Popular Post Drive-By Body Pierce Posted August 11, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 11, 2019 A change in skate profile could make Elias Pettersson even harder to handle next season The Canucks superstar is looking for every edge he can get. Skating was one of the few areas in which Elias Pettersson supposedly wasn’t elite when he was drafted. His skating was described as good or above average, with the highest praise being “efficient.” When he hit the NHL, however, he quickly established that he could skate with the best in the league. Pettersson showed blazing speed at the fastest skater competition during All-Star Weekend, and was shifty and elusive with his quick changes in direction and puck control through the neutral zone and in the offensive zone. Clearly, skating is one of many areas where Pettersson refuses to simply be “above average.” The question is, can his skating get even better? It’s certainly possible. Improved strength and conditioning will help, certainly, and even the best skaters can make small adjustments to their technique to get even better. Canucks fans have seen the improvements Bo Horvat has made by working with skating coach Kathy McLlwain; Pettersson could similarly work with a power skating coach to refine his stride. There’s another aspect to his skating, however, that Pettersson is paying attention to this off-season: his skates. Professional hockey players pay close attention to the minute details of their equipment, whether it’s getting just the right flex, kick point, lie, and curve on their stick or picking the perfect gloves that provide the right mix of protection and flexibility. That extend to a player’s skates as well, from the fit of the boot around the foot to how the blade is sharpened. Beyond how it is sharpened, there’s one other component to a skate blade: its profile. Just like the profile of a face, the profile of a skate blade is how it looks from the side. A profile is described as a radius in feet. Think of the blade itself as a small portion of a very large circle. A standard profile for a hockey skate is 13’: the blade has the curve of a circle with a 13-foot radius. Different profiles affect how much of the skate blade is in contact with the ice at any one time. The bigger the radius, the more blade is touching the ice. A bigger radius provides more stability, while a smaller radius can provide quicker changes in direction. Figure skaters use a much smaller radius — typically 7’ to 9’ — than a hockey player for this reason. Over the years, however, skate profiles have become more complex. Instead of just a single radius, players use skates with combinations of radiuses. This can be a combination of two radiuses — a smaller radius towards the front of the blade for quicker acceleration and a bigger radius on the back of the blade for better balance and speed — but doesn’t stop there. Skate profiles can be a combination of three radiuses or even four radiuses to provide small improvements in acceleration, agility, speed, and balance. In a promotional video for ProSharp, a Swedish skate sharpening company, Elias Pettersson tested out a few different skate profiles while practicing with Timra IK, his Allsvenskan team from his draft year. His friend and former Canucks prospect Jonathan Dahlen can be spotted chatting with Pettersson at the 1:07 mark of the video. Dahlen is returning to Sweden to play for Timra next season. “I’ve been skating on the Detroit 2 profile for some years now,” said Pettersson. “Always thought it felt good.” That’s a surprise, as the Detroit 2 profile isn’t the typical choice for a slick offensive player like Pettersson. In fact, it’s a common profile for goaltenders. “More for heavy defensive players,” says ProSharp in reference to the Detroit 2 profile. “Great backwards skating. Also, a good goalie profile.” Pettersson isn’t exactly a heavy defensive player (or a goalie), so making a change in profile could make a significant difference to his skating. When asked why he was testing out different profiles, Pettersson said, “I feel that I need more grip in the tight turns. Sometimes I lose the grip in those tight turns.” After trying “6-7 different profiles,” Pettersson landed on the Quad Zero, a profile that combines four different radiuses along the blade: 6’ up front for acceleration, 9’ behind that for better mobility in turns, then 11’ for speed, and finally 13’ at the back for stability. It's a profile designed for "elusive" skilled players, so it's right up Pettersson's alley. “I liked the Quad Zero the best,” said Pettersson, and when asked if he will use it in the upcoming season, he smiled and then laughed. “It’s going to be a switch. It will be a switch today already.” Is this going to completely change the way Pettersson skates? Of course not, but it could provide small improvements in key areas, and those small improvements can make a big difference for a player like Pettersson that can take advantage of even the smallest gaps on the ice. If he can get better grip in tight turns without losing any straight-ahead speed, Pettersson could become even more of a nightmare for defencemen to deal with one-on-one. Considering he’s switching from a profile designed for defence and goaltending, it could make more of a difference than you might expect. https://www.vancourier.com/pass-it-to-bulis/a-change-in-skate-profile-could-make-elias-pettersson-even-harder-to-handle-next-season-1.23911267 4 4 6 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Drive-By Body Pierce Posted August 11, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 11, 2019 I hope you guys like the article, I found it interesting...and probably spent more time making the thread on my phone than the author did writing the original article. 2 9 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spur1 Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Can’t wait. