Kane sticks I've seen. I'm sure Kane has probably tried something like this at some point, but his sticks I see popping up don't have nearly the toe pocket of what you find on the Praux Kane Pro. The same for Barkov. I know Sasha used P28M for a season or so, and he's had plenty of variations of his trusty old curve, but the one Geppetty calls Barkov is much more P28 than any of the Barkovs I've seen.

P28 is adapted from the Drury. Pro's version is on the more extreme end of the P28 variants, but the Warrior and CCM ones are a bit more mild. There's still enough heel curve in the business half of the blade to play it like that. You just have to remember to release your sweep at the mid-point of the blade, before the toe rocker kicks in or you'll flutter your shots and saucers.

I love the RibCor I had with P46, except for the huge heel curve on it. That with the heel and toe pockets switched would be my dream (also with the E4 toe shape restored).

What patterns did you try before and what didn’t you like about them?

There is no better. There is only personal preference.

I think the toe cap could get better. Holders get swapped so I’m not too worried either way, though they could spruce those up as well. The heel bulge is a feature in my mind. That’s what a lot of people’s anatomy looks like. The straight angled heel of most skates is puzzling to me.

The recent CCM tendon guard is the ugliest thing in hockey since the Nike Quest helmet.

A few tweaks would go a long way. It's the details they can't get right. The base of what they have is good enough. It just lacks the necessary finesse and understanding of the precedents.

What’s the difference?

Fedorov also wore his Grafs in at least one game of the conference finals. If the elite level professionals agreed with you they wouldn't cheat on their sponsors. Other players who were notoriously picky about their sticks: Heatley: on podcast recently said that he was very standard in pretty much all of his, except for sticks. With sticks he had the same Easton build with a particular emphasis on balance. Spezza was way more intense about it though, according to Heatley. He had his sticks catalogued and would request them by city and number. Kovalchuk was notorious for his scrutiny of his sticks as well. Mike Green missed CNT Stealth so bad he bought his used ones back from private collectors and hunted down NOS retail years after Easton stopped producing them. Mogilny (the gear nerd GOAT) obsessed over his sticks and skates and would talk about them so much that it would annoy his teammates and coaches. I'm sure the list would be huge if we had time and access.

I disagree actually. He made the switch around the same time his scoring drought ended last year. He looks like he's excited to shoot the puck again, as though he wants to see what happens every time he lets one go now. I didn't see that spark in him in the stretch before his switch. Confidence in your gear is a thing for pros too; like the Hot Hand Theory that was written off as a fallacy that turned out to hold up after a closer look at the data. I'm not saying this as a Geppetto fanboy. While I have to admit that the Praux value offer is hard to resist (especially in the current economy), I'm quite critical of Geppetty overall. Makes me wonder what builds some of these pros have been using. Having said that, it's a huge accomplishment for Geppetty to go in there and dethrone the major players in the industry to supply one of the game's all-time greats in what will probably go down as the most salient chapter of his career.

Maybe there was a Collin at the store, just not someone who actually works there?

It's a couple of games' old news maybe, but McHeyzeus is back to his pre-Oates pattern.

Not always. The best Vapors of all-time, 8 and 10, had no red whatsoever. Their second tier models (4 and 6) did, but it wasn’t until XX that the Vapor stain was first seen.

Strange to see Vapor gradually losing its L-cut. Looks like a one90ish tendon guard. The graphics aren’t doing it for me. My favorite post-rib Vapor for looks is still Hyperlite.

The first version was an awesome skate. It’s clear Bauer’s been giving nods to their Mission IP lately: the Amp Fly Weight stripe on Vapor X1’s (first gen.), the Drive Shaft bar on the Power Fly holder, and the flex notch (though not a Mission invention) in the Supreme Mach facing.

Where we skate is a dedicated rink. The ice quality I’ve experienced in the CPH area has been very mixed, similar to what I experienced growing up in Wisconsin. I skate with some Canadians (one from Red Deer I’m pretty sure), but none of them have mentioned the ice quality.

Amp Fly Weight?

Hang on, all ice in Europe is soft?

Blasphemy 🫨