Jarick

It protects your hands better and you get a higher performance palm. I took a slash in my $40 Vapor Apollos and went back to my $140 Vector Pros because it bruised my thumb pretty bad.

Sticks are whittled down to: Shafts Warrior Dolomite 300 flex Polarfibre Easton Synergy II 75 flex Blades Warrior Dolomite Weight Warrior Synergy Elite Iginla Christian Torch #1 (Forsberg) Easton Synergy II Drury Easton Synergy II wood Forsberg Christian Torch wood #1 (Forsberg re-curved to Sakic)

Odd, I wear 14" shins and I'm only 5'8". Roommate wears 14" shins and he's 6'. I know guys on my team taller than me who where 12" and 13" shins that barely reach down to the skates.

Picked up a couple blades, including a Christian composite for $15 at a LHS. My collection is up to: Christian Torch #1 (Forsberg) Christian wood #1 (Forsberg that I opened up at the mid-toe) Easton Synergy Elite Iginla Easton Synergy II Drury Easton Synergy II wood Forsberg (opened up at the mid) Mission L-2 Elias (Forsberg) x2 Mission L-2 Hull (Iginla) x2 Using a Dolo 300 PF shaft and a pair of Mission L-2 75 shafts.

Mission L-2 Shaft Flex: 75 Test Blade: Mission L-2 (Elias, Hull) Reviewer: 5'8", 170 lbs, rec league winger Time Used: Two months (20+ times) Shaft Shape / Flex I'm a shorter guy, have smaller hands (13" gloves), and am not particularly big or strong at 170 pounds. So the intermediate flex shaft feels great for me. At first it felt a bit small, but now everything else feels huge. The finish is a little slick compared to other sticks I've used, but it hasn't been a problem or required any additional adhesive or grip. The flex on this thing is great, whippy yet predictable. I'm able to fire off quick wrist shots no problem but also get plenty of heat on the slap shots. I also have the confidence to fire quick shots through traffic since I can load it so easily. But the lighter flex does seem to make passes a bit harder to catch. 9/10 Stickhandling / Receiving Passes The feedback of the L-2 shaft and blade combo are terrific. I can feel where the puck is on my blade better than wood, so I do have a bit more confidence carrying the puck in traffic. The whippy intermediate shaft combined with the stiff composite blade make passes hard to catch though, enough that I have to remember to cradle the puck to slow the momentum. 8/10 Shooting Shooting is excellent with this shaft and blade. Wrist shots are more accurate than anything I've used before and come off faster than anything else I've used. I feel like the lower flex combined with the design of the shaft (low torque and low kickpoint) works very well for my style of shooting. Snap shots have been fine, although I'm not great with them, but I was able to hit corners from in close just fine. My first slap shots with this stick felt very strange due to the whippy flex, but I've found that I can lean into and through them and retain all of my speed on the shot with less vibration than stiffer sticks I've used in the past. For me, there is no weak part about the shooting of this shaft. 10/10 Weight / Balance It's thinner, shorter (55" or so), and lighter than anything else I've used, probably at or under 400 grams (keep in mind this is an intermediate stick). This makes poke checking and stickhandling quite easy. But the stiffer blade and lighter shaft make it more blade heavy, and I can't imagine using a wood blade in this shaft. A wood end would probably help balance it, but as light weight as it is I haven't had any issues. 9/10 Durability The stick has taken several slashes and the paint chips off very easily, but I haven't noticed any cracks, damage, or change in feel. None of the blades I've used have softened at all. 9/10 Intangibles At first I avoided the stick, honestly because I thought it looked cheap with that bright red finish, especially on the tenon of the blade (looked like a toy). And the "bargain bin" pricing that seemed to drop $10 every time I went in the store made me wary. The red color has grown on me now. I just have a lot more confidence in shooting with this stick than anything else I've used. Between the light weight and flex and smaller shaft diameter, I can't go back to my old sticks. Conclusion I highly recommend this shaft for any player. The shaft and blade have held up incredibly well, it produces a great shot, and right now you can get a shaft and two blades for about the same price as a high end tapered blade. Overall 9/10

