SKATES

2022 Bauer GSX

2021 Bauer 3s

2021 Graf Cobra

2022 Bauer GSX Int 2019 Bauer s170

2018 CCM Tacks

Notes: Goalie skates have more padding to absorb those shots to the feet. They also have more blade on the ice for stability, the players blades are more curved up in the front and back for better cornering. Have them sharpened often, they take a lot of abuse. Make sure they are cut with a goalie profile (mostly flat, little rocker) & start with about a 5/8 hollow. Goalie skate typically come with a goalie profile but should be reprofiled if they start to lose the flatness on the bottom, depending on how othen they are sharpened you are looking at every year or so, this typically cost an extra $30. If you ask for a goalie profile or a 5/8" hollow and they look at you funny take your skates and leave, don't let these people touch them ever.

This year saw a switch to the Bauer s170 - Last seasons old stock makes for special deals and they are more comfortable (personal preferance depending on the size and shape of your feet). The CCM did have considerable wear by the end of the last season, fabric around the top of the boot was completely blown out. The new Bauers were baked, modled and an extra set of blade were bought so they could be swapped out durring tournament without having to use other skate sharping services... someone is getting very picky about how his skates are sharpened.

Picked up a pair of Graf Cobra skates to try 2021, next size up... going to have to buy new skates for next year, these are not appreciated, they are heavy, the blades can't be swapped out and the lowest angle to the ice you cna get is about 20 deg less than the Bauers... the cowling hits the ice, the blade comes off the ice and you are imoblized. They are size 4? Anyone want to buy them they are going cheap.

Ended up with the Bauer 3s Goalie Skate for the 2021-22 season. No complains, after a season of use they still look like new, very little wear. We have some Superfeet inside as the stock insoles were not as comfortable. No extra blades were purchased do to the fact we were in town all the time anyway and never had to wait for sharpings which were bi-weekly with the stock blades.

2022-23 So much for the new skates last season... huge foot growth... no, not a growth on his foot, just a massive difference in size. jumped up to a 6.5 from a 4.5 so we are into Intermediate skates now... Went with the Bauer GSX this season, baked, the same offset cut on the blades, antisipating playing with Timmins again so no extra blades as of yet.

SOCKS

Bauer

Notes: The compression sports socks are more comfortable to wear but the real perk is the protection from other people's skate blades. Make sure the socks you buy are cut resistant. Cost is only $10-$15.

Well as the foot size goes up so does the price... We are in the $30 range for a pair of socks now, they may not wear out but feet will grow.

BaseLayer PANTS

2019 Oneiric

2017 Bauer

Notes: The kids run around in these, put them on before you come to the arena and there are no issues about who is in the dressing room. Aside from that the velcro tabs easily keep the hockey socks up and a protective cup is included... BTW these smell just as bad as the rest of the gear.

2019 Update, these are wearing very well, durable, no signs of them giving out any time soon... he might just grow into them some day.

2020 Update: Switched to Oneiric brand Genesis top, it has some padding built into the pants, pocket for the jock built into it, it has cut resistant material and breathes better, not as hot. Built in velcro tabs to fasten your socks to are nice, handy when I use them with my player gear.

2022 Update: Had to break down and buy new pants... same thing, one size larger... the crotch gave out in the other ones at the seems, stitched it back together multiple times but it was getting a little small anyways so we bought a new pair. Although this is a Canadian company, be warned the prices on their web site are all in US Dollars. So they are a little pricey.

BaseLayer TOP

2019 Oneiric

2017 Bauer

Notes: Built in adjustable Kevlar neck guard - good... Smell Still not so good. And yes it goes through the wash well but as far as magical odor defending properties go, I wouldn't get your hopes up.

2019 - Also still holding up very well.

2020 Update: Switched to Oneiric brand Soteria top top, it has some padding built into the top, doesn't have the neckguard built into it which makes it easier to put on and less constricting, it has cut resistant material and breathes better, not as hot. Thumb loops also make it easier to get the chesty on without the arms bunching up.

GOALIE JOCK

CCM

Notes: The little player jock isn't going to cover it. This is a must. Quote from another goalie: 2? if I could wear 3 I would.

GOALIE PANTS

2021 CCM C500 M Int 2019 CCM Extreme Flex Shield

Notes: Avoid entry level goalie gear, the companies note on the gear what it is made for, it's your responsibility to gear up in the right stuff. Be concerned about who will be shooting at them more than the level of hockey they play. Look for better quality and more padding, you likely don't even have to switch brands, just move to their next model up.

Update 2021-22: CCM / C500 M Intermediate... Pretty standard run of the mill pants, they won out as least objectionable thing we had lying about, He did have about 4 or 5 options, these are slightly big but work with suspenders we made... he didn't need those old snow pants anyway.

