First hockey skates for toddlers?

[docar15 1]

All,

I wanted to share some good news. Yesterday my son crossed the rink (g-line) without anybody holding him almost 10 times. We used cones to motivate him, i.e. go get that cone, then you can throw it at mama. My wife was not to thrilled with the approach, but, it worked. We are currently on CCM double blades, 1cm +/- between each runner.

[Blueice 0]

We had great luck with Lil Chanps...we started with cheap Bauers, and they killed his feet...the Champs allowed for his tiny feet not to be sore. Straight back, but rounded front.

Our 1st started at 3, and is about to turn 7. He went through all the lessons and massive public skates. Skating backwards some before hitting the mighty Mites at 4 YO's....he helped a lot, and he excelled quicker in hockey cause he could skate...focus on the hockey part. Of course most Mighty Mites focus on skating anyways...esp at 4.

Our current 3 YO does pretty good, and can go and hour plus before he gets "tired" Wants NOTHING to do with lessons, and gets up and down the ice fine...so he starts the Mighty Mite next month.

TO be honest, with the right program, both routes are just fine...I lean towards better skating first...but if the lil one wants to do hockey, maybe try and do more public skates instead of lessons...like a family thing

[cougarscaptain87 12]

ive got my 13 month old son, and i already bought him his first pair a skates, the tiniest ccm 892 tacks i have ever seen. hes in a 7 shoe right now so i hope these skates fit in the fall, he already loves to play mini sticks with me (he prob likes it becasue he gets to hit me with the stick) and i cant wait to teach him to skate. you guys are giving out alot of tips i wouldnt have thought of, thanks for letting me piggyback on this thread!

[Blueice 0]

ive got my 13 month old son, and i already bought him his first pair a skates, the tiniest ccm 892 tacks i have ever seen. hes in a 7 shoe right now so i hope these skates fit in the fall, he already loves to play mini sticks with me (he prob likes it becasue he gets to hit me with the stick) and i cant wait to teach him to skate. you guys are giving out alot of tips i wouldnt have thought of, thanks for letting me piggyback on this thread!

"JUST" a thooght..his Dr. told us not to get him skates until 3...development etc. Even with a perfect fitting skates, the ankle support wouldn't be there, and the strain on developing bones could hinder proper growth...probably just a conservative Dr. but something to consider....

[Zamboni 6]

That DR sounds overly cautious Blueice, maybe he saw one case with a problem aggravated by skating so formed that opinion. We get a lot of parents starting kids skating right around 2 here without problems, a few doctors kids included.

Common mistakes, buying skates way too big to get 2-3 years out of them....really hard for anyone, let alone a first timer. Then wrapping those laces a few times around ankles-kids out there with head too big for his body, weight of a helmet on it & huge skates only tight where they shouldn't be. Now they get going in that almost falling forward motion, bent at the waist with 1/4 of their body weight being their head. Makes a great family video but little Johnny won't be asking to go skating again.

[Sven 1]

I am approaching this as well. My kid can start playing at age 3 in the Mosquitos which is a learning period from ages 3-7. 10 weeks of sessions once a week. Anyhow I would suggest going to the closest hockey supply and having them size him/her and getting the skates there. May have to have them ordered, but at least you know the skates fit properly. At this age, they are developing very quickly and dont want to disrupt that with an injury due to poor fitting skates. My sons ready to play he's already talking about the stanley cup :D

Here's a pic of the 2 of us for kicks.

Casey

Dude your stick is way too short! Get a wood-end.

But seriously, a very nice pic.

[duch 0]

My only advice is put them on regular skates right from the start and let them develop at their own pace, don't push them. You may want to put a set of roller blade knee pads on them at first too because it seems once they hurt a knee it distracts them from to keep trying. Once the little ones see everyone else walking around and skating about they'll want to fit in and be like the bigger kids and adults. Have them walk around in their skates a bit before they get on the ice just to get use to the feel of walking around on a slim blade and then gradually coax them to join you on the ice. Take it in small steps, it takes time but eventually your perserverance will pay off. Within a short time they'll be zipping about. You'll be amazed how good they'll get once they start on their own. My son was a better skater at five than I was at sixteen.

[UC-CP-SF-dB 0]

We have Graf 301s in youth sizes in my shop - down to a size 8. It's a good skate, but I'm not sure it's worth the $130 sticker slapped on it.

No kidding.. did you know they make the Vapor XXXX's in youth sizes?? That's so much skate for a little kid and why spend so much money on something they're only going to use for 6 months?

My son's first pair of skates were CCM Vector 10.0's.

Some may say that they were overkill for a 5 year old, but he needed the stiffness to support a his feet/ankles. He was born with bilatteral clubfoot and has a very goofed up right foot.

There is sometime a reason to go with an expensive skate...not just "my kid has to have the best"

[santiclaws 0]

To resurrect this topic from the dead - Anyone compare the Tykes with the Lil' Angels/Champs? Is one better? The Tykes also seem to come in two models, adjustable and non-adjustable - is one better?

Unfortunately, I seriously doubt I'm going to be able to find any place local where I can get my kids to try these skates on, even if I drag them out all the way to HG, so I'd like to know what would give me the best shot at a good fit.

[190sniper 0]

I think you should go for the CCM U+'s.