Law Goalie

This is exactly why goalies (well, sensible goalies) have no issue spending $300-$2000 on top-grade custom masks. Granted, some of us then go and spend almost as much again on paintjobs, but I was only arguing for particular rather than general sensibility. I really believe it's cultural, too: goalies are incredibly judgemental about peers who throw massive cash at tricked out pads and then go around wearing a salad bowl on their heads. (Just like I was there.) We get a good chuckle out of one of our number wearing a replica '70s mask the same way players are amused by someone wearing a Gretzky Jofa, but ultimately, the judgement is there, and in the form of (good natured) public shaming. Now, I'm not suggesting that anyone who doesn't buy one of these Easton helmets should be pilloried; only that there is a difference in the culture at the ends of the ice about protecting the head, and that a helmet that behaves as ragan suggested should gain acceptance as fast as Harrison's mask+cage design did in the 1980s. (Dan Cloutier aside...)

On the goalie front: It's nice to see Graf immediately integrate their new MCI construction into the goalie boots, and that they continue to offer three different widths (Narrow, Regular, and Wide) in their goalie boots. The updated Graf cowlings began to trickle out on the 7500-series skates last year, and have thus been labelled as the '7500 cowlings' though Graf doesn't given them that designation in the catalogue. In addition to a new replaceable runner and improved stainless steel, they offer a MUCH more streamlined profile than any previous Graf cowling in order to compete with the Bauer Vertexx and Reebok/CCM Customlite cowlings. In fact, our own man jimmy has found in his testing that the Graf cowlings may actually offer greater attack-angles to the ice (in at least some sizes and situations) than the Bauer or Reebok offerings. The '396 yellow' option is something different, certainly, and novel as far as I know (apart from the yellow-and-green dyed leather cowlings that the California Golden Seals' goalies used!), but they might have got more mileage out of black. Apart from those changes, the basics of the cowling remain the same: a much shorter blade with a much shorter profile (~24'-26') than most, a standard goalie-width 4mm blade, and a more rounded appearance. On the goalie stick front, Graf has five offerings this year -- but, unfortunately, only *four* paddle sizes, and only offers *any* option in paddle size on two of their five models. The "100%" carbon-based Ultra G7500 and Supras G5500 (which are, apart from 55 grams, otherwise undifferentiated in the catalogue) and the fibreglass-reinforced wood foam-core Ultra F750 are only offered in a 27" paddle height ("SR"). For 25" ("INT"), 23" ("JR") and 19" ("Tyke") sizes, you'll need to look to the "30% carbon" Supra G4500 or the fibreglass-reinforced solid wood Supra F450. It's nice that Graf is offering a goalie stick under 20" at all, but a 4" drop from 'junior' to 'tyke' sizing leaves a huge range of goalies out in the cold. Without knowing how Graf has measured their sticks, my guess is that none of the 'Senior' options would be usable for me; I'd be limited to the 25" 'intermediate' size only available in the 4500 -- as would many fully-grown goalies with properly-sized paddles. That's not to say the sticks aren't good, but that I probably wouldn't be able to use them, and I'm not exactly a midget.

An even further update: A little more info on the fit, function, and features of the pants and knee-pads have trickled out from Warrior and their Montreal-based testers, chiefly "Tony": This is really interesting. If it's accurate (and he usually is), this would suggest that the knee-pads are as expected -- a major refinement of a traditional, industry-standard design -- and that the Ritual pants are an even bigger departure from traditional goalie pants than first suspected. The way that the protective pieces - even the internal ones, like the anterior thigh-guard, are said to 'float' around each while staying overlapped is extremely interesting. I will, however, admit to being a little confused as to how any pant's thigh-guard could both 'slide in behind the pad' (rather that sitting on top of it, as, for instance, the old absurdly wide flat-front, short-thigh pants did), and not come into contact with a knee-lock. The suggestion seems to be that the Ritual thigh-guards are so loose and light that they'll just sit on top of the knee-lock and shift around as needed, but given that the knee-lock has to twist at 90-degrees to the pad's rear face -- something the Ritual pads' knee-lock is explicitly design to enhance -- I don't see how it could. That isn't to say it can't, or that it will end up jamming the knee as so many pant/pad/knee-pad combinations have, only that I'm interested enough to care. And Eric's reply to another inquiry contains some very handy info: Again, the emphasis with the Ritual pants seems to be that their sizing is about more than merely waist-size vaguely scaled to leg-length, which is how everyone has always sized hockey pants. Very, very interesting -- but it'll require some strong retailer and consumer education to drive these points home. The status quo is nothing if not concrete. And while some may complain about the pants only coming in black, and I may understand their vanity, I have three words: "buy a shell." Seriously: I am an absolute stickler for properly coloured pants, and that's all that needs to happen for anyone's vanity to be permanently satisfied AND be able to wear whatever pants fit them best. I'd wear polka-dot pants that said "GET IT HERE" across the backside if they were protective and mobile -- and I could put a shell over them. It's also more than a little unreasonable to expect goalie companies to make equipment for 1/20th of the hockey market AND demand that they make everything available at retail in all the colours of the rainbow. This is a solid compromise, and one well worth pursuing. My only question is whether Warrior currently makes a shell that will fit and function properly on goalie pants; I honestly don't know if the Hitman and/or the Syko are the right shape, or if they come large enough to work in spite of being fitted to player pants. Not that I'd weep if I had to wear a Tackla or CCM shell over them, but I would prefer to maintain the branding, if possible, as I'm sure Warrior would. And last but not least, I realised that there are some interesting resemblances between some of the features of the Warrior Ritual pants and an innovative but disastrously unsuccessful pant, the Koho 590 (and its lesser sibling the 490 and 470). At first glance, there are some strong similarities in the floating hip padding on the Rituals and the 590 design below. What became rapidly clear is not that Warrior decided to copy a few features of a forgotten pant, but that they learned all the important lessons from an ambitious but deeply flawed design, and made all the necessary improvements. The chief similarity is in the design of the floating external hip-pads: The 590 also features a floating internal belt, though not with Warrior unique 'Adjustable Cant' feature: There, however, the similarities end. The 590 was, by all accounts, a disastrous pant both at retail and in the pro ranks, making absolutely no headway against the CCM 620's dominance among pros, which remained unchallenged until the mature versions of the Reebok Premier Series II pants. First, notice the major difference in the first two pictures: the anterior (front) pelvic protection. The Kohos attempt to build it into the pant like almost everyone else has always done; on the Rituals, it's floating and flexible -- as I said, like a perfected version of the CCM 620's best feature. Then there's the fact that the external hip protection of the 590s doesn't actually overlap with the groin/pelvis coverage; on the Rituals, where the external hip shield is considerably extended, that's the whole point. This overlap not only improves protection, but allows the floating groin/pelvis package to slide up under the hip shield for complete range of motion. The last thing I want to point out is that nature of the most significant aspect of any pant's protection, the thigh-guards, in relation to the external hip-pads. On the Koho 590 pants, the thigh-guards were enormous, cripplingly bulky, and invariably jammed up into the hip protection in just about any skating or athletic movement. Here's a rough sense of what was going on: It's clear that Dr. Smith's main aim in designing the Ritual pants was to eliminate the very limitations on mobility that the 590s imposed in spite of their external hip design. I can't wait to see how they move.

