umm what?!?

[Bobb-o]

anyone else hear aboot this new skate the NHL is trying out? supposed to make players go faster and coast longer?

TORONTO -- Some NHL players are about to find out if heated skate blades will make the cut.

Six to 10 players will try them first. If there are no glitches, the blades then would begin appearing in NHL games.

"The NHL is very interested in confirming the data provided by Therma Blade Inc. to establish the safety and reliability of the blade under NHL game conditions and we have agreed to allow a small group of players to test these blades in practices over the next few weeks," said Kris King, the NHL's senior manager of hockey operations.

King said once he receives from the company a list of players who want to participate, he and Stu Grimson of the NHL players union will review it and decide who'll be asked to wear the blades.

The NHLPA welcomes trials for the heated blades.

"There is a lot of interest among players throughout the NHL right now to see how Thermablade performs under game conditions," said Grimson, the union's associate counsel.

Thermablades use a rechargeable battery and a microprocessor within each skate blade to maintain a temperature of 41 degrees. The warm blade increases the thickness of the water layer between the blade and the ice surface, and the company said its tests have shown this reduces gliding friction and starting resistance for skaters.

The charged battery in each blade will last for about two games. Fingers placed on sensors on either side of the rear of the plastic blade holder for three seconds activates the battery to warm the blade. The system automatically turns off when a player is idle on the bench, and the energy of returning to the ice reactivates the system. The system is turned off by repeating the process used to turn it on.

Wayne Gretzky was so impressed with Thermablades when he tried them more than three years ago that he invested in the company.

"I should still be playing," a smiling Gretzky said while skating on the blades for a video shown during the product launch at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

The Phoenix Coyotes coach said he wishes his players could get them first because Thermablades will "revolutionize the game of hockey."

[Scott K]

Faster is just going to result in more severe injuries. Speed is only a benifit if you are the with the skates on, if everyone is wearing them, then everyone is faster, no benifit!

[Hockey Guy]

We as consumers are nothing more than a bunch of Lemmings. I’m not going to say that the theory here is not justifiable, but I would have to try it to believe it. Hockey equipment manufacturers over the last 20 years have been pouring their R&D money into lighter everything. We have been lead to believe that a few grams of weight will equate to more speed and quicker transition. We have been told that a stick that is 20 grams lighter will equate to a blade speed 5% faster when swung with the same force and therefore increase hand speed and shot velocity… Blah, Blah, Blah.

Like I said before, I’m not going to argue with the theories behind any of the new technology. I just find it amazing that now they want to sell us on a heated blade that’s going to have the weight of a cell phone added to each skate. They claim that the blade creates a smoother glide and therefore reduces fatigue. What about the fatigue created by more weight on each skate?

Of course Gretzky (who is my hero by the way) is going to endorse them, he’s a major shareholder in the company. Any positive testimonials you hear from players are probably going to be from guys that are getting paid for their endorsement, or have a vested interest in the company. I’m not saying it’s bogus, but I will wait until I know someone who has them for a while to give me positive feedback or I try them myself for a few games before I buy into it.

[papabear]

It sounds like new just for the sake of new. being fast is just part of the game, whats next sticks that telescope out only when you need to touch the puck.

[st.crioxfishin]

haha @ papabear. Its crazy how far they have come since wooden sticks. I've been out of the loop for about a year and a half since HS hockey ended on the new technology, but its just nuts.

[Hooked On a Feeling]

In all my years of playing hockey, I've yet to see a player outskate a puck, position and passing is still the name of the game!

Hooked

[Lotwfisher]

I can understand that a little more and quicker melting of the ice under the blade of the skate is going to help, but imagine the injuries on the tag up icing.....2 guys as fast as they can skate (or as fast as a skate can take them) then hitting the boards...lets just hope the skate dont catch fire!! haha

[redlake]

Quote:

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In all my years of playing hockey, I've yet to see a player outskate a puck, position and passing is still the name of the game.

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Here, Here! I agree. The game is the same.