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Roger Neilsons Towel Posted August 11, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 11, 2019 5 minutes ago, Drive-By Body Pierce said: I hope you guys like the article, I found it interesting...and probably spent more time making the thread on my phone than the author did writing the original article. Pretty interesting article. Thanks for sharing. It will be cool to see what difference it makes in his skating this year. I love how Petey is never happy with the status quo even though he is already a phenomenal player. He’s always pushing himself to be even better. We got a real winner here. 2 4 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckNORRIS4Cup Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Even harder if he has Marner on his wing as well 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrockBoester Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Elias got dat big alien brain! His hockey IQ is like 9001 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Quinn_Jet Posted August 11, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 11, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, BrockBoester said: Elias got dat big alien brain! His hockey IQ is like 9001 Edited August 11, 2019 by Quinn_Jet 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonoman Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Read this yesterday. Played beer league for years but never really organized hockey. Knew about different cuts for blade sharpness but was totally oblivious to blade profiles. Unfortunately due to a second Labral tear of my right shoulder, my hockey “career” is done. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucker 67 Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Does anyone else think he looks like he's filled in a little bit? He doesn't look as lanky, looks stronger. Shot still looks deadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Saw this the other day, I don't always agree with their takes but I've always appreciated PITB's work. If Petey's skating can get even better, damn. Look out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd. Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Lol this guy was playing hockey with skates that are made for goalies. That explains why he probably keeps falling 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 I can't freaking wait for puck drop 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Alflives Posted August 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 12, 2019 56 minutes ago, sonoman said: Read this yesterday. Played beer league for years but never really organized hockey. Knew about different cuts for blade sharpness but was totally oblivious to blade profiles. Unfortunately due to a second Labral tear of my right shoulder, my hockey “career” is done. Sorry about your playing days ending. And just before you could have skated on Quad Zero profile blades too. I wonder if these great NHL skaters are kind of like golfers, when compared with us average people? Sure, we can use the same skate blade or golf club, but for us it makes little or no difference. Now with Scotch, then I can definitely notice the difference between quality and average! 10 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 30 minutes ago, Odd. said: Lol this guy was playing hockey with skates that are made for goalies. That explains why he probably keeps falling And yet he scored so many goals and was able to pull away for breakaways - and outskate other players. Amazing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Where's Wellwood Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 How did the Canucks not realize that his skate profile wasn't optimal, or that it was at least strange, and not recommend a change? Assuming that this change will improve his play. Maybe, Petey is so good because he got so used to the same skate profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester13 Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 He's been playing this insanely good on the same profile skate as goalies?!!! Incredible. And to think he will also be getting bigger and stronger and faster and more skilled over the years... Let's gooooooo! 1 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post nergish Posted August 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 12, 2019 1 hour ago, NUCKER67 said: Does anyone else think he looks like he's filled in a little bit? He doesn't look as lanky, looks stronger. Shot still looks deadly. I noticed his helmet looked more snug, less like a life-sized bobble head! The kid is an absolute beauty though. He looks incredible out there. I like when the amateur people who fuss over the minor details (like tape-jobs, equipment, edges, or whatever) meet with truly skilled athletes who don't know the small advantages those things can provide to their game. I know in a 1040 interview, Kevin Woodley mentioned that Markstrom never really cared to demo different pads, he just used what he knew. Last season you can literally point to the game he switched from Bauer to CCM as a turning point in his play. Sometimes it really is that simple. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drive-By Body Pierce Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 10 minutes ago, nergish said: I noticed his helmet looked more snug, less like a life-sized bobble head! The kid is an absolute beauty though. He looks incredible out there. I like when the amateur people who fuss over the minor details (like tape-jobs, equipment, edges, or whatever) meet with truly skilled athletes who don't know the small advantages those things can provide to their game. I know in a 1040 interview, Kevin Woodley mentioned that Markstrom never really cared to demo different pads, he just used what he knew. Last season you can literally point to the game he switched from Bauer to CCM as a turning point in his play. Sometimes it really is that simple. Kevin Woodley is a phenomenal goalie coach/analyst! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 6string Posted August 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 12, 2019 (edited) Edited August 12, 2019 by 6string 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Elias Pettersson Posted August 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 12, 2019 I love my new skates. I will skate faster than Gretzky now... 3 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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