Skate protectors an issue with some Flyers players

BRAYDON COBURN is expected to finally return to the Flyers' lineup tonight after missing 12 games with a left foot injury.

Vinny Lecavalier just made it back on the ice last weekend. Wayne Simmonds missed time during training camp. Co-leading goal scorer Michael Raffl will be out until just before Christmas.

Coach Craig Berube thinks the Flyers' injuries from blocking shots are "more bad luck than anything."

His boss, general manager Ron Hextall, isn't convinced.

"You cringe every time. It's a pet peeve of mine, quite frankly, because there is protection players can wear," Hextall said. "We give these guys these sticks that can shoot the puck 100 mph and we don't protect their feet well enough.

"I don't think it's right. I think the skates are inadequate. They need to be better."

Every Flyer has been fitted for a pair of custom skate protectors, a bulky plastic piece that straps over the skate to help absorb the impact of shots.

Hextall has two problems: Not every player can get comfortable wearing the protectors, and he also can't mandate their use. Any equipment directive must be bargained by the NHL's Players Association.

"We can't tell them, 'You have to wear skate guards,' " Hextall said. "If we could, I would. Not to come right over the top, but we're putting you out there without adequate protection. I've encouraged them. Our guys all have them. But you can't mandate it. It's personal choice."

That hasn't stopped teams in the past. Hockey has always had "unspoken" rules.

In 2010, when the Rangers were dropping left and right with hand and finger injuries as a result of slashes, GM Glen Sather told his equipment managers to begin ordering gloves with longer cuffs and extra plastic padding. Sather even commissioned a hand doctor at New York University's Medical Center to run his own tests and gather data.

If a Rangers player complained about his new gloves, he was simply told to "talk to Slats." Most players, out of fear for losing their job, were forced to adjust.

Aware of the Rangers' demands, league-leading equipment manufacturer Bauer stepped up to change the structure of gloves. They incorporated a thin and lightweight, but high-impact foam-type of material called "Poron XRD" to meet Sather's demands without sacrificing mobility and feel.

Bauer's new glove improved impact management by 23 percent over the Rangers' previous model. Players were thrilled. Sather was satisfied.

Now, similar changes to skates could be on the way, thanks to Hextall's rant this week.

"I think Ron's comments were valid," Bauer product manager for skates John Davidson told the Daily News. "In our opinion, the history of shot blocking has changed in the game over the last few years. It's an official stat now. There is leverage in contract negotiations with it now.

"There's been this progression, and all players are being taught to block shots differently. Some expose the inside of their feet, where the composition of the foot is more sensitive, with lots of little bones.

"It's something that we're definitely going to continue to look at, how we can maintain the performance of our skates while making sure player safety is not compromised."

Approximately 70 percent of NHL players wear Bauer skates. About 8 years ago, they switched to CURV composite material, moving away from the more conventional, leather-type boot.

The difference is a stiffer, lighter skate that improves performance. Bauer and Reebok/CCM, which has the other 25 percent market share of NHL skates, both test their products using a "puck cannon" that fires pucks at a specified rate of speed to determine durability and protection.

"Skate protection is pretty standard across the industry," CCM Hockey brand market manager Eric Bannon told the Daily News. "Player protection is extremely important for us. But to be honest, we haven't had a lot of negative feedback from our players."

CCM said it would take about "three generations of skates" to implement a new product after testing, or roughly 3 years.

Drawing motivation from comments similar to Hextall's, Bauer is inching closer to launching a product with improved protection. Davidson said a new product could be in the NHL "as short as 6 to 12 months from now," depending on test results.

The guess here is Bauer might be trying to incorporate a similar material as the "Poron XRD" from the gloves into skates. The developer for Poron XRD recently dropped an iPad encased in their material from 105,000 feet in the air, and it was not even slightly damaged on impact.

"We are constantly testing new materials, many of which come from the aerospace industry, which trickle down to the sporting goods industry," Davidson said. "I can't let too much of our details out into the public, to be honest."

Currently, NHL players only have a choice to customize their model, size, width and tongue style on their skates. No option is available for players to, say, beef up protection while sacrificing weight.

Today's skates weigh 1.6 to 1.8 pounds. Fibers in the materials break down with heavy use, too, making players more susceptible to injury, but they might feel more comfortable. Steven Stamkos, a Bauer athlete, goes through two pairs of skates a season. Some blaze through 12 pairs. The average NHL player breaks in about six pairs of new skates over the course of 82 games.

Skate guards weight only a few ounces, but that's significant, compared with the overall weight of the skate. Brayden Schenn and Simmonds won't soon be removing their plastic protectors after feeling the pain of watching from the press box. Not everyone is on board.

Lecavalier, for instance, has already taken his "shot blockers" off his skates for games. Tonight is only his fourth game back from injury. Like many other star players, he is paid to endorse equipment on the ice, and those brands surely don't want their products covered by hunks of plastic, clouding their logo and questioning their reliability.

The truth is that plastic guards on skates, for those willing to wear them, can protect only so much. The real change needs to come from skates themselves - but it's a dilemma for manufacturers, because players want only the lightest, fastest wheels available in the ever-accelerating NHL.

No product, not even an improved skate, will protect injuries like the one to Raffl this week. He turned at the last second to avoid a slap shot from Edmonton's Mark Fayne, exposing his unprotected back and side of his leg, and the puck hit above his boot. That is on the players - and their teachers - to improve form.

For now, Hextall has caught Bauer's ear.

"We pride ourselves on player performance, but also the needs of NHL teams and requests from management," Davidson said. "Shot blocking has changed the game. It takes time for us to figure something out."

Wayne Simmonds is expected to stay on a "potentially lethal line," according to Craig Berube, with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek . . . The Flyers split their season series with the Avalanche last year. This is only Colorado's third trip to Philadelphia since 2008, and its fifth game in 8 days in November . . . Former Flyer Danny Briere has been a healthy scratch in five straight games for Patrick Roy.