The Boston Bruins are off to their best start in 36 years and on Sunday, February 24th they can thank Zdeno Chara for his beautiful goal to put them up 2-0 in the first period against the Florida Panthers. The defenseman stands tall at 6’9″, so amazing dangles aren’t typically expected from him, well that’s not the case any more. Chara took a backhand pass that was behind him from Brad Marchand, performed a counter-clockwise spin-o-rama to create space and roofed a beautiful backhand shot beating Jacob Markstrom glove side. Whether the spin or the backhand shot was more impressive is irrelevant, but the fact Zdeno did it so smoothly is the icing on the cake.

Now let’s take a look at what gear Zdeno Chara used:

Stick: Warrior Dynasty AX1 Hockey Stick

Zdeno was using the new Warrior Dynasty AX1 Stick when he pulled off the sick dangle against the Panthers. This comes as no surprise because the new AX1 stick is the mid-kick counter-part to Warrior’s other line of sticks, the low-kick Covert series. While kick-points in sticks should not be decided on a player’s position but rather the mechanics of their shooting, the mid-kick point is the obvious choice for a 6’9″ 255 lb. defenseman. This has enabled him to win 5 consecutive NHL Hardest Shot Competitions and the NHL hardest shot record at 108.8 mph.

Gloves: Warrior Franchise Hockey Gloves

Another excellent choice by Mr. Chara, the Franchise gloves are some of the premier 4-roll gloves money can buy. Warrior constructed the glove using only the finest materials such as TuffTex that does do not hold water. NHL’ers who wore the previous Franchise gloves expressed concern that they wished they could achieve better mobility in the wrist. Warrior listened and delivered with a much more flared-out cuff than the previous years.

Helmet: Warrior Krown Helmet

Since Chara’s such a big guy, he’s a big target also. This could explain his choice of the Warrior Krown 360 Helmet. It offers top notch protection utilizing three different types of foams as well as an adjustable occipital locking system located on the back of the helmet. The three foams found in the Krown 360 is EPP Foam, Impax Molded Foam as well as comfort foam

Skates: Bauer Supreme TotalONE NXG Hockey Skates

Looking to get the most power out of each and every stride, like many others Zdeno chose the Bauer Supreme TotalONE NXG skates. The NXG’s are a common choice for a wide variety of players in the NHL. They offer a contour and anatomical fit to the foot while using a longer runner than the Vapor APX skates to achieve the most powerful stride possible.

All of these items are available at Inline and Ice Warehouse with even more information on each product page!

If you follow the NHL at all, you probably saw or at least heard of the Erik Karlsson incident. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators suffered a season ending injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins when Matt Cooke stepped on the back of Karlsson’s leg lacerating 70% the Achilles Tendon. Check out the video and then read on.

As the ’11-’12 James Norris Trophy Winner (Best All Around Defenseman), Karlsson is a vital part of the Senators’ organization and arguably the best defenseman in the NHL today. Prior to his injury he averaged 27:11 minutes of ice time per game and second in the points category. As a blue liner the points category is especially impressive. So what could be done to prevent this?

With all the contact and hard hitting, sometimes we forget that we’re skating around with knives attached to our feet; but we are not alone. A few companies make protective socks to avoid cuts like this. One is the Bauer Elite Performance Skate Socks ($28.99). These protective socks are made of 60% KEVLAR fiber for cut resistance. Not only does it protect, but it fights odor and adds comfort. The additional thickness added by the KEVLAR is a small price to pay for safety. The Reebok 20K Protective Skate Socks ($39.99) follow the same principle but use a fiber known as Dyneema, “the world’s strongest fiber™.” Either of these options could have helped prevent the seriousness of this injury and will most likely encourage other players to begin sporting them. John Tavares of the Islanders stated, “Sometimes you just get little nicks where it’s nothing serious, but it could be a lot worse,” Tavares said. “You hate to see that happen, especially to a guy like (Karlsson), and it’s something that could be avoided. So, for sure, guys take recognition to that.”

You can find both of these socks at Ice Warehouse. We wish Erik Karlsson a speedy recovery.

