flip12

That would be my guess too, I just notice heel lifts more often than toe. After spotting it on Matthews I noticed JVR also has toe lifts.

P28 has a big heel curve on it to. I thought the difference between P28 and Fisher Pro was smoother transitions from heel to toe, both in rocker and curve.

No amount of incredulity is going to disprove data that are presented with a rigorously described procedure. If you’re unsure what the data mean then show a critique of the tests based on a thorough reading of the paper.

No. Because your cynicism is spot on.

Some of Gretz’s gloves also had one or two white backhand rolls.

The triangle-perforated steel debuted on the Vapor 8, I believe. I had Vapor 8s with that steel and grey Tuuk Custom+'s. I think they stuck around and were also stock on Vapor 10s, like @BenBreeg mentioned, and Nike Ignite 1s. With the Vapor XX, the perforation pattern changed as @Monty22 pointed out, matching the form of the LightSpeed holder visually.

You can definitely see it, now that you mention it. What I noticed but hadn't seen before was Matthews' toe lifts. I'm used to spotting heel lifts or heel and toe lifts rather than lifts just on the toes. Interesting.

A lot of danglers used to use skinny heel blades (see M. Lemieux, D. Savard, Zhamnov, Kovalev, Viktor Kozlov, even young Datsyuk) which has me wondering if some perceived a difference in puck feel back when sticks or at least blades were wood. The physics of sticks has changed drastically since their time, though. I think when Datsyuk switched from his teardrop blade profile to a goalie blade profile and still managed to dangle the world’s best while reaping the defensive and puck challenge benefits, other players started to try it out with their own patterns. The night and day switch in stick materials and engineering that happened at the same time, or perhaps rather that Datsyuk was the first to prominently exploit, enabled the best of both worlds (good feel and lots of blade face for winning pucks) that max height blades can offer. Having said that, I’ve never had as much success intercepting passes as I have when I’ve played with Kovalev or Leino Pro patterns. They have skinny heels, but the max length seems to catch people off guard. Just my armchair theory on the historical change from skinny to fat heel blades.

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.