Smaller goalie equipment ordered

[Madferret]

Smaller goalie equipment ordered
Canadian Press

MONTREAL (CP) - Producing the slightly smaller goalie equipment that will be in use when the NHL restarts will keep The Hockey Company's two Quebec plants busy through the summer.

Leg pads will be 11 inches wide instead of 12 as was the case during the 2003-2004 season, and gloves and upper-body pads also will be altered to fit the league's desire for more goals. Blockers will be one inch shorter.

"We've been told by the NHL that these rules will apply at the beginning of the next season," J. C. Bergeron of The Hockey Co. said Wednesday. "For us to make the equipment, and we have a lot of players in the NHL, AHL and ECHL, it's going to be a time issue.

"We've told the NHL we'll do everything we can do to be in time. We've had meetings with our people and it's a big, big challenge. The PA (NHL Players' Association) is telling the players they have to be patient."

Also to be changed are hockey pants goalies will wear. The league is asking for slimmer fits so players all have to be remeasured. Most of the equipment for the nearly 100 goalies the company supplies has to be custom made so meticulous manufacturing is required by the 60 workers involved. Retooling machines to turn out the new sizes is a major cost. The company produces CCM, Koho and Reebok brands.

Among the 25 goalies the company supplies are Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour, Roberto Luongo, J.S. Giguere and Marty Turco.

http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20030605/giguere_72305.jpg

[PDO]

Significant changes. About time they took place. Here's hoping Giguere never touches another medal in his life :coffee:

[KB in Kelowna]

Significant changes. About time they took place. Here's hoping Giguere never touches another medal in his life :coffee:

Here's betting he won't :nod:

At a time when protective and support equipement got thinner, more flexible and better, goalie pads expanded faster than the waistlines of a typical North American. So now we'll get to see just how athletic and quick these guys really are.

[slapshot™]

Maybe I can score some good goal equipment for cheap. I better send Barry Stafford an email.

[Iced Tea]

Won't this ruling just mean that the protective flaps will get bigger? You know the ones I mean; the 8 inch wide flaps that protect their inner legs and tender forearms; the ones that eliminate the 5 hole and any top corner shots.

[PDO]

A picture is worth a 1000 words.. eh?

http://www.sabres.com/images/gallery/1118240243.jpg

[slapshot™]

A picture is worth a 1000 words.. eh?

http://www.sabres.com/images/gallery/1118240243.jpg

Not really. That pic didn't tell me anything. Please explain.

[PDO]

On the left is the old pads size.. then it's beside what's regulation now.

Notice you can actually see space between the pads :D

[slapshot™]

On the left is the old pads size.. then it's beside what's regulation now.

Notice you can actually see space between the pads :D

I'd like to know what the height diff is between the 2 sets. Is this pic on a page referencing the pad size diff, Brian? If so, can you supply a link? I'm curious.

[PDO]

I'd like to know what the height diff is between the 2 sets. Is this pic on a page referencing the pad size diff, Brian? If so, can you supply a link? I'm curious.

The picture is from the R&D camp; found the link to it at another forum I frequent.. but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a direct link to it; Mel/Bagpipe/Matt?

That's exactly the type of change we were due for though... there's no reason the pads have to cover all that extra space, with the exception of a lack of talent :thumb:

[slapshot™]

The picture is from the R&D camp; found the link to it at another forum I frequent.. but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a direct link to it; Mel/Bagpipe/Matt?

That's exactly the type of change we were due for though... there's no reason the pads have to cover all that extra space, with the exception of a lack of talent :thumb:

Just from the pic it looks like the "redesigned" pads are kids size (less than 30"). I'm not too keen on this whole downsizing of goal equipment when the real culprit for lower scoring games is the defensive play and traps used by the coaching staffs. The goal equipment sizes have less to do with the inability of the puck going in the net.

And I stress once again....the style of goaltending has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.

[a4l]

The style of goaltending was due to the oversized equipment. I for one like the smaller stuff.

[PDO]

Just from the pic it looks like the "redesigned" pads are kids size (less than 30"). I'm not too keen on this whole downsizing of goal equipment when the real culprit for lower scoring games is the defensive play and traps used by the coaching staffs. The goal equipment sizes have less to do with the inability of the puck going in the net.

And I stress once again....the style of goaltending has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.

And you don't think that defensive play has anything to do with it being much harder to score a goal?

[slapshot™]

The style of goaltending was due to the oversized equipment.

Please elaborate.

[grim]

Patrick Whatshisname was a half decent butterfly goalie eh? And his equipment was normal sized. So what's the problem?

p.s. The pads in PDO's photo look too small. That can't be right.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/focus/gfx/roy_habs.jpg

[butterfly_style]

In my day I had normal equipment.
One of the tools I used to stop rubber was . . .get this . . .positioning
Others included agility, reflexes, confidence, ability to read the play, and swinging some mean wood to clear my crease.
I didn't need to "SuperSize Me" to be a good netminder.

