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!

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.

New for 2013, Warrior is introducing a new family of mid-kick sticks called the Dynasty line to complement the low-kick Covert stick line. The flagship stick from the Dynasty line is the AX1 and it features excellent technologies to maximize it’s performance.

The AX1 is unique from most fused one-pieces with it’s HiFused construction. Not only does it provide the stick with a great balance point but it also insures an accurate shot by not allowing the hosel to twist when shooting. The StrongArm technology also reinforces the hosel area to provide even greater twist resistance.

The AxySym construction found throughout the shaft has strategically placed “stretch fibers” on the front portion of the shaft and “compression” fibers on the back & underbelly of the shaft. This allows for a speedy loading process and a powerful return on your shot.

The blade on the Dynasty AX1 may look familiar to players using the Covert DT1 sticks and that’s because it’s the same blade! It utilizes two spars that run heel to toe providing the strength needed for accurate shots as well as durability. Hardcore X foam fills the interior of the blade and gives this stick a great feel for the puck, the aramid sole lines the bottom of the blade because of the impact toughness of the material that’s also used in bulletproof vests and finally the face of the blade is lined with a carbon-plated glass fiber to resist cracking and chipping. These Warrior Dynasty AX1 Hockey Sticks are available now at Ice Warehouse.

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.

Let me start this off by saying that the New York Rangers top line is ridiculous. The Richards-Nash-Gaborik combination may very well be the most formidable line in the NHL this season and they sure made a good argument for it last night. The trio put up 5 points, fifteen shots, and numerous scoring chances as they topped the Boston Bruins in overtime. While they all played phenomenally, Marian Gaborik was the clear first star with a hat trick that included the game winner in OT. Below is a video of his heroics last night.

So let’s take a look at the stick and skates that helps Gaborik do what he does.

Stick: Easton EQ50

Curiously, Marian Gaborik chose to play with the Easton EQ50 twig this year even though it’s now discontinued. With new additions to Easton’s lineup like the RS II and the Mako II, one would think that Gaborik would choose a different Easton stick; but apparently he found a stick that works for him and he’s sticking to it. And Easton is still sending him the custom black and blue colors so, at least while there’s inventory, get used to seeing Gaborik with the EQ50.

The hand eye coordination that Gaborik exhibited in that game gave the Rangers the victory, and the balance & feel of the EQ50 really made it possible.

Skates: Bauer Vapor APX

We can partially attribute Gaborik’s quickness and agility to Bauer’s quick and agile Vapor line. The top of the line APX skates allow for quicker accelerations as you can see in his breakaway last night.

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.

Whether you want to match your helmet to your team’s colors or just want to add some flash, I.W. has you covered. I went ahead and put together two different custom looks using parts that Ice Warehouse sells.

The First is the matte white Easton E700 Helmet.

-White Easton Helmet Ear Loop and Chin Strap Kit
-White Easton E700FM Cage
-White Helmet Chin Strap Snap Buckles

This combination was pretty basic and easy to set up, but it looks awesome. It has a smooth look (especially with the matte white helmet finish) and can go with just about any team’s color scheme. The Easton E700FM cage also comes in a sleek gunmetal grey finish, while the Helmet Snap Chin Buckles comes in black as well.

The next is the Black/Red Reebok 11k Helmet.
-11k Red Chin Cup
-Red Chin Strap w/ Single Snap

This set up rocks a whole different style than the all-white E700 helmet, it is primarily black with red accents in the helmet shell, chin strap and cup. The 11k chin cups come in Black, Navy, Red and White while the chin straps (single snap) come in Back, Navy, Pink, Red, Royal, White and a Skull Print. A set up like this can match more consistently with a color pattern as well.

These helmets and custom accessories are available in a group discount, separately or together! We would love to see pictures of your own custom set ups, so send them in to feedback@inlinewarehouse.com, tag us in an Instagram photo @IceWarehouse, or post on our Facebook Wall!

Overview:

Easton kicked off the new year with new 2013 Mako products. A few days ago, they took an already successful stick and brought it to the next level. The first time I picked up the Mako II my immediate reaction was the weight, or more importantly the lack of it. Last year’s Mako weighed in at 462 grams and while it wasn’t necessarily heavy, the Mako II is noticeably lighter weighing 429 grams. Visually, Easton toned down the all-white look and brought the orange and black into the mix. I really like the look of the new Mako and when you think about it, it is is pretty smart on Easton’s part. On the forehand side, the shaft is white all the way down to the blade and the blade itself is completely black. So from a goalie‘s perspective, the white part of the shaft is harder to distinguish from the white of the ice and boards and the black blade makes it difficult to see the puck.

