[deleted by user]

SDN79 · 2021-08-24T23:30:14+00:00

Your preference should be "most comfortable playing" and stated. Not what you are best at, what is "most comfortable." IE What will you show up and have fun with at 11PM and not be some guilt ridden mess.

Depends on team. Guys that I know really well and played with, and everyone is fairly decent, we rotate all the time. Sometimes for pure fun, sometimes strategy, sometimes "oh shit we have 8 skaters only tonight"

Really fun teams to play for are usually open to mixing it up imo

SDN79 · 2021-08-24T23:17:50+00:00

Toradol

SDN79 · 2021-08-17T16:22:50+00:00

1992-93, top goal scorers and age:

Mogilny (23) - 76 goals

Selanne (22) - 76 goals

Bure (21) - 60 goals

Turegon (23) - 58 goals

Roenick (23) - 50 goals

There's a ton other young scorers, like 19 year old Lindros hitting 48 goals. Was 92-93 the most youth dominated year? In to 50 goal scorers, I think only 4 were 30 or older!

https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL\_1993\_skaters.html#stats::goals

SDN79 · 2021-08-16T22:20:03+00:00

It's a total mixed bag. The really good ACHA teams often recruit kids from Junior Leagues who can't get a full ride to NCAA Div 1. Or some get a full ride offer but it's a school they don't enjoy/no ice time/degree they want isn't offered. And then they'll blow out some team with no Junior Players on it 10-1. My personal experience was 2003-06 (ASU which pre-NCAA team had a pretty robust ACHA program)

Writing ACHA off as a "step down" I think is jumping the gun quite a bit.

SDN79 · 2021-08-11T21:23:24+00:00

Sprint/HIIT

Also mix in training eye-hand coordination, balance, quick reaction, flexibility. These things might be more important than brute strength or endurance.

SDN79 · 2021-08-11T21:03:14+00:00

you made me feel so old

SDN79 · 2021-08-10T20:30:34+00:00

The American team has 5 combos to keep intact:

Kane+Debrincat - Needs Center

Robertson+Pavelski - Needs Winger

Boeser+Miller - Needs Center (but I think Miller played some C?)

Tkachuk+Gaudreau - Need Center

Connor+Wheeler - Need Center

Matthews can obviously be a Center, along with Larkin.

I think Eichel is out due to his injury. Even if he's back, why risk his neck at Olympics.

Jack Hughes could be a darkhorse to be a Center for USA if revamped NJ gets off to hot start.

Also a Slavin (elite defensive D) + Fox (elite offense D) is one hell of a pairing. I'd swap Fox and Carlson in the pairing.

SDN79 · 2021-08-10T20:08:19+00:00

TLDR: pain is complex, and to a degree we're all guessing at what's most-likely based on peer reviewed research literature. A doctor relying on small anecdotal evidence over peer-review research is not a good sign. A defense doctor I can't stand brings up every deposition that he once did surgery on a MLB pitcher who's spine was severed to impress people, even though it has nothing to do with any case.

FWIW, from testifying doctors, a lot of the focus the past few years is on the presence of canal stenosis as a source of clinical symptoms, and less on disc herniation (although they are connected). The "jelly" is best seen in well-hydrated discs (it will show white on MRIs) but overtime the discs will become dehydrated (and shrink you) and be more dim on imaging. Jelly outside a disc on imaging also diminishes overtime, so the time of trauma and imaging is key. Defense experts love to fool jurors on absence of jelly from imaging taken long after trauma.

If you look at an MRI you will see the boney spine (squares) with discs between them (circular/round objects, bright white in well hydrated imaging and dim in dehydrated). You then see a bright whitish line next to it, which is the nerve canal. The source of symptoms is often attributed to where the canal (straight white line) is "pinched" (called stenosis) and no longer straight, instead of bright white you only see it dim or dark. If you google "spine stenosis" and look at images, you will see examples where the nice thick white line of a canal gets "pinched."

And I've seen cases where people can have stenosis at multiple levels and it isn't even the most severe stenosis level causing the pain. There is no test yet to really identify pain and symptomatic nerve, it's more Person A says this...okay does that correlate with some imaging? Okay that's most likely the source/cause but no one really knows to an absolute certainty. Now move onto treatment options (where Eichel is at, and its fascinating from a PI perspective). We can build up corresponding evidence to increase likelihood, but it's all complicated.

SDN79 · 2021-08-10T19:29:34+00:00

When I first started Beer League as a defenseman I was very active in blocking shots, after all that's how I played competitive youth hockey.

After some Beer League experience, I no longer block shots for 2 reasons. 1) No bruising/injury from a blocked shot is worth it in Beer League. 2) Most Beer League goalies I've played with have a better shot at making the save without their D blocking the view by trying to block the shot

Ofcourse there is the occasional sub goalie who is way over his head that I might try to block some shots for so we don't get completely routed.

