Favorite Hockey Arena? Favorite Hockey Stick? Favorite Player?

[weems]

Thought it would be fun to have some hockey talk outside of the Dubas sucks, Shanny sucks, the Core sucks threads.

What position did/do you play?

What's your favorite Arena?

What's your favorite hockey stick?

Who is/was your favorite player?


Center
- So much open ice to skate and create things offensively. Also really enjoy taking faceoff and learning little techniques that help improve winning them.

Teen Ranch
- Caledon Ont, just outside of Orangeville. Literally looks like farmland from the main road but beautiful barn and has a calm vibe.

Easton Ultra Lite 2 piece
- One of the first nice graphite sticks I bought. So light and had a sharp look. Used a Wendel Clark or Sakic curve blade and even a Fredrik Modin one haha.

Joe Sakic
- Just a unreal shooter and one of the smarter players. Always liked his number also (#19)

Click to read more...

 

[Bomber0104]

What position did/do you play?

Center - growing up and now into men's league, though I'll take the odd shift at wing here and there when I'm gassed.

What's your favorite Arena?

Mostly my home arenas, Carlisle / North-Wentworth , Burlington Central/Mainway ... I liked not having long-drives to games.

What's your favorite hockey stick?

Over the years probably the Easton Stealth S17, P92, most success with that. I've switched over to Bauer sticks now.

Who is/was your favorite player?

I was pretty big into Sundin/Roberts/Tucker, basically any goalie with a cool mask, and the Detroit/Colorado teams as a kid. Now it's whoever is performing best for me in fantasy on any given week. I don't really carry attachment to any player in particular.

 

[weems]

What position did/do you play?

Center - growing up and now into men's league, though I'll take the odd shift at wing here and there when I'm gassed.

What's your favorite Arena?

Mostly my home arenas, Carlisle / North-Wentworth , Burlington Central/Mainway ... I liked not having long-drives to games.

What's your favorite hockey stick?

Over the years probably the Easton Stealth S17, P92, most success with that. I've switched over to Bauer sticks now.

Who is/was your favorite player?

I was pretty big into Sundin/Roberts/Tucker, basically any goalie with a cool mask, and the Detroit/Colorado teams as a kid. Now it's whoever is performing best for me in fantasy on any given week. I don't really carry attachment to any player in particular.

How much did that Easton Stealth cost when you bought it?

Just looked at stick prices the other day and was shocked how expensive they are.

 

[Bomber0104]

How much did that Easton Stealth cost when you bought it?

Just looked at stick prices the other day and was shocked how expensive they are.

View attachment 713451

That would have been one-of if not the final purchase from my old man I think

Probably in the $200-250 range at the time.

I cap my stick purchases at $150-200 now and they usually last 2-3 years of year-round play before the end of the blade turns into an edge weapon.

 

[freshwind]

What position did/do you play?
played RW and D

What's your favorite Arena?
showing my age - the old Hamilton Forum and the Ancaster Doublerinks

What's your favorite hockey stick?
age again .. wooden - loved the Kohos when they first came out but my favourite was a short lived stick called the Ryon Montreal Surprise

Who is/was your favorite player?
hard to say - liked Keon, Horton, Salming, Sittler, Sundin ... and everyones favourite LONNY BOHONOS !!!

 

[weems]

What position did/do you play?
played RW and D

What's your favorite Arena?
showing my age - the old Hamilton Forum and the Ancaster Doublerinks

What's your favorite hockey stick?
age again .. wooden - loved the Kohos when they first came out but my favourite was a short lived stick called the Ryon Montreal Surprise

Who is/was your favorite player?
hard to say - liked Keon, Horton, Salming, Sittler, Sundin ... and everyones favourite LONNY BOHONOS !!!

I had never heard of that stick before

Is this it?

 

[freshwind]

I had never heard of that stick before

Is this it?

View attachment 713461

more like this one ... this looks more like it

only sold around here for a season or 2 it seemed in the early/mid 70's if i recall

 

[Boxscore]

What position do you play?
Forward and defense. Played mostly C and LW as a kid and through high school. In men's league, I'm now playing F or D but prefer defense at my age.

