Imperative

That would be sweet but I can’t make it. @cwarnar is right I am about an hour and a half northeast of Calgary

Home opener for the Vikings. We started real fast jumping out to a very early 7-0 lead and then we just sat back and let them kind of come at us. I played ok, first goal I bit way too hard on the first move and got walked, 2nd and 3rd were soft, 4th you can see it but it went off my d mans stick and over me.

Do you like using a 26” paddle? I have found that I need to go down to a 25” or it seems to open up a gap between my blocker and body. If I remember we are close to the same height

Good work, nice patience and not giving up too much ice to the shooter.

It definitely depends on the organization at the NhL level. Chris Joswiak the pro rep for Brians said Demko was going to do the retro Kirk McLean set up with those black pads and Vancouver nixed it. I also know Scrivens when he was with LA was told not to wear his black icebergs in games. True story, guys have a lot of time in space in beer league.

I have been listening to Ingoal magazine podcast and they have had guys like Ian Clark on there and the argument with white gear is that edges of white are not as easily defined as a solid colour. I have also been listening to Mike McKenna’s podcast and he who is a fan of black based sets argues that in a game situation players don’t have the time and space to take a long look and aim at what space they see. He said players are trying to hit a specific spot ie over the pad under the blocker, under the bar and it is not dependent on where the goalie is. I kind of think that is true. Watching these early NHL games and especially seeing the slow motion replays, the shooter often has their head down while firing the shot off. I have also had a conversation with a childhood buddy who is still playing pro over in Europe and I asked him if as a shooter he is looking and aiming at open spots he sees around the goalie or is he just trying to hit a spot in the net. He said he will look if it is a situation where he has a brief second to look and aim before a shot but most of the time he is trying to hit a certain spot in the net. That said watching guys like Crawford or Adin Hill in all black gear, they do look a little smaller and the edges are clearly defined and don’t blend like white gear.

Thanks @cwarnar! I don’t know if there is a huge difference between the white vs black gear, I thought about doing a video about it I know guys like VOGoalie and @Trav4oilers have done white vs black gear. I would have to ask the guys shooting against me if they notice a difference. Glove was a bit better this skate I did get sniped over my left shoulder I feel like I am not tracking the puck quite as well as I have in the past. I have trying to stay on me feet more and being patient in all scenarios. I think I was just a little more successful in this latest skate. As far as down low plays and staying on my feet it depends on the threat of a tight cross crease pass, if there is a threat I like to be down and have my paddle in the lane to knock down a pass.

lastest shinny. Back in the vaughn and retro kings jersey. I am getting more comfortable with the Vaughn’s weave on the sliding surface plus Passau gliding polish makes them slide quite nicely. Next video with be Vikings first game of the season.

Played a game last season where is was -25 Celsius inside the rink. I had toe warmers on top of my toes (lots of room In the toe box of my skate) and hand warmers. On my glove the warmer was between the interior finger channels and outside padding on the blocker it was in the palm of my hand. It kept me warm all game. Body temp control helped a lot too, have a slight sweat going all game and I didn’t dump water on myself like I do in a normal game.

Joe, I will when I had actual game film to put up

latest shinny. I picked up a set of used vaughn’s 7800 pads, epic glove and 7600 blocker. Glove isn’t even fully broken in and I can’t completely close it. As far as the skate, I am not where I need to be with my game, that is for sure. Joe I played another game on Saturday again in the league that doesn’t allow the GoPro on the ice so no footage, I had a couple of real bad bounces one goal shot was going a mile wide and hit my d mans skate and in, another I got a piece then hit the cross bar and off my d man and In, still managed to win 10-8 but I didn’t feel very good about my game.

Thanks Joe! I ended up winning 12-5. I wasn’t able to film it on my GoPro as the league I subbed in doesn’t like the gopros inside the glass. I played ok, made a couple of saves that should’ve been goals but gave up a couple goals that should’ve been saves. I am 1-0 on the season though a win is a win right? Haha

latest shinny. I was wearing a new to me vaughn set of v4’s. I forgot to put Passau sliding polish on them beforehand so they didn’t slide quite as well even though it is weave on the sliding area. Few notes on the pads, I forgot how much I hate leather straps on my legs, the Velcro on my Brians are so much more comfortable than the leather straps. I didn’t play great in this skate, I played a late game the night before ( I didn’t film as the refs in that league don’t like the GoPro inside the glass) and I didn’t get home until the wee hours of the morning.

Not sure about that Joe, I guess I’ll find out tonight in my first game