MLX Skates: LIW's Review

A few weeks ago I received my brand-new MLX Skates. For those of you who don’t know, MLX (Mario LemieuX) is newish on the skate scene. To get their word out they asked that we here at LIW test and review their skates in exchange for a free pair that would be ours to keep. The task fell to me as Topham decided that I was in greater need of a skate upgrade (and maybe because he is ready to admit that I am the better skater?).


So, what are they like? How do they fit? Do they feel better or worse than other skates that I have used? I am going to try an answer these questions and am going to give an honest, unbiased opinion as that is what MLX, and the readers, want.

Check out the Skates here.

It all started when two days after taking my order the skates arrived at my door. Anxious to try them out, they were in the oven within another couple of days. No, I wasn’t baking them for fun, but instead was getting them ready to mold. That’s right, you can mold them yourself, whenever you want, in your very own oven. I made sure that I followed all of the instructions for customizing my skates as detailed in a series of videos on MLX’s website.

After the baking, came the molding and subsequent foot massage (hot skates on your feet are a very nice feeling). Unfortunately it was at that point that I realized that the insoles were too small. Had they shrunk in the baking or were they too small to begin with? Since I didn’t even put my foot in until that point I would think I was simply sent the wrong pair. So, I waited another two days, but it was another quick delivery from a company that was really easy to get a hold of and order from.

Back to square one, then, and this time it was a success. I could feel the skates form to my feet and I was excited to get onto the ice.

I have now played four games with the skates and have noticed a little difference each time. The first time I wore them they hurt one foot (which they claim on their site is normal) and I wasn’t sure about them. That, of course, happens with most new skates, boots or shoes so I wasn’t about to write them off just yet. The next three games seemed to go better and better to the point that I really felt that these were better than any skate that I had previously used. So, I’ll tell you why I think that and then it can be up to you if you are interested in this skate for yourselves

Learn all about MLX and their Skates at their website – mlxskates.com

First off: the fit. I felt that the molding was effective and the ability to do this at home meant that I could tweak them whenever I wanted. I haven’t had to change anything, but as long as we’re not in the middle of cooking something in the oven it is a quick process. I did notice that the boot was quite low as compared with other hockey skates. I didn’t, however, feel that this caused a lack of protection. My shin guard may no longer overlap the boot, but with the hardness of the boot itself I wasn’t worried about that anymore.


Things that I noticed when skating was that I was leaning forward more. This is because the chassis is actually built up higher at the heel than at the toe; more so than on other skates. I felt that this helped to keep me ‘on my toes’ more throughout the games. The lower boot allowed my ankle to achieve a full range of motion. The replaceable and very flexible tendon guard (a nice feature as a broken one no longer warrants the purchase of a new pair of skates), and the fact that there are maybe two less eyelets than on a regular boot meant that I could really get a full range of motion out of my foot. I felt that this helped with my speed, acceleration and turning as I had more motion than I was used to.

After a few games I noticed a few more things that seemed better than they had been on my old skates. First, the hard boot really gives me more confidence to step in front of a shot. They are moldable, yes, but are very rigid when they aren’t heated up. I also found that this provided more stability while I skated and seemed to help me make tighter turns. It is also night and day when it comes to the weight of these skates versus my old ones. Not that I ever had trouble lifting my old skates up off the ice, but at the end of a long shift it is nice to know that you are carrying a little less weight.


Another great feature is that you can adjust the location of the chassis on the boot which essentially can change your blade angle and position. I haven’t played with this feature nearly enough, but it is nice to know that I can customize that on my own as we all know there are many different types of skaters out there. This, of course, helps each skater to get the most out of him or herself. When you think about the new technologies that they are using in sports like speed-skating, running and swimming I can honestly say that this is a very important step for hockey skates and it is about time.

