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How the Pros Order Gear: Josh Robinson


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How the Pros Order Gear: Josh Robinson

Last April, Josh Robinson was named the ECHL’s goaltender of the year. His numbers were a gaudy 931 save% and 1.88 GAA. He was gracious enough to exchange some messages with me last week and answer every child and beer leaguer’s biggest question… What is it like to order gear in the pros? It’s particularly cool for me that Josh Robinson did the interview.

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I remember studying his set up when the GNetik was being launched. I was on the fence if the elastic straps were a fad or not and I looked at his set up via google images. He had two leather straps from the knee wing to the top of his calf and smart straps on the calf.

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Believe it or not, when it comes to ordering gear, Josh does most of the research himself. If he is interested in checking out a new release, he does the same thing we all do. He heads to his local shop and checks it out. Unfortunately, demo gear is limited to the NHL guys and he is not able to try everything on ice before committing to an order.  However he has one distinct advantage over the average joe, access to the pro reps. After his order is sent to the equipment manager via e-mail he speaks with the reps. He keeps a good relationship with all the pro reps and they will help him with any custom options and make sure his order is correct for the coming season. He’s very educated about equipment and tends to keep his set up consistent year after year. When asking him about much influence the reps have over his order, he replied that “I always design my own gear from top to bottom. I will ask the reps about certain things but I always make sure I have my gear down to the smallest detail”.

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Now for the most important question of the interview, how are the colors chosen? After receiving his order the pro reps will send him over the customizers. He designs his own colors and specs. His current team, the Missouri Mavericks, don’t care what color his gear is. That allows him the freedom to have some fun with it.

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He’s worn everything from solid white, to white with black / orange accents, and finally black with orange accents. Knowing that Josh has been on both extremes of the colors spectrum, I asked him about the ole white gear myth. “I don’t think white gear makes a difference. I have asked my teammates and they don’t even notice what most goalies are wearing”.

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He went on to add that you should wear what you are comfortable with and what you like. He prefers to have all of his gear matching, “I generally like to stay within the same brand. I’m not a huge fan of the look when they are mismatched but that is the goalies preference”

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I’ve also wondered about pants in leagues other than the NHL. I was curious if guys had the freedom to choose what they wear or if it was team mandated. Josh confirmed they do and he’s in the CCM 12A pant (Side note: I just got a pair of Carolina 12A returns and love them). He’s the pickiest about his skates. Not shockingly with that fact, he’s been with VH with since they were launched. He considers them “the perfect skate” and it’s something that he is “not changing”. He keeps them sharpened at a 3/8 hollow and checks his edges before every skate.

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The most customized piece of gear he owns is his Vaughn / Pro-Choice custom mask shell equipped with Maltese padding. He has a self-described “oddly shaped head” and it requires a custom fit mask. Other than that, he does not have “a ton of changes” to his current gear. Josh Recently switched from Brian’s to CCM Premier.

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He chose the new Premier line because he was impressed with the upgrades CCM made to the current iteration.

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He wore Leferve gear from age 12-junior year in college, so the switch back could be seen as a home coming. His gear is all Canadian made and he’s amazed at “the way they all come together and work together to seal holes”. Josh made the switch back because CCM researched and focused on all the “specific areas that I am very big on, the seal of the ice, the size and placement of the knee blocks, and as well as the new Velcro strapping system”. He’s a “big fan” of that new strapping set-up and was amazing that his order was turned around in 4 weeks.

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My favorite answer of the interview was also the least expected. When I asked Josh what his favorite set up was, I expected something pretty recent. A particular colorway from one of his Brian’s sets or maybe the set he dominated the ECHL in last season. He went back a bit further and responded with one of the most generally beloved sets of all time, the Koho 580! I had a set too in college and can appreciate his admiration.

I think my biggest take away from my exchange with Josh is that even at his level, he does the research himself and that he needs to be comfortable. He’s not above visiting a retailer to check out a new piece of gear or wearing black pads. The level of humbleness and open attitude is probably why’s experienced the success that he has.

 

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Very interesting.  I've heard before some pros are more blah when it comes to their gear.  I found my self saying how cool would it be to have complete freedom in picking my gear.  Without the worrying about cost. 

