As a Canadian, I am happy that I finally have an excuse to blog about hockey. Since the beginning of the game, I can think of several technologies that advanced the game. Synthetic goalie equipment, composite sticks and that awful glowing puck(non-advancing technology) come to mind.
Heated skates might be the next big thing. Reuters has posted an article about this new technology.
[they] cut down on friction and allow players to move faster and save energy.
[a] resistor heats the blade to 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit), or just above freezing point, and thickens the film of water between ice and blade that acts as a lubricant and makes skating possible.
tests showed the blades cut friction between blade and ice by 50 percent.
I will not be convinced that these will have an impact on the game until I see the official results of their testing. I am not even sure if the NHL will legalize these if they do work out to be beneficial. The data on the Thermablade website, like most product pages, are not backed up by statistics and there is a lot of anecdotal evidence.
Here is the Thermablade product page.
I’m highly skeptical that heated blades are going to make inroads, particularly if prices stay high. They remind of the disposable blades that were all the rage a couple year ago based on the idea that you could pop in a new blade rather than getting your blades sharpened again and again. As far as I can tell, very few players are using them.