No attempt to avoid! You monster! (His fault for throwing that paddle-poke. )

Bloody anglicisms! -- Sincerely, guilty hard 'j' Jofa pronouncer who calls guys named 'Jukka', 'Joker'

Thanks, JR -- the MSH catalogues are always a highlight. Unchanged: pants, C/A's (still with the AWESOME removable chest/belly liner on the Pro -- a huge contribution to the cleanliness AND 'air-bag' protection of any C/A), the Wright-based (960, etc.) and NME mask lines, and most of the Supreme lines (except as below). The Reactor line takes over from the Rx series and several legacy pieces, and, having made the original Reactor 6 pad one of my first tear-down projects, I'm very interested to see the pads in particular. It is also extremely cool to see Brian Elliott rewarded for an incredible season by being made the face of the Reactors: well earned. What's a little strange is that Bauer seems to have positioned the Reactor line, pads aside, in a 'budget' position relative to the Supreme. Their language suggests that Bauer intends the Reactor to be an 'agile' or 'classic' line, and the Supreme line more about butterfly coverage and heavy-duty protection, but the *impression* from the catalogue is often that the Reactor line is simply missing the top-end Supreme features. Consider the new 2013 goal jocks, an update on the slightly angular design inherited from Itech. They appear, in essence, to be the same design: apart from colour differentiation (yellow and blue), there's only the addition of a layer of MaxSorb over the Supreme's cup (a welcome addition, I'm sure!), and the use of mesh on the Reactor's pelvic shield. The Reactor goalie jock appears to be just a downspec'ed Supreme. It may be a few grams lighter, but Bauer hasn't stressed that here, and on the core protection it hardly matters. Ditto the neck-guards: the Supreme has MaxSorb in the central clavicle plate; the Reactor is just foam. Personally, I'd like to see MaxSorb in the collar, the entire clavicle shield, AND extended down into a sternum and heart guard, but I am admittedly a Maltese devotee and a stickler for overprotection here. The knee-pads are similarly positioned. The Supreme knees are the same three-piece design as the old Itech/Bauer pro models, save for changes in colour (now bright yellow instead of orange), the addition of MaxSorb (added, oddly, it seems, only to the top thigh-guard, which is as likely to see a puck as an emergency call-up), and the addition of the same bottom 'tab', below the knee piece, that Reebok introduced in their revised PS2 knee-pad. (As I mentioned in the Warrior review, all knee-pads from this pads three-piece design are sourced from the same basic parts; they have a lot in common.) The 2013 Reactor knee-pad is, at last, an upgrade on the budget blue-lined 'apostrophe' or 'comma' knee-pads (so-called for the curved pieces of plastic below the knee) that had remained unchanged since the days of the Cooper Reactor line. It's a simple design, but it works: Marty Biron is still using a pair from the 1990s. Unfortunately, in upgrading the anterior (frontal) protection of these knee-pads for 2013, Bauer also removed the lateral (outside) 'apostrophe' of plastic and foam, leaving the knee exposed to low-angle shots, especially in post-hug positions including the VH. Frankly, I suspect a lot of goalies may start wearing these backwards (left pad on right leg, and vice versa), simply to keep this spot covered, since it's at least possible to protect the inside of the knee with good, crisp technique; the outside is generally not well protected, especially if you like an open or absent knee-lock. And the same appears to be true of the skates. The Pro (aka One100) continues to be the only skate that offers the Curv composite uppers and a 3mm blade. The Reactor 6000 *appears* to be the same basic specs as the Elite (One80), based on a 'tech mesh' upper with a 4mm runner under the Vertexx cowling; the R4000's nylon upper and non-cutout (aka One60) cowling likewise mirrors the low-end Performance skate form the Supreme line. That said, a couple of interestingly subtle differences between the two skate lines suggest where Bauer is going with the Reactor/Supreme distinction. The extended felt tongue is, to my mind, purely cosmetic for goalies, but it does add to the visual distinction between the white/blue/grey of the Reactors and the black/orange (as opposed to black/yellow everywhere else) of the Supremes. The main difference seems to be that the Reactor's tendon-guard is cut substantially lower and with considerably more potential flexibility than the Supreme line. NB: in the smaller pictures, it can appear that the Reactors are using a different version of the Vertexx cowling that seems to wrap a little higher up the heel of the boot. This is, in fact, just an optical illusion, due to the white 'Reactor' branding on the heel of the R6000 and R4000 boots; the Vertexx cowling remains unchanged in 2013. It's in the PADS that we start to see these differences in the skate lines played out in the most interesting ways, and the Supreme and Reactor lines start to take shape. The Supreme pads and gloves (aka the "ONE" line) remain unchanged for 2013, except that the "ALIVE" composite reinforcement in the TotalONE glove palm now carries its industry trade name "Curv," as throughout the catalogues. Weirdly, Bauer no longer describes the nature of the Supreme glove's break (illustrated as "thumb-to-fingers closure in the 2012 catalogue, p.19), and no longer shows a close-up of the AbSorb patch at the heel of the blocker palm. The Reactor pads, however, are a new and very interesting proposition. They share the standard triangular vertical roll and angular, tapered boot (JRZ design standards) with the Supreme line, but represent a a different and classic approach to some key aspects of pad construction. The original (pre-Nike) Bauer Reactor pads had what were called Flexx Darts: a series of pleats in the vertical roll's shell, breaks in the vertical roll, carrying through into functional shin-rolls and breaks in the foam core. Despite the Reactor's being an early transitional sheet-foam pad, these Flexx Darts and their associated structures meant that the pads could wrap around your knees like leather and deer hair, after a short break-in period to loosen up the seams and foams. This same concept can be seen in the segmented triangular vertical roll and knee-rolls of the 2013 Reactors. In addition to a rounder, more natural curvature around the knee, the old Reactor Flexx Darts, once broken in, would absolutely kill shots to the thigh-rise: no dangerous mid-line rebounds coming out of the five-hole in the butterfly. Hockey World - Reactor 6 specs (thanks to Perani's online division!) While there has been a trend, recently, to