These skates are certainly high-end skates, of that there is no doubt, but if you are looking to go for something in the higher-end these might be worth a shot. I haven’t noticed that I am a better player than before, but I do notice little things improving and anytime you can do that you know that you are headed in the right direction. I am very happy to have been able to try these skates and look forward to many more years of good hockey on them.

Interested in new high-end Skates? Try MLX Skates.

Sharks Reinstate Claude LemieuxWilson: "Thinking How To Mess Up The Season Is Hard"

Thinking of ways to keep people interested while winning streaks drag on is the burden of the San Jose Sharks. Unaccustomed to actually starting well as finishing well, the Sharks have found their minds wandering to keep themselves occupied. Their most recent move cannot be described any other way:

The NHL-leading Sharks recalled the four-time Cup winner Monday from their minor league affiliate in Worcester, Mass. Lemieux practiced in San Jose, and he's likely to play Tuesday night against Vancouver in the Sharks' final game before the All-Star break.

Claude Lemieux should add an interesting piece to an already interesting team – one that already has two elite centres and Jeremy Roenick.

But is there anything beyond an interesting story here? Can Claude Lemieux help this team be better – in the playoffs that is.

One would have to think that was Doug Wilson's actual logic. But can we really attribute logic to a man who invites a 43-year-old, 5.5 years into retirement, to come back and play for his stacked team? Can we really say that Doug Wilson is doing anything other than rolling the dice? After all, he built a team he hopes will win the Cup around Joe Thornton (not to mention Patrick Marleau).

I get the thinking too:

My players = All chokers
Claude Lemieux = Has always found ways to win (even Conn Smythes!)

Despite that, in my humble opinion, Claude Lemieux will not help the Sharks. You can't expect a reclamation project like him to come in and turn a team's stomachs around. Nor could you expect him to fare very well in the new faster NHL. He didn't help Phoenix at the end of his real playing days, did he? His effectiveness was spent more than 9 years ago.

If anything, with Thornton and Roenick already crowding the dressing room; I think he's a personality too far. What's more, some poor youngster who could be learning the ways of winning will now be relegated back down so Claude can exorcise his whim.

I wish Claude all the best, but I'm infinitely glad we didn't sign him. Normally, I'm the first to criticise Bob Gainey for canny manouevres he missed out on. But this is not a canny manoeuvre in my book, and I wholeheartedly disagree with JT's fanciful take on the matter:

If Gainey passed over Lemieux without at least considering making him an offer, I worry the Habs GM is too conservative or unimaginative to give his team a leg up on the other teams scrabbling to be the best...

And, what is it about the late 80s Habs that just won't retire. Chelios, Richer and his repeated attempts at comebacks and now this. If Larry Robinson wants back in, we have a gaping place open for him at 6th defenceman...

Questions Of TankingHow Naive Is Howard Berger?

In searching for something, anything to write about the Preds, I came across this piece by Howard Berger instead.

In the piece, Berger (whom Leafs fans "revere") argues that:

...the concept of “tanking” has no merit. It’s an illusion; a cop-out for those who either don’t understand – or cannot deal with – the reality of professional sport.

Perhaps he is so adamant, because for all their years of futility, the Leafs have been as inept at tanking a season as they have been at winning a season. Their never quite good enough, never quite bad enough see-saw ride has seen them miss out on top draft picks and top awards for decades.


But don't tell the Colorado Avalanche that tanking never happens. Don't tell the Pittsburgh Penguins. Both franchises in their history have used tanking to great effect – to languish behind the Leafs and average teams for a while and then completely vault over them into contention without making stops in the middle ground.

Other than organizational tanking, how else can you explain this team (Quebec) losing to this team (Hartford)?

This team (Pittsburgh) tanked its way to 16 victories over 80 games! They squeaked by fellow tankers NJ to nab Mario Lemieux in the 1984 draft. Someone has to lose the season, but by trading their best defenceman when it looked to be getting too tight, Pittsburgh made sure they lost.

