"We alter some gloves to add more padding in certain places for different players," Wilson said. "We also add padding if a player has an injury he's trying to play through. We can sew two fingers together and put in plastic for protection, like with a broken finger. At the same time, I have to make it not appear like a red flag to alert the other team."

NHL home-team equipment managers typically share tools with their visiting counterparts, knowing full well the shoe could be on the other foot. He's lent his and borrowed others. It keeps the NHL going.

"Most teams have sewing machines so if we're on the road we rely on the home team to make the equipment available," Wilson said. "We re-palm gloves, usually only twice, because by then the plastic and foam in them have broken down. We do a lot of patching in the palms.

"One thing I think we do differently: Most people put a patch on the outside of the glove in the palm. But the players feel that so we put the patch on the inside of the glove.

Wilson has had to deal with player superstitions as well as legitimate requests. Keeping players happy is Wilson's main goal regardless of the extra work it might cause him.

"When we had Nikolai Khabibulin in the playoffs, he wouldn't change skates," Wilson recalled. "He'll go three years in the same skates. So, one playoff game, the sole popped away from the boot. We used a bleach bottle to cut out a piece of plastic in the shape of a sole and rebuilt the boot so he could get through the game before having to break in a new pair. In our job, you have to go with the flow and make things work."

In Canada, Wilson was one of many people tinkering with hockey equipment. In Phoenix, most residents would view him as a guy with arcane interests. That is, in a metropolitan area three times as populated as Winnipeg's, there's about one-tenth as many people who know what he knows about fixing hockey equipment.

"Of course, there's differences in the hockey cultures in the various NHL cities," Wilson said. "In Winnipeg, you could find a guy on every corner who could fix skates. Down here, we're kind of on our own. We did our own work in Winnipeg but you always knew you had a backup. You learn to adapt."

In most cases, Stan Wilson has to get the players' needs attended to immediately.

In addition to carting the players' equipment from NHL city to city, Wilson carries a toolbox and supplies to address typical player repair needs.

"We carry all kinds of fasteners to repair shoulder and shin pads," he said. "The equipment is standardized around the League and we have to share -- make it available to the visiting teams -- things like air riveters, dies, snaps and buckles. We all have our own little workshops where we can tear things apart and rebuild them.

"To some extent, it's like the NASCAR pit crews. In most cases, what needs to be done, needs to be done NOW, to get back on the ice, or to be ready for tonight's game," Wilson continued. "At most, by the next morning. That's where you have to have the right equipment, the right tools and the skills to be able to keep a hockey team running, at home or on the road.

"That's our job: Eliminate the excuses."