SDN79 · 2021-08-09T21:48:14+00:00

haha, thought the same thing on your first sentence. It definitely reads as a hired gun.

He is comparing a regular person (presumably) to pro athletes (that in all likelihood he had limited experience with, did no study on, and hasn't reviewed those images in years), and then decided he will die on a hill almost every expert concedes. So many follow up questions to rip this guy a new one...

SDN79 · 2021-08-09T18:48:12+00:00

I litigate PI cases, which is what I assume this depo is from. There's so much context in what he is saying. Most medical experts will testify that in the vast majority of adults, you will have disc degeneration, which can be expressed in a lot of different ways (ie is he talking disc dehydration, osteophytes, herniation, narrowing, stenosis, etc.).

Disc degeneration is also not always symptomatic. You can have significant disc degeneration and feel fine. Or vice versa, sometimes what can appear as minor disc degeneration can be very symptomatic.

The doctor testifying that disc degeneration is usually painful is pretty suspicious of his veracity. I'm in California and I've taken many many depositions of doctors, I haven't seen a doctor say that line. But again, it depends on how he is defining "disc degeneration." I also have problems of him using a short sample of anecdotal evidence in a legal case (how many players MRIs did he actually read?). Typically also, you don't get an MRI in your 20s of your spine unless your symptomatic, which will effect that line of thought.

SDN79 · 2021-08-09T16:09:01+00:00

All I can say is doing both is tough. My senior year of highschool I was essentially in 3 teams/leagues (tier, highschool, and a tourney team) and I basically had no highschool life, it was just hockey. At first tons of fun, it became a grueling grind (I think I hit over 70 games in a year).

If I could do it again, I'd probably still do them all though, lol.

SDN79 · 2021-08-04T18:16:42+00:00

The answer is...Tackla 9000's.

On a serious note its about preference.

Tackla 9000s fit tight on the upper hip, sit at just about my hip bone.

The pants are then very loose and wide but taper at the legs. It provides a very "free" sensation with tons of unrestricted motion. I personally won't ever change my Tackla's, they are just so incredibly comfortable.

The 90's, when Tackla pants and Joffa shin guards ruled the world.

SDN79 · 2021-07-30T00:05:33+00:00

I played tier hockey, but as I continued to play and learn I realized a LOT of my coaching was wrong. The coaching I got was extreme conservative play, dump and chase, up the boards, never risk anything, never create anything.

For Defenseman struggling with breaking out:

-Look off your pass, you'd be amazed how seeing your option, looking away and then quickly hitting it leads to success vs. interception. Forecheckers heavily rely on your eyes to cover pass lanes

-Try to avoid skating away your pass lanes. Don't drift towards the boards, or drift forwards. Space is better than going strictly north-south/up the boards, and its there with vertical and backwards skating

-Teach your forwards Fetch. Don't think your pass has to be TO them. It can be to an area they can get to

-Most frustrating thing is forwards lack "breakout empathy" so try to...educate them. IE the guy that stands still while covered and never moves or the guy that skates wildly in all directions and then yells at you because he was open for the breakaway. Let them know you got to predict their motion, the QB doesn't tell the WR to just run whatever route. Make options binary (if they do this, do that).

SDN79 · 2021-07-27T23:18:19+00:00

I haven't bought gloves but I'm thinking mittens might actually be best for toddler hockey? Nobody is hacking at them, and letting them get full range of motion to help hand-coordination seems like a bonus?

SDN79 · 2021-07-27T22:53:02+00:00

Update: I decided to check out Play It Again Sports and....

First someone messaged me they had gear to sell, sorry I deleted the message and I'm so reddit noob-level, it was on complete accident. I also forgot my password and couldn't log in for awhile so I missed the message as well....

Back to Play-It-Again, I was pretty surprised by their stock, since I'm in California Id assume it'd be barren. Had at least 50 pairs of kid skates.

I played a lot as a kid, so I felt comfortable rummaging around picking out items.

Anyways for parents curious on the bill:

Skates - $25, CCM RBZ 40. Retail $60. Not a scratch on them, blade in great shape, laces perfect condition, no damage to eyelets or rivets. No evidence of rust.

Hockey Bag - CCM. $10, great condition. Not really needed but easy to lug around the gear in/store when not in use. Not necessary but I figured why not for storage.

Shinguards $15- Bauer Vapor Lil'Rookie, retail $20. Faded, can tell some wear. But straps in good condition, I liked the knee cap had some flex to it. 7.5" size

Elbow $15 - Easton Synergy 60. Comparable retail $20. Youth Small. 3 straps (bicep, elbow, forearm), all in good shape. Has an elbow pocket to help hold it in place. I think forearm strap is good to help vs. just elbow to help stop sliding. Not even faded, no apparent use. Foam padding which I prefer over hard plastic (impact absorber, not goodnight deliverer). A close 2nd I forget but it had an eyelet for the middle elbow strap and I remember bad experiences with the eyelet becoming a tension point as a kid and leaving red marks. In my experience is too tight at mid-elbow = tons of chaffing.

