Murray

I just heard a few things. From my understanding, the earliest we'll possibly see the Axis gear is the ASG.

I've seen these, though not in person. They're a STIFF pad. The graphic, and application of said graphic, is going to be divisive/spark some discussion. The most interesting thing I've heard is that these are the first non-CCM & Lefevre pad - they're apparently parting ways.

After one use: The BOA system in the glove vs. the Optik BOA is MUCH improved. The glove itself is crazy easy to open and close, and will only get better with use. Blocker seems to be, well, a blocker. It's comfy, feels well balanced.3 Pads slide well, and the knee blocks feel extra-cushy. They're a 1:2:4 flex, so decently stiff, which is my preference. To be honest, I didn't get a ton of quality shots in them, but this upcoming week should put them to the test.

Oh, hey.

Not yet. Tomorrow, unless I pick up a fill-in or rent-a-goalie slot today.

Yeah, I'm pretty particular about brand and colour (as I'd imagine most of us here are), and I couldn't find anything that fit what I was looking for. That, combined with the fact that my 3 season-year-old Blackhawks return CCMs are absolutely toast, left me in a spot where I had to decide on something pretty much now. I am looking forward to the Bauers, though...if anything because they are so, so light. It's really something.

Today: Bauer 1X pants, LG, and a Bauer 2S stick. I'm most hesitant about the pants - I've been wearing Reebok/CCM pro returns for about 7 years now, and am VERY used to that style of pant...but the market on pro return pants right now just doesn't exist. Looking forward to that stick, though. Ooooooh baby.

Oh, not for sale, just a "hey. go give these a spin". I'll probably have them for the next week or two.

Went to get my skates sharpened this morning, walked out with these...

Ha ha. If you're so inclined, you can see some stuff here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYSJ2i48Mvdn6snsWVYXHQ

Ehhh, I've been pretty lazy with editing/uploading the footage.

Just a screenshot from the ol' GoPro...but take some time to marvel at that team defense:

@dstew29 I posted some thoughts over in the review section.

