FanNation - The Republic of Sport

LOL, this is hardly top secret, there was an article somewhere on how Gretzky invested in this skate company because he liked them so much.

they still play hockey in the US? why?

So, just to be clear- the NHL has actually sanctioned four players to use equipment that they admit enhances their performance, thereby putting the rest of the players at a competitive disadvantage? They couldn't have tested these in exhibition games or practice? That's like giving four guys permission to use extra-curved blades, or four goalies being allowed to use larger pads than the rest of the league. Why not give a few guys explicit permission to use performance enhancing drugs, just to see if they really are bad for you.

This just shows how little people care about hockey. If this was a major sport, people would be outraged. Just ask MLB officials at about 2:15 PM today.

NY Fan

If there was a significant disadvantage to the other players, I am sure GMs would have protested such a trial during the regular season. Also, there is no rule currently that says you can't wear these blades, so nobody is breaking any rules. Performance enhancing drugs, exsessive curves, and larger pads are against the rules, making your arguement slightly fallacious.

As for the popularity of the sport, it is a geographical and cultural issue. Many cities, mainly in Canada, do embrace Hockey with far more regard than other sports. Many (Canadian) sports fans are unaware that, later today, numerous baseball players are going to be called out for juicing. Just because you don't care about hockey doesn't mean tha the rest of the world does too.

being a canuck i couldn,t agree with you more justin. hockey number 1 here. being in a border city right next to detroit, is a godsend for all the major u.s sports. as for those ballplayers, i am ashamed that a lot of oriole players are amongst them.

NY Fan - I agree with you, unless they put them on a really sub-par player and then this guy starts scoring goals like Gretzky. I hope Bettman discloses the name of the players that have these skates and see if there stats went up.

But its my opinion that if Bettman is involved and approved it the players stats most likely went down...

I'm interested in the new skate idea but lets not make it standard equipment because Gretzky invested in it, he owns the Coyotes and they have stunk since he took over (and before and after). So in my books he is 0-1. He then lets his wife bet on hockey while he owns a team, so now he is 0-2.

Great Hockey Player, possibly not so Great Businessman...???

well . . .they could be tested by perhaps some of the slower skating members of the NHL . . . . . perhaps to give a slower guy the oppurtunity to keep up . . . . . .food for thought

When they talked about these a while back Gretzky said that if they'd had these sooner he might still be playing! Which is an exaggeration I'm sure, but he's not the only one who feels strongly about these things and as far as letting a few people test them out, I don't think it's too big a deal. I don't think these are so much a performance enhancer as a fatigue reducer.

One thing's for sure, Derian Hatcher isn't using them. He's still as slow as a brick going in reverse.

NYFan is absolutely right. They should have been tested before the yeasr started in the pre-season. I read about these blades a few years ago, and was interested in the technology. On paper it looks good and makes a lot of sense, but I doubt that there is a distinct advantage to them. The advantage would only be when the skate blade is in prolonged contact with the ice, eg gliding, backwards skating, tec.. Maybe let the Leafs try them out. ) out of 10 oon that team is foot slow anyways and they always seem to be gliding and backpedaling. HEE HEE. When there's a shot, I take it!

ROCK:
While it does not take much to heat the ice, even if the blade is minimally warm. I would think gliding would actually do less, because the blade would also be cooling due to prolonged contact with the ice.
The skate itself only 'heats' every few seconds or so. It is not continually 'on'. The company has not fixed the battery life issue, you have to change them between periods. Nice part is that they turn off when not on the ice...so if the testers are a 3rd/4th liner, they might get through an entire game on 1 set of batteries.

4thstreet & justin... you must be Canucks and I agree completely. It is a geographic thing that only a Canuck can appreciate. It's December -- who cares about baseball. At least NY fans have Shanny to cheer for - - or Arod. Ther's a tough choice.

I don't like this deal at all. I am no fan of artificially assisting players with mechanical devices. Tighten jerseys (I hate them, but can accept the evolutionary step, I guess), make lighter sticks and equipment, fine. But, uh, putting a MECHANICAL DEVICE on a player to enhance his play is wrong, period. They gonna put rocket packs on them next? Garbage. And I STILL hate the jerseys too, but thats another argument altogether