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Vaughn Ventus Goalie Equipment

May 21st, 2013 Seth Comments off

Vaughn is known for their impressive hockey goalie gear and their protective works of art can be seen on goaltenders of all ages and playing levels. Vaughn is one of the top manufacturers of goalie equipment in the world and can be seen on elite NHL goaltenders like Jonathan Quick, Tuukka Rask and Antti Niemi just to name a few. The newly released Vaughn Ventus line of goalie pads offer excellent protection and offer some unique features that are designed to maximize your goaltending game play.

Lets take a closer look.

The all new for 2013 Ventus LT leg pads come in three models, the Custom ProLT90, LT80 and LT60 junior goal pads.  The new Ventus butterfly leg pads feature a full flat front surface and a solid one piece outside roll that helps maintain the pads firm shape.  The new stylish Ventus graphics give the pad a taller, longer appearance to help trick the shooter. Internal foam core construction consists of multiple layers of foam densities and thicknesses in an arrangement that gives the pad a solid frontal blocking surface as well as firm edges for maximum net coverage. The new internal structure also allows the pads to twist and flex in crucial locations improving the performance and positioning of the pad. The internal construction gives the goaltenders added extension when in the butterfly position and allows faster pad rotation for improved net coverage. Vaughn’s internal knee cradle comes with an angled strap system that positions the straps below the bend of the knee creating less friction and improving comfort. The leg cradle-landing pad is shaped to encapsulate the leg and cushion the body when dropping down to the ice. The knee and leg cradles are designed to improve pad control and provide faster pad rotation and response times for more effective blocking positioning.

Vaughn fans will notice right away the similarities between the Vaughn Vision and the Vaughn Ventus catch gloves. Small tweaks have been made to the Ventus catcher including the new wider cuff design for improved chest and arm fit and allows improved mobility when handling the puck. Backhand protection now features a segmented design like the Velocity series for an easy closure and seamless protection. Loyal Vaughn goaltenders will have no problem transitioning to the new Ventus catcher, as the internal construction and feel are very similar to the Vision line.

The Ventus blocker might look similar to the Vaughn Vision blocker because of the board angle and side hand protection but in fact the internal components have been completely redesigned, improving protection and durability.  Active goaltenders that like to play puck will especially appreciate the new wider cuff opening that provides improved wrist mobility. Hand protection has been improved like the ergonomically shaped palm, constructed with Vaughn’s special MSH3 material that retains a grip when wet and will not become stiff over time. The palm is also padded to help reduce puck vibrations while providing more comfort through the game. Thumb and index finger protection have been reinforced to provide better protection and offer a wider opening for better stick handling.

Vaughn’s new VGS LT90 Ventus goal stick provides an exceptional feel and balanced design. According to Vaughn the goal stick has an average weight of only 690 grams. The paddle features a flat-faced profile design to more effectively make saves and add control over rebounds. The LT90 goal stick is constructed from pure carbon fiber composite and epoxy resins all layered in precise order to provide incredible durability, strength and stiffness. The entire goal stick is molded under high pressure and heat to ensure optimum performance and consistency throughout. The stick also features ribbed chambers in the paddle and blade that help reduce twisting and add stiffness when shooting the puck. The inner core of the paddle and blade are constructed with high impact foams to reduce and dampen vibrations and limit unwanted paddle flexing.

The Vaughn Ventus line of goalie equipment features all the necessary components and protective features to maximize the goaltending experience. Additional information on the new for 2013 Vaughn Ventus goalie gear is available at Inline and IceWarehouse.com.

CCM Extreme Flex Goalie Equipment

April 22nd, 2013 Seth Comments off

If you watch hockey, no not youth and intermediate, but NHL hockey and more specifically the goalies and their goalie equipment then you’ve probably noticed quite a few goaltenders sporting the new CCM Extreme Flex gear. The new Extreme Flex goalie pads are designed to offer more flexibility then the Reebok Premier line as well as softer overall design. The CCM Extreme Flex gear is built for athletic goaltenders that make a majority of saves from quick reactive movements. The legendary Lefevre family developed the new CCM line of goalie equipment with the help from goaltender Carey Price, ensuring top-notch quality, materials and protection. CCM’s new line includes goalie masks, goalie gloves and blockers, leg pads and goalie sticks.

With over 2,600 hours of design, testing and engineering the Extreme Flex Pro pads are sure to be a hit. Lets take a closer look.

