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sketchyt · 02-19-2013, 03:56 PM

I'm a goalie as well and while I'm in slight favour of some rule changes, I don't know where you would reduce the size from.

I wear a pro-level chest protector and take shots from your average beer leaguer. They don't hurt but you do feel them. Occasionally, I've taken shots from college level players and former NHL'ers and I swear when they hit you with even a wrist shot, it feels like they are going to go through you.

To a large degree, I think a lot of these guys wear the gear for protection. I think it's insane for goalies like Kipper and Brodeur to purposely wear less protection to get more mobility.

For example, Kipper has a shortened cuff at the base of his catcher. His game catcher also feels thinned out at the palm. Doesn't seem to hurt his play a whole lot. His pad size (at least eyeballing it closeup) looks to be well short of the maximum allowed lengthwise. Brodeur wears 10.5" wide pads and only recently changed his ghetto chest protector. Osgood's upper body was frequently pelted with bruises.

I think, with the way modern goaltending is going, mobility is king. Guys are getting away from the pure blocking butterfly style of the past as shooters, composite sticks and increased speed of the game have adapted to the Garth Snows of this world.

For the typical NHL starter, I think a majority of the changes will be met with a shoulder shrug, maybe some fake outrage and, ultimately, scoring will not increase. It may thin out some of the guys wearing oversized gear, but those guys are playing the minority of games. So in that sense, I wouldn't mind some rule changes to get those guys out of the league. A guy like McElhinney wore some pretty large gear but I don't see him in the NHL anyways.

The only place I can think where you could reduce the size of gear would be the pants. I remember reading somewhere that Manny Legace would wear a XXXL despite being 5'9. Perhaps another spot would be the elbow blocks and shoulder floaters, but I don't see those changes having a massive effect on scoring, if any at all.... especially when you're 6'4, have lightning quick reflexes, excellent vision and ridiculous skating ability.

02-19-2013, 03:56 PM	#54
sketchyt Powerplay Quarterback Join Date: Sep 2005 Exp:	I'm a goalie as well and while I'm in slight favour of some rule changes, I don't know where you would reduce the size from. I wear a pro-level chest protector and take shots from your average beer leaguer. They don't hurt but you do feel them. Occasionally, I've taken shots from college level players and former NHL'ers and I swear when they hit you with even a wrist shot, it feels like they are going to go through you. To a large degree, I think a lot of these guys wear the gear for protection. I think it's insane for goalies like Kipper and Brodeur to purposely wear less protection to get more mobility. For example, Kipper has a shortened cuff at the base of his catcher. His game catcher also feels thinned out at the palm. Doesn't seem to hurt his play a whole lot. His pad size (at least eyeballing it closeup) looks to be well short of the maximum allowed lengthwise. Brodeur wears 10.5" wide pads and only recently changed his ghetto chest protector. Osgood's upper body was frequently pelted with bruises. I think, with the way modern goaltending is going, mobility is king. Guys are getting away from the pure blocking butterfly style of the past as shooters, composite sticks and increased speed of the game have adapted to the Garth Snows of this world. For the typical NHL starter, I think a majority of the changes will be met with a shoulder shrug, maybe some fake outrage and, ultimately, scoring will not increase. It may thin out some of the guys wearing oversized gear, but those guys are playing the minority of games. So in that sense, I wouldn't mind some rule changes to get those guys out of the league. A guy like McElhinney wore some pretty large gear but I don't see him in the NHL anyways. The only place I can think where you could reduce the size of gear would be the pants. I remember reading somewhere that Manny Legace would wear a XXXL despite being 5'9. Perhaps another spot would be the elbow blocks and shoulder floaters, but I don't see those changes having a massive effect on scoring, if any at all.... especially when you're 6'4, have lightning quick reflexes, excellent vision and ridiculous skating ability.