Florida Panthers: My Rant About Aaron Ekblad’s Equipment
Aaron Ekblad shows off his Bauer sponsorship, and I dissect why its a bad thing
I’m very against the concept of advertising. I hate the fact that its almost everywhere nowadays and that we’ve become so accustomed to it that we hardly can tell the difference between whats genuine and whats paid for as far as product reviews go. As someone who does a lot of research on things before he buys them, its a real pain in my rear to shop in a world where you cant take a review on a product at face value and get what you’re promised.
Today, I went to the grocery store with my wife and two kids. This usually means my oldest son go and browse the magazines and books while my wife takes the youngest with her to do the shopping. I picked up my usual reads of Sports Illustrated and The Hockey News. My favorite thing to do is skim through at first and see if I can find Florida Panthers anything in either the articles, the pictures or if there is an article that catches my eye that might feature one of the Panthers players in it. I was pleased to open up page 17 and see a gorgeous photo of Aaron Ekblad, complete with his brand new Florida Panthers jersey being featured.
A little thing I want to say about Ekblad before I go any further. If I could pick one hockey player that I want either of my sons to look up to, Ekblad would be my pick in an instant. I cant get over how much respect I have for him as a person and as a player. Hes simply incredible and will only get better with time. He’s well spoken and he obviously works hard to perfect his game. Im sure most parents will agree with me on this, but there is not a lot of role models out there for kids anymore and Ekblad certainly fits the bill for the type of person I would want my kids to be like.
Florida Panthers
It broke my heart a little to see they were particularly profiling his equipment. As you may know, Ekblad has a deal with Bauer and with the new hockey season coming up, there are many people (myself included) who are in the market for equipment either for themselves or for their children. Im not saying that Ekblad shouldn’t pursue the money he most likely got from Bauer and The Hockey News for being a part of the magazine and the article, but I wish I didn’t see a plethora of things to pick apart that I would have a rebuttal to.
“I use a brand new stick every single game so it keeps its integrity”
I don’t have a problem with him using a new stick every single game. I wouldn’t have a problem with him even replacing it every period so long as he is producing points for my favorite team. My problem is that the idea behind one of these features is to tell kids what there favorite players are doing and using so they can emulate them. I did it years ago with Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Pavel Bure and I naturally expect my kids will do the same. I have two Lemieux sticks sitting in my shed from when I was a kid. One is an older Koho that has to be at least 17 years old and the other is a Nike synthetic aspen/carbon fiber that I’d hazard to guess is 12 years old. Neither one cost more than $40 when I bought them and in all honesty, I still use the Nike stick every now and again while my Reebok Ribcore XT is my usual go to stick. All three sticks in total probably cost me $100 Canadian
Ekblad’s stick, a Bauer Vapor 1X in a junior size is $239 dollars Canadian. I love my kids, but I couldn’t justify buying them that stick more than once, let alone multiple times in a hockey season. Ekblad uses at least 82 sticks a season, which equates to over $20,000 if you do the rough math and that’s just not affordable on most people’s salary. I don’t mind buying it once if its going to last the entire season, but if he is replacing his after every game, I’m sorry but that is an instant no as far as me buying one.
I mentioned earlier that I was in the market for some new equipment, and even though I really didn’t need a new stick, the new CCM Revolution stick caught my eye and after a week or two of trying to convince myself I shouldn’t buy it, I ended up ordering one. Now I’m playing the waiting game for the outdoor rink to try it out but from what I’ve seen so far, it looks like a very solid piece of equipment. If you’re trying to be cost effective though, id avoid it.
“I’ve gotten better at skating every year with that skate”
To avoid any further mention, Ekblad is equipped with Bauer Vapor 1X everything except his helmet, which is a Bauer Re-akt 100. In this quote, where hes mentioning his skates, he praises them as being comfortable and something hes worn his entire life, ever since their inception (which was in 1997)
Ekblad isn’t a slouch when it comes to practice, and much like the rest of his teammates they put in long hours during practice and in the gym to improve every aspect of their game. The skates most likely help him as most guys who grew up with older equipment can tell you they have made great strides in skate technology, but the statement sounds like its the skates alone that are doing the work. For you parents at home, the skates are $899 dollars.
I’m not an expert on skates or player conditioning, but I know for a fact that if I run on the treadmill as hard as I can everyday that over time, I will run longer and faster before running out of breath whether I’m wearing top of the line Nike running shoes or my department store brand shoes. What I’m wearing on my feet isn’t going to make the as much of an impact as how hard I work to try and get better. Its easy to sell the concept to younger kids that the skates are worth it, because Ekblad is a successful player, and if he says it, it has to be true. Obviously, as an adult I’d say no to my kids buying $900 skates unless they buying them with their own money or they were playing at a level that they needed high end equipment. My skates aren’t anything high end or spectacular, and to be honest, the Bauer Vapor X400 and the 1X didnt seem to be noticeably different to me when I tried them both on. Where I noticed the difference was when I went to the counter, as my X400 skates only cost $160.
“I love the equipment, its protective. I don’t know a lot about helmets, but it works for me”
This one is me reaching really deep, but helmets aren’t as protective as people think they are. With the concussion issue becoming more and more mainstream the technology behind helmets is going to greatly change in the near future and players like Ekblad will be at the forefront.
A helmets basic design only protects the outside of the skull from damage. For example, if you were to slip and fall on the ice and hit your head with a helmet on. The helmet will ideally prevent you from cracking your skull or bruising. What a helmet cannot protect you from is the damage to the brain. The brain basically sits inside the skull with a small layer (called the meninges) stopping your brain from touching your skull directly. In the same situation where you would fall on the ice, the brain can make contact with the skull which causes a concussion.
The technology in helmets hasn’t made as many advances as it has in other areas of hockey equipment. They have gotten lighter and offered better protection from external trauma but no helmet can promise that it can stop a concussion from happening. In fact, in a recent Virginia Tech study, out of 32 varieties and brands of hockey helmets tested, nine of them failed and only one managed to get three stars in a safety rating. The Bauer Re-Akt 100 (Ekblad’s helmet) only scored one star on the study and retails for $199, while the Warrior Krown 360, the helmet that got three stars in the safety tests retails for $79.99
With all that said, I’m sure you have figured out what helmet I’m going to be purchasing.
Next: Florida Panthers: Don't Cry For Lawson Crouse
Buying hockey equipment can be a pain for a variety of reasons, but the best advice you can get is to do as much research as you can on protective equipment to find the best possible protection you can buy. Your hockey gear is whats saving you or your loved ones from getting hurt and sometimes the pros don’t have your best interest at heart.