The Extreme Flex Pro Pads are designed to be softer than the P4 serieswith more internal support then Vaughn’s Velocity line. These pads come with stock internal breaks above and below the knee with outer roll flex options available on the pro model. The boot break is much softer and flatter than the Reebok P4 offering addition flex and rebound control down low. The Lefevres built the new Extreme Flex Pro pads practically from scratch using only the knee stack, straps and buckles from the P4 line. The tighter fit and softer face construction provide goaltenders with a more responsive pad with additional control over rebounds.

The Extreme Flex Pro Glove is the first time the Lefevres built a “baseball style” closure, using the tip of the index finger and thumb to close the glove instead of the full palm closure seen on more traditional style catchers. The internal construction, large open cuff design and adjustments ensure the catcher can be squared up to the shooter offering maximum net coverage. This glove comes with an extremely large pocket that helps with controlling rebounds.

The Extreme Flex Pro Blocker differs from the Reebok Premier 4 blocker in a few ways including the flared-open cuff design for improved mobility. The wide-open design provides added flex at the wrist improving rebound control and allows the goaltender to steer shots with improved precision. The hand position is located about an inch lower then the P4 blocker for excellent balance and feel. The new CCM Extreme blocker also has a sleek binding-less design along the outer edge that improves the overall durability.

CCM’s all new Extreme Flex line of goalie sticks provide an exceptional feel as well as improved durability. The CCM 500 features a fiberglass laminate wrapped aspen wood core handle and full graphite blade for added strength while providing long term durability and stability. The lightweight foam core reduces stick vibrations improving the overall feel. The CCM 500 delivers top of the line quality and performance and is constructed to Pro Specs allowing you to play like the pros.

The CCM Pro goalie mask is an authentic Lefevre design featuring a molded profile that allows the face to sit further to the front for improved peripheral vision. The new dual-density VN foam comfort liner and adjustable pro fit chin cup deliver a mask that feels weightless. The shell on the Pro goalie mask is constructed from a carbon and Kevlar composite shell with an extended back design for increased coverage and safety. The cage is constructed from titanium, ensuring top of the line quality that resists rust as and is super lightweight.

CCM’s new goalie equipment line is extremely impressive and offers tons of performance features that are sure to maximize your goaltending potential. Check out the full line of CCM goalie gear at Inline and Ice Warehouse.

Categories: Goalie Lifestyle Tags:

Bauer Reactor 2013 Preview

March 4th, 2013 Seth Comments off

The long anticipated Bauer Reactor Goalie equipment is finally here! Starting April 15th, Bauer’s all new Reactor goalie gear will become available. The original Bauer Reactor line was launched in 1994, setting a new standard for goaltending equipment by providing innovative, functional and protective gear. The Reactor line created the foundation for many of the goalie gear products seen on the market today.

The newly designed Bauer Reactor line is stylish, lightweight and protective, perfect for today’s goaltending playing styles. The new Bauer Reactor goalie equipment is geared toward goaltenders that tend to play more aggressive and are quick to challenge the shooter in an attempt to make the save. A handful of NHL goalies can be seen wearing the new gear including  goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Reactor pads will be offered in three different models for the US including the Reactor 2000, Reactor 4000 and the Reactor 6000. The Reactor line includes goalie leg pads, goalie catcher and blocker, goalie ice skates, goalie sticks and accessories like the Reactor clavicle protector, knee guard and goalie jock/jill. Along with the Reactor goalie gear, Bauer will be releasing their brand new line of Concept goalie masks.

Let’s take a closer look:

The Bauer Reactor pads are designed for the hybrid / battlefly style goaltender because of the flexible-lightweight design. The Bauer Reactor goalie pads feature a lightweight Pro core insert, triangle outside roll, quick release thigh & knee straps and NHL legal under-pant thigh protector. The Bauer Reactor knee cradle setup is slightly different on the Reactor 6000 because the knee cradle is sew in, instead of using their (AKL) Adjustable Knee Lock system like the Reactor 2000 & 4000 models.

The Bauer Reactor goalie catcher features lightweight construction, awesome new Reactor design, skate laced single T pocket design on the 4000/6000 models, full hand closure and free flex cuff for excellent mobility.

The Reactor goalie blocker features Bauer’s maximum coverage side hand protection and soft Nash palm with extra layer of reinforcement on the 4000/6000 models.

