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EQUIPMENT BEAT
NHL Considers Equipment Changes to Increase Goal Scoring
 The NHL's decline in goal-scoring was a hot topic at the general managers' meetings earlier this month. Colin Campbell, the NHL senior vice president of hockey operations, said the league is looking to reduce the size of goalie equipment for the 2016-17 season, which has fueled a lot of debate throughout the league.
Using bigger nets is also an option that was discussed. That would have an impact at other levels of play that would want to use nets the same size as the NHL. There are also construction issues since a wider net would require new holes in an ice arena's cement.
Through the first 215 games of the NHL season the average goals scored was at 5.32. Last season finished at 5.46 a game and in 2009-10 it was 5.53, according to a Yahoo.com report. The average goals per game in 1981-82 was 8.025 and in 1985-86 it was 7.937, according to quanthockey.com..
But advancements in the quality of goalie equipment, coupled with changes in technique for playing the position by players such as Patrick Roy, helped slow the flow of pucks finding the net. Roy, who now coaches the Colorado Avalanche, told ESPN.com it's a good idea to have larger nets and smaller goalie equipment.
Click here to read the SportsNet Canada story on possible changes for NHL goalies.
 Mike Cammalleri became the first player in New Jersey Devils history to wear No. 13 when he switched from No. 23 in the summer. No one with the Devils had been allowed to wear No. 13 because former owner John McMullen was believed to have banned it for superstitious reasons. General manager Lou Lamoriello continued the tradition until he left for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the offseason.
The Devils had also rarely given out numbers higher than 40, but Eric Gelinas became just their 10th player to do so when he switched to 44 in the offseason. The Devils announced this summer they were allowing fans with old jerseys of Cammalleri, Gelinas and Jordin Tootoo, who made the apt switch to 22, to exchange them for new ones as long as they were officially licensed merchandise purchased at the Devils team store or the NHL.com shop.
According to Sports Illustrated, the Minnesota Wild are the only NHL team that has never had a player wear number 13. It is also the only number between 1 and 20 that has not been officially retired by an NHL team.
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GIVING BACK
Canadiens' Carey Price, CCM
Support Youth League
 Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price wanted to make sure kids have top-quality equipment in the British Columbia area that was instrumental to his success. Price teamed with CCM to send skates, sticks, helmets and pads worth thousands of dollars to the Williams Lake Minor Hockey Association, the local Boys and Girls Club, KidSport, JumpStart, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and three First Nations Communities.
The Canadian Press reported players and parents are excited "tired and tattered" gear will be replaced for nearly 20 house-league teams. Price, who played for Williams Lake from age 9 to 15, is in his ninth year with the Canadiens. Last season he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player and the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Bauer's Second "Own The Moment" Store Opens in Minnesota
 Bauer opened its second "Own The Moment" retail experience last weekend in Bloomington, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The store opened in the location formerly owned by Hockey Giant.
Bauer's first "Own The Moment" store opened in the Boston suburb of Burlington in August. The company's plan is to have up to 10 stores in key U.S. and Canada hockey markets in the next few years.
Click here to read more about the "Own The Moment' opening in Minnesota.
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NUMBERS NORTH OF THE BORDER
Canadians No Longer NHL Majority
 Hockey has long been regarded as Canada's game. But for the first time in the 98-year history of the NHL, the number of players from north of the U.S. border is south of the majority.
Canadian-born players made up just 49.7 percent of the 680 players to appear in an NHL game in the first two weeks of the 2015-16 season. Last year Canadians made up 51.8 percent of NHL rosters and in 2013-14 it was 53.4 percent.
The 24.2 percent of American-born NHL players is actually down slightly from 24.8 percent the last two seasons. But there is a record number of Swedish players at 9.1 percent and Russian players are at 4.5 percent.
Popularity Gap of Youth Soccer Widens Over Hockey in Canada
Using the feet and a ball continues to increase in popularity with Canadian kids over using skates and a puck. Soccer is the most popular team sport among those ages 3-17 with hockey at No. 2, according to the Canadian Youth Sports Report.
In 2014, there were 236,000 more kids 3-17 registered to play soccer than hockey. Seventeen years ago, 32 percent of Canadian kids 5-14 played soccer and a little less than 30 percent played hockey and five years ago the percentages were 42 for soccer and 22 for hockey.
The cost - the yearly average of $1,600 for hockey to about $700 for soccer - is one reason cited for the growth of soccer. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was watched by 30.7 million Canadians and Major League Soccer (MLS) has three Canadian franchises in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.
Click here to read the full story from The McGill Daily.
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HOCKEY BUSINESS
2015 Business of Ice Hockey Report
Now Available
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JOIN OR RENEW NOW! Now is the time to become a new member or renew your membership with the Hockey Dealers Association. You can do it easily by clicking here to fill out an application and learn more about the benefits of being a part of the voice for hockey dealers. Back to top |
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Apply Now for HDA/SDC
Hockey Collaboration
The collaboration for the purchase of hockey equipment by U.S. hockey dealers between the HDA and National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) and SDC (Sports Distributors of Canada) continues to grow as it enters its third year.
Click here to learn more about how the collaboration works and to fill out an inquiry form to start the process. Members of the collaboration take advantage of access to various products and discounts to help their bottom line.
There is no obligation to complete the form. Criteria used by SDC to determine participation may include a minimum sales volume of $200,000 in annual wholesale hockey products, credit rating, proximity to existing members and meeting certain store standards.
Don't delay and inquire today!
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NSGA Research Now Available!
NSGA recently released the 2015 Editions of its Sports Participation and Sporting Goods Market reports - must-have documents for any organization looking for key insights into the Sporting Goods Industry.
For more than 30 years, NSGA has been the Industry's leader in providing reliable research and information to sporting goods executives.
Read the topline results.
How many sporting goods shoppers visit a physical store prior to purchasing a product? What about the technology-savvy Millennial generation?
Find out the answers to these questions and get an overview of the topics covered in NSGA's first-ever sporting goods shopper insight study by clicking here.
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Did you know?
 From 1977-1994, NHL officials such as Hall of Famer Ray Scapinello wore jerseys with their last names on the back and no numbers.
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What's your beef?
Have an issue or problem related to the hockey industry? A concern about equipment or rules that you'd like to share with everyone?
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We want
your news!
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We want to stay on top of the latest industry news and information, so if you have something to share please send an email to Marty Maciaszek.
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Join HDA now!
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Become a member of the Hockey Dealers Association and help us build a voice for the independent hockey dealer. Visit our website
by clicking here or calling (800) 815-5422, ext. 1260 to join today.
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Please Contact Us
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c/o NSGA
1601 Feehanville Drive Suite 300
Mt. Prospect, IL 60056
(800) 815-5422 ext. 1260.
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HDA members received an electronic co
