Pro Hockey Life – Vaughan Mills

I visited Pro Hockey Life at the Vaughan Mills Outlet in Vaughn, Ontario a short while ago.  Being from the west coast this was one of the shops that I only read about and saw videos of online.  Even back home our so-called “Megastores” are only a fraction of the size of this giant.

Upon walking into the store there are 4 mannequins fully decked out in the latest gear along with a very abstract hockey stick piece of art hanging from the ceiling.

All of the equipment was carefully displayed and sized accordingly.  Finding what you needed was very easy even without the help of the sales associates, which there were lots of but nobody greeted us except for the girl at the cash register and the employee working at the Rapid Shot (more on this later.)

The pants, which are one of the most difficult pieces of merchandise to sort through and organize, were stored on massive shelves in the middle of the store.

After walking through “Stick Alley” it leads you directly to the Rapid Shot.  (Check out our previous posts and experiences with it: https://prostocknation.wordpress.com/tag/rapidshot/)  For those of you unfamiliar with Rapid Shot it is the batting cage of hockey.  You are given 16 pucks to shoot and are rated based on shot speed, accuracy and reaction time.

The Rapid Shot here is set up exactly like the one we tested before at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC.  I really wish more stores had this installed as it will make the stick buying decision much quicker and easier.  I have had many dilemmas contemplating which stick I should buy only going by the in-store feel.  Some of the times I’ve purchased sticks that felt excellent in store but once it came time to using it on the ice I absolutely hated it.

Pro Hockey Life in Vaughan, Ontario is a definite must visit if you are in the area.  While I did not find any pro stock hockey equipment at this location I was still in awe at the size and selection available at this store.  Make sure to give the Rapid Shot a try before you leave!

– M

Pro Hockey Life Vaughan Mills
1 Bass Pro Mills Drive Unit C3
Vaughan, ON L4K 5W4
Canada

(905) 669-9088
www.ProHockeyLife.com

ProStockNation.com – 2nd Attempt At RapidShot

We went for another session in the ever addicting RapidShot cage located at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC yesterday.  -E and -M finished first and second but most important of all, we defeated @ray_supastar on Twitter by an absolute landslide.  This was a very sweet victory after having to listen to his trash talks for several weeks leading up to this contest.

– M’s best score: 117
– E’s best score: 146
@ray_supastar’s best score: 11

Check out this video of – M shooting.  It’s far from perfect but it gives you an idea of what to expect from the RapidShot.  If you ever have the chance to shoot in there, go for it.  It’s an excellent training tool.

 

– M

RapidShot: Revisited

The next time your team scrimmages and you’re short one goaltender, strap on a shooter tutor at the other end instead of shooting at an empty net.  I’ll explain later.

We were down at Rogers Arena for the Canucks/Red Wings game and I just couldn’t resist another showdown with the RapidShot.  For those unfamiliar with the RapidShot, please check out our post on it a little while back: https://prostocknation.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/rapidshot-hockey-training-system-rogers-arena-vancouver-bc-canada/

Professional players getting paid millions of dollars to play the game are getting scores of around 300; I’m not making as much as they are so I’m not expecting the same results either.  I shot a disappointing 49.1 at our first session.  My goal for this second time around was to improve on my original score.

I remember often times back in minor hockey we’d shoot on an empty net at one end during scrimmages because we didn’t have a second goaltender.  Of course it wouldn’t be fair if one team could score on an unmanned net so you were told to hit the posts or crossbar.  Ever since that day, shooting at an empty net didn’t feel right unless you heard the ‘ping’ of the iron.

This doesn’t translate well to the world of the RapidShot because if you hit the posts you get a score of zero.  About 4-5 shots of mine rang off the iron and it reflected in my score.  You also get a zero if you hit the white areas on the net.  8/16 (50%) of my shots were zeroes so the next time around I’m going to try to get 80% or more of my shots on target to pull my average up.

It’s also interesting to see where I was the most accurate, the corners I never like shooting at.

(Click to enlarge image)

The upper-right corner, glove side on most goalies, is the go-to spot for most players to snipe but my mindset was still stuck in scrimmage mode and I was getting nothing but iron.  What even surprised me more was my hit percentage was the highest for the bottom right.  Going bottom glove side would probably be my least favorite corner to aim for but judging from these results I should shoot in that area more often.

If I were to hit the targets consistently I think I would be able to get in around the 140-150 point range.  We’ll see next time, shooting pucks in this contraption is way too addictive and if I’m not too careful I’ll be declaring bankruptcy pretty soon.  I’ve been shooting pucks in the backyard all summer long but there’s just something about the RapidShot that makes you want to keep shooting.

 

– M

RapidShot Hockey Training System – Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC, Canada

We had the privilege to use the RapidShot at Rogers Arena after hours.  The RapidShot system advertises themselves as “The Batting Cage of Hockey” and that is exactly what it is.

How does it work?  The shooter is fed a series of 16 pucks by the computer.  It’s important to keep your head up as you’re shooting because there are four amber colored lights that flash briefly at the corner you’re supposed to aim for.  If you’re not paying attention you can easily miss it.  The closer you are to the corner, the higher your score will be.  The computer measures the speed, accuracy and reaction time of your shot,  plugs all those numbers into an algorithm and dishes out a score based on those three factors.  Your final score is an average of all 16 shots.  You get no points for missing the net.  The speed of the passes and the interval between passes are adjustable to accommodate for different skill levels.

You begin by stepping into the cage and standing on a platform to emulate the height you would be at on skates.  As soon as you’re ready to start, white colored pucks start coming at you.  As the puck travels towards you, it passes by a laser and the clock starts ticking.  As you release the puck it runs by the laser again stopping the clock and that is how your reaction time is measured.    We didn’t notice any radar guns to measure the speed of the puck but we think the computer takes the distance between the shooter and the net and dividing it by the time it takes the puck to travel from the stick (when it travels across the laser the second time) to the moment of the puck hitting the net; your simple “Speed = Distance/Time” formula.

The Vancouver Canucks are using this as a valuable training tool but any fan attending home games at Rogers Arena will be able to use the RapidShot, $5 for 16 shots.

Here’s our PR Manager, Fanny, shooting in the RapidShot.

The top 10 scores are posted on the leaderboard.  Unfortunately we only had enough time to shoot 16 pucks each so our scores are relatively low compared to the more experienced shooters.  Harvey Jones, VP and GM of Building Operations for Rogers Arena, and Rod Brathwaite (yes, he is Fred’s brother) have been in there much more than us, hence the higher scores.  We’re told Ryan Kesler shoots at around 300.

Out of our own group I went first but got dethroned towards the end and finished at a respectable second place.  There were lots of bragging rights up for grabs.  At least I can say my reaction time was the fastest.

We can’t wait to go back and use the RapidShot again.  Currently, there are only three facilities in the Lower Mainland with this system installed and we’re hoping there will be more very soon.  If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re definitely missing out.  Until next time!

– M

RapidShot – Just 5 Days Away!

The RapidShot is advertised as “the batting cage of hockey.”   The Vancouver Canucks recently installed one of these units and players are incorporating this as a part of their training routine.  We are going to Rogers Arena and giving this a try Wednesday Night and comparing our scores with Canuck players.  Pictures and video are sure to come!

For those of you unfamiliar with the RapidShot, check out these videos:

– M