Bauer’s new top of the line Reactor 6000 ice hockey goalie skates feature an ultra thick pro felt tongue with extended length and padded high density metatarsal guard, a 3D anaformable boot, redesigned ankle collar and extra padding under the foot bed. The Bauer Reactor goalie skates will also feature an improved reinforced VERTEXX cowling, super-strong 4mm removable stainless steel runner and hydrophobic Clarino synthetic liner.

Bauer’s new composite Reactor goalie sticks offer similar technology and materials as the Reflex and Totalone lines with the main visual difference being the slick updated Reactor graphics. The Bauer Reactor Goalie Stick will of course be replacing the Reflex family of goalie sticks.

Last but not least I wanted to highlight Bauer’s all new Concept goalie masks. Two models are available, the top of the line Concept C1 and Concept C2. The Concept C1 goalie mask provides pro level protection thanks to some really impressive technologies. NHL goaltender JamesReimer of the Toronto Maples Leaves recently started using Bauer’s impressive new C1 mask. The C1 mask features an ultra lightweight carbon fiber shell with a reinforced outer TeXtreme® layer. TeXtreme® technology is exclusive to Bauer, weighing 20% less than conventional carbon without sacrificing strength. The liner on the C1 is a mechanically attached SUSPEND-TECH liner with PORON® XRD™ foam closest to the face for enhanced protection and max comfort. The cage on the C1 is constructed from ultra light titanium oval wire, available in certified straight bar and non-certified cat eye cages. The cage on the C1 and C2 masks come with new (SAW) shock absorbing wire clip system. SAW technology improves impact absorption and reduces cage denting.

Additional information on the new Bauer Reactor goalie equipment line will be available online April 15, 2013 at Inline and Ice Warehouse.

Goalie of the day – Viktor Fasth 2/11/13

February 11th, 2013 Seth Comments off

Anaheim Duck’s goaltender Viktor Fasth is off to an impressive start, nabbing his first shutout after just three games in the NHL. Fasth stopped 31 shots allowing the Ducks to win over the Avalanche with a 3-0 game. Fasth was signed as a free agent in the close of the season, making an effortless transition from the Swedish Elite League to the NHL. Now with a 5-0 record, Viktor Fasth is the first goalie in eight years to win his first five starts, two of the wins coming from overtime shootouts.

Let’s take a closer look at what gear makes our Goalie of the Day so impressively Fasth and accurate!

Viktor Fasth like most goaltenders looks for the best gear to fit their individual needs. Starting off with one of the goalies most decorated pieces of equipment, the mask. Fasth’s Bauer Pro 961 mask is hand crafted in Canada with hand-laid Aramid fiber and fiberglass for an extremely lightweight protective shell. Allowing Fasth to make amazing top shelf glove saves is the extremely lightweight Bauer Totalone catchers with the two-piece cuff deign. Viktor’s blocker of choice is the Bauer Supreme Totalone Blocker and for the stick, he chooses to us the Bauer Reflex Rx10 goalie stick. Nothing calls out the goaltenders style of play more then the leg pads and Fasth’s pad of choice are the Bauer Supreme Totalone leg pads with the extremely bright orange outer roll.  Last but not least we are going to highlight Fasth’s Bauer Pro goalie ice skates. The Bauer Pro goalie ice skate is lightweight, protective, and offers the goaltender excellent control on the ice.

Categories: NHL Tags:

Mission SLYDE Goalie pads

January 21st, 2013 Seth Comments off

The new Mission SLYDE Goalie Leg Pads are finally available and come with innovative Pro-Rated performance enhancing technology.  Roller hockey goalies have always been at somewhat of a disadvantage because of surface friction, limiting leg pad slide across the crease. Roller goalies naturally adapted by learning to hop laterally across the crease but this leaves them more susceptible to lower shots. The Mission SLYDE leg pads improve a goaltenders lateral side-to-side movements and mobility by placing strategically positioned slide bars in areas of amplified resistance. With this new technology, roller hockey goaltenders will be able to slide across the crease using conventional ice hockey moves.

The Mission SLYDE Series goalie pads are available in two stock colors, white/black/silver and black/white/silver. Mission’s new edgy design flows across both leg pads in one continuous pattern making the leg pads seem larger. Mission’s SLYDE goalie pads are not completely new however; Mission used the Bauer One80 goalie pads as the foundation, but by incorporating Mission’s new SLYDE technology the overall design has been enhanced for roller hockey specific goaltending.