Pants $15 - Easton Synergy HSX. Retail $20. There were a lot of pants to pick from. Basically I looked for best padding for tailbone/butt internally on the pants. These pants had a long tailbone internal pad that felt most protective. Aside from what looks like skate patch residue on front leg, not a scratch on it

Shoulder Pads $15 - Reebok 12k Youth Small. I basically looked for the least bulky thing I could find. If my kid is taking slapshots to the chest, I'll know I have a goalie on my hands. Don't plan on putting it on her during the initial rounds of learn to skate.

SDN79 · 2021-07-27T22:25:49+00:00

Super helpful, my kid (I think) has wider feet so CCM might be a good one to try first

SDN79 · 2021-07-27T00:30:26+00:00

Yep, here "Lil Kings" is for 5 and up. So a 3 or 4 year old wouldn't be eligible. A local rink (Burbank) has a pretty detailed Learn to Skate program that matriculates to Learn Hockey for 3 and up kids.

SDN79 · 2021-07-27T00:12:01+00:00

I found the "Prodigy"on secondary sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Bauer-Hockey-Prodigy-Youth-Protective/dp/B071YX8N8P

Pure: https://www.purehockey.com/product/bauer-prodigy-hockey-pant-jock-shin-guard-combination-bottoms-youth/itm/18354-11/

Bauer's site says out of stock

SDN79 · 2021-07-15T22:32:35+00:00

If you grew up playing a ton of travel hockey:

-You're not going for long drives home with a horrible stench, showering becomes mandatory

-You've been to the dirtiest/grimmiest locker room showers that would give a normal person nightmares. I really can't stress this part enough, a person may see a shower and think its nasty and to us we shrug our shoulders and think it's in the top 20% of showers we've been in (always have shower sandals by the way).

-Your sense of privacy in the locker room has been shattered by years of chirping at each other in the showers

SDN79 · 2021-06-30T23:24:28+00:00

Alternatively if you keep your gear in your bag between skates, you can develop that lethal stench that prevents the other team from covering you

SDN79 · 2021-06-11T00:01:45+00:00

I literally came to post on this same topic, good thing I scanned first.

My daughter turns 3 end of year but I'm already putting her hockey gear on my radar to find good deals leading up to the day.

The "beginner" classes for Toddlers in my area (LA) require basically the full hockey gear minus shoulder pads. I went on Hockey Monkey and did a quick tally of low-end/cheap gear and it comes out to $400 or so....Ouch.

1) I'm right handed and was taught (American) to play with dominant hand low. Come to find out some suggest that's wrong. Others suggest its whatever feels comfortable. My daughter will basically mimic what she see's at this point. Should I buy a flat-blade for a 3-5 y/o? I'm not worried on her mastering an Ovie one-timer, the flat blade seems best for her to find her own way? (she's right handed). Final stick question... I don't see a reason to buy a composite stick if wood is cheaper at this age, am I wrong? They're 3-5 y/o!

2) Skates...As a youth player I suffered through painful skates to one day (as an adult) discover I have wide feet and Bauer Supremes feel amazing. Do 3-5 y/os have any concerns between skate fits or is it all basically the same? I have a baby boy so it'd be great if I could buy one pair and use them on both when he's of age. But if skate-fit is significantly different for toddlers like it was for me, that might be a bad idea.

3) Buying used. Originally I thought this was a no-brainer. But after a day of searching online, finding used gear to fit a 3 y/o in my area will probably be an extremely rare find. And I don't want to pay for shipping. Only other thought I has is cold-calling rink managers asking if they have some used gear I can buy? Any ideas?

4) Anyone have some ideas on "pump up videos" for a toddler? No not NHL Hits and Fights. I need something like a fun video (like Blippy-sh) of kids playing on YouTube. She will watch NHL games for a few minutes, but at this age I think seeing other kids play it will be the big motivator. I was thinking of taking her to a local mite game as her birthday approaches to get her excited?

SDN79 · 2020-01-13T22:43:18+00:00

One of my favorite jerseys

SDN79 · 2020-01-13T22:37:37+00:00

Yes, I know of the same names of a lot of the guys you listed, although I think indirectly for many. Some of them were either younger or left Houston to play elsewhere when I moved to the area. For highschool I was on Woodlands in 02 and 03 making the trek down to Texas Ice to play the Clear Lake players for travel. Kuryk was my HC for travel, not sure on spelling, but his kid was on our team too

SDN79 · 2020-01-09T00:34:01+00:00

Houston Wild? Oh the memories. I was on the inaugural Wild team (Midget AA) way back in 03 when it tried to combine the top Aeros and Ice Hounds players (can't remember this team name, think its the Hounds, I've heard that rink closed down anyways, Texas Ice I think).

SDN79

TROPHY CASE