produce 'retro' designs with superficial knee-rolls that have absolutely zero correspondence to the function of the pad, the 2013 Reactor's knee flexibility is the real deal. Sadly, the vertical stitching through the shin is purely cosmetic; the days of pads with true lateral flexibility -- the ability to twist the pad between the knee and boot -- seem to be done, at least for the foreseeable future. That said, the last couple of iterations of the original Bauer Reactor *also* had a solid sheet of HD foam in the shin, and very limited lateral flexibility, so it's not exactly worth crying over. (For what it's worth, you *can* make a sheet-foam pad with killer lateral flexibility -- it's just not easy to figure out.) Part of the reason the original Reactor line did so well was that it was one of the first pads, almost to the same extent as Pete Smith's groundbreaking Vaughn Velocity design, to offer a nearly perfect modern butterfly rebound profile. Shots to the boot and shin hit high-density foam, and could be booted out of harm's way; shots to the thigh-rise and knee, in the five-hole, just died. Strangely, this has become increasingly difficult to find in goalie pads, many of which now generate midline rebounds off the thigh-rises with just as much energy as off the boot and shin, I have a strong suspicion that goalies who move into the Reactor line and give their pads a good break-in will be treated to some rather remarkably effective five-hole performance. Working down the line, the 'pro' Reactor 6000 pads are Made in Canada, with a sewn-in knee-lock, sized in 1" increments from 33" to 37", with a standard "+1" thigh-rise -- which actually means that the thigh-rise is, well, not plus anything but the same size consistently. The 'senior' 4000 (1" increments 33"-36", also available in intermediate sizing: 28", 30", 32") is the same basic design, made offshore with an adjustable knee-lock, but the 4000x adds the MyFlex selectable break system from the Supreme line -- an interesting addition. I really like the options for fit and function Bauer's included at this price-point. The 2000 pads, predictably, are budget versions of the 4000, the senior-size pads offered in 32", 34", and 36", with a junior line 26", 28", and 30". (Below 26", you're looking at the Prodigy youth line, which features the newbie parent-friendly fit and wear instructions printed on the pad -- major points for this.) Sir Roderick Laforme of The Goalie Crease (not the website, the extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and exclusive goalie retailer in Toronto) has some very interesting intel on the Reactor pads, both in how they play and the available MTO options: From the catalogue alone, it's a bit hard to get a read on the Reactor gloves at this point. The most obvious difference from the Supremes is the two-piece cuff and full binding perimeter of the Reactors, as opposed to the one-piece cuff and partial bindingless construction on the Supreme gloves. Bauer also lists the Reactor as a "full hand closure," like they did the RX10 last year. However, the difference between one- and two-piece cuffs is basically non-existent these days, and so I've had to look beyond the catalogue for some additional info -- which suggests that the Reactor trapper is not merely the RX10 in new clothing, but something rather more interesting: More from Sir Rod on the Reflex gloves: The "Roli Spec," for those who haven't encountered it before, is Bauer's shorthand for a particular interpretation (NOT a clone) of the classic Vaughn T5500 'Vision' glove -- apparently the closest to this gold standard Bauer's ever come in a retail glove. The Goalie Crease has, for years, brought in custom orders of Roli, Kipper (Vaughn V1), and other NHL-spec gloves, and now the Roli Spec catcher looks to have made it to prime time. Very cool stuff. I'm also pleased by Bauer's continued attention to backhand (what Rod calls 'backpad') design. This is a grotesquely overlooked aspect of gloves. It's often assumed that most of a glove's catching ability happens on the anterior (frontal) aspect, where the puck impacts most commonly. However, the backhand of a glove, if improperly designed, can actually render an otherwise fine glove useless for catching. The dark secret to making almost any glove feel like a baseball glove -- that is, like a T5500 or a TPS Bionic -- is simply to disconnect the backhand, or loosen it as much as possible. Crank the straps back down, and it stops working naturally. My hope is that the Reactor will mark a major return to pure baseball-style catching gloves. And, since I'm a glutton for nourishment, a little more from Rodamanthus on the subtleties of the Roli Spec, and how it relates to other interpretations of the 5500: A final interesting wrinkle from Rod regarding availability: So it seems like Bauer is really going to put their best foot forward with a classic, super-flexible pro-grade Reactor pad early in 2013. Lastly, also new for 2013 is the Bauer Concept mask line, which is added to the ongoing NME and Wright-inspired 960 etc. lines. While the protective value of these new masks remains an unknown -- and as possibly the lightest and thinnest mask ever to hit the market, that is definitely an area of interest -- there are some neat features that are worth pointing out. The carbon edge wrap is an attempt by Bauer to address a huge problem in retail masks: chipping around the perimeter of the shell, particularly in thin or aggressively styled edges. Some goalies had actually been using car door trim to protect their edges, but Bauer has now incorporated this into the shell itself. The Concept line also sees the introduction of two potentially valuable protective technologies: the SAW [shock-absorbing wire] cage clips and Suspend-Tech liner. The SAW system is, depending on your point of view, either an enhanced version of the rubber bushings goalies have been using to add extra shock-absorbtion and vibration-dampening around their cage hardware for years, or a scaled-down, non-pneumatic version of a baseball catcher's cage shock-absorbers. Either way, it's great to see this in a major retail mask, since even a fair hack solution like rubber washers can make a huge difference, especially in post-impact ringing. The latest medical information suggests that goalie are, in fact, at exceptionally low-risk for catastrophic concussion, but extremely high risk for repeated sub-clinical (that is, undetectable) impacts, so any little bit helps. How a free-floating suspended liner will translate into a goalie mask remains an unknown, but I can't see how it would be a detriment: pro goalies have been using chin-slings successfully for years, and the mechanical principles are the same. That's it for now: back to the MLA with me...