What is your favorite arena?
Historically (in order) the Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Gardens, Philadelphia Spectrum, Madison Square Garden, Bell Centre in Montreal. From a playing standpoint, there's an arena megaplax in the Philly area where I live called IceWorks.

What's your favorite hockey stick?
Growing up it was a white with red Titan TPM 2020 and a Canadien Pro Fiberglass. Now it's a Warrior Covert Pavelski/Wisniewski curve.

Who is/was your favorite hockey player?
Such a hard question. Mario Lemieux is ultimately my all-time favorite player, which is ludicrous considering I have lived in Philly my entire life. But right after Mario there's a group which includes...

Borje Salming, Phil Esposito, Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, Rick Tocchet, Pavel Bure, Chris Chelios, Bobby Clarke, Davie Keon, Wendel Clark, Dougie Gilmour, Brian Leetch, Cam Neely, Pelle Lindbergh, and Daniel Briere.

Modern day it's Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Auston Matthews, Victor Hedman, Nate MacKinnon, Mitch Marner, Rasmus Dahlin, Elias Pettersson, Cale Makar, and David Pastrnak.

 

[weems]

What position do you play?
Forward and defense. Played mostly C and LW as a kid and through high school. In men's league, I'm now playing F or D but prefer defense at my age.

What is your favorite arena?
Historically (in order) the Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Gardens, Philadelphia Spectrum, Madison Square Garden, Bell Centre in Montreal. From a playing standpoint, there's an arena megaplax in the Philly area where I live called IceWorks.

What's your favorite hockey stick?
Growing up it was a white with red Titan TPM 2020 and a Canadien Pro Fiberglass. Now it's a Warrior Covert Pavelski/Wisniewski curve.

Who is/was your favorite hockey player?
Such a hard question. Mario Lemieux is ultimately my all-time favorite player, which is ludicrous considering I have lived in Philly my entire life. But right after Mario there's a group which includes...

Borje Salming, Phil Esposito, Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, Rick Tocchet, Pavel Bure, Chris Chelios, Bobby Clarke, Davie Keon, Wendel Clark, Dougie Gilmour, Brian Leetch, Cam Neely, Pelle Lindbergh, and Daniel Briere.

Modern day it's Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Auston Matthews, Victor Hedman, Nate MacKinnon, Mitch Marner, Rasmus Dahlin, Elias Pettersson, Cale Makar, and David Pastrnak.

Interesting that you were a Flyers fan but not a Lindros fan?

 

[MarMarSab3]

Position: RD or and C
Favorite arena: George Bell or McKormicks
Favorite stick: Koho Revolution with the Lemieux curve
Favorite player: Mats Sundin

 

[weems]

Position: RD or and C
Favorite arena: George Bell or McKormicks
Favorite stick: Koho Revolution with the Lemieux curve
Favorite player: Mats Sundin

Mats was such a great player.

Looking back feels like he was somewhat underrated by our fanbase during his prime.

 

[the squared circle]

Position - right wing
Arena - Downsview Arena, Maple Leaf Gardens
Stick - the white Titan Mike Bossy signature (circa 1982)
Player - Mike Bossy and Wendel Clark

Oh I forgot to lol at Teen Ranch - we had our grade 8 overnight trip there. Great times!!!!

 

[Boxscore]

Interesting that you were a Flyers fan but not a Lindros fan?

Oh, I loved Lindros, but he was never among my all-time favorite Flyers, mainly due to the drama, and way he tended to fold during the biggest moments. But, I'll tell you, I was at his very first game in Philly -- preseason vs. the Devils and he was something! Eric Lindros, for my money, was the greatest what if in NHL history.

The Flyers were by far my favorite team growing up until 1992-93 when I truly fell in love with the Burns, Gilmour, Clark Leafs. In the 80s I was a huge Salming fan and Keon before him, but the Leafs were in the Norris and I didn't see them much, if at all, on TV. I was also a big Nordiques fan so when Sundin was traded to Toronto, it cemented by passion for the Leafs.

The Flyers still hold a special place in my heart but it's pure nostalgia. The way Comcast ran them into the ground and treated the fans after Mr. Snider's passing is pure criminal. Maybe it will change some with Briere and Jones calling the shots, time will tell.

