Commonly Asked Questions

Has anyone traveled from Uk to USA with Virgin with hockey kit? The website seems to suggest you can just turn up and pay for your sports equipment

https://help.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/baggage/sports-equipment.html

Hi guys,

I’ve been playing inline hockey for almost 20 years now and in my league I’m quite a good skater. 2 years back I’ve startet playing ice hockey and I cannot get my head around the skating part. I am a terrible ice skater and I thought it should be fairly easy to adapt from inline skating.

On the ice you just have very very little contact to the ground compared to 4 wheels touching the ground at the same time from heel to toe. I always try to find my balance on the ice which costs a lot of energy and makes me really slow. Breaking is another topic but I can manage somehow.

Anyone else is having the same issues and give me some hints on how to make ice skating more like inline skating? Maybe profiling the blade in a certain way, or does the marsblade thing help?

Thank you in advance

Beer league player here. I’ve noticed my skates recently have started really digging into my high ankle causing cuts. This didn’t use to happen. I’ve had the skates for prob 10 years but still in good shape. Had eyelets replaced new tuuk and blade. I wear thinee socks so the area is covered.

Any ideas. Is this a sign the top of the skate is wearing out and time to get something need?

Pulled my bicep and supraspinatus playing hockey almost two weeks ago, and my arm is still feeling it. I've had to stop practicing because of the worry of falling and re-injuring myself. Anyone got tips on healing a bit quicker.

What should I do if I want a deeper outside edge?

Me and a friend would like to join a team together to play, but are completely new to the idea of men’s league.

I played hockey at house level for 10ish years and haven’t played for 6 years, meanwhile he is a goalie with only a single year experience playing low house league.

We were wondering, since we’re both kind of dusters, if there was any way to play on the same team together? We’d like to both join together and get the same team guaranteed but don’t have enough people to start our own team.

Extra context, we live downtown Toronto so only leagues near us are really applicable.

Thank you!

I’m trying to get a used pair but I think there gonna be too big does anyone know if it really matters? They are the skate fender compact pros

I’m having trouble deciding between a nexus tracer or proto r, I’m a fast skating defenseman who can rush the puck. Can’t do slapshots at all though, I’ll take occasional low wrist shots from the point. What’s the better option?

Do you guys put random stickers on your helmet? i just play adult rec league dek hockey and occasionally pick up ice hockey. Would it be weird to do that or just say fuck it?

So I have noticed a trend of icing on my beer league teams breaking out and I wanted a bit of advice on positioning.

I know the general set up of a "close in" breakout. Puck side winger on boards, center curling middle of the ice for breakout pass, far winger streaking for outlet pass.

However, in beer league, I am noticing that its often a "loose breakout" and frankly I am not really sure what to do.

What happens is defense gets the puck and everyone starts skating up and defense has time. At this point, most of the forwards and 3-4 of the opposing team are sort of clogging up the neutral zone.

What should I be doing as a forward at this point as a winger? Do I just stay along my side boards? I run out of room and I swear everytime I go to turn thats exactly when the defense passes it to me. Obviously a lot of this is my fault with timing and positioning.

Do I just stay along my boards and come to a stop as a pass outlet? I am finding I am missing the pass at times because its always at awkward angles. Often its suicide passes (no hit league so thats fine) but it makes catching the puck awkward. What ends up happening often is the defense tries to make a long pass and we miss and its icing.

Am I explaining this clear enough? Does anyone have videos that show this sort of a breakout positioning?

So I splurged and bought a used Trigger 8 Pro on SidelineSwap. It looked like exactly what I wanted, just a bit used (tape marks, some scratches, no real damage). It’s kinda hard to find lower flex, senior sticks so I thought it’d be a great way to try out a high end stick with the flex I wanted for not too much money.

It just arrived and it’s about an inch shorter than my other CCM JetSpeed sticks (which I’ve already cut down about 1.5-2”).

I am not sure if I’d hate it but I’m kinda pissed the guy didn’t say anything. Should I return it for a refund, keep it and give the guy a bad review or do something else?

Long time roller hockey player who's looking to finally get out on the ice. I never wore much in the way of protective equipment playing roller so while I have some gear I'm still missing quite a few pieces I will need/probably should get for ice.

