Are the pad length changes causing all these goalie injuries?

[hisgirlfriday]

Rick DiPietro was at his engaging best.

He required a volunteer to illustrate his point about how new, shorter pads will put additional strain on the groin muscles of butterfly-style goalies and explain a rash of goalie injuries. An employee of the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League, the team with which the No. 1 pick in the 2000 NHL Draft and former franchise goalie for the New York Islanders is currently on a tryout, was pressed into service.

"Do it for me a second, go down on your knees," instructed DiPietro, standing in the locker room of the Checkers' practice facility. "Flare your feet out like you're in a butterfly. So my legs are flatter like this. These pads used to be 37 [inches] now they're 33 so there's four inches [less] almost, OK?

"Now for me to get these closed where I don't have a five-hole anymore, I've got to pull my knees all the way together like this. Now pull your knees together and try to sit back and feel the … strain on your groin. … It's almost natural that something bad's going to happen."

After Crawford's lower-body injury last night that was so oh so similar to what we saw from Khabibulin when he went down with a groin strain and all the other groin strains there have been across the NHL this season, can't help but think there is something to this.

Click to read more...

 

[CPHawksFan]

After Crawford's lower-body injury last night that was so oh so similar to what we saw from Khabibulin when he went down with a groin strain and all the other groin strains there have been across the NHL this season, can't help but think there is something to this.

Interesting...I wouldn't doubt that the shorter pads have at least something to do it.

I guess the NHL wanted to increase scoring...and taking out starting goalies because of injuries is definitely one way to do that.

 

[Hank4Hart]

absolutely yes. ask any goalie before the season started we'd tell you this was coming.

the nhl as a whole keeps trying to find ways to artificially "increase scoring", they have been changing up the regulation to goalie gear repeatedly in the last decade, first it was the 12" to 11" inch (which I can understand), then it was limiting the size of the pads to a max of 38" (whether it was enroth or ben bishop who is a foot taller), then they decided that it should be proportional, then they decide that they should reduce the thigh rise.

you can't just constantly introduce changes to goalie gears like that! goalies unlike other position have a much closer "bond" if you will with their equipment. you can't just ask goalies who spend years and years of training with a specific size of gear to be just handed a new pad and not have injuries!

goalies have developed a muscle memory from many years of playing, all of a sudden this new change of gear sizing requires them to adapt, with this thigh rise reduction goalies often go down on the b-fly only to realize that five hole is still open and so they try to close up the five hole and extending their legs out for the butterfly save at the same time. when you try to use your muscle to go in opposite directions simultaneously you end up getting hurt.

see quick, bobrovsky, crawford, khabibulin all going hurt in the same manner (there are more goalies but i cant think of them off my head).

i am not saying that goalie gear can't be reduced, i think its good that they have a fair limitation on sizing. but its absolutely ridiculous that the NHL keeps switching it up every couple years and messing with the goalies prior training. its unfortunate because theres only a small group of goalies in the league and their voices will never be able to over come the rest of the league. goalies always get the short end of the stick. all the players (see rangers players and canucks players), have these extra padding on their hockey gloves so they can block shots fearlessly without concern about injuring their fingers. they added like this 2 inch kevlar pad to their gloves to prevent broken fingers after callahan got his fractured. So why exactly is it that players are allowed to wear extra protection to block shots and the goalies have to wear less gear when the goalie's primary role is to block shots in the first place?? maybeeee if the players might break a bone or two they would think twice before laying in front of the puck recklessly? that alone will dramatically increase scoring way more than 1 or 2 inches off the goalies pads. hell, save percentage has actually gone up this year and its higher than its ever been before in league history. good job NHL.

stuff like that just makes the goalie in me want to pull my hair out.

/end rant.

 

[ColdSteel2]

Crawford's injury was from overuse and was expected. Khaby is just old.

 

[Hawksfan2828]

absolutely yes. ask any goalie before the season started we'd tell you this was coming.

the nhl as a whole keeps trying to find ways to artificially "increase scoring", they have been changing up the regulation to goalie gear repeatedly in the last decade, first it was the 12" to 11" inch (which I can understand), then it was limiting the size of the pads to a max of 38" (whether it was enroth or ben bishop who is a foot taller), then they decided that it should be proportional, then they decide that they should reduce the thigh rise.

you can't just constantly introduce changes to goalie gears like that! goalies unlike other position have a much closer "bond" if you will with their equipment. you can't just ask goalies who spend years and years of training with a specific size of gear to be just handed a new pad and not have injuries!

goalies have developed a muscle memory from many years of playing, all of a sudden this new change of gear sizing requires them to adapt, with this thigh rise reduction goalies often go down on the b-fly only to realize that five hole is still open and so they try to close up the five hole and extending their legs out for the butterfly save at the same time. when you try to use your muscle to go in opposite directions simultaneously you end up getting hurt.

see quick, bobrovsky, crawford, khabibulin all going hurt in the same manner (there are more goalies but i cant think of them off my head).

i am not saying that goalie gear can't be reduced, i think its good that they have a fair limitation on sizing. but its absolutely ridiculous that the NHL keeps switching it up every couple years and messing with the goalies prior training. its unfortunate because theres only a small group of goalies in the league and their voices will never be able to over come the rest of the league. goalies always get the short end of the stick. all the players (see rangers players and canucks players), have these extra padding on their hockey gloves so they can block shots fearlessly without concern about injuring their fingers. they added like this 2 inch kevlar pad to their gloves to prevent broken fingers after callahan got his fractured. So why exactly is it that players are allowed to wear extra protection to block shots and the goalies have to wear less gear when the goalie's primary role is to block shots in the first place?? maybeeee if the players might break a bone or two they would think twice before laying in front of the puck recklessly? that alone will dramatically increase scoring way more than 1 or 2 inches off the goalies pads. hell, save percentage has actually gone up this year and its higher than its ever been before in league history. good job NHL.

stuff like that just makes the goalie in me want to pull my hair out.

/end rant.

I was going to post pretty much the exact same thing...

Also, I think these smaller pads are causing a lot of hyper-extensions on kick saves which in turn will lead to a lot of groin pulls and potentially hip problems.