T-Blades, A Different Skate Blade

T-Blades are a recent development manufactured by the German company "t'blade GmbH" as an alternative to the traditional steel blades found on most hockey skates. They are sold on top-end hockey skates such as CCM's Vectors and Pro Tacks and Graf Skates or can be installed onto any skate boot. Instead of sharpening the blades, T-blades are replaced when worn out. T-Blades stay sharper much longer than a traditional skate blade. As stated on the manufacture's website "Compared to a conventional skate sharpening, the t'blade runner lasts 4-5 times longer." This balances the cost of buying T-Blades versus sharpening a normal blade because the normal skate must be sharpened regularly. This same concept keeps a skater's stride more regular over time because a normal skate blade tends to become uneven on the inside and outside edges after prolonged use and re-sharpening.

The T-Blade Runner or blade itself is held to the skate chassis by a stabilizer and six screws which require a special three-pronged wrench. Unlike traditional skate blades which consist of a single piece of steel, the T-blade is made up of strong plastic material that has only a 1 mm steel blade at the bottom, making it lighter (30% lighter). The thin blade featured in T-Blades heats up faster from friction and has a better glide to it (40% increase). T-Blades have a very distinct sound when cutting into the ice, they are louder and have a bit of a scratchy sound. The blades are sold pre-sharpened, the concept being that the harder the steel the better and longer it will hold its edge and that repeated sharpening softens the edge of a blade and it loses it ability to stay sharp. The fact that edges are precision-made by machines is appreciated by some skaters, since one does not have to rely on a human operator to apply edges on the skates' blades. On the other hand, this is possibly why T-Blades are not very popular among professional players, because of the skill level of equipment managers at that level.

FEATURES
The runner incorporates nearly all the key technology of the t'blade blade system. It consists of a 1mm thick metal running strip which is injected into a low temperature impact strength fiber glass plastic.
Due to the small mass of metal, the runner has a minimum weight and, additionally, excellent thermal characteristics which, in connection with the highly polished rocker improve the gliding characteristics up to 40%. When the runner is worn out, it can be simply and quickly replaced.

ADVANTAGES

• Very light
• Small curve radii
• Excellent maneuverability
• Excellent gliding characteristics
• Up to 4 times longer useful life
• Extreme edge hardness (approx. 54 HRC = 570 HV)
• Constant gliding surface length'/ rocker form
• High cornering speed
• Fast runner replacement
• No edge sharpening
• Fracture-resistant

VARIANTS
The t'blade runner is available in 18 variants. These result from combining the 3 gliding surface lengths [S-M-L] with the six hollow radii [9-11-13-15-18-21]. The respective runner variant (e.g., S-9-280) is identified by:

• Gliding surface length (S)
• Hollow radius (9)
• System size (280mm)

The short gliding surface length [S] offers better maneuverability while a longer one [L] offers more stability. Deeper hollow radii [9,11] achieve a better edge hold, shallower radii [15,18] better gliding capability.

The standard variant for our blade system is the M-13 runner in white. In addition to the white runners (standard), only the variants M-11 and M-13 are also available in black.

How to Sharpen Ice Hockey Skates

Another area of technology that I myself have taken for granted over the years in hockey is the use of skate sharpeners. This is something about the game that you really don't think about that much. Your skates get dull over time or you loose an edge and you just go get them sharpened by the trainer or go to a pro shop. You really don't think about how it is actually done. The only reason why I understand it a bit more is because I have been around the game for so long and have sharpened skates myself from time to time. The following is a video explain the basic technique to skate sharpening.

How Goalie Masks are Made

The following is a video showing how a hockey goalie mask is made

Looking at the Development of Equipment

Like other aspects of the game, the equipment worn by hockey players has evolved over the decades. At first, the only "equipment" worn was a turtleneck wool sweater and a pair of leather boots with blades strapped to them. Sticks were carved out of heavy pieces of wood. Goalies were the first to adopt padding, since they were the ones throwing themselves in front of the puck. At first, goalies were not allowed to fall to the ice when making a save. To protect their legs, they wore leather or horsehide pads stuffed with sponge or deer hair. When they soaked up water, the pads became very heavy.

