The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline wrote an article regarding Per Mars’ “Marsblade” ice and inline skates, and Portzline notes that former Red Wings player and now assistant to the GM Niklas Kronwall was and is a big proponent of Mars’ rocker-bladed ice skates:
Kronwall, 37, was looking for any advantage he could find in 2018-19, his 15th and final season in the NHL. He was never regarded as a good skater anyway, and the league was getting younger and faster.
“As an older player, you’re just trying to stay in the game, and that means finding every benefit you can find,” Kronwall said. “At the time, they were a little bit heavier than the blades I’d used, but they gave me such an upside in other aspects.
“I loved going backward on them because it just felt so effortless. Coming out of turns I had way more speed. I’m not a speedster, but it gave me a benefit compared to the regular skates. I skated on them for two games, then I went back to my old skates to see if I could tell a difference. It was 15-20 minutes before I was like, ‘It’s not even close.’”
Kronwall soon became an investor, along with former Wings teammate Henrik Zetterberg. In fact, Zetterberg and Kronwall met with Mårs in Östersund last month to try out the new blade holder, which will be out at some point in 2021.
Continued (paywall); if you’ve got a subscription to The Athletic, this one is worth your time…
