Thanks to Vaughn and Pro Hockey Life: Custom Gear
I've been a bit deliquent in writing up this blog entry due to the hectic schedule of the last two months, but I wanted to send out a hardy and heartfelt "thanks" to the lads and lasses at Vaughn Equipment and Mark, at Pro Hockey Life in Dartmouth Crossing, for helping outfit Roman, my son and a head instructor at Upper Echelon, in some "kick-***" gear.
The gear's arrival was timed perfectly to get here just as the hockey in the spring was winding down for Roman. I'm a firm believer that breaking in new gear during the middle of the season may not be the best thing to do, especially if your team is in a play-off or provincial title hunt. Depending on the make of the gear and the size and strength of the goalie, it could easily take two-months or more of practice and games to become accustomed to the new fit and stiffness of the equipment.
Roman, who is a traditionalist in most senses of the word, chose the Velocity 5 series (7800) vertical stitch goalie pads with very simple and clean design. While he likes less than flashy graphics, Roman is very particular about the modifications in his equipment. Being close to 6'3", Roman opted for the 36"+2" size. And while the 7800 pads typically have a secondary break above the knee on the outside roll, he chose to have no break. This would allow the pad to maintain a flat face, even when he is doing the splits. Other mods that he incorporated was to have the inside boot, or toe, to be tucked in a 1/4" to minimize contact with the ice. Being tall, Roman has to take a low and deep stance many times and this requires him to keep his feet wide apart. The standard toe may have cause his skates to slip out too easily and he'd lose that important edge control. Other mods were all leather straps for durability, instead of quick release, and anchored toe-bridges rather than sliding toe bridges. The vertical stitching lends to a traditional style, ala Joey MacDonald of Detroit Red Wings. Roman, of course, fell in love with pads as soon as he saw them (a love only a goalie would ever understand), but was extremely patient to finish out his season in his old Vaughn V4's. Resisting that temptation is never easy.
The pads have a very thin profile, which is not typical of standard "Velocity-style" pad as the shin and knee stuffing tend to "thicken" the pad. These V5's have a very narrow side profile as is easy to see in the photos. One thing that some goalies will have to be wary of is the "landing gear" on the inside of the pad is not as broad or flat as the Vision or Ventus. This type of landing profile is made for goalies with excellent developed flexibility and balance. What they gain with this narrower landing profile is a quicker and more responsive pad, which is required by many traditionalists. I do like the stiff squared inner roll that creates a perfect ice-seal in the butterfly. For the accomplished goaltender, this is more than enough landing surface.
His gloves are both the V5 7800 series, off-the-shelf in terms of modifications. Roman has long and slender hands and fingers, and many gloves will jam up against his fingers. He had no problem with sizing on either of these gloves. Two years ago, when he made the jump from a Simmons Matrix trapper to the V3 trapper he used for the last two seasons, Roman had some issues with puck retention. Graphically and structurally, I didn't expect the gloves to be that different, but the test is when they are actually used. It took him well into his second season to have the V3 where he wanted them in terms of performance; however, when he got his new V5 trapper, he was catching and retaining pucks immediately upon his first trial. As a goalie dad, I was very happy to see that, as that is one of my biggest concerns. Fitting and finding a good match for a goalie in a trapper is much harder than any piece of equipment in my experience.
The 7800 trapper has the split wrist cuff rather than the single wrist cuff of the 7990 V5 series. Roman, who loves to play the puck, really needs the extra mobility and flexibility that the split cuff provides. I also like the thick and stiff finger ridge on the outside of the glove. This little feature helps protect the top of the fingers and creates a nice wedge to jam against the top of one's pads during a blocking butterfly. I had many black and blue fingers in my old Matrix because it lacked that feature. Again, his graphics are very simple and traditional. This glove is heat-moldable to aid in fitting, though Roman didn't feel he needed it. In addition, Vaughn makes a "small" model for adults with small hands. I can see myself using a model in that sizing.
The B7800 blocker also was a preference for Roman. While my style of play would probably benefit from the smaller and rounder sidewall of the B7990, Roman likes that he can rotate his wrist 90 degrees and still offer up a blocking surface as wide as the face of the blocker. This feature allows a goalie who is active with his stick around the net with pokechecks to be able to have the a wide face of the blocker face the attacker when he extends his stick on the pokecheck. Roman, with his height, also appreciates the forward tilt of the blocker face so that he can maximize surface coverage to rising pucks shot to his blocker size. Every inch counts, as goalies all know.
