Yes there has been one other piece of equipment that actually worked but was banned from the league….“overdrive blades.”

Posted by moore00 from Columbus, OH/Grand Rapids, MI on 10/06/08 at 08:27 AM ET

Wow, what a bunch of whiners.

They’ve already gotten more publicity than they could have ever dreamed from all of this…. and they’re still griping because the league doesn’t bend over backwards to accommodate their product that quite frankly has still received very mixed reviews.

I don’t see any reason for it to be banned unless there’s a risk of something happening to the skate that could harm another player or the ice surface quite frankly.

@moore00 - I Googled those Overdrive Blades.  Clever idea.  Never had heard of that.  No doubt as to why they banned them though…

Posted by Primis on 10/06/08 at 09:14 AM ET

When it’s a new concept that’s been plagued by technical issues, it takes some time.  Thermablade probably jumped the gun last season—despite its long lead-up time in terms of product development, nothing can compare to having NHL’ers test out your gear in the most unforgiving environment possible, and…

The gear hasn’t held up.  There have been battery life issues, intermittent results in terms of their effectiveness in maintaining a consistent temperature, and players are always going to freak out about the balance and weight of their blades, especially when a few ounces of battery and/or technology shift the centre of mass of the blades and their holders, and especially when they’re told that heating up steel on ice equals a slightly reduced blade life. 

When all goes well, you’ve got a pair of skate blades that maintain a consistent temperature when they’re on the ice, reducing resistance and improving the blades’ ability to cut into the ice while turning, dig in when you’re accelerating, and glide over the microscopic layer of water that exists on any layer of ice over about 50 below zero thanks to both decreased resistance and a blade design that spreads out a player’s weight over a larger area.

When it doesn’t, the things keep running on the bench, leading to batteries losing their charge early, they don’t maintain their temperature, the ever-so-slight change in blade profile and holder weight require an adjustment period in terms of skating stride and skate “feel” that players might not be willing to deal with, despite the fact that, even if the blades don’t “work,” the four-to-eight-degree flare at the bottom of the blades really does spread weight out over a wider and larger area of ice, yielding a larger contact point that increases glide and decreases turning radii from a pure physics perspective. 

They’ve got bugs, and those bugs need to be worked out before the NHL and its finnicky players will sign off on ‘em.

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 10/06/08 at 09:26 AM ET

“I doubt very much that there is any other hockey equipment that has to live through the process we are living through.”

The words “boo” and “hoo” come to mind.

Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 10/06/08 at 11:32 AM ET

Damn.  What a bunch of rich, spoiled whining cry babies.

Boo-frickity-hoo…

I remember Kris Draper trying them for a couple of practices and he said they don’t work for him.  The sales reps took that to mean he wasn’t using them properly.

Have you ever heard Kris Draper say anything less than honesty?

Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 10/06/08 at 09:05 PM ET

I dunno, has Kris Draper ever blown a stop sign and gotten pulled over?  Or sped?

“Why no, officer, I didn’t know I was doing a hundred and ten on The Lodge because my dang kids made me late for practice, and I’m very afraid that Paul MacLean will eat my soul...”

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 10/06/08 at 10:03 PM ET