To your point though, Lindros, at his best, was a special, special player.

Fun thread btw.

 

[weems]

Oh, I loved Lindros, but he was never among my all-time favorite Flyers, mainly due to the drama, and way he tended to fold during the biggest moments. But, I'll tell you, I was at his very first game in Philly -- preseason vs. the Devils and he was something! Eric Lindros, for my money, was the greatest what if in NHL history.

The Flyers were by far my favorite team growing up until 1992-93 when I truly fell in love with the Burns, Gilmour, Clark Leafs. In the 80s I was a huge Salming fan and Keon before him, but the Leafs were in the Adams and I didn't see them much, if at all, on TV. I was also a huge Nordiques fan so when Sundin was traded to Toronto, it cemented by passion for the Leafs.

The Flyers still hold a special place in my heart but it's pure nostalgia. The way Comcast ran them into the ground and treated the fans after Mr. Snider's passing is pure criminal. Maybe it will change some with Briere and Jones calling the shots, time will tell.

To your point though, Lindros, at his best, was a special, special player.

Yes he was a machine really.
Not many players in the history of the sport had his combination of power and skill.
Kind of sucked that he only played 33 games as a Leaf and was no longer that force.

I still look at his first full season with the Oshawa Generals

57games played, 71 goals, 78 assists, 149 pts, and 189 PIMs

 

[Boxscore]

Mats was such a great player.

Looking back feels like he was somewhat underrated by our fanbase during his prime.

Mats was an amazing player and very underrated by most. He was a horse that you could build a franchise around. I always considered Mats a Mario Lemieux light. He was a large centerman that shot right and could do it all. Mats lacked Mario's demigod skills but was more durable. Outside of a few additions like Mogilny, Roberts, and Cujo, the Leafs failed to give Sundin the supporting cast he needed to win anything significant.

In today's game, Anze Kopitar, Aleksander Barkov, and Mikko Rantanen always reminded me a lot of Sundin -- the difference is they all have better toys to play with. Look at Barkov now that he has someone like Tkachuk to relieve some of the pressure. Mats was the undisputed franchise in Toronto with very little supporting cast.

 

[Boxscore]

Not many players in the history of the sport had his combination of power and skill.
Kind of sucked that he only played 33 games as a Leaf and was no longer that force.

There is a short list that includes Gordie, Messier, and perhaps prime Neely. At his best, Lindros was better than any PF peers such as Shanahan, Clark, Roenick, Nolan, Tkachuk, Guerin, Holik, Primeau, Graves, etc. His Achilles heel was not learning to keep his head up in Oshawa. That, and having his parents so involved in his business.

He was a monster indeed. And his dream was to play for the Leafs. It is a shame he only had a cup of coffee in Toronto when his best days were behind him.

 

[Gallagbi]

Position - Defense
Arena - MLG and the old Joe for watching. For playing there was a twin pad out near Ridgeway that had a McDonalds for a concession stand. Pretty sweet for 10 year old me killing time between tournament games (there is a chance im mistaken on it being Ridgeway, but its how my memory blurs it together)
Stick - Too many to pick one. I loved the TPS rubber before transitioning to a ridiculous amount of OPS. For the newer age sticks i still say the XN10 was 5 years ahead of its time.
Player - Forsberg was top of my list.

 

[weems]

There is a short list that includes Gordie, Messier, and perhaps prime Neely. At his best, Lindros was better than any PF peers such as Shanahan, Clark, Roenick, Nolan, Tkachuk, Guerin, Holik, Primeau, Graves, etc. His Achilles heel was not learning to keep his head up in Oshawa. That, and having his parents so involved in his business.

He was a monster indeed. And his dream was to play for the Leafs. It is a shame he only had a cup of coffee in Toronto when his best days were behind him.

That was also a time when you couldn't really watch out of town games.

Could you imagine if he had played in Toronto from the start and in his prime?

 

[Boxscore]

I loved the TPS rubber

Back in the day I had a Keith Tkachuk TPS rubber shaft.