I am eyeing these for my new cowlings in a big, big way...

Pete Smith had been hinting for a year now that he'd found, in his words, the first major step forward in C/A design since John Brown's top units hit the scene in the 1980s. That was a huge moment for goalies who had grown up with upper body protection that was largely cotton, felt, and a few bits of leather-covered plastic sewn over key spots -- and, most importantly, separate pieces for the arms and chest: hence the lingering terminology of a 'chest-and-arm' protector. Brown's major innovations were the perfection of shoulder-floater and elbow-floater designs, and the protection layered behind them, covering the gaps created by the integration of arms and chest into a single unit, and a layering of felt, thick plastics, and low-density foam that remains the gold standard (I may need need to say, 'remained until now') in protection and rebound absorbtion. John's design has reigned supreme (in various guises) for the last three decades. There were, however, a couple of drawbacks to this design, and no-one had, until now, been able to get outside them. The first was that any increase in protection required thicker layering, and thicker layering meant more resistance at the joints: the old mobility/protection compromise. This was invariably most noticeable at the elbows -- in large part because even Brown's C/A had a recognised weakness there. The gap in the curved arm plastics behind the elbow-floaters, necessary both for mobility and sane construction, meant that a shot into the seam of the elbow-floater was going to hit the joint slowed down by little more than a few layers of nylon and open-cell foam. This gap had to also be relatively big, since at full flexion the forearm touches the bicep, and anything in between limits the range of movement. This brings us to the single biggest innovation on the Ritual Pro C/A, and the most obvious one: the AxyFlex elbows. What's fascinating about this is that Pete Smith has been inventing and patenting foam and plastic hinges on goalie equipment since the 1990s; his thought has been going in this direction for a while. The AxyFlex elbow is really quite simple in its function, like most pieces of truly elegant and effective design. When the elbow is fully extended, the elbow-floater sits straight across the joint, a few centimetres in front of the actual elbow, suspended on its 'slider', and the hard elbow-cap (a flopping goalie's best friend!) is recessed up into the tricep area. As the elbow flexes, the elbow floater does too, just as on traditional designs -- but Smith's elbow-floater also slides outward, removing itself from the joint, as the elbow-cup hinges out with it. Thus, thoughout the movement of the elbow, there is minimal material between the forearm and bicep, and yet no gap in protection anywhere. This looks just about perfect, to my mind. The close-up picture in the catalogue of Gustavsson (you can tell by the scraggly beard) reaching across his body demonstrates that this is a C/A designed to take full advantage of 'L-Theory': the idea that a goalie should (when possible) flip his glove over like a baseball catcher and intercept pucks anywhere inside the 'L' shape formed by running a line from his blocker shoulder down to his hip, with the bottom of the 'L' across his hips. The main thing I wonder about, at this point, are how the elbows will work in less regular situations -- puck-handling (which one demo goalie cited as a concern in the InGoal review), Hasek-rolls, recoveries from prone and seated positions, etc. -- in essence, the whole range of athleticism that falls out side 'textbook' butterfly goaltending. It looks to me like it will work beautifully, but it's hard to judge any way except first-hand. The only other long-term concern is the durability of the joint. InGoal talks briefly about how, during Warrior's testing, the AxyFlex joint was simplified and recessed into a plastic channel on the sides of the elbow (which tends to take glancing rather than head-on impacts under usual conditions). I would go further, and point out that in the final version pictured in the catalogue, the AxyFlex 'slider' assembly looks extremely easy to repair and replace. The slider mechanism is held in place by a loop of 3mm cord and a small plastic tab -- little different, in that respect, from Smith's sliding toe-bridge on the Ritual pads and their precursors. If, by chance, someone did tag the outside of the slider assembly with a shot hard enough to break it, it would A) probably continue to function just fine, B) ultimately be replaced in a matter of a couple of minutes by anyone who can tie and untie a shoelace. It's really quite ingenious. Just as the AxyFlex elbows are direct descendants of Smith's earlier work, the other high-profile component of the Ritual Pro C/A - the Shockshield exoskeletal plastics on the forearm and bicep -- are likewise the cunning application of tried-and-true principles. InGoal Magazine seems to think that what Warrior calls the 'trampoline liner', and what InGoal calls a 'hammock' suspension (an "inch-plus gap") behind the Shockshield exoskeleton is something unique, but anyone who has ever handled Jofa's (now Reebok's) JDP 'Joint Displacement Principle' gear, or even looked closely at a good pro shinpad, knows better. In fact, just look at the hard plastic elbow-cups on the Ritual C/A (another nice touch!): they are clearly derived from Jofa's heritage. InGoal even makes an explicit comparison between the plastic of player shin-pads and the Ritual Pro arms without realising that they're talking about the same principle. What Dr. Smith did was apply a time-tested concept in equipment design to a new location: the bicep and forearm, as opposed to the elbow and shin. It's brilliantly clever, and definitely worthy of the pending patent, but it's evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Also, this basic idea is part of Brown's original design. His nylon shell and liner are stitched in such a way as to create a similar sling effect behind the internal plastics; the difference is that Smith makes this a primary rather than a secondary part of the protective package. While the catalogue makes much of the the Velcro-based adjustability of the harness and back-pad, the related adjustability of the shoulder-floaters is, to my mind, one of the most remarkable things about the Ritual Pro C/A. The Ritual Pro not only has removable Velcro 'stiffeners' to control the shape of the shoulder-floaters -- removed for a countoured fit over the clavicle, or installed for a more tall, rigid, up-by-the-ears fit -- but the entire shoulder-floater appears to be moveable and indeed removable. This is incredibly smart, since shoulder-floaters are invariably one of the earliest wear-points on a C/A, especially at the attachment points. There are removable liners in the arms, as with the jock. This too is nothing short of a godsend. I would have preferred to see a removable and washable rear face to the entire chest and belly unit, but I'm sufficiently thrilled that I'll be able to effectively wash the interior of the arms regularly and easily. My sole performance concern with the Ritual C/A design -- and evaluating this will have to wait until I have some shots in it -- is the rebound profile. This is likely to be a major concern for many goalies, but