The Crease: Goalie Equipment Buying Guides
Before getting in to the list of who we think are the top 5 upcoming goaltenders, we wanted to give a disclaimer and clarification as to who qualified for this list. We wanted to specifically focus on goalies who have been drafted but have not had any NHL or extended AHL experience. Some of our honorable mentions if our list was including rookie goaltenders who have seen a bit of NHL action or had a season in the AHL and are still deemed as prospects are, Carter Hart, Thatcher Demko, Jake Oettinger, Kaapo Kahkonen, Cal Petersen, Michael DiPietro, and Adin Hill.
Henrik Lundqvist has had an amazing career since being drafted in the 2000 NHL Draft, going 205th overall in the 7th round. Lundqvist is an Olympic Gold Medalist, World Championship Gold Medalist, Vezina Trophy Winner, Two Time SHL Champion, NHL All-Rookie Team 2005, and has had five NHL All-Star Game appearances but, he has yet to obtain the one and only Stanley Cup.
With the summer finally kicking off, we wanted to bring you some summer tips for goalie’s to have a successful off-season! Not every summer will be the same for every goaltender, but we have created five steps we believe will help you get the most out of your summer and off-season.
With summer coming in to full swing, most goalies are taking some time to enjoy their off-season and slowly start looking at some of the new gear they will need for the upcoming season. Every new season comes not only with new gear but with new goalie’s entirely! In this blog, I wanted to show some of the key things a goalie will need to fill their bag, as well as some extra must have items to get ready for their upcoming season.
Releasing in April 2018, True Hockey has brought out another model of composite goalie sticks that meets all of the needs of today’s goaltender. Throughout this review, we will take a look at True Hockey’s A4.5 HT Senior Goalie Stick and how it performs on the ice! For the purposes of the review, we will discuss two sticks that are both 25 inch MC curves but two different colors!
When purchasing a new pair of goalie skates, you might look at the website and wonder what the best pair will be for you. Everyone has a different foot shape and personal preferences on what they like in a skate and True does their best to help create the perfect skate for you. I wanted to share my personal experiences through the ordering process, share a bit of info about True skates and then share my personal thoughts on the True Two-Piece goalie skates.
Coming in for Bauer goalie in 2019 is the Bauer Vapor 2X line of goalie equipment that is available for two separate models up for customization in the form of the Bauer Vapor 2X Pro Senior Custom and the Bauer Vapor 2X Pro Custom Senior Custom. You might be wondering when looking at the names what is the difference between the two options beside the price?
Brand new for 2019, Bauer has unleashed their newest version of the Vapor line and brought the 2X Pro out to the goalie community. Building off of successful aspects of the 1X, the 2X Pro line has key new design elements to make the Vapor line perform even better.
In this edition of GoalieMonkey Chats we had the opportunity to talk to Quebec native, Francois Brassard. Throughout the interview we get to hear about his Major Junior career with two goals in the same season, up to his years in U Sports and up to now in the ECHL.
Brand new for 2019, CCM Goalie has introduced the newest incarnation in their Extreme Flex franchise, the CCM Extreme Flex 4 Pro Custom Leg Pads, Glove and Blocker. With the Extreme Flex line introduction in the summer of 2012, the EF4 line proves to build off of the massive success to bring out perfect key upgrades to make this line the best it has ever been.
Brand new for 2019, Warrior Goalie is proud to introduce the 2nd generation of the Ritual GT line and showcase the Warrior Ritual GT2 Pro line. The Ritual GT2 Pro is designed for today’s goaltender that is looking for a light pad, encompassed with elastic and Velcro strapping all with strategic and hybrid flex throughout.
Brand new for 2019, CCM has introduced the newest incarnation in the EFlex line, the CCM ExtremeFlex 4 leg pads, glove and blocker. This newest generation features key upgrades to make the EFlex line even more comfortable than before!
2019 is bringing out tons of new technology to the goaltending world and CCM is pushing goaltending trends with the release of their much anticipated, JetSpeed FT2 goalie skate. Not only has CCM pushed the technology, but they have packaged the FT2 as the lightest goalie skate they have ever produced. For goaltenders, this lighter weight reduces fatigue throughout usage and promotes positive energy transfers out on the ice.
Chest protectors are meant to fit snug to the body and give as much surface coverage as possible without restricting movement. When trying on a chest protector, it should fit 1.5” below the T shirt or collar line at the neck. The bottom of the belly should fit right at the waist line and the arms to end 1-1.5” from the wrists. Chest protectors should always be worn with goalie pants to ensure a spot on fit. If possible trying them on with a helmet be even better to allow greatest range of motion to know that the shoulder floaters do not interfere.
Goalie pants tend to be the only piece of equipment that might run larger in size. They should be snug in the body but still allow room for knee pads/thigh guards, goalie jock and chest protector if the goalie tucks. Pants should be worn with goalie skates, pads and knee pads to make sure that they function well with the pads.
A goaltenders stick helps build the stance and movements. A proper sized stick should allow the goaltender to keep the blade of the stick flush on the ice centered between the toes of the pads, with the blocker resting slightly onto the outer edge of the pad. It also important to keep the elbow tucked in toward the body to close the 7th hole gap.
Goalie masks fit snug to the head and have no visible room between the foam and goalies head. The top opening should sit between ½”-3/4” above the goaltenders eyebrows with the sweat band positioned center across the forehead. The ears should sit flush in between the earhole vents on the side of the helmet. Lastly, the backplate will sit right at the back of the shell with a very underlap going under the shell. There should be almost no visible parts of the back of the head showing, to ensure total coverage. Also, the goalie’s upper lip should be visible with the chin cup resting lightly against the chin.
Skates should fit well to the foot and hug the foot on all 4 sides of the skate. A proper fitting skate will contour to every side of the foot and should not create any negative pressure points. Once the goalie begins to lace the skate, the tongue of the boot should fit flush between the eyelets and not puff up or move around. Also, the eyelets should not pull over top of the foot. A good starting point for size is going 1.5 sizes down from the goalies shoe size.
Proper fitting leg pads ensure offering the best amount of protection for a goalie. The correct sizing will allow for a goaltender to be able to have the best movement in a stance, slides and recoveries. Proper fitting leg pads make sure that a goaltender is centered and balanced in the pad’s landing gear and will keep their knee from sliding off of the block into the ice.
The blocker is the most underrated piece of equipment a goalie can use. Most just say “a blocker is a blocker”, but the blocker controls a goalie stick placement, balance, movement in a stance and rebound control. As with the glove, the blocker should be snug against the fingers, back of the hand and at the wrist. The fingers should completely fill out the length of the finger stalls to allow for maximum grip and control. If possible, trying the blocker on with the chest protector and with a stick in the hand will allow for the perfect feel before purchased.
A goaltender’s glove should fit snug across the back of the hand, with the fingers reaching the end of the finger stalls allowing for the goalie to fully control the glove. There is preference to how tight the goalie should keep their glove across the back of the hand. To ensure proper fit, it is recommended to try the glove on with a chest protector to make sure there is full range of motion in the wrist.
