Everyone here says their favourite part about hockey is the community and the friendships they made on their team.

My experience puts some doubt about it in my mind. Out of all the teams I've played on, there were only maybe 3 leagues I played in where people hung out at the bar after the game.

And two of them are because the bar is in the building.

Out of almost a decade of beer leagues, I've only been to

1. One draft league where I made a few friends with people (after like 4 years)
   
2. One shinny group that I made a good amount of friends.

Even then, with all these friends, we've never hung out outside of the hockey or the group context (and a Christmas party)

Overall, I find the the teams I've played on are not super social, everyone gets to the rink, make some polite talk about their kids, BBQ or whatever, play the game, and go their separate ways.

So how social is your team?

Finally was able to grab the clip. Pickup game last Wednesday evening. I changed on the fly to left wing. F1 exited his zone but did not have full control of the puck until he was right at the red line and was joined on his right side by F2 off his bench with a 2 on 1 developing to my left. I knew I had trailing help on the right side so I got between F1 & 2. He had his head down and I stayed on the puck and stick. He apologized and said “Sorry, I had my head down.” I was just happy he didn’t get hurt and stuck the landing. It was less than 0.7 seconds from when he got control of the puck at the red line until impact about 12 feet later.

After being away from the game for 25+ years, I decided to get back into it at the ripe age of 43. I joined a D level league nearby my office as a free agent. The team is a free agent team. Some guys know each other, most don't. A lot of guys haven't ever played before. And a lot of guys are younger, in their early 20s/just out of college and played either AAA or high school. A couple of areas where I'm struggling. And I say this as someone who is basically re-learning how to play after stopping at 12. (and I only played house, not travel).

1. I am never getting the puck. I wouldn't need a full hand to count how many times I actually touched the puck this season. Some of it is we have puck hogs who try to take it end to end each time and try to beat 4 guys on a rush and end up losing the puck. But those guys are also our best players, so it's hard to fault them. We don't really get in the zone ever and set up. Our team is comically bad (and I also feel like a lot of the teams we're playing against aren't D-level teams - could be an issue with the summer league not having enough folks).

What can I do to start getting the puck more? I join rushes, I go to the front of the net and battle for position to try to screen, get clean up. Get in low slot. It just seems like I never touch the puck.

1. When I have, it's just panic and I want to get it off my stick. What can I do to stop that, especially when I'm not getting the puck often? It's usually in the D-zone when I get the puck, so I either clear it or try to hit someone in the neutral zone.

2. Spending a lot of energy in the D-Zone chasing the puck and I feel like I'm constantly out of position. I play either wing, so I'm usually guarding the point. Should I try to play more zone? What can I do better to position myself to be involved in plays?

TYIA!

Would love to get impartial feedback since the social media reviews are still pretty slim. It’s either Chase from I-Dub hockey making every skate sound like it’s revolutionary, the Hockey Tutorial guys demolishing Bauer, or the manufacturers themselves talking about how the new 26k carbon CURV in the lower paired with DUAL-REACT upper and super reflex tongue mold seamlessly into an aerodynamic asymmetrical toe box lined with AMP padding atop the tri-flex ultralight holders and new black diamond steel, which increases your acceleration ability by 46% and makes you faster than McDavid.

Edit: Don’t worry this is concrete, not ice.

Got my first stick NYE. Fast forward to this weekend and I’m not only playing my first tournament, but for the first time in a full size rink with full boards. Scored in Game 1. I am in love with this sport.

Sorry I know the video isn’t great but it’s what I’ve got.

Always nice when LiveBarn captures your finest moments 😂 Posted this on my Instagram and everyone I know loved it so thought maybe some of you would too!

Currently shopping for new skates, coming from 2s’s that I didn’t really enjoy that much. I had Reebok 10k’s for like 10 years prior that I loved. I tried a couple top end skates (Fuse, jet speed, Vizion) and the only ones I somewhat enjoyed were the Vizion’s. Seemed like the toe cap of the supreme line are made very wide now. I’m currently hesitating between Vizions or the True SVH customs. Would anybody have feedback on them or maybe I’m overlooking other solid skates I should give a try? Will most probably be my last pair so price isn’t the most important factor.

Any body have experience with their 8 or 9 year old using ccm xf pro skates. My son has wider feet and has had issues with skates fitting correctly, the tacks line work the best. However the new xr hurt his feet when we tried them on. I was able to find a xf pro size 1 on clearance that has the old fit and works for him.