BAUER ONE90 SHIN GUARDS Time used: 2 months (20+ times) Reviewer: 5'8" 170 lbs, rec league winger Fit Of all the 14" shin guards I tried on, these were the tightest fitting. I believe it is a combination of the slimmer design and the floating shin system used in this model. Because I have slimmer calves and shins, these fit perfectly whereas most other 14" shin guards fit too big. There is one very large strap that incorporates a calf protector and one smaller one just above the calf. The large strap is very secure but the top seems to allow too much play, so I need to use shin tape for a more secure fit. Although it fits very well, I am still conscious of the fact I have them on, and I would say that there could be a better strap system. 8/10 Protection Although I haven't taken a great deal of shots off these guards, I haven't felt anything through them. I did hit the boards knee first and these pads didn't provide much help as I hit the top of the knee (even with the extended knee flaps). The calf protector is the best I've found; there is a thick piece of perforated rubber/plastic that would absorb quite a bit of impact. 9/10 Weight Although the shin guard has a very slim design, there's quite a bit of padding and protection that adds some weight. It does seem to be lighter than my old Bauer 4000 guards, but it's really not a big factor for me. 9/10 Durability I can't comment on the long-term, but the stitching of the guards seems to be very well done and the materials feel pretty solid. The paint/finish started scuffing of pretty easily, but that is only cosmetic. My old Bauer 4000's held up incredibly well, but I'll decline to rate these due to brevity of use. Intangibles I really like the fit of the pads and protection. They are suited to a winger's game: slim and light weight, plenty of calf protection from goalies chopping in the crease, and the floating shin seems more to protection for falls and large impacts rather than shot blocking. I ended up tucking the extended knee flaps back in the shins as they would catch on my pants while skating. Also, they seem to be just a hair shorter than standard guards, so if you prefer to wear your guards over the skate tongues, double check the fit. Conclusion These are solid, slim pads with plenty of protection for any level forward. Defensemen and shot-blockers may want to look at larger pads. Overall 9/10 Update on 3/10/10 (after another two years): Everything is still 100% on this pad just like brand new. No cracks, gouges, nothing falling apart. Well done, Bauer.

If you dig the Hold Steady, try and find old Lifter Puller. Same singer/songwriter and guitarist, way more drugs, less Elvis Costello, more...drugs. Lots of drugs. I'm on a mid-90's kick right now which involves the second, underrated albums from a lot of alternative bands that everyone's heard before.

Could be worse, James Sheppard is being mentored by Darby Hendrickson!

Very cool story, love the pic with the "FOSHO" car.

2g and counting!

Picked up a pair of Vapor Apollo gloves at HG for $40 to use while sending my Vector Pro's out for a repalm. Surprisingly nice quality, feels more broken in than the rest of the Vapor series, light weight, a decent amount of protection, although it's not going to be confused for a top end glove. First impression is this is a great glove for the money.

Saw it too, was pretty sweet! 2nd goal and he's already being shown on a highlight reel with Kovalev.

Perron is out there wreaking havoc for my team...wish the Wild would have picked him instead of Colton Gillies.

Well after going through a half dozen shaft/blade/stick combos in the last month, I picked up a Mission L-2 75 flex Hull over at Hockey Giant for $60...last non-junior in any hand/pattern too as luck would have it. Good and whippy, decent balance, perfect height, in a pattern I like. Hopefully I'll be happy with something for once!

Yeah that Mazdaspeed6 looks sweet...I have to swing down and see what the ACTUAL retail is. And my boss' husband is a Mazda salesman so I might be able to swing a deal. BUT, I need to pay off the loan for another year first.

330xi which rocks in the snow and rain with regular all-season tires. Except I'm getting killed on repair costs, so I'm hopefully getting something else next spring/summer. Looking at the new 128i, maybe a used G35 or Mazda6. Something with low/no miles, fast, and small(er).

On the plus side, picked up a Christian composite blade for $20 new. On the down side, my TPS shaft snapped a week after I bought it and I can't find the receipt :( And a $200 medical bill and I won't be getting a new stick for a couple months.

I found it at a LHS clearance. Hockey Giant had them for $40 a couple days ago. I pick up most of my sticks/blades/shafts from the bargain bin.

How do you like those shafts? I have the TPS Rubber shafts and need an upgrade badly. The R2 is great, best shaft I've used yet. Quite a bit of pop for a whip flex. It's a bit heavier than the ultra high end shafts but balances well with a wood blade. Good deal for $40. The Bauer I cut from a OPS. Really durable, great for slappers, not bad for wristers. Also a good deal as I paid $60 for the stick and used it probably 20-30 times before cutting the blade off (which was still in great shape, just got bored with the pattern).

And an update: Helmet: Mission Intake Cage: Bauer 8500 Shoulders: Sherwood 5030 Elbows: Easton Stealth S9 Gloves: CCM Vector Pro Pants: Easton Stealth S5 Shins: Bauer One90 Skates: Bauer Vapor XIX Sticks: TPS R2 Control Armor whip flex shaft / Easton Synergy Forsberg wood blade Bauer Endure 77 flex tapered shaft / Easton Synergy Forsberg wood blade Bauer Endure 77 flex P88 OPS LOVE the One90 shins. Love em. Much tighter fitting than my old Bauer 4000's and the calf protection is ridiculous. Feels like you can take a two-hander to the calf and come out clean.

I couldn't stop yawning watching Dragonforce. Great, the asian dude rips it up on guitar and your singer has a huge fan blowing his hair back.

57's a pretty good number, very unique. Except for the ketchup thing. I wore 9 for a while, then switched to 67 because you don't ever see it. Congrats (again!) and good luck (again!) David, I'll be watching on Center Ice this year.

Yep...watching my Minnesota Wild and wishing David luck, though not enough luck to beat the Wild :D

And all the HF boards guys were ripping on him because he'd never be able to do anything against NHL'ers... Give 'em hell David!

Good Lord, that's amazing. A little over a year ago, he's a late round pickup in the juniors his first NHL draft eligible year, and now he's impressing the Blues so much that he could get a crack in the show at 19. That's got to be a lot of hard work on his part.