Based on previous skill playing roller I'm guessing I'll be starting in the lower levels, but not quite beginner league. Local leagues for adults are all non-checking (which I know shouldn't be confused with non-contact) but roller was much of the same. I expect to find my butt on the ice a bit more than I did playing roller.

At this time all I actually need to get is pants or girdle and some kind of shoulder pads and a new cage for my helmet (probably should get a new helmet altogether and it's on the list) but current one will at least get me out for some stick and puck time.

I generally do no like overly bulky equipment and tend to lean towards the lightweight/slimmer end of things. Definitely was leaning that way on the shoulder pads but go back and forth on the pants. I think based on what I think I want I should be looking at Jetspeed/Vapor line but haven't actually looked at or tried Supreme/XF equipment on. It certainly looks a lot bulkier from pictures but looks and real life can be quite different.

Any reason to really lean one way or another?

Looking for recommendations of who to use for custom orthotics. I’ve tried all the store bought ones. I have wide feet and none of them are made for wide skates. I would like to find a place that specializes in hockey skate custom orthotics. Any advice?

Just wondering if anyone knows of any places that could put a pro stock Bauer order through for me asap? Thanks in advance!!!

So im 14 and I'm interested in playing hockey I got a wooden street hockey stick and a practice ball from when the colorado avalanche were giving some out for free can you please give me some tips?

Any NYC or Long Island hockey leagues starting this winter ?

Hi, everytime I go on the ice I feel kind of embarrassed since I’d have to hold (grip for dear life) onto the wall. So I’m asking how do I get on the ice without holding onto the wall. Is there specific way to get on? Thank you

I am hosting a hockey tournament in North Korea in Feb 2025, and am taking open applications for players. This is not a joke. We filmed a documentary between 2016-2019 following the North Korean IIHF team, and with that project concluded, we started thinking of what could come next. And that of course, was a hockey tournament: The Pyongyang Cup.

This hockey tournament is meant to be a social experiment. For the first time in their history, we are putting North Korean and foreign players on the same team. The idea is to assemble four mixed teams and see who can ultimately learn to play the best together despite the cultural differences. The tournament will be held in a six-game round-robin format.

Skill Expectation: Moderate to skilled beer league players are welcome to join. You'll be paired with what I consider "good Canadian beer" league-level North Korean players.

Restrictions: Players applying with US and ROK passports cannot join this tournament.

Fees: $3750, everything included transport to and from North Korea from China, North Korean visa, all food, accommodation, and jerseys. Players must get themselves to Shenyang China.

SPECTATORS WELCOME TO JOIN!

Details available here!

Assuming both fit well, which is better? Can’t try on without driving a couple hours.

Does anyone know any bag fresheners or anything? My gear is rancid

Edit: I air out my gear directly after every use for days

I recently just bought the hockey shot extreme glide Polish spray for my shooting tiles because they are not slidey anymore. I spray it on and it was fine for the first day. However the next day it became very resistant to the puck and not slippery and tips on what to do to fix it.

I recently went to my first game locally and have fell in love with the sport and want to get into it! I'm 22 years old, Male, 6ft4", 250lbs, and basically starting from scratch. I can ice skate but not to a high level, I just looking for advice on like a kit list of what id need to start out, if my size could impact it in anyway and how I should generally approach trying to get more involved with the sport. I do have a local ice rink I can go to to practice skating and they have a recreational team but I don't want to try and start with that team being how low level I am! Any advice at all helps!

Can anyone explain house league hockey levels. My kids team is registering for a tournament in Ontario Ca. Houseleague only, but has registration for A, B and C. Where we are there is only Houseleague.. no sub levels. I get A is the best, then B then C, but Can someone who has these sub levels explain the difference. What makes a team A B or C in HL. what kind of hockey should I expect in each division.

Anyone here received a fake pair of hyperlite gloves or Mach's. Looking to buy on SLS but would be good to know what to look out for with those models or Bauer gloves in general. More and more Chinese products hitting the market that it is difficult to know.

Anyone know if Bauer are releasing any new Vapor sticks this year? Or heard anything?