Easton also upgraded the proprietary woven Kevlar®/Graphite woven shaft of the 2012 Mako to the stronger, lighter and more responsive Uni-Carbon System construction. I’ll go into more detail about how this change affects the feel of the stick a little later in the blog. The 2013 Mako II also used two more ribs in the blade to both stiffen and strengthen.

Tech Specs:

• Construction:
  • Uni-Carbon System
    • Universally aligned fibers throughout the shaft to provide a stronger and lighter shaft while improving energy transfer also
• Flex Profile:
  • Tuned taper section built with Easton’s Elite Stiffness Profile to pro specs – Offers quick shot release and controlled puck reaction
• Geometry:
  • Double concave side walls, and square corners
• Grip: Matte finish
• Blade:
  • 3K woven carbon material
  • Multi-rib design
    • Four internal ribs keep the blade stiff and accurate throughout every moment of the shot
    • Prevents the core from breaking down
  • Solid dense lower core keeps the blade in contact with the puck longer resulting great puck control and feel
  • Micro-bladder blade process - Easton’s proprietary process of producing a consistent blade
  • Non-skid blade coating
    • Better grip for the puck on exposed parts of the blade
    • Better tape adhesion and tighter wrap
• Flex: 75, 85, and 100

• Length: 59.5″
• Weight: 429 Grams

Review:

(Scoring is out of 10)

Overall Score: 9

Stick Feel: 8.5

The Uni-Carbon construction that Easton uses in the Mako II makes the shaft very whippy. Personally, I prefer sticks with a stiffer feel, but I can still appreciate the whip. The shaft dimensions and the Matte finish allow for an easy grip. For those who favor the matte finish, like myself, will appreciate the slight texturing that Easton added for a firmer grip. Overall, the very lightweight Mako II felt very balanced. Finally, the low kick flex profile allows for the quickness that is the Mako Stick Line.

Puck Feel: 9.5

Once again I begin with the Uni-Carbon construction. This time, the Uni-Carbon construction is responsible for some incredible puck feel and fantastic response.

Slap Shots: 8.5

Surprisingly, the whippiness didn’t dampen the power of the clapper. The puck came off the stick very strongly; but the reason I didn’t rate the slap shot higher is because when I loaded the stick, it really did not feel normal. It’s hard to explain but while the shot itself was good, the stick didn’t feel good while taking the shot.

Wrist and Snap Shots: 9

Shooting wrist shots with the Mako II is easy: load, fire, then celebrate. The Mako is all about quickness and it truly comes out when you’re shooting. It allows for effortless shooting that still provides amazing power.

Passing: 9.5

The 4 rib design of the blade creates a stiffer and more responsive blade. By design, it could produce a blade that is too bouncy but that’s not the case here. Passing is very responsive and the puck doesn’t bounce hard off the blade. Also, my passes held strong and accurate.

Note:

Traditionally, Easton sticks aren’t the most durable sticks on the market. The 2011 RS really showed this, but the 2012 Mako partially redeemed Easton. Since this stick is brand new to the market and we haven’t been using it for an extended period of time, we aren’t able to tell you how durable this stick will be.

This stick is now available at Inline & Ice Warehouse.

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.

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.

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

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. 10^th 2012.

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.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to the Limited Edition Bauer APX hockey stick! This bad boy has all the same specs and technologies as the original APX hockey stick, but with a blacked out color scheme. The large Bauer logo on the side of the shaft is in a bright pearl white, so it really stands out and looks sweet. The APX Limited Edition shaft has the popular TeXtreme® construction and Monocomp technology that makes this stick as lightweight and responsive as possible. The flex profile utilizes the premier dual taper for exceptional torsional deflection and shot control. The Vapor line’s signature Intelli-Sense shot technology provides for a “variable” flex point to allow for maximized loading for quick wrist and snap shots. The APX LE hockey stick comes in grip and non-grip, so be sure to pick one up at Ice Warehouse.