Let's see how J.S "Bib" Giguere
http://www.speeding.co.uk/acatalog/michman.JPG

and Garth "Abominable" Snow man deal with this.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-08/12/xin_8f9aadecccd811d7b21c0001030784d9_yeti.jpg

[bluemeanie]

In my day I had normal equipment.
One of the tools I used to stop rubber was . . .get this . . .positioning
Others included agility, reflexes, confidence, ability to read the play, and swinging some mean wood to clear my crease.
I didn't need to "SuperSize Me" to be a good netminder.



I think they're trying to take things like agility and good reflexes out of the game, BS... well, you know better then anyone what can happen if you over exhaust those attributes... :conspire:

[grim]

Garth "Abominable" Snow man...
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-08/12/xin_8f9aadecccd811d7b21c0001030784d9_yeti.jpg

Wow Garth looks awful. That pic must be during a road trip. He hasn't even shaved. No wonder those skiers are frightened. He sure is hairy. Or maybe the skiers are frightened because Garth is not wearing any pants. I notice he has a little.. thing.... there... and it's smaller than his pinkie finger... maybe that's why Garth is so angry.

[goaliemom7687]

I think the NHL should just stop this beating around the bush where our goalies are concerned and just for once and for all make the rule that no helmets are allowed....Then and only then can the scoring sky rocket and the injuries (groin pulls)(not) keep climbing higher and higher....Think of how many goalies each team will have to keep in the system.....Whats danger as long as the NHL is happy? :coffee:

[bluemeanie]

Wow Garth looks awful. That pic must be during a road trip. He hasn't even shaved. No wonder those skiers are frightened. He sure is hairy. Or maybe the skiers are frightened because Garth is not wearing any pants. I notice he has a little.. thing.... there... and it's smaller than his pinkie finger... maybe that's why Garth is so angry.

lol.

Colorado . Pop star diva Celine Dion has reportedly broke off her engagement with the Abominable Snowman. Mr. Snowman (or Garth) who last year signed a three-year contract with the New York Islanders, was not commenting when reporters caught up with him at a Colorado skiing resort where other visitors described him as "Drunk and belligerent". Sources close to the couple speculate that because of the impending CBA taking place in the NHL Mrs. Dion wasn't "prepared to deal with the kind of salary cut back that Snowman would likely be receiving." However, as many assumed, Dion was quick to return to long-time romantic interest Bigfoot who wasn't as tight lipped about the break up. "Well, let's just say that Garth was.. well, a little man in many ways."

[skidmark]

I deleted this post. A bit too gross I think.

[slapshot™]

Catching glove and blocker biggest adjustments for goalies

(CP) - It's a whole new world for NHL goaltenders this season as they get used to smaller equipment. And while much of the focus has been on the pads, that's not the biggest adjustment.

"I think the biggest difference is the glove," Blues netminder Patrick Lalime said Tuesday from St. Louis. "They cut down quite a bit on it and it looks real small to me." "I keep telling myself that it's quicker," he added with a laugh.

Star winger Paul Kariya of the Nashville Predators says he can't forget the first time he saw the new goalie equipment while skating in Anaheim last month.

"Steve Shields was there and he's a big guy," Kariya said Tuesday from Nashville. "He came out with the new blocker and glove and it almost looked like he was wearing kids' gloves."

Some of the goalies have had trouble catching the puck with the smaller glove. A couple of times in Sunday's Toronto-Ottawa pre-season game, the puck bounced in and out of the gloves of both Mikael Tellqvist and Ray Emery.

"I've experienced that, too," said Buffalo Sabres goalie Martin Biron. "I think the big thing is that the actual pocket in the glove is a lot smaller and not as deep. So a lot of times the puck, instead of hitting the pocket, will hit the area just around the pocket and bounce off. I played Saturday night against Washington and a lot of times I felt the puck was like a hot potato in my glove. It wouldn't stick in there."

Veteran Ed Belfour complained about it last week at the Maple Leafs' camp in Toronto.

"The puck keeps popping out of there more than before," Belfour said.

The same goes for Dwayne Roloson and Manny Fernandez in Minnesota.

"Both Manny and I here in Minnesota have had the puck bounce in and out sometimes," Roloson said. "I think it's just going to be a process that over time it'll be fine. It's smaller and you just have to get used to it."

Lalime said goalies will.

"There's going to be more emphasis on hand-eye co-ordination," he said. "Before the glove was bigger and the puck just hit it and went into it but now it's a little trickier. But we'll get there, we'll be fine."

Roloson, Belfour and other goalies have also both complained about the blocker, which has also been shrunk somewhat.

"Both gloves are a lot smaller," said Biron. "But then again, a lot of guys are saying they can move faster and react quicker - their reflexes are better. So it's a give-take situation.

Full story here -> Team1260 (http://feeds.cfrn.com/content/cp_article.asp?id=/global_feeds/CanadianPress/SportsNews/s092011A.htm)

[PDO]

Hm..

Slappy, what do you know of "thigh pads". My friends a goalie, and said they got taken out in 02-03, and with the reduction in the pads.. that's why there have been so many squeakers five hole in recent times. Thoughts on that?