The official 2021-2022 "Gear sitings" thread

[Chenner29]

Smith has 15 years of NHL experience and in that time has earned $48 million dollars, I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing

[seagoal]

10 hours ago, BadAngle41 said:

Seems to be working out ok for him.

 

 

50 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

Smith has 15 years of NHL experience and in that time has earned $48 million dollars, I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing

Bingo, x2. 

@ilyazhito I was gonna tag your quote but it's on the last page for me. 

It's too easy to see something in a goalie's gear and think "that's not optimal" or "that is pointless" or "that is detrimental." But as goalies we all get comfortable and familiar with things about our gear.  It's pretty rare, I think, as goalies to think of "optimal performance" as a driving motivation to our gear all the time. 

My thing that sorta irks me is too many leather straps that are too loose.  They literally do nothing.  But take Fleury as an example, do I think Fleury would be a better goalie without them?  Do I think his performance would be optimal without them? Nope, not even close.  What they do in fact do is give him confidence and comfort in his gear and that is way more important than any benefit, if any, he might get from zooming in too much on that aspect of his gear and thinking of optimal performance. 

It's not great that Smith's pads are so loose his knee hits the ice.  We would never teach kid goalies that that is a good thing or that we should strive for that as goalies.  But, I think knocking a guy like Smith with the idea of optimal performance goes too far. 

He might be a terrible goalie in the newest Bauer gear that is built for optimal performance. Why? Because he would not like his gear.  

Whether it's too many straps or too loose pads, it's just fun and interesting to point out and make a joke of now and then.  It shouldn't be about criticism or questioning. 

Cheers buddy. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by seagoal

[ilyazhito]

1 hour ago, seagoal said:

 

Bingo, x2. 

@ilyazhito I was gonna tag your quote but it's on the last page for me. 

It's too easy to see something in a goalie's gear and think "that's not optimal" or "that is pointless" or "that is detrimental." But as goalies we all get comfortable and familiar with things about our gear.  It's pretty rare, I think, as goalies to think of "optimal performance" as a driving motivation to our gear all the time. 

My thing that sorta irks me is too many leather straps that are too loose.  They literally do nothing.  But take Fleury as an example, do I think Fleury would be a better goalie without them?  Do I think his performance would be optimal without them? Nope, not even close.  What they do in fact do is give him confidence and comfort in his gear and that is way more important than any benefit, if any, he might get from zooming in too much on that aspect of his gear and thinking of optimal performance. 

It's not great that Smith's pads are so loose his knee hits the ice.  We would never teach kid goalies that that is a good thing or that we should strive for that as goalies.  But, I think knocking a guy like Smith with the idea of optimal performance goes too far. 

He might be a terrible goalie in the newest Bauer gear that is built for optimal performance. Why? Because he would not like his gear.  

Whether it's too many straps or too loose pads, it's just fun and interesting to point out and make a joke of now and then.  It shouldn't be about criticism or questioning. 

Cheers buddy. 

I was surprised that he would do it, because it sure looks.painful to land on the ice and not on the knee stack. It's not something I would do myself, which is why I point it out.

I don't play with the newest gear, but I play with something modern enough that I can use to play a modern style.

Would I get the latest Mach or Axis pads if I could afford them? Sure! However, if I shared the same locker room with Mike Smith, I'd ask about his strapping in a light hearted way, out of curiosity. It would not sound as impersonal as it does here. I'd say something like "you might need pillows in your knee pads. Don't want you hitting the ice too hard." 

It's a pity that the Internet has no context, whether it comes to sarcasm or to humor. 

[seagoal]

12 minutes ago, ilyazhito said:

I was surprised that he would do it, because it sure looks.painful to land on the ice and not on the knee stack. It's not something I would do myself, which is why I point it out.

I don't play with the newest gear, but I play with something modern enough that I can use to play a modern style.

Would I get the latest Mach or Axis pads if I could afford them? Sure! However, if I shared the same locker room with Mike Smith, I'd ask about his strapping in a light hearted way, out of curiosity. It would not sound as impersonal as it does here. I'd say something like "you might need pillows in your knee pads. Don't want you hitting the ice too hard." 

It's a pity that the Internet has no context, whether it comes to sarcasm or to humor. 

For sure, I get you.  This is all lighthearted banter.

I'm not sold on buying the new Bauer stuff, but I would kill for a demo set to mess around with for an hour or so or use in a pick up game. I think the gloves would be pretty meh in terms of performance enhancement but I think after getting over how foreign they feel to me as a lifelong Vaughn goalie the pads would pretty easily stand out as a performance booster.  My current pads were ordered "extra stiff" and I'm just now, a year later, starting to flirt with the idea of stiffer pads, like Bauers.

