Choosing The Best Hockey Pads And Other Equipment Like Skates

Author: Keith Kingston

Skates, along with your helmet and pads are probably the most important part of your hockey gear. When choosing the best hockey skates, like choosing the best hockey pads, you should take into account all of the different brands and find a size and style that fits you best. Don’t simply buy the first pair of skates you see, but rather shop around and try a few different options to find the ultimate fit.
 
When trying on a pair of skates you should have your heel tucked back into the heel cup, and there should be no more than about a quarter inch or so in the toe. If your ankles are weak, make sure to ask for a skate with good ankle support. When it comes to skates you will also want to ensure that you have blades with through-hardened steel with a flat rocker. A flatter rocker curve will improve your stability.
 
Now on to the pads… Ideally you want pants that are long enough to reach past the top of your shin pads. If your pants are too short, they’ll leave a small area unprotected which is a prime target for being slashed. You pads can only do so much. Make sure the hard caps in your shoulder pads, elbow pads and shins are intact and in good condition. If you need to, replace your pads on a regular basis. Having old worn pads might be comfortable but it might not give you the protection you need.
 
When it comes to your mask, you should spare no expense. While the budget option might be cheap, you need to make sure that the outer part of the mask is composed of a strong space-polymer material, and the inside of the mask contains foam. This design should be able to resist impacts while absorbing the shock at the same time. Some cheaper masks cannot offer this, so you do need to be careful. If in doubt, ask your sports supplier, for brands they recommend.
 
The things you don’t want to scrimp on are your skates, your pads and your helmet. Ensure that your helmet has been approved by a regulatory commission for your own safety. Pads are pretty much standard in most leagues now and flat lined curved skates are recommended for recreational and new players. Above all, you need to remember, to have fun!

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6 Things You MUST Know Before Buying Your Next Pair of Ice Hockey Skates

Author: Patrick Francey

Mistake #…

1.) Rushing out to buy the  manufacturers top model of skate.

Manufacturers make several models of skates to accommodate different levels of skating, different physical sizes of skaters, and to cover all the price points. So, the ‘Top Model’ (read most expensive) may not be the best choice of skate for you to buy. The higher the model of skate the more expensive it is, and the stiffer it is. If you’re not physically heavy enough to deal with the stiffness of the skate it won’t matter how much money you pay, your skating performance will suffer. Skates that are too stiff for a skater will restrict knee bend. Very often it can also means long-term discomfort. Be really honest with yourself when it comes to your skating ability and physical size. Purchasing a model of skate that matches those two criterions, can dramatically increase your skating performance, and save you money.

2.) Fitting hockey skates like shoes.

Skates and shoes do not fit the same. A safe rule of thumb to use, is that a skate will always fit a size, to a size and a half, smaller than your shoe size. Depending on how you fit your running shoes, a skate may even occasionally be as much as two sizes smaller. If your skates are currently the same size as your running shoe… they are definitely too big. For example if you wear a size 10 running shoe start with trying on a size 8-½ hockey skate. If you generally wear an extra wide shoe, start with a ‘D’ width skate. The ideal fit length wise, can only be checked when you are standing in a skate that is laced up. The longest toe of the foot should lightly feather the end of the toecap. When you bend your knees slightly (like when you skate) the toes must pull completely away from the front of the toecap. If they don’t pull away, then go up half a size, or if you need growing room, then go up half a size.

3.) Trying on a pair of skates and not lacing them up.

This is one of the most common reasons skaters end up in skates that are to big. Hockey skates are, by design, meant to fit when they are laced up. As the boot is laced, the foot will draw into the back of the skate. A skate that ultimately fits properly will, more often then not feel small when the foot is placed in the boot prior to lacing it. Trying on a pair of skates without lacing them up is like trying on a button shirt without buttoning it… both are meant to fit when they are done up. So…when you put the skate on, be sure to give your heel a good kick into the back of the boot and then lace it up.

4.) Buying the same make and model of skate that that the pro’s (NHL) have.

This can be a tough one because the younger skaters want what their favorite NHL player is wearing. The bottom line with this is that the skates that the general public are able to buy off the shelf are not the same as what an NHL player is wearing. The Vapor XXX or CCM PRO or what ever the model might be, is not the same skate as what you, the general public, are able to purchase. The pros are wearing custom made boots from the manufacturer. The NHL is a great marketing vehicle for the skate manufacturers and consumers need to be aware of this fact.

5.) Buying a larger length to try and accommodate a wider foot.

If your foot is wide and the skate is tight then buy a wider skate not a bigger length. The really big skate that feels good in the store, will come back to haunt you almost every time. A skate has a very specific shape that is relative to the length of the foot going into it. If you purchase a skate that is the wrong length, nothing about the shape of the foot will line up with the boot. For example; the widest part of the foot comes back into the narrowest part of the boot. The arch of the foot no longer lines up with the arch of the skate. None of that will bother you in the store, but get out skating and it will show up.