The other players started wearing shin pads, and by the 1920s, most players wore padded gloves, or gauntlets, and padded pants. Skates became one-piece boots with permanently attached blades.
The next major equipment development came for the goalies. Until the 1940s, they wore the same gloves as the players. A goalie named Emile Francis showed up wearing a first-baseman's glove for one game, and the league approved it. He also started attaching a rubber wedge to his other glove. These primitive designs would develop into the distinctive trapper and blocker worn by modern goalies. Amazingly, despite facing blazing slap shots and repeated injuries, goalies did not wear any kind of facial protection until the late 1950s. Clint Benedict wore a temporary protective leather shield after a serious face injury in 1930, but the idea was soon discarded.

Casualty Only one player has ever died as a result of injuries received in an NHL game. In 1968, Bill Masterton of the Minnesota North Stars was checked hard and fell backwards. He struck his head on the ice, causing severe injuries. Masterton never regained consciousness, and died two days later. Every year, the NHL awards the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

Jacques Plante is considered the true father of the goalie mask. He designed and made his own fiberglass mask and started wearing it in practice, but his coach wouldn't let him wear it in games. Finally, on November 1, 1959, Plante was hit by a puck and required stitches. He refused to return to the game without the mask. Eventually, other goalies starting wearing them. The last goalie to play without one was Andy Brown of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who was still stopping pucks with his face in 1973.

The early fiberglass masks still allowed goalies to be injured, because the mask rested too close the player's face. For several years, a wire cage design was adopted. Later, a hybrid design was developed by taking one of the old fiberglass masks, cutting out a section in front, and covering it with a cage. This design is the most widely used today. Finally, in the 1970s, players began wearing helmets. The threat of severe head injuries, and NHL rules requiring all new players to wear helmets, made the helmetless hockey star an endangered species. In 1997, the last bareheaded player retired, and the species became extinct.

Modern Equipment
Today's hockey equipment comes from the realm of high technology. Ultra-lightweight synthetics have replaced heavy padding and leather. Kevlar (the material used in bullet-proof vests) is popular, as is Clarino, a Japanese-made material that is light and won't absorb water. Special foams are sewn into the pads to absorb impacts and deflect the puck. Helmets are made of a polycarbonate lightweight plastic. The outer shell offers protection, while an inner liner provides extra padding and comfort. The research and development that goes into goalie pads is astonishing. Every surface of the pad is designed to deflect the puck in a certain way, depending on the goaltender's style. Even the graphics on the pads can be designed to create the illusion of a gap for a player to shoot at. While today's goalies are completely armored, with virtually no spot on the front of their bodies going unprotected, their gear weighs less than ever.

Thinking Back to the First Curved Hockey Stick

Until the early 1960s, hockey stick blades were typically not curved. However, in the late 1950s, New York Rangers center Andy Bathgate began experimenting with "breaking" his stick blades to impart a curve, which he found made his slap shots behave in highly erratic ways. Soon after Chicago Blackhawks forwards Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull stumbled onto the "broken blade", and subsequently began asking their stick manufacturers to create sticks with pre-curved blades.

Soon after, much of the NHL, and Hull in particular, became a proponents of the "banana blade", or stick with extreme amounts (often up to 3 inches (76 mm)) of curve in the blade. These curves made slap shots behave very erratically, and in an era in which goalies did not wear masks, this eventually became an unacceptable danger. By 1967, the NHL began to limit the amount of curve a stick blade could legally have. In the NHL today, the legal limit is 19 mm, or ³⁄₄ of an inch.

Much like the shaft's flex, a blade's pattern is a very important characteristic of a stick's performance. There are three primary variables in blade design: curve, face angle, and toe.The curve refers to the basic amount the blade curves from toe to heel, as well as the part of the blade where that curve is located. A "toe curve" means that the curve is concentrated near the toe of the blade, and it is usually preferred by forwards, who seek better puckhandling and more accurate wrist shots. A "heel curve" is generally better for slap shots, and is thus used more by defencemen.

Face angle is the angle between the ice surface and the front surface of the blade (this characteristic is comparable to the difference between the different irons in golf). A more "open" blade means that the face of the blade is turned up more sharply, and thus will cause a higher trajectory than a "closed" face angle.
The toe shape refers to the basic shape of the end of the blade, and it is typically either round or square. Square toes make it easier to pull a puck off the boards or to do "toe drags" (stickhandling moves using the toe of the blade), whereas round toes make it easier to "flip" the puck, and also offer slight advantages in basic puckhandling. Blades also differ in length and thickness, based on player preference.