If your looking for a matching set of goalie pads, Mission has you covered with their SLYDE goalie catcher and SLYDE goalie blocker. Lightweight HEX foam protection and other small tweaks provide roller hockey goaltenders improved performance and protection.

Mission’s new SLYDE technology allows roller hockey goaltenders to make saves only dreamed of before! For more information on Mission’s new SLYDE goalie pads check us out online at InlineWarehouse.com.

Categories: Hockey Goalie Gear Reviews Tags:

NHL Goalies playing overseas?

January 2nd, 2013 Seth Comments off

With the NHL lockout still underway you may be wondering what the players and more specifically the goaltenders are up too. Many of the NHL goaltenders we’ve come to love and idolize are now showing off their amazing skills overseas for teams I can barely pronounce and in leagues some of us have never even heard of. Some of these leagues include the KHL, ESBG, DEL, Czech Extraliga, and SM-Liiga.

Goaltenders currently playing in Russia’s (KHL) Kontinental Hockey League are Anton Khudobin of the Boston Bruins now playing for the Atlant Moscow Oblast, Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche now with HC Lokomotiv, Ilya Bryzgalov of the Philadelphia Flyers is now playing with CSKA, Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild is now with HC Dinamo Minsk, Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets is with SKA St. Petersburg, and Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators is with the HC Dinamo Minsk.

Anton Khudobin / Bruins

The Czech Extraliga hockey league currently has Michal Neuvirth of the Washington Capitals signed to the Sparta Praha, Ondrj Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets is now playing with Bili Tygri Liberec, and Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins signed with HC Plzen.

Tuukka Rask / Bruins

San Jose Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi is currently playing for the Pelicans of the Swedish SM-Liiga hockey league.

Antti Niemi Sharks

Germany’s ESBG Hockey League signed both Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders to SC Riessersee and Jonathan Bernier of the Los Angeles Kings to the Heilbronner Falken on Oct. 10th 2012.

Jonathan Bernie Kings

If and when the NHL comes to an agreement to end the lockout, most of the goaltenders will return to their NHL teams ready to put on a show.

Categories: NHL Tags:

Goaltending Styles: Which one are you?

December 4th, 2012 Seth Comments off

Goaltending has sure come a long way since the early days of hockey. The sport is more demanding, physically challenging and technology has pushed even the best players to continue improving. The main objective of a goaltender is simple, stop any pucks from entering the goal, thus keeping the opposing team from scoring. As simple as that may sound, goaltenders are constantly evolving their playing styles to stay competitive during the game. Goalie equipment continues to improve over time, getting lighter and more protective. These days, goaltenders have various styles of equipment to choose from depending on their playing style.

Standup goaltending is the oldest style of goaltending and has lost major popularity over the years. Standup goalies would make a majority of their saves standing up with their leg pads together and stick on the ice. As the name implies Standup Goalies would rarely go down partially because the lack of protection, especially for your head. Standup goalies relied on their outstanding reflexes and positioning but were highly susceptible to shots down low and lateral saves. Standup goalies would use kick saves to stop low shots and rely heavily on stick saves.

Butterfly style goaltending is very common these days being very accepted throughout the game. Patrick Roy is probably the most notable Butterfly net minder of all time, perfecting the technique and winning four Stanley Cups throughout his career. A butterfly goalie plays with their feet apart and bent at the knees allowing them to drop down to the ice stopping any pucks down low. The advantage of the Butterfly style is mobility and the ability to cover the bottom of the net quickly and effectively. Positioning is key to this style of goaltending, ensuring maximum net coverage.

Photo Credit Sports Illustrated

Hybrid goaltending is a combination of styles, taking the best of both Standup and Butterfly. Dominik Hasek is well known for his Hybrid style of play, doing what ever it took to make the save.  In general most goalies play some sort of Hybrid style, capitalizing on ones own strengths and weaknesses.  These days it’s less common to see a goalie playing strictly Butterfly or Standup.

Battlefly is the newest way to categorize goaltenders like NHL Stanley Cup Champion Jonathan Quick. Battlefly goalies basically use the same techniques as the Standup, Butterfly and Hybrid style goalies but blend them together, improving overall performance. One could say that Battlefly goaltenders go to battle, taking more of an aggressive offensive approach, challenging the shooter and doing what ever it takes to make the save.  Excellent skating ability, quick reflexes, extreme flexibility, and outstanding positioning allows the Battlefly goaltender to make incredible saves throughout the game.