I want to nip hysteria in the bud. Modern goaltending has, by and large, evolved away from the classic 'cushion-and-cover' model that was predominant up until the mid 1990s. The traditional approach was to use very soft padding, and very soft technique, to keep rebounds as close as possible so they could be easily covered up. Even with modern high-density foam leg pads, a combination of perfect timing and old technique can still drop a relatively hard shot inside three feet. The problem is that with the advent of curved sticks, the legal allowance of bigger curves, and the ultra-thin composite blades most shooters are using, three feet away from the goalie is more than most shooters need to nestle the puck up into the top of the net with even a momentary touch of the puck. Thus, modern goaltending became about rebound CONTROL, rather than pure absorbtion. The goaltending rebound-rating system (versions of which are used by every major team) empahsises this: if you can't catch the shot cleanly (L-theory) or trap it to your body (gut-trap/body-cradle), the shot should be ramped hard and high to the back glass with the stick, blocker, etc., or at least booted out of harm's way. The two worst kinds of rebounds to give up (garnering the highest ratings, typically) are midline rebounds, coming out straight off the body back toward the shooter, and weak-side rebounds in which the puck comes off the goalie into an area that leaves almost the entire net open. InGoal's review insists that "if we are talking about a goaltender down in blocking mode, with arms extended down to the side and blind to the puck about to hit them, there is no way that doesn't produce a rebound no matter what they are wearing." This, I'm sorry to say, is not a strong position in terms of equipment or technique. One of Mitch Korn's basic screen-shot drills is to put a mask-bag over the goalie's head, then hit him in the stomach and chest with pucks; this completely eliminates visual anticipation of impacts, and yet well-trained goalies will still demonstrate mastery in cradling or trapping pucks to the body with their gloves: only a 'softening' of the abdomen into a concave shape (largely by dropping the butt down) during the impact. The same thing can be accomplished with the arms by keeping them relaxed and ready to soften a little on impact: enough to absorb the shot while still closing the 'seal' of the arm along the body. With a classic Brown C/A, the layering of materials (felt, plastic, low-density Plastazote foam, and open-cell foam) creates what John called a 'Shockwave' effect, with each layer soaking up a little more of the impact. In short, if you locked your arms rigidly, the puck would pop off, but some energy would still be absorbed. With the Warrior Ritual C/A, technique will be of paramount importance. It will still be possible to absorb those blind (e.g. screened) impacts, especially with the responsiveness of the mechanical elbow-joint, but you won't get any help from the materials. The flip-side of the Jofa JDP suspension design is that localised impacts (e.g. pucks) can really explode off the plastic side. Blocked shots do not come off shinpads with much energy loss. That said, most of the time, these high-energy rebounds can be very beneficial, as many of InGoal's testimonials noted. Shots that cannot be caught in front of the body or trapped to it -- hard one-timers, quick high-velocity releases in close, etc., especially on the outside edges of the body and arms -- should ideally be angled away and high and hard as possible. In these scenarios, the propensity of a Brown-style C/A to soak energy out of any puck is actually a huge drawback, and the Ritual's exoskeleton a major plus. Get the outside of your elbow under a shot in a Brown-style C/A, and you'll probably deflect it over the net; get the Ritual's huge plastic shield on it, and you'll probably put it over the glass and out of play -- a much better result. It's on shots 'within' the body, from the apex of the curve of the bicep and inward -- i.e. in the midline -- that I'm most interested in the Ritual C/A's behaviour. Firstly, the exterior plastics would suggest that this C/A will be more likely to give up midline rebounds if technique is less than ideal (due to fatigue, circumstance, or just weakness) -- not only off the arms, but off the big plastic sternum guard. Second, my impression is that while the Ritual C/A's arms offer exceptional flexibility and responsiveness, the belly looks to be relatively rigid. I can't yet imagine how I'd make my midsection, including the C/A, go soft and concave the way it should in a classic gut-trap. I could perform that contortion behind the C/A, but 'I get the impression that the C/A would remain more or less upright because of the long shoulder-floaters and the sternum-guard. This isn't necessarily a problem, since it's possible that the C/A would collapse back enough on impact that it would effectively accomplish the same thing, but I'm always interested in moments when goaltending technology seems (note, seems) to depart from anatomical athleticism. My final and related note, which is no longer of relevance to me but of potential interest to others, is that the Ritual appears to be a 'non-tucking' C/A and pant combination. (Tucking, for those who care, is not like a gentleman's 'dressing', but refers to the tucking of the bottom of the C/A into the top of the pants, then securing the C/A inside the pants with tie-downs.) The wide-open front of the Ritual pants and the relatively short, rigid belly all suggest that this is a C/A meant to be worn free and loose. That's not to say that you couldn't 'tuck' the Ritual Pro C/A or use a long, tuckable C/A with the pants; you'd likely just need to use the pants on their 'straight cant' setting on the internal belt, and set the C/A to hang relatively low using the Velcro harness. As I think my little introduction illustrates, the Ritual Pro C/A is going to be one of the most discussed pieces of equipment this year. I suspect there will be an unfortunate amount of uninformed back-talk about 'Transformers' and 'Robocop', about perceived cheating (this thing has nothing on Garth Snow's shoulder-shingles or Giguere's Conn Smythe-ridiculing monstrosity), and a variety of other nonsense ultimately driven by Golden Age fallacy. What will emerge, however, is how well this radical design works under fire in the long run. FOLLOW-UP: An ECHL goalie named Rob Madore (now with the Florida Everblades) has posted a really interesting review of the Ritual Pro, rightly full of praise for Eric Marvin, Warrior's pro goal rep; and here's his set of pictures, some of which I've included with relevant text below: And from another guy (Tony) in Montreal who's also been testing it: This suggests that most of my speculations about the Ritual Pro's performance are pretty close to what others have observed, but there are still a number of things that would need to be examined over the long haul. And, just for informational purposes, an example of sizing advice from Warrior's Frank Dagneau: Finally, it's worth noting that Eric Marvin has confirmed that custom options will NOT be available (outside of some pro-issue units, presumably) on the Ritual Pro C/A this year, but he does put it forward as a good 'chassis' for competent mod-artists (like himself) to expand on:

