Pro Stock Hockey’s A.J. Lee wrote an article about the Red Wings’ equipment choices, and I hope you enjoy this guest post from A.J.:
Red Wings Equipment Choices
The Detroit Red Wings didn’t have a 2017-18 for the record books. Unless you count missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1983 as some kind of record.
OK, they also scored their fewest points (73) ever in an 82-game season, so that is actually a record. And they did it with the oldest team, by average age, in the league, which is nothing if not a signal for a rebuild.
Still, there aren’t many hockey fans more serious about their team than Red Wings fans. And, as Michigan produces more NHL players than any state other than Minnesota, even the state’s amateur players are serious about their gear, as well.
For anyone looking to get their hands on the gear used by the Red Wings, here’s a rundown.
Inside the Captain’s Closet
Henrik Zetterberg has staved off the ravages of time better than most. At age 37, he scored 56 points to take over fifth place on the franchise’s all-time scoring rolls (and is 40 shy of 1,000 for his career). Though reportedly mulling whether to play next season, the career Wing has three years left on a $73 million contract.
He’s a Warrior — both in terms of attitude and his gear. From Warrior’s various equipment lines, he plays a Covert QRL stick, built with an extremely low kick point for quick release; highly customized Franchise gloves; and wears a Covert PX2 helmet. His skates are Bauer’s Nexus 1N model, but then Warrior doesn’t make skates. It is worth noting that none of those picks ranks among the top five choices in its segment, league-wide.
Stacks of Sticks
Anthony Mantha, who led the team in goals with 24, then scored a two-year, $6.6-million deal to stay in Detroit, uses a CCM Jetspeed — only the sixth-most popular stick in the league. Defenseman Trevor Daley, the Wings’ big free-agent signing last offseason, is another Jetspeed guy.
The league’s most popular stick, the Warrior Alpha QX, is used by just three Detroit players — most notably Gustav Nyquist.
Niklas Kronwall is among four Wings using the CCM Ribcor Trigger 2 PMT, thus making it the most popular stick in the Detroit dressing room. It ranks No. 3 league-wide.
Glove Love
There are 35 glove models in use in the NHL. Among the Wings, 10 different models are in play from CCM (led by the HG12), Warrior (Covert QRL), Bauer (Vapor 1X) and Verbero (Dextra Pro).
Head to Toes
When it comes to skates, half the team wears Bauer (most of that divided between the league’s most popular skate, the Vapor 1X 2.0, and the Supreme 1S). The league’s most-popular helmet, CCM’s Vector VO8, is even more popular, percentage-wise, among the Wings — but Warrior’s Covert PX2 is equally popular. Each is worn by six rostered Detroit players. League-wide, the VO8 is the second-most popular piece of equipment in any segment, as 28.7 percent of the league’s players wear it (behind only Bauer’s Vapor 1X skates at 30.8 percent). The PX2 checks in at 10 percent.
(Duffel) Grab Bag
Here are some other equipment bits about the Wings:
- Veteran winger David Booth is one of only five players in the league wearing Verbero’s Dextra Pro glove, the only model that company has in the NHL.
- Booth also likes a “boutique” skate. His Pro Custom model skates are the only kind TRUE has in the league — though with nearly 12 percent of the NHL’s skaters using it, it’s the third-most popular model in the league. Tyler Bertuzzi, Martin Frk and Xavier Ouellet also skate with TRUE.
- Bertuzzi, just 23 years old, and Dylan Larkin, 21, look to be part of the Wings’ future. If so, the dressing room will continue to be a mixed bag. Larkin uses a Warrior Covert QR Edge stick and goes Bauer with the rest of his gear, while Bertuzzi is CCM for everything except his TRUE skates.
Last Thoughts
Detroit is a team headed for major roster turnover in the coming seasons. Don’t be surprised if this team, which leans to CCM in every equipment segment save sticks, swings toward other manufacturers over the next few years.
Author bio: AJ Lee is Marketing Coordinator for Pro Stock Hockey, an online hockey shop that offers pro stock hockey equipment. He was born and raised in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, and has been a huge Blackhawks fan his entire life. AJ picked up his first hockey stick at age 3, and hasn’t put it down yet.