As a former ice hockey player, it is hard for me to image using a hockey stick that has no curve on it what so ever. I myself have changes the types of curves I have used numerous times through out my career. I have use larger and small curves. Ones with a round toe and others with a squared toe. I have used one-piece sticks, all wood, two piece wood blades, graphite blades etc. It is truly amazing to see how many different types of curves and stick types that there are on the market. It will be interesting to see where they take this in the next 20 years.

Article on Battery-Powered Skates

The following is an article on the use of battery-powered skates.

Quebec manufacturers, Therma Blade Inc., have recently designed a battery-charged ice hockey skate that literally heats up the competition. The blade on this ground-breaking product, which was invented and designed by Troy Weber, is heated to approximately 41 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing players to skate faster with less effort by actually melting the ice and thickening the film of water between the blade and the ice.

The blade is powered and regulated by a rechargeable battery pack, located in the heel of the skate.
This has not yet-been approved by the NHL, but tests are under way this month. The revolution of technology in sports never ceases to amaze me, especially in the NHL. Changes to equipment that improve the game have been unprecedented. From the composite stick to bigger, lighter goalie pads-the effort to improve the game is always on the rise. And now, the battery powered ice skate. This product, as stated above, is still being tested on the ice, but I personally hope it doesn't make its way to the NHL.

Why?
The "new-and-improved" NHL have already changed it's rules and regulations. Even re-designing the ice rink for faster, more offensive-minded play.
The players nowadays are bigger, faster, and much more athletic than the players of yesteryear. The thought of a battery-powered heated skate to make the game even faster could actually backfire and make it slower.
Take, for instance, hockey teams playing in cities with warmer climates—Florida, Phoenix, Tampa Bay. The ice in these arenas tend to melt a little faster, which slows down play, especially during the end of each period.

Can you imagine heated skates adding to the slush throughout the game? Sure, the players would be moving faster, but ultimately there would be more damage to the ice—more slush, more snow, and less ice, causing the puck to move at a snail's pace. Could this result in more Zamboni time? Perhaps. I certainly admire the thoughts and ideas of these crafty inventors but, bottom line: Leave it alone.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4321-the-latest-technology-in-hockey-battery-powered-skates

How Hockey Sticks are Made Video

Earlier in my blog, I talked about how the technology of hockey sticks and the materials that they are made from have changed over the years. This is a video showing how a one-piece hockey stick is made today. From this it is clear to see that the technology that goes into the construction of a hockey stick has come a long way over the years.

How Ice Hockey Skates are Made

Ice Hockey Skates

Another technology that has come along way over the years in ice hockey is the making of ice hockey skates. Ice skates are boots with blades attached to the bottom, used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice. They are worn as footwear in many sports, including ice hockey, bandy and figure skating. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. A pole with a sharp metal spike was used for pushing the skater forward.

For ice hockey skates the boot is generally made of molded plastic, leather (often synthetic), and ballistic nylon. Skates used in competitive hockey rarely use molded plastic for the upper boot, as this results in limited mobility.

The skates used by goaltenders are cut lower in the ankle than a normal hockey skate and the boot sits closer to the ice for a lower centre of gravity. The boot itself is encased in hardened plastic, called a "cowling", protecting the toe, ankle and heel from the force of the shot puck. The blade is usually longer and has less rocker (curvature to the blade) to make it easier for the goalie to move side to side in the crease. Goalie skates lack a tendon guard.

^{The following video is of how hockey skates are made.}  

HBO 24/7

The previous video was of HBO's 24/7 Pengiuns/Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic. HBO's 24/7 is an American reality television series that follows sportsmen, and sporting organizations, for a period of weeks in the lead up to a major sporting event. The show premiered with episodes featuring pairs of boxers as they prepare for their upcoming boxing match against one another. More recently it has expanded to other sport rivalries as well with NASCAR and the rivalry leading up to the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. Each edition of the show is generally split up into three to four episodes, and is narrated by Liev Schreiber.

The shows historically have focused on boxing, but now cover other sports. In December 2010, a special 24/7 featured the rivalry between the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in the lead up to the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011. The hockey episodes paid special attention to the player rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.

This this new exposure, the NHL has gained more popularity throughout the United States. Without the technology of cameras audiences would not have been able to see a behind the scenes look at the world of professional hockey in the NHL.