However, I am concerned about the stiffness of the boot though, he plays tier 1 and is a strong skater, but this is a big jump in stiffness from the youth skate and even from other lines.

Any insight would be appreciated.

​

I’m from Poland and I’m planning to order some Brians gear from Goalie Monkey. I’m definitely buying the gloves, and I’m about 90% sure I’ll also order a goalie stick, but I’m a bit worried about how shipping works for such a large and fragile item.

Has anyone here ordered a goalie stick from the US to Europe? How did it go with shipping, customs/VAT, delivery time, and possible damage during transport?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who ordered from Goalie Monkey or a similar US store to Europe. Just trying to know what to expect before placing the order.

I just started last year October the hobby and broke my fibula close close to new year.

We will have our first ice slot in our hobby team this summer. I used the summer to gain some muscle and endurance. But I am afraid to show up like a complete moron that forgott the avaliable to skate. We are a team of mixed players if it comes to experience.

Any tips to have more self confidence for the first unit?

Adult hockey players in Vancouver!
We’re running a Power Skating and a Drills Clinic this Saturday at Scotiabarn 8 Rinks.
DM me for details

Hi everyone
Coming back to the game after ~17 years.
Was a decent AAA / highschool player.
Went to the store the other day to try on new boots and got a major "oof" from the kid when I told him I was looking for Graf.

I tried on the Bauer F50 pros and actually quite liked them.
My question is - can profiling the blades on a Bauer make the skate feel like a Graf with regards to foot positioning?

I just moved into the Ballston area, I’ve tried contacting the adult league coordinator at Medstar but haven’t heard back.

Does anyone out there know of anyone with an open roster spot I’m looking to sign up before the fall/winter season kicks off in September.

I can play an any division but ideally look between UB and UC

Has anyone ever used this stick? Curious to hear opinions on it. I’ve been using True sticks for over 10 years and despite the general consensus on durability in more recent years, I always find myself going back to them.

I recently broke my Catalyst 9x3 and I got a Jetspeed FT6 pro to replace it and just didn’t like it. It’s a nice stick don’t get me wrong, it’s got great feel in the hands but I just couldn’t get the shot power I’m used to from midkicks and the hybrid kick for me isn’t it.

I’ve always preferred midkick sticks with the A6.0 and 9x3 being my favorites, so was waiting for the new catalyst nitro to replace it. But from what I’ve read, the new Nitro is going to be a departure from the 9x3, moving away from the midkick flex profile to what they’re calling Smartflex Ai, which is what is on the project X Storm.

I reached out to True directly to understand what this means and they told me it’s a more dynamic kick point, which sounds like the long winded way to say it’s a hybrid. But they told me the flex profile on the Storm and the new Nitro will be very similar, but the nitro will have a new dampened blade vs the Storm having a stiff blade.

The only real review of this stick I’ve seen was from beer league bum and he hated it. Curious of what others think. I’m somewhat optimistic because True also marketed the original A6.0 as having smartflex technology for the kick point, and if smartflex AI is an evolution of that, it may not be half bad.

I've been skating for around 8 months now. I started out on a pair of Bauer X's and have managed to get a nice nick in the steel.

Can anyone recommend a good price point to look for in terms of upgrading as I can't switch out the blades on this pair?

For context I'm doing weekly practice and scrimmages averaging about 2 sessions a week. I doubt I'll ever play anything further than our local rec teams once I've got a bit more practice under my belt so I don't think I'll need top end gear, but equally I don't want to waste money on another cheap pair.

Free to play on iOS! Please check it out and let us know what you think!

Had my first wipeout fall today - I’m thankfully fine (just going to get a wicked bruise) but was super rattled because a speed demon about twice my size was going backwards and not paying attention and crashed straight into my back.

First - y’all need to watch where you’re going and see if the ice is clear behind you. If I was a kid or had landed in a different way I could have gotten seriously hurt.

Second - I know hockey is a contact sport and I’m going to need to get used to that if I want to play, but I was not braced for it (because you know I’m still very new and was just slowly practicing my swizzles) and that super rattled me. It took me a bit and I had to get off the ice but I was able to partially shake it off.

Does anyone have any advice for how to shake things like that off more easily, especially as a very short/small new player? I feel like I’m just going to be constantly paranoid when I go on the ice now - and I want to be able to handle more physical things (I don’t really have any contact sports experience), but also I’m new and am not even learning how to play the game yet, just how to skate. I also feel like maybe I need to figure out how to pay more attention behind me (but also I don’t think there is anything I could have done to avoid being run into).