Love the part about the 580 kohos.   But I thought the 560s were the most loved. 

Did he mention how many gloves blockers and pads he goes through in a season ? 

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3 hours ago, Mike24 said:

Very interesting.  I've heard before some pros are more blah when it comes to their gear.  I found my self saying how cool would it be to have complete freedom in picking my gear.  Without the worrying about cost. 

Love the part about the 580 kohos.   But I thought the 560s were the most loved. 

Did he mention how many gloves blockers and pads he goes through in a season ? 

I didn't think to ask that, sorry! 

IMO 580 is regarded as the most famous Koho pad... I'd put 560 at a second. That's just my opinion though 

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7 hours ago, TheGoalNet said:

Awesome 

 hope we can some more pro interviews in the future 

Keith Kinkaid of the Devils went to my high school(graduated a few years later though, never played together) and is good friends with my best friend's little brother.  I could ask my friend's brother if Keith would be willing to answer some questions.  Maybe even get answers from both him and Schneider?  What are some questions you guys would want to know answers to?  If I am able to do this I don't wanna take up too much of his/their time so I wanna have everything put together prior to any communication so there isn't too much back and forth.

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It's kinda funny, as all of the stories I had heard about pro goalies was a lot like the pro cyclists I knew- some were absolute fanatics about gear, whilst others literally did with whatever they were issued. The pro cyclists I got to know certainly would put their two pence in when it came to some things and did not give a toss when it came to other things. I only have gotten to know a few former minor leaguers and some of them would mod out of necessity, namely to fix poor design.  I still think (much like it is with cyclists) that on the whole, beer leaguers probably tinker with their gear much more than most pros, though it does not surprise me that the pro interviewed in this piece did not design his gear top to bottom. 

Keep the good stuff coming.

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2 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Keith Kinkaid of the Devils went to my high school(graduated a few years later though, never played together) and is good friends with my best friend's little brother.  I could ask my friend's brother if Keith would be willing to answer some questions.  Maybe even get answers from both him and Schneider?  What are some questions you guys would want to know answers to?  If I am able to do this I don't wanna take up too much of his/their time so I wanna have everything put together prior to any communication so there isn't too much back and forth.

Would love that. 

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1 hour ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Ok, everyone let's get a list of questions going.

If everyone wants to generate questions, that's a cool idea. I hadn't thought about doing that before.

 I'd still like to keep with the protocols I am developing and be the one to conduct the interview via phone or email.  If they are interested, please have them e-mail me and I will schedule a time to conduct the e-mail: thegoalnet@thegoalnet.com 

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24 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

If everyone wants to generate questions, that's a cool idea. I hadn't thought about doing that before.

 I'd still like to keep with the protocols I am developing and be the one to conduct the interview via phone or email.  If they are interested, please have them e-mail me and I will schedule a time to conduct the e-mail: thegoalnet@thegoalnet.com 

Ok if that's what you'd prefer.

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3 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

It's kinda funny, as all of the stories I had heard about pro goalies was a lot like the pro cyclists I knew- some were absolute fanatics about gear, whilst others literally did with whatever they were issued. The pro cyclists I got to know certainly would put their two pence in when it came to some things and did not give a toss when it came to other things. I only have gotten to know a few former minor leaguers and some of them would mod out of necessity, namely to fix poor design.  I still think (much like it is with cyclists) that on the whole, beer leaguers probably tinker with their gear much more than most pros, though it does not surprise me that the pro interviewed in this piece did not design his gear top to bottom. 

Keep the good stuff coming.

I meant to say designed his gear top to bottom. 

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  • 3 months later...
On 3/17/2017 at 7:13 PM, TheGoalNet said:

I'd like to ask Keith:

who came up with the Broduer tribute pads 

what's it like working with his mask artist 

do the devils pressure him to have white based pads 

I'd ask Keith:

- Why a double boot strap in 2017, when many pros are gone away from wearing boot straps entirely?

- Are all Devils goalies mandated to wear Vaughn? (Mackenzie Blackwood switched from CCM/Reebok to Vaughn as soon as he got into their system

- How "reasonable" the pro reps are re: custom graphics and specs? Due to some companies being more hesitant to offer them at the retail level, I'd like to know if they are also hesitant at the pro level.

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