flip12

I see why you say that. I have a couple of Malkins (both Eastons) and they seem to be based on the E4 as well. They're not bad, but maybe a bit more pocket than I like. Has there been more chatter about a Kessel Pro with you guys?

Longer E4 with a mid-toe curve added to it. I love that recipe. I'd try his pro stocks but I'm a lefty.

It's been noticed before in this thread: The discussion continues for a bit around that post.

Congrats :) How / where did you do the fitting / tracing? Is there a place up by you? I've only spotted a couple of pairs down here, but I haven't seen many elite games so there might be more at that level that I'm not aware of.

Yeah, not many do. A lot of tongues-out guys end up tongues-in, like Statsny. I think Kulikov flopped his VHs for a while. He's another try-everything for his feet.

What would you wear if you had your pick of any of the skates on the market? It's one of those questions I think about, as I imagine other MSHers do as well, quite often. Well, Sergei Shirokov may be a study in that merry-go-round: He was a long-time Vapor guy but switched to VH a couple of years ago. Apparently he wasn't sure of them though, going through JetSpeeds, Super Tacks, 1N's after his initial run in VHs but now he's back in a rather ugly custom order of their recent version: What a fickle guy.

Another great fastest skater performance from McD. He beat Gartner's record and didn't even need Larkin's head start. I was impressed how quickly he got started to that first corner in the prelims. He's definitely fast and he zips out of curves using his crossovers but his straightaway speed is right at the top.

Duh, sorry I can't read. I misread the post I quoted you on above more than once...I shouldn't allow myself near the computer before coffee :P

Which one is the stiffer holder according to their experience, the more often preferred SB 4.0 or the VH/Step holders? Can't tell from your first sentence.

If you watch the videos on how they make the boots, you'd see that as well. They're stitched where the stitching shows on the interior. Otherwise, they're adhered to the side of the boot one at a time and pressed in with a hammer.

I remember watching him at the U. Was the the same class as Kessel, I can't remember?

The KHL All-Star Weekend is like a VH Parade: Pavel Francouz, Ryan Stoa, Francis Pare, and Brandon Kozun. And there are at least a few more: Afinogenov, Gilroy, etc.

And after his fastest skater lap in the Oilers' comp, we can see where his speed comes from. He skates like Mike Gartner straightaway, but has his own crossover style. Interesting to note, for maximum straightaway speed, it's just the simple forward stride and no "linear-crossovers." He does use the crossovers differently than others and credits them especially in the interview afterward, but he's still fast in straightaways and even to the first corner where he's only had one initial crossover.

Stealing his skates would work too.

Never thought I'd see this. Looks like he's ditched his tweaked Kovalev mirror patterns for a P92 or something similar. From what I could see on Getty Images, he seems to have made the change early on this season.

@colins I definitely agree, lots of great discussion in this thread. I think it's a matter of combining both skating and stickhandling that being comfortable with taking anything as the next stride isn't taught. It's tough enough to learn to skate very well and it's also tough enough to learn to handle the puck very well, then doing the two in tandem on top of it all. I agree with @boo10 regarding Grabner. It looks like his speed is just a matter incredible power and perfect technique. It's a shame he's slumped again otherwise he may have gotten a place in the All-Star Game and we could have seen him race again. I wonder how he would do in the preliminary format used to pick Larkin for the lap timing. It would also be interesting to see if he could also have broken Gartner's record on the shorter track with the nets at the top of the crease and Larkin's head start from the blue line. What was it with those ICM's @JR Boucicaut? Fedorov seemed to stay on them as long as he could as well, at least in his one90's in Columbus. In Washington he was on Custom+ again. My gripe with the linear crossover message is it's confusing the way it's presented makes it sound like it's the key to skating the best rather than creating space on the attack and I think it leads to its overuse. I was at a Wild game in October and I saw Charlie Coyle use one in trying to get to a loose puck in the defensive zone. I can't remember his exact stride sequence, but he took a starting stride from a stop or a standstill, another forward stride, then a linear crossover, then another forward stride. I just thought, "that's odd," as it looked like he simply wasn't comfortable skating forward. I think Coyle works with Belfry, who's associated with teaching the linear crossover, so it could be there are others who misunderstand when to use linear crossovers based on how it's presented.

I was wondering if you were thinking of this before, but it sounds like you're on the "Linear Crossover" topic. I'm actually quite skeptical that this works the way that the guy who's always pushing it describes. It is a powerful weapon for attackers, but it's not all about top end speed. If it were you'd see guys taking linear crossovers when they get their first step out in the open on a breakaway. Also, the guy with the best speed today might still be Grabner and he hardly ever takes crossovers. He just outskates everyone on the ice and with a lower stride rate to boot. Where I think this technique actually has its effect is in forcing the defense to constantly update its angles of coverage, kind of like a weaving game of "whack-a-mole" plugging holes so the shiftier skaters can't break through. Changing direction with the puck places much more demands on the coverage of the attack and this is why the biggest points producers use "linear crossovers," because they're unraveling the defense as they transition. Even Ron Francis or Pierre Turgeon were masters of this and they weren't the fastest skaters by any means, just quick and shifty. This makes sense because hockey is more a game of 2-D races, going for patches of open ice, than it is a game of linear 1-D races of just to get to a point first. The 1-D race does come up but not nearly as often as the 2-D race, and the guys who are best with the puck continually reset the table by shifting the patches that they're using to apply pressure on the defense with. This is where the linear crossover comes in: keep going down the ice with speed, but open up a little space so this defenseman comes over, then back and now by him because he's not keeping up, or pull him over then pass to the recently covered ice that's now open for the sniping winger to come in and profit from the opening. I think that the explanation needs a little more detail to make the most sense. To say that linear crossovers are the best way for speed just doesn't jive with what I see the best skaters do when there's no one in their way.

I prefer shallower hollows and have ended up on edges deeper than 1/2 from eBay purchases and it feels awful, like the ice is ripping my knees out of my legs on every turn and stop. I also prefer a long radius, so I think the shallow hollow goes hand in hand with that. The shallowest I've seen was 1.5", on a pair of Gaborik-used skates that were up for sale on eBay. He was also on a long radius: 10-20.

I read on here Fedorov skated on 11' radius at 1" hollow. I'm not sure about the source though.

I would guess the other side of 1/2". Like a lot of the best skaters in NHL history, McD's a major bender, which gives more bite from less hollow. Still just a guess though. Take away his lateral speed, he's still incredibly fast.

How much lower on the ankle are they than VH? Are they also lower than the Grafs you've had?

Cool. Good to hear. I have a few Kovalev blades, from Inno, Warrior and Base, and they all have that longer tenon. They range from 190-202g's. It's not so bad, since the extra length means I don't have to use an end plug in a classic standard shaft. Shafts are so long these days, that doesn't really matter so much anymore.

How much does it weigh? I've got a BASE standard Kovalev that's 199g. Curious how much lighter the tapered version is.

I find my Kovalev blades match the rocker of a Darby/E13 almost exactly. The main difference is the heel on the Kovalev is lower and more rounded, but just a couple of cm in it starts to line up very closely. The Darby also stops up short of the Kovalev length a few cm. 5.5 seems like the perfect description to fit most of the blade.

I did too, but I pictured it as lateral. I confess, I don't know what it is exactly you goalies do, but I couldn't model it in my head as medial. That would be the opposite motion and pushing with the outside edge, aka, cross-over territory. Agreed, it's the same either way: bake the range of motion into the skate and it shouldn't be a problem anymore, regardless of which side it's happening on.