Largest concussion study since Roosevelt agrees with chip, with the sole exception of localised direct impacts (e.g. pucks) being mitigated to at least sub-clinical levels by soft padding and an extremely rigid shell (e.g. a high-end composite goalie masks). Helmets can't prevent the axial movement that causes shearing inside the skull (worst) or any other post-impact movement inside the skull (only slightly less awful). That said, the air bladder fitting system has been used successfully in goalie masks at the very highest levels of play (in ProMasques) for a very long time now, and it at least helps to eliminate off-the-rack fit issues as contributing factors. Closest you can get to a perfect fit without custom padding. Just put the Mako boots in any other company's cowling. A goalie boot is just a player boot with (usually) a generalised fit and a chopped-down tendon guard -- and, sometimes for fun, lesser materials. That may change in their next development cycle, if it hasn't (under the hood) already. They stole a really, really interesting young materials engineer from Warrior. Also, I may have just missed it in last year's catalogue, but the Mako glove's "Fast Fingers" are really a neat piece of design: like a miniaturised version of an internal break in a goalie pad's vertical roll. My only caution here is that these fingers will probably, like internal breaks, 'look' and feel stiffer (and 'longer') at first, so there may be some perception issues to overcome, but the results should be excellent provided everything else about the glove is solid.

With my Ritual LTR on mutually-agreed hiatus, I figured I'd chime in on what JR has correctly described as a major step forward in goaltending technology: fitting to celebrate at the end of the lockout! The key thing here is what Warrior finally has a comprehensive and interactive suite of goalie equipment. Of course, I can't yet speak to how these different components actually work together, but the bar has been set, and the sky's the limit. InGoal Magazine has only touched on the C/A so far, so I'll first spend some time with the lower-body offerings... JOCK While every goalie appreciates a jock's protection, there has been an almost linear trade-off between protection and mobility at the waist. More plastics and high-density foams in a larger pelvic shield, less mobility; more mobility means less of those, and thus less protection. By designing the jock's Shockshield to 'float' down and away from the waist on adjustable elastics as the goalie bends forward, and by scalloping the top of the Shockshield and the top of the jock's inner padding, Pete Smith appears to have engineered a compromise that allows for the highest levels of mobility while keeping the protection extremely high. It might have been possible to add a few more spots of protection around the perimeter, but this looks to be a huge winner for Warrior. Notice the waistband as well: elastic at the front, but a large, extremely wide, comfortable synthetic leather band at the back -- more like a high-end toolbelt than a traditional jock. Brilliant design choice. Oh, and the removable liner -- genius. I currently have to throw my whole Vaughn Epic jock in the wash when I want it cleaned, and this will make a huge improvement on the longevity of this piece of gear -- to say nothing of Warrior's application of their best and brightest 'Silver Shield' material in a crucial area. Now, of course, no jock is worth anything unless it interacts well with… PANTS I will admit to being far more interested in goalie pants than most guys, in part because they are, like jocks, almost invariably a compromise between protection and mobility. There are things you can do in a pair of shorts that you simply can't do in goalie pants -- or so it seems. That said, I think Warrior's on to something here, and it's a massive improvement over last year's holdover Messiah pants. The Messiah pants were nice, light, comfy, and extremely mobile, but the Ritual pants look like an enormous leap forward into very, very good company. The biggest feature of the pants is the 'Flexplate' setup: the set of overlapping, segmented plates across the thigh, groin, and hip. While it's easy to pile padding into the thigh and hip, one of the biggest design challenges in goaltending is how to add protection to the upper anterior aspect of pants (the front of the groin) without compromising mobility. In this, Dr. Smith has clearly drawn on the three benchmark pro-issue pants of the last two decades: the CCM 620G (aka RBK Premier 1/PS1), the CHL-only Easton goalie pants, and the Reebok Premier 2 (aka PS2, which has been Reebok basic design ever since). The 620 and the Easton pants (which were designed by Michel Ferland, and updated in his MF2 goalie pants, now owned but still not marketed by Combat Sports) use what is generally called an 'accordion' design: a set of three (620) or four (Easton/MF) triangles, wedges, or rectangles of protection sewn tightly together, and which collapse as the goalie bends forward. This accordion design is not only highly mobile, but the best protection you can get: when using heavy HDPE plastics and good foams, it creates a 'bridge' from the pelvic shield of any good jock all the way to the hip-cups of the pants, completely shielding the pelvis and groin. Lefebvre's PS2 pant design improved on this by making the lower part of the accordions 'flaps' that hang down over the main thigh-pads, eliminating a final traditional gap in protection there and a few ergs of resistance in waist flexion. On the Ritual pants, however, Dr. Smith has brought this design to its logical perfection: an accordion design that floats in front of the pelvis, rather than being sewn into the pant. This allows the accordion to offer a complete 'three-way bridge' of pelvic protection, radiating out from the jock to the thigh-pads and hip-cups. Likewise, the hip and kidney protection is an eerily intelligent combination of floating external shields and segmented internal protection. All in all, the Ritual Flexlplate system looks like a world-beat -- though much will depend on the material choices, and, of course, how they play in the real world. The 'AxyCut' is an attempt to solve a classic butterfly issue -- pants jamming against the lateral gusset of pads -- without resorting to comically short thigh-guards, and while maintaing the NHL-spec 10" total width of each thigh. Basically, Warrior just notched out the bottom lateral (outside) corner of the thigh-pads, exactly the same way that all thigh-pads are notched at the groin (on the opposite corner, top-medial). These are indeed the very corners pants that jam against pads, but it remains to be seen how effective this will be in practise. Internal-belt systems, as on the Ritual pants, are touchy issues. I love them, but they are technically illegal in NHL-spec play, and I've gradually moved to suspenders because of the difficulties of making an internal belt play nicely with a good goalie jock. That, of course, is where complementary design comes in. The 'Adjustable Cant' feature of the Ritual's internal belt allows not only different stances but also different physiques to be accommodated: guys with burgeoning beer-bellies will likely love the forward cant setting, while skinner guys will appreciate a pant that finally doesn't slip off