Something strange is happening over at Easton

MattGTI

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Dec 4, 2010
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Plenty of up-and-coming brands in Hockey right now... A lot of pro's are even using gear.. Mitch Marner just signed on with "True Hockey", JT Miller, Vinny Trochek, Frans Nielsen and more have switched over to STX hockey... I'd also expect Sher-Wood and maybe even Tackla to make a push to broaden themselves too... It's just a changing of the guard I guess..

Sherwood exited the NHL this season. I don't see them coming back to the NHL game in any way. The licensing fee just costs too much. They make great products, they are downsizing though. Look at their 2016 lineup of products.

Bauer isn't going anywhere. They will file bankruptcy and restructure. Nothing is going to change for anyone that uses Bauer equipment/skates/sticks.
 

pix530

Registered User
Apr 19, 2013
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Sounds weird, they just bought Easton to file bankruptcy.

E700 is best helmet I ever had. Much better than Bauers, CCMs...
11K and Warrior come 2nd and 3rd.
 

deathbear

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Jul 8, 2003
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i went through sportcheck yesterday and noticed there were all about 3 easton sticks left, everything else is gone.

i've noticed a few NHL players still use easton sticks, but considering they haven't manufactured any since last summer (i believe anyway) just how many sticks have these players been able to stockpile? considering how quickly they burn through them, they must have stockpiled to the nines
 

Jisatsu

Registered User
May 17, 2013
215
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You guys must not remember what happened to Cooper (ugh I miss their stuff), and definitely don't remember what happened to Bauer when Nike entered the scene. Reebok did the same thing to CCM. It's just the cycle of things. Gear comes and goes, brands come and go. I just wish the MAP and MSRP's wouldn't keep going up every year. It's harder and harder to buy new gear these days without a credit card.
 
Jan 21, 2011
5,236
3,882
Massachusetts
Don’t mean to bring up an old thread. Just noticed recently that Rickard Rakell has reverted back to his old Easton Synergy stick, but it’s mostly blacked out. If he were to use a mint condition Easton sticks would he get into some kind of trouble from the league?
 

EightyOne

My posts are jokes. And hockey is just a game.
Nov 23, 2016
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Don’t mean to bring up an old thread. Just noticed recently that Rickard Rakell has reverted back to his old Easton Synergy stick, but it’s mostly blacked out. If he were to use a mint condition Easton sticks would he get into some kind of trouble from the league?

Yes. Manufacturers sign deals to be able to have 'on ice' branding. Players are free to use whatever equipment they want, but if the company does not have a current on-ice contract with the NHL, they must black out all logos/destroy the branding on the item. When using old equipment from a manufacturer with a current deal, the manufacturer may require the player to put branding on their gear that more closely matches what is currently sold.

Quite a few players are still using Sher-Wood gloves or Easton helmets in the league---they just have zero branding (SJS Vlasic is a prime example no helmet, no pant, no glove branding...even stick seems obscured)
628962976.jpg

League allowed Easton through last season, this year, nope. Kessel's Easton sticks are also obscured this year.

NOW, whether the player would be fined, sent off the ice, or the team disciplined in some way--I don't know, could be a mix of all three. I know it sometimes takes equipment managers a bit to get everything sorted and there is a lot of grace period allowed by the league---but eventually I'd guess an angry memo gets sent by the marketing department.
 
Jan 21, 2011
5,236
3,882
Massachusetts
Yes. Manufacturers sign deals to be able to have 'on ice' branding. Players are free to use whatever equipment they want, but if the company does not have a current on-ice contract with the NHL, they must black out all logos/destroy the branding on the item. When using old equipment from a manufacturer with a current deal, the manufacturer may require the player to put branding on their gear that more closely matches what is currently sold.

Quite a few players are still using Sher-Wood gloves or Easton helmets in the league---they just have zero branding (SJS Vlasic is a prime example no helmet, no pant, no glove branding...even stick seems obscured)
628962976.jpg

League allowed Easton through last season, this year, nope. Kessel's Easton sticks are also obscured this year.

NOW, whether the player would be fined, sent off the ice, or the team disciplined in some way--I don't know, could be a mix of all three. I know it sometimes takes equipment managers a bit to get everything sorted and there is a lot of grace period allowed by the league---but eventually I'd guess an angry memo gets sent by the marketing department.


Thanks for the explanation. It’s crazy to think how in a matter of 2-3 years Easton went from being a big hockey brand to nothing now.
 
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Grodon

Registered User
Apr 9, 2017
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It’s crazy to think how in a matter of 2-3 years Easton went from being a big hockey brand to nothing now.

They had the best skates (people are still paying top dollar for any Mako II that they can get their hands on), really good sticks and helmets. It must've been some crazy mismanagement, coupled with the fact that hockey equipment is not a very profitable business (due to the fact that high-entry cost prohibit a large audience, and the fact that the secondary/used market is so strong). I think now the only money left is in super light composite sticks.
 
Jan 21, 2011
5,236
3,882
Massachusetts
They had the best skates (people are still paying top dollar for any Mako II that they can get their hands on), really good sticks and helmets. It must've been some crazy mismanagement, coupled with the fact that hockey equipment is not a very profitable business (due to the fact that high-entry cost prohibit a large audience, and the fact that the secondary/used market is so strong). I think now the only money left is in super light composite sticks.

It’s funny, before you replied to this thread I was actually thinking about some old stick/equipment manufacturers that I used to see even when I was playing at a very young age. Companies like Koho, ITech, Pallas, Cooper, and (my favorite), TPS were dominant at one point, but now they feed it into the abyss.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like CCM was once a dying brand but then had a resurgence in the late 2000s
 

EightyOne

My posts are jokes. And hockey is just a game.
Nov 23, 2016
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Looking over at my pile of old sticks...
These are dead or dying:
Winnwell
Titan
Louisville
Canadien
Christian


My favorite helmet and pants from way back were from Cooper. Jofa shit was cool too. Mission skates weren't bad for me.

I'm still rocking some Itech gloves...so comfy a decade and a half old lol.

CCM was bankrupt in 2004 but bought out by Reebok...and eventually Adidas before being sold to a private equity firm in 2015. CCM ended up buying a bunch of the smaller brands with this influx of money from Reebok. Basically, kill your competition to get relevant again, type of thing.

As it is, it's looking like we'll have a choice of CCM or Bauer only soon. Both have either bought up everything. With the only competition being various companies trying to offer custom gear....which these big companies are starting to get into as well, so who knows how long the boutique companies will survive even.
 
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Terry Yake

Registered User
Aug 5, 2013
26,847
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Looking over at my pile of old sticks...
These are dead or dying:
Winnwell
Titan
Louisville
Canadien
Christian


My favorite helmet and pants from way back were from Cooper. Jofa **** was cool too. Mission skates weren't bad for me.

I'm still rocking some Itech gloves...so comfy a decade and a half old lol.

CCM was bankrupt in 2004 but bought out by Reebok...and eventually Adidas before being sold to a private equity firm in 2015. CCM ended up buying a bunch of the smaller brands with this influx of money from Reebok. Basically, kill your competition to get relevant again, type of thing.

As it is, it's looking like we'll have a choice of CCM or Bauer only soon. Both have either bought up everything. With the only competition being various companies trying to offer custom gear....which these big companies are starting to get into as well, so who knows how long the boutique companies will survive even.

warrior? they seem to be doing alright

but yeah you basically have the choice between 3 brands these days (ccm, bauer, warrior.)
 
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