FORT LAUDERDALE – When it works, it works.
A sport known for its superstitions, there is no shortage of preferences with the Florida Panthers.
Over the last few weeks, I polled a group of players to hear about their equipment habits.
Here’s what they had to say.
Aleksander Barkov: My skates and sticks are very custom, but everything else I would say is pretty much whatever you can get from the store. I’ve tried a few other curves, but mostly 99% of the time I’ve used my own curve.
Sam Bennett: I’ve always used black tape my whole life. When I was a kid, my dad told me it camouflaged the puck more. I believed him and that’s probably why (I’ve stuck with it).
Jesper Boqvist: I got a couple things, but nothing crazy. I’ve had the same curve for eight or nine years. I tried to switch a couple times, but I always come back to the same curve. I’ve been white tape always. I switched it up a little bit growing up, but the last 10 years, all white.
Jonah Gadjovich: My stick curve has always been the same since I was in juniors. I haven’t changed it in probably 10 years. I’ve been using black tape for like 10 years. I’ve switched for fun for like a practice or something and it’s just so different. I’m just more comfortable with black tape.
A.J. Greer: There are little things that keep me locked in, but I don’t really have like any superstitions or patterns that I do. I just have mental stuff that I do. Like before going on the ice, I’ll look at the scoreboard, kind of look around, and lock in. This just tells my mind, “You’re in the NHL, let’s go.” Besides that, just embrace the moment. I like to listen to music driving in, but that’s about it.
Spencer Knight: I think the only thing I play around with really is the grip on my paddle. I use the same grip as Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky). It’s a shaved down paddle, so it feels more comfortable to handle. I’m pretty open to trying new stuff too.
