Sidney Crosby’s infamous jockstrap made its first trip to Utah when the Pittsburgh Penguins were in town in January. It’s been (literally) tied to Crosby at the hip for more than 20 years and has seen approximately 1,700 games at various levels — not to mention countless practices, training camps, preseason games and off-season ice sessions.
It’s not that he can’t get a new one — the Penguins’ equipment managers, who are tasked with performing regular surgeries on the dying waistband, would be overjoyed if he did — it’s just that it’s comfortable for him. And if Sidney Crosby thinks it helps him play better, who can argue?
Utah Hockey Club defenseman Juuso Välimäki, who is representing his home country of Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off this week, also tends to hold onto his gear far longer than his equipment managers would like.
“I hate new stuff — everything,” he said. “I need a little bit of time to break the stuff in.”
That was after a recent Utah HC practice, where he sported Finland-blue gloves and pants, which he’ll wear throughout the tournament.
Valimaki already wearing his Four Nations gloves and pants from Team Finland. pic.twitter.com/Nil5lsXiHy
“I know we’ll a have a couple of days (of practice) over there, but it might not be enough for me,” he told reporters.
Välimäki was also breaking in a new pair of skates that day. He’d used his old ones since the start of the summer, which is much longer than the average NHL player holds onto a pair.
The steel blades are replaced much more frequently than the boots themselves, but problems arise when the stitching that secures the toe cap in place starts to relent, allowing wind to hit the player’s foot as he skates — something that Välimäki experienced last season.
“I’ll usually play the year with one pair of skates, which is kind of crazy,” he said. “I remember (UHC head equipment manager Stan Wilson) last year had to throw my skates out after the season. He’s like, ‘you’re done.‘”
“I know for a long time that I should change (my skates), but I just can’t wrap my head around it because they feel different and I just get in my head,” he said.
The process of breaking in equipment is different for everyone. Olli Määttä, for example, who is teammates with Välimäki both in Utah and on the Finnish national team, barely has to break it in at all.
“I think I need a day or two,” he said. “That’ll be fine. I’m sure we’re all a little different. It usually doesn’t take me much.”
Another Utah HC defenseman, Nick DeSimone, is the exact opposite of Välimäki.
“I don’t really mind new gear,” he said. “I love new skates. I’d probably wear new skates every two, three weeks if I could.”
Utah center Barrett Hayton is on Välimäki’s side. He estimates that most of his body equipment (shoulder pads, elbow pads, shin pads and pants) is about five years old, meaning he may have used some of it his entire NHL career to date.
🗣️ BARRETT HAYTON! WE'RE TIED AT 2. pic.twitter.com/gXXYHfjiAt
Hayton is also particular about his sticks.
“I can kind of feel when it’s a little long (or a) little short,” he said.
As a kid, he had a stick with a P28 curve, which is common to find at retail sporting goods stores. He’s stuck with it all the way to the NHL.
Josh Doan has also stuck with the same stick most of his life, but it’s not because he stumbled upon it at a store one day — it’s because it’s the same one his dad, Arizona Coyotes legend Shane Doan, used.
Warrior, the company that supplied Shane Doan’s sticks during the latter part of his career, would send Josh mini versions of his dad’s sticks: same make, model, curve and lie. The only differences were the size and the flex.
Josh had to diverge in junior, college and the AHL because his teams had brand deals with other manufacturers, but now that he’s playing in the NHL, he’s switched back to that same Warrior stick.
Now, to answer the inevitable question: If Shane Doan were to suddenly return to the NHL after an eight-year hiatus, could he just use his son’s sticks?
“He’d have to flex up a bit — he likes a stiffer stick,” Josh said. “But ya, he could come out and use mine and perform pretty easily.”