CHEST PROTECTOR

2020 CCM R 1.5 Premier Jr

2022 (added Int Arms)

2017 Vaughn Velocity

Notes: These are pretty adjustable. Once again look for quality and padding. Compare the youth equipment to the Junior eqquipment, there shouldn't be much difference other than size. If it looks a lot less protective, that's likely the case.

2019 - Moved to the CCM this season, GoaliePow is not impressed with the extra bulk but he's now on the small end of the chesty fitting rather than being on the virge of growing out of it... we will see how this plays out, current complaints seem to stem around not being able to get food to his face while in full gear. LOL

2021-22 - Bought the next level up CCM 2 sizes larger... as that doesn;t fit him yet it is a good source of parts. The body from last seasons chesty fits fine but the arms were too short. Putting the new arms on the old chesty solved the problem and doesn't compromise mobility with the over sized new version he has. We should be set for some groth over the next few seasons.

BLOCKER

THR Custom Pro 999

Simmons

Notes: Well he got 2 years out of this CCM glove, all the mesh rotted out of the palm so rather than get it repalmed we just bought another... the new one is a CCM R1.5 Premier, pretty much the same, next size bigger. No real complaints here for the cost.

2020 Update: Switched to a Simmons 999 blocker, likes the feel of the palm better, adjustablity of the tention on the blockers at the end of the finger tips it nice and those guards are more substantial.

2022 - Still liking the Simmons

2022 November - Switched to a custom blocker made for him by Toronto Hockey Repair, nothing wrong with the Simmon but it wasn't going to last forever and the trapper was getting upgraded so... This is a little bigger, a SR model but built with an Intermediate Palm which can be swapped out as he gets older/ larger.

TRAPPER

THR Custom Pro

2020 Vintage SR Reebok

2020 CCM R1.5 Premier

2018 Vintage SR Reebok

2017 CCM

Notes: Used broken in gloves are nice for little people. Opening and closing a stiff glove can be hard for small hands. There are many ways to help break in a glove or get it to stay open easier and a lot of custom work you can do to them. We may add a section on this.

2019 - The old glove has seen better days, it needs new lacing and the lether binding around the front is wore in half, it's seen a lot of abuse and been wet for months at a time... too much ice time for the poor thing. Currently being replaced with the CCM Premier R1.5 which matches the blocker, although the Warrior seemed to close nicer off the shelf the CCM did seem a bit bigger and it's all about taking up more space in the net right? It also seems they have improved the blocker part covering the wrist, this was an issue with the old trapper and a few pucks did land between the trapper and arms of the chesty, the new larger gear seems to cover that gap nicely now.

2021-22: Back to the old glove, stitched back together the vintage Reebok Trapper, 2 piece... he's getting pretty good with it.

2022-23: Likes the 2 piece, tryed out a trapper in Toronto this past summer and was willing to retire the old floppy Beebok for a new glove they build. THR Custom Pro SR Trapper... it was a easy transition from the other SR glove he's been using for years.

RINGETTE CATCHER

2018 - McKenney SR Trapper

Notes: This was the only Ringette Catcher left in Canada when we went to buy one... the other brands were sold out and the companies had no intentions of making more until next season. This one we found on line and had it shipped by air from BC, it arrived the day before we left for the big annual tournament in Sudbury. Today it's worked well and shows no signs of wear.

GOALIE PADS

2022 - Brian's GNetik SR Pro 32+1

2022 - Brian's GNetik 5.0 29+1

2019 - Warrior R\GT2 JR 26+1

2017 - Bauer Vapor X700

Notes: We have been through 4 sets of pads last year looking for something good. A lot of this is prefference, one goalie will tell you to cut the straps that go under the skates off, or remove the thighboard... others will say the opposite. Our take is: Light Weight Good | Velcro Straps Good | Adjustable Knees Good | ThighBoard Good (knee pads better) | Strap under Skate Bad | Laces for ToeHold Bad | ToeHooks Good | Bungee Straps with Velcro Better... Be sure there is ample padding on the knee blocks... this is the part that protects your knees from smashing into the ice. Bottom 2 straps have about a hand width thickness of slack, middle and top straps are very loose.