them. The fully mesh rear of the pants is a great idea -- great for airflow both in-game cooling and post-game drying, and a major improvement in flexibility -- but my favourite ancillary feature of these pants has to be the (as yet unseen) removable suspender buttons. If you don't use suspenders, you don't need them; if you do, you know how they are invariably the weak link in any pair of pants -- and if they're removable, they're replaceable. A wonderful little touch. And no matter how nice a pair of pants may feel, they aren't much fun to play in unless they interact well with… KNEE PADS This is a murderously tricky piece of equipment to design. The knee-joint is one of the most flexible points on the body, apart from the knuckles (as any player-glove designer would tell you), and knee-joint design has baffled even NASA for decades. Fortunately, we're not designing actual space-suits -- just metaphorical ones. Dr. Smith's chosen a three-piece design for the Warrior knee-pads, as opposed to the one-piece flexible shield used by Master John Brown (my preferred knees). This basic three-piece design has been commonplace in goaltending for the last decade plus: it's been used by Koho and Reebok, Itech and Bauer, Vaughn, Simmons, Passau, Stomp, and just about every other goalie company, great and small -- though some slap a massive fourth shield over the top and call it revolutionary. They all use the same basic pieces, sources from the same places, attached in basically the same way. The Warrior knees, however, have a couple of important differences. Firstly, unlike Reebok and Bauer, Warrior has very sensibly (like Vaughn and others) done away with the 'hard ball' plastic cup on the front of the kneecap. This really should be common sense, but the illustrations in the catalogue make it clear as to why this hard ball cap, which has caused enormous problems for many goalies (and actually cut me up worse than a puck ever has), is totally superfluous. The two upper shields protect the knee and thigh from impacts; the lower piece is simply there to ensure that the knee doesn't come out from behind those shields, to hold the padding in place, and to give a little extra cushioning in case the knee slips off the knee-block of the pads. Second, and quite subtly, the Ritual knee-pads offer a longer lower piece than most. A common problem with knee-pads and the 'closed' or fitted leg-channels on the Ritual pads and many others is that the part of the knee-pad that wraps below the knee will 'pop out' the top of the leg-channel, then jam as it tries to slide back in; this is particularly noticeable in butterfly recoveries and the VH position, and can be extremely detrimental to overall mobility. Most goalies just blow this off as 'not working' and try something else, or ditch the knee-pads altogether. By simply extending the Ritual knee-pads below the knee, down the top of the calf, Warrior has completely solved a problem that has been bedevilling goalies since Dr. Smith introduced butterfly pads with the Velocity. And, these will probably feel more like the hallowed D&R (then Daigneault & Rolland) GK10 knee-pads that for some many years were the hidden secret of the early butterfly goalies. Finally, Warrior's 'TaperFit' design should ensure that the two massive problems with this three- and four-piece knee-pad design -- interaction with pants, and with rotation of the leg behind the pad -- are minimised, if not entirely eliminated. (FWIW, the traditional terminology of the 'rotation of pads' is an oxymoron. Watch a modern goalie's pads: by and large, they face up-ice all the time, while the goalie's legs do gymnastics behind them.) This is to say that while 'TaperFit' is really just a greater curvature of the upper two pieces than you'll find on any other version of these kneepads, it has a huge impact on performance and protection. The medial (inside) aspect of the knee-pads, which rests against the knee-block of the pads in the stance, will rotate more easily behind the pad to bring the knee-cap around the back of the pad to face down into the knee-block in the butterfly. The lateral (outside) aspect of the knee-pads, which protects the outside of the knee from impacts in the stance and VH (which can be incredibly painful and debilitating) is likewise so beautifully rounded off that as it rotates around to rest against the back of the pad in the butterfly, there should be little to no resistance or pressure against the back of the pad (which can cause the pads to tip forward in the butterfly, mistakenly called 'under-rotation' of the pads). And, of course, the tapering of the upper piece should mean that the Ritual knee-pads can slide in and out of the leg of any pair of pants with far greater ease, no matter how massive the thigh-pads may be. (NB also that there is a nice, heavy leather tab on the back of the upper shield of the knee-pads, for securing them to the pants: a thoughtful touch. I'll follow this up with a longer post about the undisputed crown jewel of the Warrior Ritual 2012 lineup: the Smith-designed C/A (chest-and-arm).

And that's how 'power bracelets' and magic beans get sold.

Why not treat the 'fitting fee' as a blanket credit? That is, if someone balks at the fee, you just explain that while it's meant to be put toward skates, you can use it on any product - laces, tape, etc. - just not services like sharpening and baking, so he can't give you $20, buy them online, them come back and use his deposit on services that an online store can't provide. Hell, if you're feeling generous, let him put it toward sharpening and baking. So, in essence, a 'fitting fee' becomes a service deposit: if they use you as a fitter, a small part of their budget becomes tied to your store.

The post you were responding to was a guy complaining because a particular customer would consistently show up moments before closing with jobs that would take longer than the store would remain open. What's he supposed to do, sharpen one skate, hand them back, charge half a sharpening, and kick the guy out? And, generally speaking, customers grossly underestimate the time it takes to do anything. I once saw a father and son some in to get fitted for skates with 20 minutes to close. The staff told them they didn't have time; the guy started to whine; eventually the owner told the staff to close up, and stayed late himself to take care of them. That's one privilege of being a genuine family-owned business, but it's still very thoughtless of the customer. If the shop says they can't fit someone in 20min, they're not being lazy. Your point about employees mistakenly thinking the workday ends when the sign flips is well taken. But what you're suggesting about customers coming in at the last minute is the equivalent of showing up at a shop before opening and demanding entry because the staff are inside, and you can see them working. The presence of active staff does not mean a store can serve you -- particularly not with respect to something as laborious as a good sharpening. Most of the really good sharpeners here in Toronto start their days with about an hour's backlog from overnight drop-offs (and, to the point, late arrivals the prior day), so showing up in the first 90 minutes of opening means you're going to wait for your sharpening. That's not bad service, it's just a reality of business.

