Fire On Ice: NHL Players About To Test Thermablades
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NHLers To Test Thermablades
In Practice And Games |
Over the next 10 days, several NHL players will begin testing Thermablades -- "heated skate blades that reduce friction and allow a hockey player to skate faster and with greater ease" -- in practices and games, according to Beverley Smith of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. NHL Dir of Hockey Operations Kris King said that the league is “‘very interested’ in confirming Thermabade’s performance data,” which has shown that the blades reduce friction by 50-55%, cut vibration by 50% and reduce effort by 10%. The league also wants to “establish the safety and reliability of the blade in NHL game conditions.” Coyotes Managing Partner and coach Wayne Gretzky, an investor in the blades’ manufacturer Therma Blade Inc., called the product the “most significant advance in skate blade design in at least 30 years.” Smith notes the blades can be attached to any conventional pair of hockey skates and the charged battery in each blade lasts for about two games. The blades are expected to become available to consumers by the middle of November at C$399 a pair (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 10/17). Therma Blade President Patrick Francey said, “This will be a new standard for hockey skate blades.” Meanwhile the NHL is "waiting for a list from the company detailing which players will be used as test cases." King: “We’re not in the endorsement business, we’re not in the approval business. We just want to be part of the process in making sure that our players are safe” (NATIONAL POST, 10/17). King added that once he receives a list of players, he and NHLPA Associate Counsel Stu Grimson will “review it and decide who’ll be asked to wear the blades” (AP, 10/16).
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