Their gear, gloves and pads, just feel and look so "other" to me, very foreign, I think the easiest jump for me brand wise would be True at this point. 

I see a lot of trends in current, modern goalie gear as solutions to problems that don't exist, for me.  Like the new Bauer skates, for example.  Will the Bauer blockers increase the pop off rebounds for me? Sure, ok.  Have I ever wanted that? Nope. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by seagoal

[ZeroGravitas]

51 minutes ago, seagoal said:

I'm not sold on buying the new Bauer stuff, but I would kill for a demo set to mess around with for an hour or so or use in a pick up game. I think the gloves would be pretty meh in terms of performance enhancement but I think after getting over how foreign they feel to me as a lifelong Vaughn goalie the pads would pretty easily stand out as a performance booster.  My current pads were ordered "extra stiff" and I'm just now, a year later, starting to flirt with the idea of stiffer pads, like Bauers.

What size are you? I have a set of Ultrasonics in size Small.

[seagoal]

2 minutes ago, ZeroGravitas said:

What size are you? I have a set of Ultrasonics in size Small.

I'm not exactly sure in Bauer terms.  My pads are custom with no size on them but they are a 34ish. My initial impression of the Bauers sizes is I'm a Medium. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by seagoal

[ilyazhito]

7 hours ago, seagoal said:

I'm not exactly sure in Bauer terms.  My pads are custom with no size on them but they are a 34ish. My initial impression of the Bauers sizes is I'm a Medium. 

Try Large (35). Bauer tends to run small. I did use a Medium set before (nominally equivalent to 34), but I was constantly slipping off the knee stack, and my knee was above center. 

[BadAngle41]

8 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

What size are you? I have a set of Ultrasonics in size Small.

What's the color scheme on those again? You looking to find a new home for the whole set?

[Puckstopper]

9 hours ago, seagoal said:

For sure, I get you.  This is all lighthearted banter.

I'm not sold on buying the new Bauer stuff, but I would kill for a demo set to mess around with for an hour or so or use in a pick up game. I think the gloves would be pretty meh in terms of performance enhancement...

The catcher, sure I'd agree with you.   But the rebounds off the blocker?     Not going to say they're game changing, but it's impressive to watch a hard shot fly into the corner seemingly without losing any velocity!

[The Teal Terror]

11 hours ago, seagoal said:

For sure, I get you.  This is all lighthearted banter.

I'm not sold on buying the new Bauer stuff, but I would kill for a demo set to mess around with for an hour or so or use in a pick up game. I think the gloves would be pretty meh in terms of performance enhancement but I think after getting over how foreign they feel to me as a lifelong Vaughn goalie the pads would pretty easily stand out as a performance booster.  My current pads were ordered "extra stiff" and I'm just now, a year later, starting to flirt with the idea of stiffer pads, like Bauers.

I had Sher-Wood skinned TPS R10’s with a single internal break above the knee, 36+2. Stiff didn’t even come close, I regretted them after a while, but I made them work in the end!

As we’re all saying, some goalies play with what they can and get used to it. Others have the luxury of trying out different makers and setups etc. 

And then there’s the ones who make unfortunate mistakes with their gear, but learn to play with it anyway!

[ZeroGravitas]

3 hours ago, BadAngle41 said:

What's the color scheme on those again? You looking to find a new home for the whole set?

Same set/specs as the ones I posted a review about:

Still waiting for my Machs - several weeks left on those. But my private pickup lost their ice time so I haven't been playing for the last couple of weeks. DM me if you want to give these a spin.

[ThatCarGuy]

More of a rumor than a sighting, one of my coworkers ran into Wedgewood at a Kroger (crazy right?) and heard Wedgewood is going to be trying Bauer either soon or during off-season. Something about Oettinger makes Bauer look good and Reimer’s pad (Medium with Small calf and knee placement) would be perfect for Wedgewood.

[ThatCarGuy]

I failed to get a picture with him while I was at the game but my former goalie coach Tom Hodges filled in as an Anaheim goalie tonight! Anaheim seemed to be giving every goalie they had a chance tonight even though there were no injuries since they had a different goalie in every period. Huge class act by Anaheim to give him a whole period to himself to experience NHL hockey.

For those wondering he’s about 5’9” and those are size small leg pads. 
 

EDIT: A couple news articles said Gibson and Stolarz had injuries but being at the game both looked fine.

