flip12

I'm not superstitious, but maybe McDavid should go back to the original JetSpeed graphics on his skates for next year. Also, check out Kassian going two eyelets down on his Trues!!

Although @chippa13‘s line would go great in some metal lyrics!

Also, it’s curious it’s called a 5.5, because it’s lower than or equal to the lie on the P28 from heel to toe. For me it plays more like a 4. I had to extend my shaft length dialed into the PM9 the keep the puck from sliding out under the aggressive rocker that starts above the heel.

You could see the VH production process with the pieces covering the upper quarter panel being glued on in some of the videos of their factory. The only part of that assemblage that was stitched into the shell was at the edge, which you could more easily see from the inside. Having said that, even if parts are just glued on, there are vastly different kinds of glue, and while I'm not a composites expert by any means, what I've gathered about these thermoformable boots is there are several different glues for different applications with different activation temperatures. From what I recall, the colored parts of the exterior were applied after the shells were cured with the liners inside them. That makes me think it's not a good mix to try and remove those glued pieces after the fact, as the effect on the shell might well be undesired. Or the undo process could simply be delicate and therefore cost prohibitive compared to just getting a new skate. @GregHenn19, instead of the replacement approach, have you considered the additive approach? Just trace the form of the pieces you want adhered to the boot, cut them out and glue them on top. There might be a hint of added thickness depending on the material you chose, but at least you avoid the headache of the unglue/undo process, and you avoid any risk of damaging the skate from taking the surgical route. Just do the same way as they trace-cut-and-stick shot blockers are applied. Optionally stitch into the shell at the edge if you wish. As for skate weight watchers, I doubt this would do much to nudge the Trues into the "even heavier" category. Those looking for super light skates are already shopping elsewhere.

I get that. I’m just saying he is known for his skating prowess indirectly. It’s just like with fireworks: it’s quite cool and remarkable that they fly in their own right; everyone forgets about all that when they go “bang!” As a counter viewpoint though, wouldn’t it be impressive if the less than stellar skaters used niche tech at the highest level? The other ones are doing fine with what they’ve got. It’s the ones who need a little help that should guide the homeviewer towards potential improvements. Marleau and McDavid are classic examples of it’s not the skates but the skaters that make them go—they’ll be frickin’ fast in anything. What they’re wearing, then, might be correllated with speed but certainly wouldn’t be pinpointed as causing the same speed.

But his particular brand of physical presence is open ice hitting rather than simply being big and mean like Derian Hatcher or Chris Pronger, simply because Kronwall's not big and he actually is a good skater. It's just usually what happens when he skates into your space that catches viewers' attention. Still it's only by incredible skating that those open ice hits happen.

I'm pretty sure Ryan Murray uses Niedermayer clones. He's still a lefty, but that means if you were to order custom sticks at True, you could get one of his patterns there mirrored for you without a mold fee. Unless I've fallen behind, everything I've heard about True custom sticks has included the bit that they don't charge for a mold fee at a much lower order number than other companies. I'd also be up for ordering some blades in that pattern from BASE if there was interest in getting a Niedermayer Pro done up in their pattern request program they have. Then it'd be available to righties and lefties alike.

That could be due to the P28’s heel curve and openness.

Yeah, one of Malkin’s patterns with Easton. He is indeed a lefty. Kovalchuk’s a righty and their patterns revolve around the same concept, so maybe you were picturing him?

I think that was the one I remembered it in, but I can't find the shot of them installing it now. Anyhow, for a before and after, see here, how the liner just wraps over the interior of the outsole by a little over a centimeter before the midsole goes in... ...but then it's all tucked away neatly behind the midsole after:

I would have included the link, but last time I tried to find it a few months ago, I couldn’t locate it again. I think it was from @BelangerJS giving a factory tour way back when the Super Tacks were (re)released on Facebook Live or something.

Midsole is the piece between the outsole (in this case, the bottom of the monocoque shell) and the insole, right? If you look at some of CCM's factory videos, you can see them adding such a piece to their "one-piece" composite boots. I guess it makes sense this piece can be made of various materials. It should have no bearing on the composition of the outer shell, so that would still be accurately called composite regardless of what the midsole's made of.

