Craig Ludwig and his oversized shin guards

[IamNotADancer]

Anyone remember Craig Ludwig and his "full sail" shin guards?

Did they implement a rule that prevents players from wearing these guards?
First and only player I have ever seen to wear shin guards that resemble mattresses.

Click to read more...

 

[TrillMike]

If I remember correctly he said he still has them.

 

[ColeJ]

dude's a legend.

they should hang those shin pads in the rafters at the AAC.

 

[Seanaconda]

Anyone remember Craig Ludwig and his "full sail" shin guards?

Did they implement a rule that prevents players from wearing these guards?
First and only player I have ever seen to wear shin guards that resemble mattresses.

People probably don't because they don't looks comfortable at all.

 

[GarbageGoal]

If you're going to go down to block shots often I'd advocate this.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Craig Ludwig

Craig Ludwig was one of the weakest skaters from his era, so the shinguards did not matter. A mobile, fast defenceman would see his strengths taken away.

No need to regulate since the opposition would gladly let an opponent hamper his own skating strengths.

 

[Hobnobs]

Craig Ludwig was one of the weakest skaters from his era, so the shinguards did not matter. A mobile, fast defenceman would see his strengths taken away.

No need to regulate since the opposition would gladly let an opponent hamper his own skating strengths.

Pretty much. All this guy could do was hit people and throw himself in front of shot. In nearly all other facets of the game he was useless. Just watch clips of him when with the Isles. Lucky for him the DPE came along so his career held on longer than it should have.

 

[iamjs]

I know it's been asked here before, but has anybody ever figured out which shinguard he was using? Whatever it was, it pre-dated 1978. He got them second hand during his freshman year and kept on adding duct tape and plastic to them.

Craig Ludwig was known as a shot-blocker and for his unusually wide shin pads.

But the 17-year NHL veteran says the wide shin pads weren't by design. The extra width came as he repaired the pads, which were issued to him when he was a freshman at UND in the late 1970s.

He wore the same pads throughout his three-year UND career and his 17-year NHL career as a defenseman.

"I never changed anything," said Ludwig, who's in town coaching the Dallas Stars team in the Little Caesars North American Showcase midget hockey tournament. "The only thing I did was when they broke we would add plastic to them.

"That's what made them so wide. I didn't make them wide. I didn't want them like that."

Some said his shin pads looked like they belonged to a goaltender or that he put phone books inside of them.

But all he did was repair them, he says.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/ludwig-still-has-pads

 

[Eisen]

I know it's been asked here before, but has anybody ever figured out which shinguard he was using? Whatever it was, it pre-dated 1978. He got them second hand during his freshman year and kept on adding duct tape and plastic to them.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/ludwig-still-has-pads

He didn't want them like that? They did it to him? I'm quite sure he could afford a new pair.

 

[Terry Yake]

hated that guy after his dirty hit on selanne

 

[ColeJ]

hated that guy after his dirty hit on selanne

the ensuing brawl was pretty great, though.

 

[kytem2]

This is actually how wide goalie pads should be.

 

[SealsFan]

Some of my buddies in pickup games as kids looked like that with magazines and egg cartons stuffed in their socks...

 

[Killion]

Some of my buddies in pickup games as kids looked like that with magazines and egg cartons stuffed in their socks...

... "egg cartons"? .... first time Ive heard of that.... dual purpose... protection, soundproof.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Holy cow, I completely forgot Ludwig played on the Islanders...

 

[Hobnobs]

Holy cow, I completely forgot Ludwig played on the Islanders...

Well it was a very forgetable performance.

 

[iamjs]

He didn't want them like that? They did it to him? I'm quite sure he could afford a new pair.

He knew what he was doing. Even in the link that I posted, he admits "if you're not cheating, you're not trying."

I think there was a comfort level thing with old equipment too. I know there are players that use equipment that is no longer available because it's what works for them (see: Teemu's Jofa 366 helmet; Irbe's Jofa 280 helmet.) And it wasn't just Ludwig's shin guards that he kept for almost two decades. His shoulder pads were just as old, but not nearly as modified.

 

[sr edler]

Love these old Pro Set cards, so simple and straight forward, and the era and players were awesome. Even Ludwig, in some strange sense.

But yeah, those pads are only to your benefit if you're an immobile stay at home shot blocking crease swimming defenseman.

 

[blood gin]

Somehow he fashioned a career for himself though. Indeed he was a weak skater. I mean Daneyko was quicker than Ludwig.

But Ludwig was tough, he blocked shots, he was a safe, responsible defenseman. No flash to his game. All grit.

 

[sr edler]

Somehow he fashioned a career for himself though. Indeed he was a weak skater. I mean Daneyko was quicker than Ludwig.

Daneyko and Ludwig have eerily similar stats, regular season and playoffs. Much more similar than any twins on skates could ever dream of.

Ludwig have 42 goals. Daneyko 41. Ludwig played 1433 games. Daneyko 1458. Ludwig have two Cups. Daneyko three.

The only real big difference between the two players is that Daneyko had 2516 regular season PIMs and Ludwig only 1437.

 

[metalan2]

Just read he had those pad from the first day of his freshman year of college until he retired in 1999

 

[Hanji]

Somehow he fashioned a career for himself though. Indeed he was a weak skater. I mean Daneyko was quicker than Ludwig.

But Ludwig was tough, he blocked shots, he was a safe, responsible defenseman. No flash to his game. All grit.

This.

He played 1,256 NHL games, spanning the run-and-gun 1980s and the 1990s dead puck era. Has two Cups to his name.
Quite an achievement for someone who's 'useless'.

 

[hacksaw7]

To me this was really a disgrace (and should've been outlawed) Ludwig was a good player, nothing against the guy, but he symbolized clutch and grab, shot blocking, low scoring rugby hockey of the mid to late 90s