 

[weems]

Position - Defense
Arena - MLG and the old Joe for watching. For playing there was a twin pad out near Ridgeway that had a McDonalds for a concession stand. Pretty sweet for 10 year old me killing time between tournament games (there is a chance im mistaken on it being Ridgeway, but its how my memory blurs it together)
Stick - Too many to pick one. I loved the TPS rubber before transitioning to a ridiculous amount of OPS. For the newer age sticks i still say the XN10 was 5 years ahead of its time.
Player - Forsberg was top of my list.

MLG was an amazing hockey arena.
The lighting, the atmosphere was just so electric.
Didn't it also have a repuation for having very good ice?

 

[Boxscore]

Could you imagine if he had played in Toronto from the start and in his prime?

He would have been bigger than Kennedy, Apps, Mahovlich, Keon, Sittler, Salming, Sundin, Gilmour, or Wendel. The way fans love Matthews would be a drop in the bucket to how hockey-mad Toronto would have loved Lindros in the 90s. It would be like combining Sundin, Clark, Tiger, and Matthews into one Frankenstein monster with 88 on his sweater.

 

[Gallagbi]

Back in the day I had a Keith Tkachuk TPS rubber shaft.

His prostock? Thing must have been near indestructible

MLG was an amazing hockey arena.
The lighting, the atmosphere was just so electric.
Didn't it also have a repuation for having very good ice?

I have a ton of great memories going to games as a kiddo. I skated on it in the last few years, but i dont remember ever going on it pre closure. Ice was definitely known to be better than the ACC

 

[Boxscore]

His prostock? Thing must have been near indestructible

Not prostock, retail. But it was a great and durable shaft.

 

[Cams]

Position: As a kid playing, I was mostly D. Once I got into playing beer league I usually played C. Was never the fastest skater, but I always thought I had good hockey smarts, and was better as a defensive C/FWD. Now...I just play pick up hockey and am content on playing D.....the hands and mind are still there, but the legs/lungs aren't (working on that though).

Favourite arena: Can't really pick a favourite to play in - I played on the ice at Joe Louis Arena a couple times, and that was neat, but not anything to get too excited over. Some of the best ice I've played on would be the old Belle River arena, and have to admit playing at the old Windsor Arena was cool. Favourite to watch a game would be either MLG or Windsor Arena, but I will never forget my one game at the old Chicago Stadium (Leafs won).

Favourite stick: I grew up with a wood stick, which then transition to having the fibreglass with wood sandwiched between, then the good ol' aluminum shafts were out (Easton aluminum). One the composite sticks out though I sure loved the Bauer Supreme One90 - I had a Ryan Shannon prostock - it was perfect for me. If I had to pick a blade from the days when you used a wood blade in either the alum or comp shaft it was the Pat Verbeek (Hespeler brand) pattern, which is probably close to todays Bauer P91A

Favourite player: Growing up as a kid it was Sittler.....later on either Clark or Gilmour, then Tucker, but I used to love watching guys like Cam Neely. Now - I'd have to probably say Matthews? Don't really have a favourite player now.

 

[notDatsyuk]

What position did/do you play?

Defence and goal. Hung up the goal pads when I tore my acl (not playing goal) when I was 50. Still playing D at 70, in an over-45 league.

What's your favorite Arena?

Maple Leaf Gardens (I think they missed a huge opportunity when it didn't become the HHOF, although I know the timing didn't work out). Second choice is the old Montreal Forum, probably the best place ever to watch a game, even as a Leafs fan.

What's your favorite hockey stick?

I always liked the CCM and Bauer wooden sticks - no real preference on the newer ones. I preferred a straight blade - I shoot left but play a lot on the right side, and I learned to switch hands from a friend who played junior with Gordie Howe, who taught him.

Who is/was your favorite player?

Tim Horton and Johnny Bower when I was growing up. One year I was a practice goalie for Brian Conacher's old-timers, and he told me I reminded him of Bower - one of my favorite compliments.

More recently Salming, Gilmour, Komarov, and Nylander.

Non Leafs, always a big fan of Jean Beliveau, along with Johnny Bucyk, Gordie Howe, Nicklas Lidstrom, Jarri Kurri, and Sidney Crosby.