Ice Hockey

LolaLemon

My son is getting into Ice Hockey, and i've put off havin to buy anything for a while now, but he has started ice hockey classes (its ice skating lessons aimed more at Ice hockey than the figure skating side of the lessons) and i know im going to have to start investing in the gear sooner rather than later.
Just wondering if anyone knows of where to order decent priced equipment, we have 1 shop 20 miles away, which ive heard is on the dear side, i am aiming to take a trip up in the next few weeks so we can get an idea on sizes and prices, but any recommendations greatly recieved

daivid

Second hand may be the way to go, if he's young then there may be kit still in decent order that others have grown out of. You could ask at the club or try online auctions.

It used to be possible to make big savings buying online from the states however many of the manufacturers now ban the retailers from sending their products abroad. It may still be possible to get some brands, or if you have friends/family stateside you could have the order sent to them then sent on to you. On Childrens/ budget kit there may be little to no savings though.

Its some years since I bought any kit in the UK, but puck stop in Sheffield were excellent and do sell online too so you could check out their website for an idea of prices, no idea if they cheap or expensive now sorry.

LolaLemon

thank you, i think you might be right, not much savings to be made, I'm looking online 2nd hand just now for ideas of prices (over £200 ) . My friends bought their sons sticks from canada for christmas and even with the import/custom charges said it was cheaper.

Not being brought up in Ice Hockey, i dont even know what is a good brand and what to not touch with a barge pole.

ShaunParker

My son is getting into ice hockey and practices his skating at Chelmsford rink which is a 40 minute drive, there is nowhere closer which for me is a bigger problem I think than the gear. Being able to skate fast turn and stop fast is about practice, my sons stick is a Baure and cost about £60 we are friends with David Phillips the GB defender (just left Belfast Giants) and he advised to skate skate skate.

LolaLemon

sp[orts direct have a good sale on thier ice hockey stuff just now Its more for safety just now, as much as practicing is great, he also needs protecting (my friend in his 30/40's? plays in a C team, and ended up in hospital last night after practice as he broke his leg after a crash on the boards, getting metal rods etc put in his leg now would have been a lot worse without the protection imo ) .
My main thing to get is a helmet and gloves for this practice group he is with, as its not an actual team but more training for the game, - sprints, speed turns etc - which my son is rubbish at haha, but he has only just started, and ends up falling alot

ShaunParker

That is 100% sensible Lola and safety is paramount, I do hope he recovers and is not put off by this. It does bring home though that there is a real dangerous side to Ice Hockey for sure. The hockey stop I think is about as difficult as it gets and I see both my sons tumbling whilst practising that.

LolaLemon

He'll be fine, he's talking of being ready to get back next season!

When you see how rough Ice Hockey is, it is scary! Even more so for us parents i think. We have season tickets for Braehead Clan, and they take a physical beating most games (from the other goalie!! stick between the legs, dunts on the back etc, enough to knock them off balance a lot - i sit behind the away goal so thats mostly what i see) and the wee yin, watches this and STILL wants to learn to be a hockey player! cRaZy!

Faith177

Try contacting the Romford Raiders (now called the London Raiders) on twitter or their site (can't get on to it as sports are blocked at work)

They lost their ice rink at Romford recently and re-located to Lee Valley so some of their ex players maybe looking to sell kit due to distance to the new rink.

ShaunParker

Hi Lola, We asked The Great Britain Ice Hockey player David Philips to start recording his training with a GoPro camera, first time this has been done here and the footage is great. I will find the link and pop it in for you and your son to see just how precise they are.

LolaLemon

brilliant thanks that will be awesome

ShaunParker

LolaLemon wrote: »

brilliant thanks that will be awesome

Here you go, there will be lots more but as the clip runs you really get the feel for the level of control they have - http://www.sportsnutritiondirect.co.uk

The video location has been changed so please use the new url above and just scroll down below the Arnie vid.

See what you think.