HBO 24/7

NHL Coverage

The NHL has also made great strides in recent years when it comes to the coverage of the NHL, the players, games, and analysis. The NHL used to be covered by local channels of teams home cities as well as nationally by ESPN. The NHL is now cover exclusively by Verus and NBC today.

The NHL's television deal with Versus was made at the conclusion of the 2004–05 NHL lockout that caused the cancellation of an entire season. At the time, Versus offered a two year, $130 million contract (with a network option for a third year) that delivered guaranteed money for Commissioner Gary Bettman (ESPN, which previously held the rights, wanted a revenue-sharing deal similar to NBC's). Versus was expected to use NHL coverage to show it was a legitimate suitor for Major League Baseball and National Football League packages that were to be negotiated later in 2005, but they did not land agreements with either league. In 2007, the NHL signed an agreement to extend the NHL on Versus to the 2010–2011 season. Versus paid $72.5 million for 2007–2008 and will pay inflationary increases over the next three years.

In April 2011, NBC Sports and Versus announced they had reached a ten year extension to the television contract with the National Hockey League worth nearly 2 billion dollars over the life of the contract. As part of the announcement, the chairman of NBC Sports, Dick Ebersol announced that the Versus channel would be renamed "within 90 days", in order to reflect the synergy of the two networks after the Universal-Comcast merger.

On April 19, 2011, the league and NBC/Versus announced a new ten-year agreement. Beginning with the 2011–12 season, the terms of the agreement include:

• Versus (which will be renamed) will increase its regular season telecasts from 50 to 90.
• NBC Sports Group will have exclusive coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning with the Conference Semifinals (2nd round). All games will air on one of the NBC Sports Group channels. This means that there will no longer be any local broadcasts after the first round.
• Exclusive American broadcaster of the Heritage Classic.
• Exclusive coverage of Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Hockey Central
Versus also provides postgame coverage after every game they broadcast. The postgame show is known as Hockey Central, airing from their Stamford, Connecticut studios.

Go Pro Hockey Helmet (Player's View)

Goalie Camera

The previous video shows a camera being attatched to a hockey goalie's helmet. From this, you are actually able to have a view of what a goalie is looking at. This is a technology that is still being tested. At the same point in time some goalie's may not be comfortable with having the camera on or in their helmet. One reason may be the fact that this adds extra weight to the helmet that is not neccessary. However, this is something different and really puts a viewer into the game.

The National Hokcey League (NHL) has recently been looking for new ways to make the game of hockey more appealing to viewers, both to come to the actual event and those that watch it on TV. By inplementing new technologies and accepting change, the league has become more viewer friendly. This has also come about because of the willingness of players in the league to embrace and support the changes as well. I know they have also used this on regualar players as well. But once again this usually does not take place during regular season games. The main issue again making the technology so it will not get in the way of the player's ability to perform with the main issue being weight or a different feel to the equipment.

Goalie Camera

Sports with TV

Another area of sports that has come a long way over the years is the use of the camera. It is hard for some to believe that games were once only attended and heard only on the radio. Today, sports are offered on a variety of channels and are now even have packages where a person can pay extra to get the specific type of sport they wish to view. When looking back at some of the history of televised games, I found that 1940 was a significant year for televsion:

• January - The FCC holds public hearings on television.
• February 25 - The first ice hockey game is televised in the United States, the New York Rangers vs Montreal Canadiens, from Madison Square Garden on W2XBS-TV.
• February 28 - The first basketball game is televised, from Madison Square Garden; Fordham vs the University of Pittsburgh.
• March 10 - The Metropolitan Opera broadcast for the first time from NBC studios at Rockefeller Center an abridged performance of the first act of Pagliacci, along with excerpts from four other operas.
• March 15 - RCA cuts the price of television sets.
• May 21 - Bell Telephone Laboratories transmits a 441-line video signal, with a bandwidth of 2.7 MHz, by coaxial cable from New York to Philadelphia and back.
• June - W2XBS in New York (NBC) covers the Republican National Convention from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for 33 hours, over a five day period. The signal is transmitted via coaxial cable.
• August 29 - Peter Carl Goldmark of CBS announces his invention of a color television system.
• September 3 - CBS resumes its television transmissions with the first demonstration of high definition color TV, by W2XAB, transmitting from the Chrysler Building

From this, it is clear to see that there were a lot of firsts when it came to televsion and sports in 1940. For me it is hard to believe that all TV was all black and white. Color TV was a huge brake through. Then the TV's stated getting bigger and bigger, with  a better picture. And recently in the terms of TV they have become thinner with flat screen. At the same point in time, cameras have become better and better. Being able to capture parts of games that were never able to be seen before.