2019 - We were happy with the Bauers but they are finished, the velcro straps need taped shut, the insides are very worn, the one thing that was complete crap were the thigh boards that came with these pads, take them off, toss them out and use other pads to protect your knees. Time to move up to the next size anyway, tried the CCM pads lasted only 20 minutes before they were removed, seemed a little stiff and bulky. Finally went with the Warrior R\GT2 Jr pads, so far the light weight is a nice perk, the adjustblity and options for straps is very nice, even the standard toehook on the pad is nice (the clip is a little questionable on that but that's not a huge concern). They come with thigh/knee pads rather than having the thigh boards attached to the pads. They work well with the pads and with the nice sized knee block on the pads it makes for a more cushioned landing when slamming your knees into the ice. Very flexiable and the rebounds off the pads bounce a lot more than the Bauers, no more looking for the puck near the crease, these things are bouncing the puck back out of the end, going to have to learn to control that.

2022 - The Warriors have seen better days, they are getting too small, they made it to the end of the year but a few squeeked in the 5 hole where the tops of the pads no longer close well only due to the size. Next season he is looking at something a little softer to keep the rebounds in reach. The only real complaint with the Warrior was the rebound... there was a lot which if that's your style and what you're looking for, it's a good thing.

cont... So We ended up with a used set of Brains Gnetik 5.0 Pads, couldn't find anything soft enough up here that was new and instock. The nice thing about these is we can play with them, cut them up and not feel bad if we mess them up. We took all the strapping off the bottom and made new straps more like the Warrior Pads. If worst comes to worse and these don't work how we have customized them we will just look for something else.

At the end of Summer Camp the coach comes to us and says, "I hate to tell parents to buy more equipment BUT..." - His recomendations were to go bigger. This Didn't impress GoaliePow any. These pads were already 3 inches bigger than last season... The coach was looking to add yet another 3 inches to get him into an SR pad to take advantage of the extra width you get moving from INT to SR. 32"+1, a big step up from the 26" last season, the coach figures he will be fine with the bigger pad because of how well he is on his skates already. So...

2022-23: 32"+1 Brian's Gnetik SR PRO, it's a softer pad and modifications have been made similar to the last pair of Brian's we had, with a few improvements. An extra strap was also added at the top using the pullout tabs and a D ring to accommodate an older style strap with velcro rather than buckles. On a side note: the Adult gear is made out of better material and seems to be better constructed, you are paying for more than the extra inch or so of pad. The sooner you get to this size gear the better.

KNEE GUARD

2019 - Warrior

2018 - CCM

Notes:

NECKGUARD

CCM TC500

Maltese

Notes: "Daddy it says Dave on the front, that's not my name" Black Sharpy Marker - Scribble scribble scribble... There, put it on. LOL

2019 - due for something new, poor fabic is giving up on all the edges of the foam blocks... wasn't in great shape when we got it.

2021 - CCM TC500 - He hasn't died wearing it yet, It's lower than the Maltese made with a hard plastic shell to fill in the gap on the chesty, fits nice with the same brand chesty, one of th perks of sticking with one brand, it's been designed to work together.

THROAT PROTECTOR

Bauer

Notes: Manditory for our league... some tenders complain the noise it makes dangeling under the helmet is distracting... I can safely say that GoaliePows mouth has never been closed long enough to notice any other noises.

HELMET

Hackva

Eddie

Fusion

Notes: It's older, certified, no helmets don't have an expiration dates in Canada. This is a fiberglass helmet, a step up from most of the plastic bucket available to youth today. The one con is the weight, it's heavy, it's a tank... however head butting pucks has become a pass time just because it's fun to do... no ringing, no concussions, happy happy. Now Lawson Loves this Helmet but you aren't likely to find one around so...


The Ringette helmet is an Eddie mask with a Otny Goalie Ringette cage. Apparently when Eddie disapeared it was about the same time Otny came around... and the masks are similar, the cages interchangeable.


2021 just found a Hackva helmet, looks to be a fiberglass, carbonfiber, kevlar mix... it needs a new cage as the one that is on it is not certified. A Squarebar cheater cage is currently on it, I may have something around that fits... a backup helmet for next season.

2021-22 Started using the Hackva at the beginning of the season

(2022) It got a paint job January 1st 2022

STICKS

True Catalyst 5X 24"

2 Bauer Vapor 23" 24"

CCM CrapTastick 24"

Notes: 23" Int Sticks, no they are not too long, he's has no problem wielding them, the blade sets flat on the ice when in his stance, and the length is great for poke checks. I hear time and time again when coaches first look at the stick, oh that's too long, after watching him play for 30 seconds you got: 'oh, never mind, that's fine.'

2020-21 New CCM 24" stick added to the stable, all the paint fell off after the first tape job came off. No warranty... Blade is delaminating, no abuse just a crappy stick that is just falling apart, no plans on ever buying another CCM Stick... ever.

2021-22 New True SX 24" Stick - Seems to be holding up well, fairly light no complaints yet... yes it's white but it seems to pick up puck marks faster that other sticks he's used, might be the finish on the stick, might just be the number of shots he is saving.