I wrote a giant, expletive-filled response to the new Adidas jersey upon their unveiling. Enjoy. So...those Adidas NHL jerseys. I posted this as a comment in another thread, but I'm re-posting it here because I'd love to open up a conversation about these (and sports design in general) with people who actually care about this kind of stuff. So, here are my comments, with each team referenced in the order they appear in the picture: MTL: Didn't change, shouldn't change. One of two perfect jerseys on earth. OTT: Gigantic missed opportunity. They had the "O" jersey ready and waiting, and there are some top-notch "original logo" concepts out there. Just terrible. FLA: This military-esque design isn't great. I guess SOMEONE had to buy up all that "vegas gold" material now that Pittsburgh (smartly) returned to sport gold. TOR: Ehhhhh. I mean, it needs a slight tweak on the stripes, but otherwise not bad. TBL: Too plain...whereas some teams need LESS black, this jersey needs more. Maybe some silver? BOS: Sure, why not. BUF: A big win by removing the piping is soured by not going back to the royal blue, and keeping the numbering on the front. DET: Much like Boston and Toronto...sure. Don't change it. It's fine. PIT: They won big last season by ditching the vegas gold. Good work. CBJ: These aren't good. At all. They look like a practice jersey. The striping is too small, and they have a better logo/concept in the cannon jerseys. I mean...at least they didn't use that stupid bee mascot, right? CAR: They brought back the warning flag squares, which I'm OK with. Maybe Scott Darling gets a bangin' Kidd-esque set of gear. Passable, I guess, but could be way better. I mostly don't care about this design because I don't care about the franchise. NYR: In the original 6 squad. The red on the collar kind of irks me. WAS: I hate these. It's the worst part of the Reebok template carried over...which is just a glorified practice jersey. The refined retro kit they've been wearing over the past few seasons are pretty great, and that Winter Classic set-up had potential. Barf. NYI: Pretty good, guys. But then again, you've traded in your notable past jersey fuck-up for a current arena design/ice quality fuck-up, so....yeah. Also, I'm probably in the minority of people who actually LIKED the black thirds from last year. NJD: GIGANTIC missed opportunity to bring back the green. Argh. Seeing Adidas' "inspiration board" for this jersey is frustrating...I know the Rockies were moved to NJ, but do the mono-width sleeve stripes HAVE TO reference the old Rockies jersey? Especially when there's a team who could really take some inspiration from those old jerseys...but more on that later. PHI: It got...blockier? I dunno. Neither love nor hate it. Could maybe benefit from a more radical approach. VGK: The "golden" knights are in no way, shape, or form, golden. I'm iffy on the colour scheme, especially in the inane details Adidas put into the gold, which you'll never see in motion. It appears they might be wearing white gloves? LAK: This team hasn't had a strong visual identity since like...1998. It's been one meh-to-bad jersey after another, each one using that awful typeface. I know the Lakers are pure garbage, but just go back to the purple/yellow, and use a crown for your logo. It's SO SIMPLE. Stop insisting on type and a half-assed "coat of arms" motif. VAN: Look, guys. I know you want to be the Habs of the west...but there's a surprisingly deep history of decent jerseys to dig into, here. The "rink" design is likely the front-runner, but the "plate-of-spaghetti" flying skate look also works (it looked GREAT when they wore it last season)...hell, I'd even take a refined "Flying V" look. PHX...err, ARZ: Another pretty boring jersey that gets a baffling amount of "praise". That Picasso-coyote was GREAT (there may be some personal bias here). This...is just forgettable. ANA: This is a team that really has never been able to execute a good jersey. I know they want to distance themselves from Disney, but those original jerseys (ESPECIALLY the logo) were so much better than whatever current mess they're wearing. Another team that relies on a half-baked typographic concept at times. Blow it up. EDM: Another team where the work is already done. I...appreciate the retro throwback...but it needs more work. Go back to royal blue. SJS: Like Arizona....just kind of boring? I do like the orange as a contrasting colour...I dunno. Likely could benefit from fresh eyes looking at it. CGY: Holy shit. Ya dun goofed. Those retro kits they had last season were straight fire (pun intended), and yet we have to put up with this 90's "MOAR BLACK" garbage. The away jerseys are even worse. I can't believe just how badly they messed up here. It's mind-boggling. NSH: Unforgivably boring, but pretty easy to fix. A few stripes, perhaps at an angle...make it a bit more dynamic. Likely the harbinger for ads-on-jersey. COL: I guess all those kids who loved this team in the late-90's are going to eat this up. Their logo is probably one of the last "good" logos (compare to newer teams like NSH, CBJ, ANA, now-defunct ATL)... It's a big "A" with an avalanche and a puck. Compositionally simple and pleasing. BUT...this team identity is one that could've absolutely benefitted from being completely blown up. They "stadium/outdoor" jerseys they introduced last season made reference to the classic Colorado Rockies uniforms, and were a HUGE step in the right direction (though not without issues). Why not just go full-on retro? Great colour-scheme, good logo...seems like a win to me. CHI: The other perfect jersey. Don't touch it. MIN: The other team what could really use a complete identity redo. I'm fine with the colour scheme, but their logo/mascot is a mystery, probably stemming from the fact that their franchise is named after a concept rather than an easily identifiable thing/character. Look...this jersey IS a step in the right direction, but the whole foundation is shaky. Maybe a team that could benefit from a type-based approach, but their previous efforts at that have been awful. My confidence is low. STL: These are inoffensive, but saying that doesn't mean they're good. Those Winter Classic jerseys from last season were PERFECT, though. Jake Allen's gear made them even better. DAL: These aren't bad, but I think I say that because their previous jerseys have been a big garbage pile, which makes these look better than they actually are in contrast. Passable, I guess. WPG: Another blown opportunity to capitalize on nostalgia and SUPERIOR design. Those refined retro uniforms from last season were fantastic. Much better than these, which still reek of Harper-era conservatism.

I'm just catching up on this, and I've tried to stay away... But it would appear that the person asking about HALs was a Monster rep, and asked the initial question with the intention of baiting Kenesky into a response, in order to stir up some nonsense conflict - or at least that's my understanding. This whole thing is stupid, but I do believe we're witnessing the messy implosion of Monster Hockey.