Hockey, equipment, and skills

 Every once in a blue moon there is a generational talent that emerges in the NHL Draft that can change a franchise forever. In recent history, we have seen a few of these players emerge and become forces in the NHL. Those players were Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Patrick Kane. The new generational talent on the chopping block is Connor Bedard. Connor has become a North American sensation with his elite skating and skillset. His rise to superstardom began when he was only 14 years old by becoming one of 7 players allowed to compete in the junior hockey league in Canada. For reference you can start playing juniors at the age of 16, that is how prolific Connor is. Connor quickly began earning status by playing at an elite level at the highest level possible that is not professional. Then, Connor got to dominate for Team Canada at the World Juniors event earning them gold in 2023. During that same season he was the best player in the WHL posting insane stats and creating flashy ...

 Today I am sitting down with a respected youth hockey coach named Nick, he wishes to keep his last name private. Nick had played the game of hockey for 20 years and has coached for now five seasons.  I wanted to understand his knowledge on what he thinks is the proper way to develop youth talent. The first question I asked him was "what is the first thing a player should focus on improving?" His response was "Skating without a doubt. Skating is one of the hardest skills to develop on ice, and it is the most important skill overall. A good skater makes a great impact for a team. Young players should be focused on improving their skating every chance they get. Players should get comfortable skating in all directions and learn to rely on their inside and outside edges." After that I followed up with "what is a way for players to understand positioning?" His response was "Honestly, know all the positions on the ice and understand their role, once you do ...

Patrick Kane is one of our generation's most exciting players to watch. He has wowed us with his flashy hands and game changing goals such as the infamous Stanley Cup clinching goal back in 2010. The first reason is because he has almost surpassed every American born hockey player in points. Patrick currently sits in third place among American born players behind Brett Hull and Mike Modano. Kane is only 154 points away from taking the number on spot in points. Patrick is also only 34 years old which means if he continues to produce points at the same rate he has his entire career, he should be able to surpass Hull at #1 in only a few more season. Granted he remains in good health and chooses to continue to play and chase glory. The second reason is because Patrick has achieved greatness at every level he played at in his career. After dominating the junior hockey league, Patrick has gone on to win three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks. Kane has also earned the Conn Smythe ...

 Hello everyone, today I will be writing a review on the "MoGo Sports Bubblegum Flavored Mouthguard". The company offers more flavors such as lemon, fruit punch, mint, and orange. Bubblegum was the most appealing to me. At first glance, I was very skeptical if this product would actually work and provide a flavor. The instructions on the packaging were very easy to follow and straight to the point. After following the molding steps, it was time to see if I would be let down or not. To my surprise, after a minute or two I started to really notice the bubblegum flavor the more I bit down and chewed on the mouthguard. Although the flavor is not entirely distinct, I feel the MoGo did a great job adding flavor to something that has never had flavor before. MoGo also did a great job to ensure the mouthguard did not sit uncomfortably in the user's mouth while also keeping its retained flavor. Over the course of a week, I would regularly chew on it while I exercised to see if the...

 The Stanley Cup finals are almost here in the National Hockey League and the playoffs this year is the year of the "new blood".  A bunch of teams that haven't won the Cup in a long time or haven't won at all were in contention this year. Some teams like the Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were all very hungry to hoist the cup. Now that we are down to the final three teams, we can see that the Florida Panthers have booked their ticket to the finals. This is the first time since 1996 the Panthers have reached the finals. Many thought their chances of even making the playoffs had disappeared, but with the Pittsburgh Penguins losing a crucial game late in the season, the Panthers were able to just make qualification by one point! This magical run would not have been possible without players like Matthew Tkachuk and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Matthew is a very annoying player to play against as he has a ton of offensive skill along with a bun...

 There are many different ways to tape a hockey stick. A lot of players try to mimic what they see from professional players whether it is taping half of the blade or even putting a single line of tape up and down the blade. Although the tape job is mainly personal preference, young players should not be imitating the pros with this because the skill gap allows the professionals to do this. Players should be looking to tape the entire blade. To start, it does not matter if you begin at the heel or the toe of the blade. After you get the first strand on vertical to the blade, you want to follow up or down the blade depending on where you started. After the first strand, you want to wrap it around overlapping the strands. You would want the overlap to be a few centimeters to ensure your tape lasts you the duration of your skate. Keep repeating this process until the entire blade is covered from heel to toe. This ensures the puck does not slip from your stick as easily and makes for t...

 Hello, my name is Matthew Modas and this is my blog about hockey, equipment, and skills! I am very passionate about the sport of hockey as I played the game for 15 years, which is over half of my lifetime. I have stopped playing due to personal issues, but my knowledge for the game has grown exponentially since that time. I also used to referee youth games during my free time which was quite the experience on its own. The reason I decided to make this blog is because I love everything there is about the game and I want to try to grow the sport with the insight I can provide to people online searching for it! Some questions I may help a reader with could be " what lie should I be searching for in a stick?" Or "Would it be easier to buy my equipment online rather than in person?" Also, I can answer situational questions such as " where should I be on the ice if my team is trying to break out of the zone?" Being around the game and people who work in the spo...