A couple of weeks ago we looked at the most popular sticks in the National Hockey League so today let’s analyze which skates are worn the most by players in the NHL the information in this video is again tracked and measured by the fine folks over a geargeek geargeek currently has data on
733 skaters who have played in the NHL this season and they showcase all the information and much more on their website we all know that the game is the fastest it’s ever been so let’s take a look at the piece of equipment that allows these physical freaks to fly
Around the nice at breathtaking speeds if you recall from the stick video there were five different equipment companies with their Twigs in the NHL Bower CCM Warrior true and Sherwood however when it comes to skates there’s only three companies to consider Bower CCM and true as a DieHard hockey fan who spends far
Too much time consuming the game through all Outlets I knew coming into this research that bow would be the most popular Skate brand but I had no idea that it would be such a landslide as of today November 26 2023 67% of the NHL wears Bowers skates
67% absolutely insane 222% of the NHL wears CCM skates and then just 11% of the league wears True Skates so now that we know the breakup of the brands let’s dive into specific skate models the bower Supreme mock is the most popular set of wheels in the NHL with 20.83% of
The league wearing them or 151 players today that’s right this one bow skate model is just 1% behind the entire CCM brand when it comes to percentage of the league according to geargeek Nikita COV was the first player to debut the mock skates in September 2021 other notable players wearing these skates include
Kale ma Jack eel Eric Carlson and kill capriso they are Sleek all black and have great feel from my limited experience wearing them the bower Vapor Hyperlite twos are the next most used skate model in the NHL today at 19.3 1% 140 total players David poock of the
Boston Bruins was the first guy we saw wearing this updated model in April 2023 and since they’ve caught on pretty quickly they look very similar to the original Hyperlite which we’ll touch on in a little but the tongue is quite different and they feature the new powerfly holders which are now the gold
Standard aside from pasta these jets are worn by Matthew kachuck Roman Yosi Jack and Quinn Hughes and the legend himself yon Ruda in honor of me sneaking a Yan Ruda reference into this video hit that subscribe button it’s the best way to support the and show us you enjoy this
Type of content the original hyperlight as teased are the third most popular skate in the show with 18.48% of the league or 134 players rocking them I think we’ll see more and more players shift to the Hyperlite 2os as the season progresses but today they are worn by the likes of an Kopitar
Trevor zis Steven stampco and Fan Favorite Vinnie de har after the three sets of Bowers there’s a significant drop off to fourth place as only 43 players or 5.93% of the NHL where ccm’s jet speed ft4 Pro Austin Matthews first debuted these at the start of the 2020 2021
Season and they were viewed as a good step back into the battle against Bower as they had an allnew look and fit for CCM niik heer kandre Miller Cory Perry and rookie Matthew PES wear these skates despite them not being the newest in the jet speed lineup in fifth place true
Makes their first appearance with 5.79% or 42 players using the true svh custom skates B Marner was the first to be seen in these in October 2022 and they have been lauded for the complete customization that they offer frankly to me this model looks like most of the
Other true models but it’s the fit that sets them apart Zack Heyman Ryan O’Reilly Mason Marchman and Nick delorier are amongst the others wearing these wheels today the more recent addition to the jet speed lineup the CCM Jets Speed ft6 Pro sits in sixth place
On this list with 40 users or 5.52% of the show Austin Matthews was again the first to to debut in these wearing them in a September 2022 preseason game the design is basically the same as the ft4 pro but the tongue is redesigned and the dial on the holder is much new and
Bigger SL easier to use Matthew still wears these himself as does Miro heis skin and Tage Thompson and up-and-comer JJ petka these will continue to be worn increasingly until CCM drops a newer option again it was a pretty good step in the right direction for the brand so
After these six models there’s another big drop off the bower Vapor 2x Pros are worn a bit as are the CCM super tax as3 Pro and the tax ASV Pro which is actually what I wear today thanks to CCM but the vast majority of the league is
Wearing these top six pairs that we discussed for some added fun let’s look at some of the unique skate models that are worn by only one player in the NHL as geargeek recently posted about on their social medias Marcus Johansson of the Minnesota Wild currently wears Bower
Vapor X5 Pro skates which are far from a top-of-the-line pair personally I’m assuming he wears these as as a thicker firmer skate when you look at the two side by side here you can see the added thickness around the heel flap and the tongue and the cuff but it’s still
Really unique to see somebody in the NHL wearing this model of skates especially with the customization options available to them Charlie makoy currently rocks the bower Supreme Shadow skates which will be the next pair up after the bower Supreme mock so far he is the first and
Only player to be caught wearing them lastly Casey midad of the Buffalo Sabers is the only player in the NHL we the true hazardous Pro skates they’re pretty slick looking skate in my opinion we’ll see if any of the other true guys transition to these boots this year so
What’s the main takeaway of this video well there are a lot less skate Brands and options than we saw available in the stick video not to mention skates are able to be so customized and tailored to your feet these days that I could argue the model doesn’t matter as much as it
Did in the past years they still all have their unique features and they have different fits and sizes and shapes Etc when trying to choose skates I would say it’s definitely important to know and understand what type of skater you are and what you’re looking for in a skate
If we take CCM for example they have three different lines of skate models the rib core the jet speed and the tax according to CCM the rib core line is built for agile players who move quick and waste no time getting on their edges the jet speed line is designed to be
Lightweight and more comfortable providing more energy transfer for faster shorter strides the tax on the other hand is for for players with stronger longer strides who are hoping to get more power this is a much stiffer boot than the jet speed or the ribcore line if we look at Bower they have two
Main lineups the vapor and the Supreme the Hyperlite falls in the vapor category and it’s built for the quicker agile skating style the Supreme lineup with the mock and the shadow that makavo is wearing these are built for a longer stronger more powerful stride so again a little bit stiffer boot whereas the
Vapor hyperlight is focused more on the flexibility The Edge work etc skates are extremely customizable today when it comes to being a good fit that’s shaped towards your foot however you still need to know what type of boot blade holder laces tongue Etc you’re working with as each different model line has its
Slightly different unique Tendencies and and fits but my main takeaway is just how much of a strangle hold that Bower has on the skate Market it’s super impressive power skates have very high reviews from players not only in the league but beer leagues and minor hockey
All over the world on the other hand with CCM getting better in their offerings and true being so customizable I’d be interested to look back at this battle 3 to five years from now and see if bow still has such a strangle hold on the competition here let me know in the
Comments down below what skates you wear what did you wear growing up what’s your favorite pair of skates you ever had I remember I always used to rock graphs when I was really little I’ve been wearing bow for quite some time and like I said now I’m in a set of custom CCMS
Once again thanks to geargeek for doing God’s work and tracking all of this data on their website thank you for watching we’ll see you again next week
source