Goaltenders are a breed of their own and even though many of the core techniques are similar no two are identical. The four playing styles listed above are a general outline and only through individual experience, strengths and weaknesses can a goalie master his or her own style.

Categories: Goalie Lifestyle Tags:

Sneak Peak: Sher-Wood’s SUPERLIGHT goalie sticks

November 6th, 2012 Seth Comments off

Sher-Wood’s releasing a new line of goalie sticks this December called SUPERLIGHT. The new SUPERLIGHT goalie sticks offer innovative features combined with hybrid technology and lightweight materials including high modulus carbon fiber. Sher-Wood’s SUPERLIGHT goalie sticks have a new thin blade design that significantly improves the goaltenders feel for the puck and the addition feel improves a goalies game around the net. A common problem with composite sticks is that they sometimes become soft in the paddle portion of the stick. Sher-Wood addresses these issues by running the shaft through the paddle, down into the heel. This technology allows goalkeepers to achieve optimal responsiveness and performance. Sher-Wood’s new SUPERLIGHT goalie sticks will come in 4 models, the SUPERLIGHT SL700, SUPERLIGHT SL750, SUPERLIGHT SL800 and SUPERLIGHT SL825. The model number on the SUPERLIGHT goalie stick indicates the weight of the stick in grams.

Let’s take a closer look!

The SUPERLIGHT SL700 is constructed from a super lightweight high modulus carbon fiber giving goaltenders excellent stiffness and strength without the additional weight. The paddle uses injected polyurethane foam reinforced with fiberglass and carbon fiber as well as a carbon channel that runs across the paddle adding to the ultimate stiffness.

The SUPERLIGHT SL750 shaft is constructed from carbon fiber and the blade / paddle is constructed with reinforced fiberglass and carbon fiber.  A carbon fiber channel crosses the paddle portion adding to the overall stiffness and prevents the stick from becoming soft over time. The paddle injected polyurethane foam is Taking most of the shot impact vibrations is the injected polyurethane foam

The SUPERLIGHT SL800 shaft is constructed with an aspen wood core, covered with a double birch lamination and reinforced with vertical fiberglass and carbon fiber. To help with dampening the shot vibrations, injected polyurethane foam is used in the paddle and is covered with fiberglass and carbon fiber. The combination of materials used on the SL800 offers excellent stiffness and overall durability.

The SUPERLIGHT SL825 is built similar to the SL800 but instead of using vertical fiberglass and carbon fiber, they are using vertical birch slat lamination to achieve the stiffness. The paddle is injected with polyurethane foam and is covered with fiberglass.

For more information on Sher-Wood products or any of our goalie equipment products make sure to check us out online at Inline and Ice Warehouse.

Categories: Sneak Peeks Tags:

NHL Lockout 2012-13

September 19th, 2012 Seth Comments off

Here we go again with another sad day for hockey fans. The 2012 NHL lockout has sure been unfortunate for players and fans alike with limited information as to if or when the season will start.  It’s been 8 years since the last 2004-05 NHL lockouts that canceled all of the games for the season and forced the NHL All Star game to be played in non-Winter Olympic years. Other recent lockouts happened during the 1992 NHL strike postponing 30 games and the 1994-95 NHL lockout with canceled a lot of the games shortening the season to 48 games without inter-conference games.

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck

Why is this happening? Well, the short answer is of course money. With many of the teams in the NHL lacking in finances and many others just breaking even, a majority of the revenues comes from the top ten franchises. The collective bargaining of five items that need resolution before the season starts are: Player’s Share, Salary cap “Floor”, Guaranteed Contract, Escrow Payment, and Revenue Sharing.

During the 2005 NHL lockout negotiations a salary cap was established ensuring a salary cap floor. A percentage of the NHL revenues were agreed upon and the player’s share began at 54% in 2005. As leagues revenues increased over the years the percentage has now reached an all time high for the 2010-11 season at 57%. The NHL feels that player’s share is too high and compared to other professional sporting franchises the percentage is high.

Tom Hanson/AP file photo

The Salary Cap “Floor” is the minimum season payroll for any NHL team, $16 million below the salary cap. Teams that are not making a profit would like an option of lower payrolls so they don’t lose even more money. The league might lower the salary floor in relation to the cap or get rid of the floor.

The NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement established in 2005, a player is guaranteed every dollar of a signed contract unless his team buys him out. Buyouts can be pricey as a team is required to pay two-thirds of the remaining contract value and takes on a long-term salary cap hit. Player contracts can be as long as 15 years with huge price tags as well as salary cap issues. The league might push for non-guaranteed contracts or term limits of 10 years or less.