—Update—

IW now carries the Tuff n Lite Protective Products! This includes the Tuff n Lite Cut Resistant Wrist Guards, the Tuff n Lite Cut Resistant Socks, Goalie Socks, Thin Cut Socks or  the Sock/Wrist Guard Combo!

So we’re a week and a half into the shortened NHL season and it’s time to break down which sticks are the weapons of mass production thus far. While it may be the players’ talent that puts the puck in the back of the net, one can always dream that his or her twig has the potential to be a top scorer in the NHL. For time purposes, I’m just going to include the top 15 scorers in the NHL which includes all players with 4+ goals.

1. Patrick Marleau – 9 Goals

This man is a scoring machine. Marleau has led the San Jose Sharks to a perfect 5-0 start to the season and in the process became the second player in NHL history to start the season off with 4 consecutive multi-goal games. His streak broke on Sunday with his single goal night against Colorado. And of course his stick… The Warrior Covert DT1!

Total:

Warrior Covert DT1: 9

(Pretty good start for Warrior)

2. Zach Parise – 5 Goals

Parise assumed the top scorer position on his new Minnesota Wild team with 5 goals and 4 assists. His weapon of choice… the Easton RS II!

Easton RS II: 5

3. Marian Hossa – 5 Goals

The Blackhawks’ leading scorer rocks the CCM U+ Crazy Light since he is a CCM sponsored player.

CCM U+ CL: 5

4. Marian Gaborik – 5 Goals

This IW player of the day for his hatty last week amassed two more goals with his discontinued Easton EQ50.

Easton EQ50: 5

5. Daniel Winnik – 5 Goals

Recently signed by Anaheim after his release from the Sharks, Winnik is doing work with his Bauer TotalOne NXG down with the Ducks.

TotalOne NXG: 5 Goals

6. Jeff Skinner – 5 Goals

The 2011 Calder trophy winner leads the Carolina Hurricanes in scoring with his Bauer Vapor APX.

Bauer APX: 5 Goals

7. Vladimir Tarasenko – 4 Goals

A week and a half in and already a Calder candidate in my opinion. This rookie is tied for the lead in scoring on the Blues with his Reebok 20K.

Reebok 20K: 5 Goals

8. Eric Staal – 4 Goals

The Carolina Captain picked up 4 goals with our first repeat stick of the blog: the Bauer TotalOne NXG

Bauer TotalOne NXG: 9 Goals

9. Dany Heatley – 4 Goals

Easton Athlete Dany Heatley scored his goals with the Easton RS II.

Easton RS II: 9 Goals

10. Steve Sullivan – 4 Goals

Yet another RS II user with Phoenix’s  Steve Sullivan. And the RS II takes the lead!

Easton RS II: 13 Goals

11. Andrei Markov – 4 Goals

Montreal’s blue liner is the only D-man in the top 15. What’s crazy is that 3 of his 4 goals were game winners scored by his classic Easton Mako.

Easton Mako: 4 Goals

12. Kyle Turris – 4 Goals

Finally, we see a Bauer Nexus in the mix. Turris began his second season with the Senators strong and also after switching from the Warrior Widow.

Bauer Nexus 1000: 4 Goals

13. James Neal – 4 Goals

Yet another original Easton Mako. Interesting that we haven’t seen any Easton Mako II‘s yet.

Easton Mako – 8 Goals

14. Zack Kassian – 4 Goals

In his second season with the Canucks, he leads their goal scoring above the Sedin twins with his Reebok 20K.

Reebok 20K – 9 Goals

15. Chris Stewart – 4 Goals

Ooh and at #15 Chris Stewart and his Custom TotalOne NXG ties the stick score up at 13.

Final Totals:

1. Bauer TotalOne NXG: 13 Goals

1. Easton RS II: 13 Goals

2. Warrior Covert DT1: 9 Goals (Marleau)

3. Reebok 20K: 9 Goals

4. Easton Mako: 8 Goals

We’ll check back in later on down the road to see where these totals stand. On a completely unrelated note, if there’s a volunteer that wants to add up every goal scored by every player and record which stick they used, that would be great.

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.