6.) Not setting enough time aside to properly fit the skates.

It can take time to fit a skate for comfort. Wrapping a very stiff piece of material around the foot can sometimes be a challenge. How a skate fits in the first few minutes of putting it on compared to how it fits after spending some time to warm the boot up can make a dramatic difference. Give yourself at least an hour, so you can walk around the store and get a feel for the boot as well as warm it up. Also take the time to try more than one manufacturers skate and models. Different manufacturers boots have unique feels and fit different from one another. 

As a hockey player your skates are your single most important piece of equipment. Pay attention and you will have more fun. Because it’s fun to skate faster!

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Patrick Francey is recognized internationally as a’ skate fit and performance’ expert.He has worked with   hockey players and figure skaters, including NHL and world class figure skaters. Discover how  “To Be Your Best”  Learn more at  http://www.pro-skate.com

Hockey Betting

Author: Jake Truman

NHL Hockey betting sure has changed from the old days. It used to be based on a spread (goals). In those days, you might have one team as a -1.5 goal favorite. For some, the good news was that it was like football and basketball in that you would be returned $10 for every $11 wagered. The bad news was the rules in Hockey at the time made betting a certain uncertainty at best. Why? Well, the rules at the time allowed ties. It was also a more defensive game, but the allowance of the tie was the largest factor.

Every game was at least a half goal. For example, you would see something like Anaheim Ducks plus half a goal at San Jose Sharks. You might think the Sharks are better, but if they were not a lot better, the game could very well end in a tie—and you end up a loser. It was common to see teams try to skate for a tie, because a tie was like half a win. Sure, money was still being made by those that knew the game, but many simply walked away.

After the NHL strike, the game and betting really changed for the better. The game went to a new format to decide games tied after regulation. The lines changed from goal lines to money lines. In my opinion, the game is much better now and so is betting on it. NHL hockey betting more resembles MLB baseball betting. The money lines are, in my opinion, very simple—pick the game’s winner and pay. The first task for those looking to be successful in NHL hockey betting is to familiarize one’s self with the rules of the NHL.

Back to the betting lines. For example, you might now see a line that has Carolina Hurricanes -170 at home against the NJ Devils at +150. The line is very simple. Pick the team you think will win and bet. If you like Carolina in this example, you would wager $1.70 for every $1.00 you wanted to win—to win $10, you would wager $17.00. Should you like the Devils, you will receive $1.50 for every $1.00 wagered. If you took the Devils at $20, you would win $30 should they win the game. It’s very simple.

As with other sports, there is a totals line as well. Betting on the totals line has become very interesting since the rule changes. Scoring has become more prevalent in today’s NHL. Before total lines like 6 would require a virtually automatic under wager. Today, that would not be so wise. Even in this year’s Stanley Cup finals we had games blowing past this total. Betting on totals presents a great opportunity. If you can master it, there’s a lot of money in your future.

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About the Author:
The author is an experienced  sports betting  editor at SportsGamblingReview.com, an  online sportsbook  review site. He also writes a daily blog on NHL  hockey betting  with up to the minute odds, news and picks.

The Physical Challenge Of Hockey

Author: Gray Rollins

Hockey is one of the most physically demanding games known to man. This intense sport requires that a skater have as much strategy and skill as football or baseball player in addition to the strength that only a conditioned athlete can bring to the ice, and a kind of ferocity that is a rare quality indeed. Hockey players must tolerate quite a bit of pain and discomfort, and serious players must be able and willing to participate in very heavy training all through the year to remain competitive. Unlike many sports that primarily require endurance, Hockey is all about sudden short bursts of extremely intense activity. This makes hockey a very different kind of physical challenge than a sport like soccer where movement is lower-intensity but continuous.
 
A hockey player must be able to rev their personal engine from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds. At the pro level, a hockey player rarely spends more than a full minute at a time actively skating on the ice. Between those brief flurries of almost manic activity, a player can recover and catch his or her breath, but must remain alert and in readiness for the next explosion of action on the ice. Suddenly jumping from a fairly passive and relaxed state to the height of speed and power isn’t easy. The discipline and talent a hockey player must posses in order to do this well are often a large part of what separates the amateurs from the professionals.
 
The need to be able to swiftly transition from a state of rest to one of peak activity requires specific forms of training that focus on shortening response times and achieving graceful and efficient movement without much of a warm up. A hockey skater’s workout regimen contains many predictable activities like lifting weights and jogging, but one place where many players go in order to improve their agility and response time proves to be somewhat surprising to many sports fans.
 
Although classical music and pink tulle are the last things most people associate with the rough and tumble sport of hockey, many players train at ballet studios. From young boys and girls who are in amateur junior leagues all the way up to Olympic-level hockey players, spending time refining plies at the ballet barre often proves to give skaters a leg up on the ice.
 