Video discussing Reebok 10K ice hockey stick.

Hockey Sticks - A Background

Hockey sticks have come a long way over the years. At one point they were all made of wood and did not even have a curve. now sticks are made with curves for both left and right handers in a variety of patterns, flexes, etc. Follwing is a back ground of the types of hockey sticks.

Wood

Wooden sticks are usually constructed by laminating multiple types of wood into a high quality plywood, then coating the stick and blade with thin plastic or fiberglass. Some manufacturers use fiberglass as a laminate between wood layers. Today in the NHL, only a handful of players still use wooden sticks.

The main advantage that wooden sticks enjoy today is their relatively low cost and strong base. Few wooden sticks cost more than $40 per copy, compared to $200+ for some composite varieties. This makes them a popular choice by younger and amateur players. Wooden sticks also enjoy a reputation of having a good "feel" compared to aluminium or titanium choices. Wood has a tendency to warp, and over time its flex and stiffness properties will change. Additionally, being a natural material, wood also creates variations in production (even between identical patterns), and it cannot be made as "responsive" as certain composite materials (which decreases velocity and accuracy on wrist and snap shots).

Aluminium

Aluminium sticks were the first non-wood sticks to appear. Most aluminium sticks consist of a shaft made of an aluminium alloy and a wooden or composite blade, which is held in the shaft by glue and the compression of the shaft itself. There was a time when a majority of NHL players used aluminium sticks, but today around 1% of NHL players use them.

The main advantage aluminium sticks enjoy is their unparalleled durability. It is fairly rare for an aluminium shaft to be broken or damaged, even at the professional level, and since the blades can be easily replaced, a shaft will typically last for a relatively long period of time. Aluminium sticks will not suffer wear or warping like a wooden stick, and they can be manufactured with a great deal of consistency in flex and weight. The biggest disadvantage of aluminium sticks is their heavy or hard "feel", which is a result of the relative hardness of the metal and the imprecise joining of the stick and blade.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass, along with the traditional wood, was the first composite stick material, being added as laminate or coating to wooden sticks. Manufacturers have experimented with 100% fiberglass ice hockey sticks, but they suffered from poor "feel" and poor durability and never really caught on. Currently, there are two 100% fiberglass sticks on the market which are made by Warrior.

Today, fiberglass is most commonly used as a composite with other materials, such as wood, graphite, or kevlar.

Graphite (Carbon fiber)

Graphite has become by far the most popular building material for sticks used in the NHL, and it is growing rapidly in popularity for amateur and recreational players. Carbon fiber sticks were originally sold as shafts alone, much like their aluminium counterparts. "One piece" sticks, which consist of a single piece shaft and blade, have become the predominant type.

Carbon fiber sticks have become so popular due primarily to the way they combine features of wooden and aluminium sticks. They offer the classic "feel" and performance of the best wooden varieties, and the manufacturing consistency and precision of aluminium sticks. They can also be manufactured with extraordinarily precise "flex patterns" which can aid in the power and accuracy of wrist and snap shots.

Their main disadvantage is their high cost coupled with their relatively poor durability. While their average life is not quite as short as their wooden counterparts.

What is Technology to You?

Technology is around us where ever we look. At the same time, it is important to understand that there are many different types of technology. In today's world, when many people think about the word "technology", they may first think of computers, ipads, tablets, cell phones, etc. But the word itself technology can be defined as; the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science. (dictionary.com) From this, technology in a sense can be anything that makes something better, more efficient, etc. When looking at sports, technology has played a major factor in many areas. Really when you look at almost any sport technology has affected it in some way or another. Whether its better shoes, safety equipment, cameras, etc. technology has played a major role in the development of sports and where they are today.  

Technology & Sports

So this is blogging. I have never really blogged before and really wasn't sure what to blog about. So I thought I would talk about Technology and sports. And more specifically technology in the sport of ice hockey. Looking at how it has already being used and how new technologies may be used in the future.