Ah, bribery--- the grease of the world's wheels. I once had someone throw a twenty at a sharpener to cut the line while I was waiting; I would have been angrier if he HADN'T taken it.

Blue re-sign David Goliathus after his impressive comeback season: $15.25 millon over 4 years. Hear that?-- that's the sound of money well-earned.

They weren't saying he was the same kind of player as Thornton, only that he was of equal importance of his team's offense as Thornton is to his; they also never suggested the hit was anything other than unfortunate. A man fairly beaten can still seek retribution - though of a different kind - than a man wronged. I would, however, suggest that Perron is more of a playmaker than you're suggesting: his assist totals have never been shabby.

TSN's preview of the Blues/Sharks series identified David as the premiere scoring threat on St. Louis, comparing him favourably to Joe Thornton as the Sharks' offensive catalyst -- and noting the dramatic irony that it was Thornton who put him out for almost a hundred games. Interesting moment: they put it as David's chance not only to break out on a big stage, but to punish Thornton on the scoresheet for every day he was sidelined, and to make that hit come back to haunt the Sharks.

Nice Warrior pads on your tender...

That's rough. I've started losing a few of the teachers who were huge influences in my formative years, and it can be profoundly affecting; on top of that, people generally seem to be closer to teachers of creative arts than any other species. One guy in particular is not long for this world, and I'm hoping he'll be healthy long enough to attend to a centenary conference in honour of his own teacher, partly to pay homage to Frye and partly to let him know that he too will be celebrated. Rounding our little lives with sleeps are dreams of which we're composite.

Holy shit, I can't believe I missed this: all due felicitations to the boy and the mum, and great choice on the name!

True, but at that point, I'd probably just drive over to one of those places. It's not that there aren't places in Toronto that will do FBV; I just happen to live in a bit of a dead-zone, surrounded by die-hard Blademaster shops.

Thanks, guys: I'm getting a better picture of how this works. Given the difficulties, it really does seem like goalies should be charged more. The shop's either investing a lot of time or a not insignificant chunk of money to save the time, and unless they get a ton of figure-skating business, it probably isn't worth it: goalies are only going to account for 1 out of every 10-15 sharpenings. The real annoyance for me is that there really isn't another goalie-driven place close by that offers FBV in Toronto. Just Hockey and Majer are a bit of a haul (and not really near anywhere I play, or generally go for any other reason). Maybe I'll try to get hired at York U to justify going to Majer on a regular basis... heh. Failing that, I'll either have to try BFD at Toronto Hockey Repair/Goalie Heaven, or get myself some One100 cowlings. The real pisser is that I'd just tracked down a pair of One60s, and my main reason for doing that was to keep the durability and geometry of 4mm steel...

Fair enough: as I said, it is entirely the shop's decision, and I don't begrudge them that. Personally, I noticed an enormous difference in all aspects of skating. The glide phase of T-pushes met significantly less resistance; I found telescoping (ie. C-cuts) significantly less tiring over a 90-minute skate; shuffling was made much, much more precise because of the constant angle of the 'fangs' (as opposed to having the ice as a tangent to the circle of the ROH at the edge); and, as a consequence, that it's much easier to find the edge in butterfly movement. Granted, I do fit the profile of someone who will benefit more from FBV than most: I'm about 225lbs + ~40lbs of gear, I was using a deep hollow already, and I tend to chew the ice up pretty badly. Again, I would have had no problem if he had said exactly what you did: it's a finicky adjustment, it slows things down, we're small but busy shop (they're not that small, but they do only have one FBV head, IIRC), etc. I even offered to drop off only my spare blades, at a time of their convenience and with a window of their convenience, and to pay whatever premium they thought fair; I had also tipped ($10-$20) on a regular basis, just not this particular time. They're one of the bigger goalie stores in Toronto, and they do good work, for which they should be fairly compensated. He's totally within his rights to say no, even with those offers; it's his business, and his bottom line. My only problem was that instead of simply explaining the situation (as you did) or considering those options, he was far more interested in telling me why FBV doesn't work and couldn't work for goalies. He didn't even *need* to justify it to me; the way he chose to do so was more than a little suspect. Is FBV really that much harder to sharpen on wider blades than ROH? Should shops be charging goalies more for sharpenings generally? If figure skaters pay more, shouldn't we?

A fascinating development... Duke's Hockey Source for Sports in Etobicoke (Toronto) is now refusing to sharpen goalie skates on FBV after having done it since they week they got the machine from Blackstone. Fair enough: they are allowed to determine how their business operates. The attempts to rationalise that decision, however, betrayed an alarming ignorance. Initially, their sharpener claimed that he would no longer sharpen goalie skates because "FBV doesn't do anything for goalies." When asked why not, he replied that "FBV is for speed," which apparently goalies don't need. When it was suggested that goalies would benefit from enhanced glide in a T-push just like everyone else (to say nothing of the benefits in shuffling), he tried a new approach. Now it was claimed that "it takes way, way too long to do FBV on goalie skates." Yet everyone in this thread has said consistently that all it takes as a few clicks on the holder. When asked about that, a third approach was tried. Suddenly, it was "impossible" to sharpen goalie skates on FBV "because the blade is 4mm wide." This made even less sense based on the information in this thread. The sharpener finally allowed that he would continue to sharpen Bauer One100 goalie blades (~3mm) on FBV, but would not sharpen any other goalie skates including RBK 9K 'Thrust' blades, which are 3.2mm -- about .0025mm wider than a C+. Again, as a business decision, it's the shop's call, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. To give deliberately misleading information about Blackstone's technology is another matter entirely.

Found a pair of mint Betty Flyweights for my wife -- after literally years of looking -- and they fit beautifully. Time to take her for a spin at the Ricoh Coliseum...