The Escrow payment ensures every team and player receives the correct amount at the end of the season. During the 2010-11 season the NHL withheld 12.5% of a player’s salary in an escrow account and was paid at the end of the season with the rest of the revenues earned throughout the season. The problem is that players are concerned that league operated teams such as the Phoenix Coyotes drags down the overall revenues leaving less escrow money. Players don’t like the idea of losing revenue to teams that can’t support themselves.

AP Photo/The News & Observer, Ethan Hyman

Revenue sharing in the NHL is designed to level out every team financially. Money earned by high revenue franchises is distributed to low revenue franchises ensuring an even financial playing field. The current system is not considered to be overly generous but the high revenue teams are reluctant to give away more money to the teams in need. Since NHL revenues have increased substantially does it make sense that wealthy franchises share with teams that are losing money during the season? Players will most likely suggest increased revenue sharing as a sound solution but we will have to wait and see.

Either way the owners and the players need to come to an agreement and stop this nonsense because we all suffer in the end.

Categories: Uncategorized Tags:

The Pads the Pros Use

September 5th, 2012 Seth Comments off

Lets talk goalie equipment for a second… With so many companies and options to choose from it can literally make your head spin! I sometimes get the question, who is the best? Well, figuring out who produces the best goalie gear is like asking the question what fruit tastes better, apples or oranges. Finding the right goalie gear for myself comes down to fit, and that comes with years of experience playing the game. I’m guessing goalies will never come to an agreement on which company is the best, but at least we can figure out who is producing the most popular equipment in the NHL. After all these are the professionals and following in there footsteps is not a bad idea.

Source: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images North America

Goalie masks protect one of the most important parts of our body, our head! Goalie masks have come a long ways since first worn by Jacques Plante in 1959. Today, Bauer is the leading company protecting over half of the NHL goalies, 51 to be exact. Bauer’s most popular model is the Bauer Pro 961 goalie mask and is worn by such goalies as Henrik Lundqvist, and Miikka Kiprusoff.

Reebok is clearly the most popular when talking about the goalie catcher. In the NHL, 32 goalies are using Reebok catchers. Out of those 32 goalies, 26 of them are using the Reebok P4 Pro catcher. Vaughn is nipping at Reebok’s heels with an impressive 27 goalies, and Bauer has 16 goaltenders wearing their catchers. Bauer’s most popular catcher models are the Bauer One 100 and the most current version the TOTALONE.

Goalie blockers not only protect the back of your stick hand but also offer an excellent blocking surface for saving and deflecting the puck. Reebok is clearly supplying the majority of the blockers in the NHL at 32 goalies. Reebok’s most popular model is the Reebok P4 Pro, worn by an incredible 25 goalies. Vaughn’s protective blockers are used by more then 25 percent of the goalies in the NHL, goalies like Marty Turco, and Jonathan Quick use Vaughn just to name a few. Bauer supplies 16 NHL goalies with their blockers, the most popular models being the Bauer One 100 and the Bauer TOTALONE.

When comparing goalie sticks, Reebok is once again the most popular with 31 goalies using their sticks, 25 of them use the Reebok 11K Pro goalie stick. Goalies like Roberto Luongo, Ryan Miller, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Jonathan Bernier, and Marc-Andre Fluery all sport the 11K Pro. Bauer has a strong presence as well with 24 goalies using their goal sticks. The Bauer Supreme 7500 is Bauer’s most popular and preferred stick with the pros. Warrior is quickly becoming a strong contender in the NHL goalie stick market with 18 goalies, all using the very popular Warrior Swagger.

Last but not least is the largest portion of the goalies protective gear, the leg pads. Reebok, Vaughn, and Bauer’s leg pads protect over 75 percent of the goalies in the NHL. Reebok once again is the most popular, protecting the most goalies at 29. Out of 29 NHL goalies, 25 of them choose to wear Reebok’s P4 Pro series leg pads. Vaughn, being a goalie only company also has a very strong presence in the NHL, outfitting 27 different goalies. Recent 2012 Stanley Cup Champion Jonathan Quick wears Vaughn’s Velocity series pads like the VPG 7800 leg pad.

Well, we might not be any closer to figuring out who makes the best pads but at least we have some direction as to what the pros are using. Additional product information can be seen here at Inline and Ice Warehouse.