The New Hockey "Therma Blades"

Tory Weber, a hockey enthusiast from Calgary has invented something that may change the way hockey is played. He has created a pair of hockeyblades that uses the idea of a heated ice-skate blade that would yield a better glide with less effot. After years of planning and commercilization, the skate blade comes on sale this month. It has also already been approved by the NHL for use.

"Weber was still “poor as a church mouse” when, in 2001, he read about the development of a battery small enough to fit inside the molded plastic that holds a hockey skate’s blade. He and a partner, Jeremy Furzer, began running tests and soon found that heated blades, which melt more ice and thus glide on a slightly thicker layer of water, can produce 50 to 75 percent less resistance to motion. “I thought, Gee whiz, if we had a 5 or 10 percent difference we’d be in good shape,” Weber says. "(NY TIMES) The company describes the blades as having a mini pair of zambonis infront of your feet.

Video clips shown at the skates release depicted trials between two players, one running on cold skates, the other running on warm ones and the results depicted that the warm blades allowed players to perform stronger, faster strokes when starting up on a run and tighter, more precise turns when weaving around pylons or skating in Tornado drills.

The Statistics released include a reduction in starting friction by 65%-75%, sliding friction by 50%-55%, and an overall improvement by 10. They claim that will also translate into a reduction in the player’s heart rate, lower oxygen demand, increased stamina, and so less fatigue throughout a game.

When they made their pitch to large skate manufacturers, the companies liked the idea but said to come back when it was fully commercialized. That happened again and again. In 2004 Wayne Gretzky signed on as an endorssor of the blades. And already serveral unidentified NHL players are currently using the therma blades as part of a test by the NHL.

I feel that it is to early to say whether or not these blades will truly change the face of hockey, or affect the game at all. An increase in speed done by mechanical means does not seem fair to me, however I will wait and see how the blades turn out in actual play conditions.

-Ben Out