From dance studios to weight rooms to jogging tracks, a hockey player must train his or her body in a variety of ways to prepare for what many consider the most physically demanding of all sports. Between the strenuous flurries of activity, the psychological stress of performance, the lack of warm up time, and the bulky padding of a hockey uniform, a player at the top level of competitive hockey may sweat away up to eight pounds of water weight during the course of a single game. There is no other sport where this kind of drastic weight loss due to exertion happens so quickly. A hockey player’s body must be prepared to safely weather this kind of ordeal on a regular basis, which requires a level of physical fitness that few other sports require.

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Gray Rollins  is a featured writer for HockeySky.com. For information about  hockey skates  and  hockey sticks , visit us.

Hockey Rules The Hearts Of A Nation

Author: Chris Campbell

Hockey north of the US Canadian border seems to carry more sway than any political, national or international moment.  Hockey is far more than a sport to most Canadians, it’s a catalyst for memories of our youth.  Whether it’s playing hockey on a frozen pond after the snow has been shoveled to the edges, or playing on the street in between cars and until the street lights come on.  Hockey brings back crystal clear memories for most Canadians.  Used to be mostly boys, but times have changed, and with the rise of women’s hockey, many grown women for this and future generations will be sharing those same memories.  And, that’s why hockey means so much more than just a sport to most of us.  It’s a nostalgic reminder of a less troubled past, and a reminder of a happy youth. 

Not Just A Sedimental Journey

Hockey is great sport first of all, for a variety of reasons.  It’s truly exciting to watch.  Because of the ice surface it’s played on, very few sports can match the speed at which the players move about the field of play.  It moves as a game, really moves!  Both the players and the puck.  The tide can turn quickly in a hockey game, and you really can’t let down your guard down for a moment.  There can be long periods of no scoring, with lots of back and forth action.  But then, in a heart beat the other team scores, and maybe a second or third goal shortly after, and fortunes have been reversed.  I can think of no other sport that causes such heart-stopping, breath-holding, sheer intensity as when another team is pressing for a goal during a power play or man advantage after pulling their goalie.  Usually it resembles some kind of train wreck in front of the goalie, with shot after shot, as the goalie goes down and up time and time again.  Defensemen sliding desperately, risking injury to stop the puck, in the hopes, that the final seconds will elapse and the hockey game will be theirs.

The Great Ones and The Great One

Those nostalgic memories of hockey are not just of our own epic battles played between the street curbs and mounds of recently shoveled snow.  There were of course the hockey legends themselves battling against one another.  Hockey night in Canada is truly as much a national treasure, as any to this nation.  During our formative years watching the great hockey teams and their rivalries were both a patriotic right and a duty.  And then reliving those times in our own backyard rinks and streets, as we assumed the persona’s of our favorite teams and players, to crush the opposing neighborhood kids with spectacular hockey moves, only to be followed only be even more spectacular goals.  Truly times to be remembered, and cherished.

It’s Not Just Our Game

The game is shared now.  With other players, and other nations.  Everyone plays, and their current and future generations are building their own great hockey memories.  Andthat’s OK.  I just wonder, if those memories will rule their hearts and nations one day as they do ours.

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For more on  hockey  visit  http://www.hockeyplayonline.com  or read other  hockey  articles at  http://foolishmumbles.com/category/hockey/

Choosing Hockey Sticks For Your Best Game Play

Author: Keith Kingston

Hockey equipment is required for all players who step onto the ice but some differences exist regarding the hockey equipment utilized by different leagues. Players’ hockey equipment generally consists of skates, shin pads, gloves, hockey pants, sticks, and helmets. The hockey stick tends to be the most vital, apart from your body protection.
 
Choosing hockey sticks that suit you best is important. If you choose the wrong sticks you could end up playing badly or even doing yourself an injury. So how do you work out which hockey sticks are right for you? Here are some helpful tips.
 
Firstly, when standing in your skates, your stick should reach your chin. Some defence based players prefer a longer stick to give them more reach when they’re defending. If you can, buy your sticks a little long and have the shop cut them down. This is far better than having a stick that is too long or too short. Most people tend to find they have to have their stick customized to give them their optimum comfort.
 
You can work out what length you need by looking closely at the wear of the tape on the bottom of your stick. If the tape is worn down near the toe, then you should probably consider a longer stick. If the tape instead is worn near the heel, then you should probably consider a shorter stick. Ultimately you should try sticks at different lengths until you find one that’s got a comfortable weight and feel for you.
 
When choosing hockey sticks you should also consider weight and blade size. Most players recommend wrapping both the stick handle and the blade with a layer of tape. This is done to assure both a tighter grip on the handle and so that the puck does not slide off of the blade as easy as normal. If you are new to the game and have yet to tape your stick then we recommend that you do this early on. As outlined above, it will help you measure your game.
 
Different curves will affect the way you stick handle and shoot the puck too. Again, when you’re starting off and new to the game, it is a good idea to try different curves until you find one that feels comfortable. Like with all sports equipment, the best idea is try out a few different hockey sticks so that you find one that conforms to your style.

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