Edited April 30, 2022 by ThatCarGuy

[Korppi32]

I don't know who is Tom Hodges but quick Google search and he hasn't play too much during last seasons. Sounds more like a joke than class act, great for the goalie tho. NHL is still a pro league. Never heard that you can wear three goalies in the one game. 

 

Edit. I red that both goalies of Ducks injured and he is emergency backup goalie of Stars. So I have changed my opinion, great story. 

Edited April 30, 2022 by Korppi32

[ThatCarGuy]

3 hours ago, Korppi32 said:

I don't know who is Tom Hodges but quick Google search and he hasn't play too much during last seasons. Sounds more like a joke than class act, great for the goalie tho. NHL is still a pro league. Never heard that you can wear three goalies in the one game. 

 

Edit. I red that both goalies of Ducks injured and he is emergency backup goalie of Stars. So I have changed my opinion, great story. 

He’s also EBUG with the ECHL Allen Americans and practices frequently with both them and the Stars. Unfortunately due to some medical issues he was unable to make it pro. Once again, being at the game neither Gibson or Stolarz looked truly injured. 

[Lucky Pucker]

9 hours ago, ThatCarGuy said:

I failed to get a picture with him while I was at the game but my former goalie coach Tom Hodges filled in as an Anaheim goalie tonight! Anaheim seemed to be giving every goalie they had a chance tonight even though there were no injuries since they had a different goalie in every period. Huge class act by Anaheim to give him a whole period to himself to experience NHL hockey.

For those wondering he’s about 5’9” and those are size small leg pads. 
 

EDIT: A couple news articles said Gibson and Stolarz had injuries but being at the game both looked fine.

Kinda love that his gear is pretty much Dallas colours

[The Teal Terror]

3 hours ago, ThatCarGuy said:

He’s also EBUG with the ECHL Allen Americans and practices frequently with both them and the Stars. Unfortunately due to some medical issues he was unable to make it pro. Once again, being at the game neither Gibson or Stolarz looked truly injured. 

And like all English players, moved to North America at a young age and changes citizenship! Byron Dafoe comes to mind. One day I’ll see an English player get drafted and stick it in the training camp. But regardless, I love seeing EBUG’s in any scenario. Good for him!

[ThatCarGuy]

7 hours ago, Lucky Pucker said:

Kinda love that his gear is pretty much Dallas colours

I was in the store when his order arrived it’s a pretty sick set top to bottom. Not sure why he had factorymad work on a hyperlite glove though, just sounds like a waste of money to me.

Edited April 30, 2022 by ThatCarGuy

[Chenner29]

On 4/29/2022 at 9:18 PM, ThatCarGuy said:

I failed to get a picture with him while I was at the game but my former goalie coach Tom Hodges filled in as an Anaheim goalie tonight! Anaheim seemed to be giving every goalie they had a chance tonight even though there were no injuries since they had a different goalie in every period. Huge class act by Anaheim to give him a whole period to himself to experience NHL hockey.

For those wondering he’s about 5’9” and those are size small leg pads. 
 

EDIT: A couple news articles said Gibson and Stolarz had injuries but being at the game both looked fine.

You mean those mushy marshmallow looking things?

[Teezle]

On 4/30/2022 at 8:18 AM, ThatCarGuy said:

He’s also EBUG with the ECHL Allen Americans and practices frequently with both them and the Stars. Unfortunately due to some medical issues he was unable to make it pro. Once again, being at the game neither Gibson or Stolarz looked truly injured. 

Medical issues like being 5'9"  In that case, I, too, had medical issues that prevented me from going pro. You heard it here first!

All kidding aside, it's a great story and I'm happy for him that he got to be in the game and the locker room afterward.

[seagoal]

The Stars all lined up after the game and gave him hugs.  It was clear they know him and were super happy for him that he got to play. He got a great welcome in the Ducks locker room too...meaning he got absolutely soaked by all the players, haha.

[coopaloop1234]

27 minutes ago, seagoal said:

The Stars all lined up after the game and gave him hugs.  It was clear they know him and were super happy for him that he got to play. He got a great welcome in the Ducks locker room too...meaning he got absolutely soaked by all the players, haha.

Dude has been the Stars EBUG for a while now.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgFMqi0H6V-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeZCAxkFylz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

[seagoal]

6 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Dude has been the Stars EBUG for a while now.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgFMqi0H6V-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeZCAxkFylz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Yeah, I think since either 2017 or 2019 they said on TV.

[coopaloop1234]

2 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Yeah, I think since either 2017 or 2019 they said on TV.

Do you just believe everything you see on TV? 

[seagoal]

Nothing new here but just a really fun picture of Smith.  You can see how spun around his pads are by seeing the bottom of his skates, which we don't normally see like this