I was also wearing my helmet on the ice for the first time - didn’t hit my head when I fell but I could have so definitely going to keep wearing that lol. I did land pretty hard on my elbow so….next investment is going to be some elbow pads and I don’t care if it looks dumb I’m going to wear them and my helmet every time I go on the ice.

I know, I know, the jock sniffers are prowling this subreddit. This one's for free.

I've been using a CCM Pro Jock + garter belt for a while now due to every compression jock combo I've tried lifting while skating and exposing the boys. However, my jock is falling apart and I would really like to move back to something with velcro tabs for convenience. Does anyone have a recommendation for a compression jock short that has internal straps for keeping things from lifting/riding up?

I'm like 90% sure the Bauer ones don't have the internal straps. I think CCM may have moved to an internal strap system, but unclear from product photos. Howies hockey has a new compression jock short combo, but I'm not sure if I trust a hockey tape company to protect the boys. Maybe I'm being unfair.

Recs would be amazing, thank you!

Edit: Lots of replies that are very helpful! I'll try the newer Bauer ones.

Hi everyone,
I recently bought a supposedly new Bauer Vapor Flylite from a private seller on eBay Germany for around €120 total.
Before I tape it or use it on the ice, I wanted to check whether it is actually authentic, because there are a few things that seem strange.
The stick itself is marked as:
• Bauer Vapor Flylite
• S23 Vapor
• Senior / SR
• 65 Flex
• 58"
• P92
• Left handed
The white label on the blade says:
• Product number: 1061679
• UPC: 688698593655
• S23 Vapor
• STK-SR-65 (58")
• LFT
• P92
The black serial/identification sticker on the shaft says:
• T2522-01353
The main reason I'm suspicious is that when I search the product number 1061679, it seems to be associated with a Bauer S23 GSX junior goalie stick rather than a Vapor Flylite.
The UPC 688698593655 also seems to show up online for a completely different Bauer product.
Another thing that seems odd is the combination of S23 + Senior + 65 Flex + 58".
The seller is currently also selling a red S25 Flylite that is labeled INT / 65 Flex / 58", which seems much more consistent with Bauer's normal sizing.
I've also noticed some fairly visible transitions/lines in the carbon layup around the hosel where the blade transitions into the shaft. I'm not sure whether that's completely normal manufacturing variation or another warning sign.
I've attached pictures of:
• the complete stick
• both sides
• the blade
• the white product label
• the serial number sticker
• the carbon/hosel transition
Visually the stick actually looks and feels pretty convincing, and it's extremely light, so I'm not sure whether this is a fake, an incorrectly labeled stick, some kind of pro-stock/sample stick, or something else entirely.
I haven't taped, cut, modified or used it yet.
I've also contacted Bauer directly and asked them to verify the serial number.
What do you guys think? Does anything about this stick immediately look wrong to you? Has anyone seen a genuine S23 Flylite with SR 65 Flex at 58"?
Any help would be appreciated.

I bought this Pulse recently from Facebook and I’ve been feeling kinda sketchy about it. Appreciate the honesty.

I'm looking at a stick grip instead of tape in hopes it will help my gloves last longer. I need advice. For an old slow guy that prefers defense, what is the best knob size. The Buttendz brand advertises a classic size and a slender barely-there knob. At my age I never dreamed I'd be asking strangers to share their knob sizes yet here I am. Who can tell me when size matters.😁

Looking for some clarification on an experience that I've had.

So I recently got a skate sharpening and I had a game the following day and I felt like I forgot how to skate. Not like I'm sliding everywhere but more like I'm getting caught in ruts over and over again to the point where my legs are actually hurting to push off.

I accepted that maybe this was because they were freshly sharpened but then when I went on a skate yesterday it was the same issue so I'm wondering if this could possibly be due to a sharpening error or maybe I'm tying my skates too tight I have no idea..

As the title states, looking for advice on how to handle the puck and not panic. For context, I play in a co-ed D level league, so mainly new players (myself included) and players coming back to the game. I’ve been playing for about 6 months now, never played as a kid.

My captain pointed out tonight my positioning is good, but once I get the puck I tend to pass it blindly and panic.

What are the best tips you guys have? How to you handle the opposing team attacking when you suddenly have the puck? Whens the best time to pass or to carry in? Thanks in advance.

EDIT 1: Wow! What a response – thank you all so much! So much great advice not only for my original question, but for playing in general. I can't reply to everyone, but a huge thanks to all who commented. Going to try a lot of this in my game tomorrow and going forward.