Canucks 2011 Equipment Sale (Cont’d)

As ProStockNation.com was first to report, the Vancouver Canucks Annual Equipment Sale will be held at the Outlet Store on Hastings starting on July 11, 2011.  We are surprised the Canucks have still yet to say anything about this sale online.

At their year-end clearance sale today they handed out flyers with a small advertisement on the back regarding the equipment sale.

There’s no new information other than some vague price points.  Expect the sticks starting at $100 to be at least 4 years old, $100 gloves with no palms left, and the $75 skates to be prehistoric.  There usually isn’t anything good until you spend a little more.

No early entries for Season Ticket Holders or Email List Members have been released yet but it’s safe to say at this point it will be a free for all once the Outlet doors open at 11am Monday morning.

 

– M

Reading Flex, Shaft & Blade Weight On Your Pro Stock Warrior Stick

When you buy a pro stock stick you never really know what you’re going to end up with.  Professional players can ask manufacturers to customize their sticks to the point where nothing on the retail market is comparable to it.  While the codes marked on pro stock Warrior sticks don’t tell us much about the stick’s construction it does give us information about flex and the weights of the shaft and blade.

First we must familiarize ourselves with the flex system they are using.  Unlike Warrior’s retail offerings which use the scale made popular by Easton (higher number = more stiff) their pro sticks are still measured the same way Innovative did back in the day (higher number = more flexible.)

We are using the Flex Chart available at ModSquadHockey.com for reference.  The Innovative flex is on the left with the “Easton” equivalent on the right.

180 = 120 flex

200 = 110 flex

220 = 105 flex

260 = 90 flex

300 = 80 flex

340 = 75 flex

380 = 70 flex

440 = 65 flex

Turn to the back side of the shaft and you will see a series of 9 digits.  These digits are divided into 3 segments, the first 3 being Flex (Innovative scale), middle 3 being the shaft weight (in grams), and the last 3 is blade weight (in grams as well.)  So in this case with our flex being “290” it converts to about 85 flex.

You will also find information regarding the flex and shaft weight on a label inside the shaft (assuming your stick is uncut.)  The flex rating you see inside may be slightly different than the one stamped on the outside of the shaft but it is indeed more accurate.  In the same batch of sticks labeled as “290” on the outside you will still get a range of flexes above or below this number.  This standard deviation will vary from manufacturer.

Hope this brief guide will be of help the next time you are shopping for a pro stock Warrior.  Enjoy equipment sale season this Summer.

 

– M

Beware: COUNTERFEIT Canucks Jerseys Now Appearing In Size 46!

For those of you still looking to purchase a Canucks jersey the counterfeiters have finally caught on.  They used to make knockoff jerseys in size 48 (Reebok does not make a Reebok Edge jersey in 48, just 46 or 50) and that was one of the easiest tell-tale signs but it appears size 46 fakes are now surfacing.

Here’s a few pictures from a Craigslist Ad…

Notice how it’s the same ugly knockoffs from before.  The white on the collar is way too thick, the color of the jersey is still slightly off and the outline around the Orca logo on the front is too big.

The shoulder patches still aren’t the correct shape and the lettering/numbering on the back is the wrong font.

Remember, if the price is too good to be true it probably is.  If you are unsure please drop us a line and we can help you out.

 

– M

Vancouver Canucks 2011 Annual Equipment Sale

The Vancouver Canucks will be changing formats for their equipment sale this year.  Rather than being held during one day at Rogers Arena it will be a week long sale (July 11 – July 17) at the Canucks Team Store Outlet located on Hastings and Renfrew (#150 – 2893 E Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC for those of you who want to Google Map it.)

There will be new stock available for sale each day.  We have been told only more of certain sticks and goalie equipment have back stock.  Everything else such as skates, gloves, etc have been put out on the first day.  Since they have been selling equipment year round they will not have as much gear compared to previous years.

There is no confirmation from the Canucks yet as to whether or not Season Ticket Holders and/or E-mail list members will have priority entry to the sale or if the Outlet Store hours will change.

We are in the middle of organizing exclusive coverage of the sale before it happens.  Stay tuned…

– M

Upcoming Review: Goalie BladeTape

While our focus has been on pro stock hockey equipment, we also like to showcase goods manufactured in North America.  The product we are about to introduce you to (if you haven’t heard of them already) fits our criteria perfectly.

First and foremost we would like to thank N from hgreview.ca and BladeTape (BladeTape.ca) for giving us the opportunity to try this product out.

BladeTape is made by Blade Pro Sports Products based out of Richmond, BC, Canada.  This alternative to traditional stick tape is proudly manufactured in Canada.  How BladeTape distinguishes themselves from stick tape begins with the application process.  Two rubber-like waffle-patterned strips on an adhesive backing are stuck directly onto the blade; a time-saver.  This material is more durable than your conventional tape and it also offers a better grip on the puck.  With no tape on the bottom of the blade, friction is reduced as well.

Composite sticks are in a day in age where they can endure repeated contact with bare ice quite well so don’t be afraid of excessive wear on the bottom of your blades.  I will be using this product on a Sherwood SOP 9950 Goalie Stick (wood and multi-lam construction) so it will be interesting to see how this stick and BladeTape holds up.

Willie Mitchell, Chris Mason, Matt Cooke, and Brent Sopel are among some of the NHL players who are BladeTape users as listed on their website.

I will be reviewing this over several weeks so I will periodically check in on ProStockNation.com and HGReview.ca.

– M

Calgary Flames Equipment Sale This Saturday! – June 11, 2011

Did we mention how much we love equipment sale season?  Full details here: http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=564707

The interesting part is how good of an inventory they have in the .PDF file they uploaded.  The prices look very reasonable as well.  Share your finds with us if you do happen to go!

 

– M

Alex Burrows – Warrior Widow LE

I went to Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final yesterday and I decided to snap a couple pictures during the warmup.  Burrows has been using the Widow with the blue LE graphics for quite some time in the post-season now but here’s two shots of it.

It’s the same Widow you see in stores right now but they will be coming out with this color in Q4 of 2011.

 

– M