Minnesota Wild equipment bus burned

[tro 4]

"via the Twitter of Bob McKenzie,

Minnesota Wild equipment van was in an accident, caught fire and much of the Wild players’ equipment has been burned so badly it’s toast.

No injuries in the accident, apparently, but if u know anything about NHL players and equipment, especially skates, players are apoplectic."

Replacing all that gear is going to be tough and take alot of time.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=302834 link, they play Ottawa tomorrow.

[K9 Unit 1]

damn there goes my chances of getting havlats gloves, glad no one was hurt though :)

[cptjeff 0]

Utter disaster for the guys still wearing HT2s.

[larrivee 3]

Wow, gonna be a rough couple days for their equip staff and the guys in St. Jerome (as well as the other custom skate factories). Gonna be a rough few weeks on the players' feet too. I imagine their minor league affiliate just got a call for all their protective too.

[tro 4]

pics

http://twitpic.com/photos/boomer960

doesn't look good

[cptjeff 0]

I doubt too many rush orders will be necessary, I would suspect most players had an extra pair or two old skates or skates in the process of being broken in in their lockers. They're probably pretty well stocked with spare stuff in the Xcel center's equipment room as well.

Biggest hassle is probably going to be the comfort issue with players breaking in all new stuff, and for players used to 20 year old gear.

Oh, and goalie masks. Those will be a big problem.

[duch 0]

I sure the players are absolutely livid. A players equipment is like a piece of their body, it's something you really don't want to part with. Being as superstitious as they are, it's probably also wearing mentally on them as well. If a player is going along well they don't want to change anything, their diet, their routine or their equipment. Worst part will be getting a new pair of skates worn in, it takes time to get them to feel right again and you feel very restricted until they loosen up for you. I wouldn't be surprised to see them fall into a losing streak for a while until they get over the initlal shock and adjustment to their new stuff.

[Krev 86]

That totally sucks. I wonder if they'll visit an LHS for sticks, at least for a game or two. I'd love to be working in that shop when the Wild comes walking in the door.

[tro 4]

The comfort gear is the real issue long term, the shoulders, shins, pants, elbows that they have been wearing for years or even decades. Owen Nolan's gear better be safe, I bet he has been holding gear together for many of years.

[VakarLajos 5]

my sincerest condolences.

[Brian Harte 1]

Time to make a trip down to the hockey shop...

[chippa13 1844]

The comfort gear is the real issue long term, the shoulders, shins, pants, elbows that they have been wearing for years or even decades. Owen Nolan's gear better be safe, I bet he has been holding gear together for many of years.

I was thinking the same thing. Some of those guys have been sewing their shouldies back together for decades.

[Gaets 0]

Wow thats crazy

[li7039 0]

Wow, that really sucks. Whens their next game?

[Gaets 0]

Wow, that really sucks. Whens their next game?

Tomorrow night

[freestyla 0]

That really hurts especially with how particular players are with their gear. They might/likely have some semi-broken in gear that they use for practice.

[li7039 0]

and if this happened to anyone here the 1st thing we think of is

hey i get to get new gear!

[chippa13 1844]

Followed quickly by, "Crap, I hate breaking in new gear!"

Now, if you could just come up with a way for me to convince the Mrs. that burning down the house is a good idea.

[WSjo22 1]

From Russo, Wilds beat writter

(updated): Just talked to a bunch of players. They have a 6 p.m. EST meeting at their hotel with the team. There's lot of concern about playing in new equipment. It's not just a feel thing (it takes players weeks to break in equipment), but a safety thing. Knee braces and stuff like that were destroyed. How do you just throw a new knee brace on a player without making sure it fits properly? More soon.

Excatly the first thing that came to my mind. Being someone that wears a knee brace while playing and knowing how long it took to get everything right with it and squared away I know some players aren't very excited right now

[shifter 0]

Terrible accident.. =/ Oh those pictures make me cry lol that one pair of roasted one95 skates gone.. They'd be lucky if they can recover some equipment.

[jds 20]

Terrible accident.. =/ Oh those pictures make me cry lol that one pair of roasted one95 skates gone.. They'd be lucky if they can recover some equipment.

Takes skate baking to a whole new level.

[VakarLajos 5]

Terrible accident.. =/ Oh those pictures make me cry lol that one pair of roasted one95 skates gone.. They'd be lucky if they can recover some equipment.

IT HURTS!!!! IT HUUURTS!

[Krev 86]

Fuck the equipment. Glad my clients/friends are alive.

Was the fire really that bad? Obviously the gear being roasted isn't good, but nobody has mentioned how big or intense the fire was, and no mention of whether or not any of the players were in the vicinity.

[larrivee 3]

Terrible accident.. =/ Oh those pictures make me cry lol that one pair of roasted one95 skates gone.. They'd be lucky if they can recover some equipment.

What is recoverable will be smoke damaged. I'm sure some players will live with it, but it's still gonna suck.

[DavidT 11]

Fuck the equipment. Glad my clients/friends are alive.

Was the fire really that bad? Obviously the gear being roasted isn't good, but nobody has mentioned how big or intense the fire was, and no mention of whether or not any of the players were in the vicinity.

From what I read they players were on a bus returning to the hotel.