@Hockeydad97, when you line them up, how do the lies look compared to each other? Can you take a shot of the three blades lined up so we can see how different the actual lie is?

Taste is notoriously subjective, but I think it's clear the skates you mentioned are still in the blinged category, even if Bauer's trying to suppress it in the new Supremes. I just can't look at that skate and not feel like vomiting after what they've done to the one90 legacy line. It's just such a disgrace. How is the composite finish an aesthetic issue rather than a cosmetic issue?

But that’s not really aesthetics, just cosmetics. The way it relates to the sense of touch appears to be primary in this case. Cosmetically, their skates could be better, but they’ve always played that angle of their skates down; thankfully, I’d add: it’s refreshing to have a decent skate on the market without all of the garish flourishes of the others.

Please do! Are the curves the same otherwise?

You mean Kovalev Pro? I didn't know they offered that in multiple lies.

The way I’ve seen it done is to use a single blade knife to slice a line where you want to rip away the lower portion of the tape job; leaves the rest in place but also leaves a slash groove in the blade’s surface.

Outside in might come from MLX. Cruikshank pushed that lacing pattern quite a bit. Graf waxed laces have just enough give to allow for that movement, I find. More wax than that is too much. Off the shelf skates can fit nicely with "just snug" lacing, if they're a decent fit match for one's foot shape. I've skated comfortably in 703's with just snug lacing on the first eyelet over the toes and the third from the top. The rest I just pulled close enough to take out the slack. 703's fit me really well, though.

I'd say it's closer to a standard Malkin. Both the Smyth and Malkin are modified E4s, so it's no wonder they might look similar. I happened to have both in my basement, along with E28 and E4, so I took some comparison shots... E4, W06 Smyth, E28, Malkin I'd go again for the BC71 suggestion...the only problem is, though it is a little more closed, it's also a flatter rocker, so the shooting mechanics are going to feel different than with the E28, both for sweeping wrist shots and snapshots. E4, W06 Smyth, E28, Malkin There it might be somewhat apparent how different the E28 lie and rocker is, but it's much more apparent if you overlay the E4 on the others, since it's the basis for two of the other three... The heel of the Malkin plays a little higher, like the E28, but you can see there's a significant lie and rocker difference that's going to come into play when releasing the puck. That may or may not work for the OP. It may be just as troublesome or even more so than learning to overcome the tendency to shoot high with the P28.

450g is light enough for me. But my Kovalev gamer is almost 600g and so beautifully balanced that it doesn't feel heavy at all. Balance is king. So is having more than a Warp handful of pattern options.

Thanks for the view! That definitely looks like a Malkin clone to me. I wondered if he had switched to that last year in the playoffs, because the blade face looked very Malkin, and I could see from GettyImages that it was a pronounced toe curve compared to his more Kovalev-banana-face-P92ish-curves from before. Depending on the blade face of this one, I'd say it's almost exactly a BC71--Malkin's go to pattern. If it's as similar to my Easton Malkins as it looks like it is, it's just a slightly longer and taller PM9 with less rocker. The biggest differences between that and a P28 is the more consistently flat rocker and a deeper pocket, with less heel curve contributing to the puck's positioning on the blade. It would at least play closer in lie to the P28 than the P46 would, along the heel at least. PS, that Jagr curve looks awesome--maybe a little less toe and a little more heel than the Kuznetsov. Can you share more pictures of that one? I'm curious about the lie as well.

That looks like a P28M with some different blade face shavings: squarer toe, slightly less toe rocker...but the same curve with the same openness at the toe.

Which Kuznetsov? He’s changed patterns a lot over the years. Lately his have looked very Malkin classic, i.e., BC71/Gionta-ish. Can you post pictures?

Warrior Gionta's pretty close to Bace BC71. Less heel curve than the P28 or P46, and more pronounced toe curve, but definitely more closed at the toe.