I realise that these examples show how managers and coaches can conspire to lose a season by playing a ton of rookies and trading good players for picks; however, the players can play a part too. After all, once the pressure is off from management (as it surely would be in a regime primed for losing), then some players stop trying as hard as they would have if they were pushed. Perhaps it's unconscious, but it happens.

Still don't believe in tanking. Ask Sweden how they got the plum semi-final at the Olympics. Ask Pittsburgh how they avoided the Bruins and got the Sens in the first round of the playoffs last year.

Halak shoulld start; Lemieux should sit

Tomorrow's game is against the (once and still) Mighty Red Wings.

Want a change to the way things have been going? How about starting a goalie that has never lost at the Bell Centre...

No not Brodeur, Jaroslav Halak.


In 7 starts at the Bell Centre (or Molson Centre if you're the editor of Yahoo), Halak has won every time out. He also has 2 shutouts on top of everything else. His stats in Montreal are sensational in fact (see here).

In other news, the Canadiens feel they need to prolong a Tuesday game by honouring the rivalry with the 81-year Red Wings. Apart from the timing being completely strange (will we do this every time a square number comes around?), the ceremony stands to be very strange. According to Habs Inside/Out:

The Red Wings are expected to be represented by legends Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Alex Delvecchio, Marcel Pronovost and Marcel Dionne. The Canadiens are expected to have icons Jean Béliveau and Dickie Moore taking part, with Jean-Guy Talbot, Stéphane Richer and Claude Lemieux.

Now, I may not remember the rivalries of Gordie Howe, Pronovost, Beliveau and Moore, but I'm pretty sure the Habs are stretching when they ask Richer and Claude Lemieux to come along. In Richer's heyday (that would have been his first time here), the Red Wings were an awful outfit, only making the playoffs because Yzerman was putting up 120+ seasons and the North Stars and Maple Leafs couldn't get their acts together either. Lemieux was here during that time too, and left Montreal well before Sergei Fedorov and Niklas Lidstrom arrived to turn the RWs around.

Ironically though, of the post-expansion players. Claude Lemieux would probably be classified as Red Wing rival (maybe even enemy) #1. His hit on Kris Draper at the Avalanche-Red Wings back-and-forth was the powderkeg that set that (probably more tangible) on fire.

Besides the fact his hit was dirty. And that Draper will be on the ice. I don't see many good reasons for Lemieux to be at a ceremony with guys like Howe, Beliveau, Dionne and Delvecchio. I think Lemieux should call up tomorrow morning and excuse himself from this one.



His ceremony will come the day they reinstate the Hartford Whalers.

Habs famous numbers

A lot of Habs history coming to the surface these days as members of the 50s, 60s and 70s dynasties pass on.

I don't know much about Trader Sam Pollock, but I have of course read the "Lions in Winter" book, which gave me a pretty good idea of how shrewd a GM he was. He certainly played by his own rules and didn't let convention stand in the way of making a championship team. That Guy Lafleur story is legendary, of course. Not to be overlooked are his choices of coaches, his ability to keep the right players together (coax them from their desire to retire), and his eye for talent in the early days of thee draft. Rest in peace Mr. Pollock. Our thoughts go out to your family and friends.

Dave Stubbs and the guys at habsinsideout.com have had Habs history on the mind
lately too, even getting into when Plekanec changed his number. Big news in Montreal! Following that bombshell they published a list of all the numbers ever donned by Habs over the years. it made for an interesting read, and got me thinking about lots things number-related.

Firstly, it's crazy how many Hall of Famers wore the same numbers. Secondly, even though we've lost all those numbers to retirement, with a few more to go soon, there are plenty left – many not under any threat at all.

The other thing I noticed was number 13.

It hasn't been used on the Habs since 1922 (even though I briefly convinced myself they must be wrong about Vladimir Vujtek's number). Perhaps this fact is not that surprising, given the number's notoriety and inherent unluckiness. Obviously the Canadiens banned the use of the number, the same way the builders of many high-rises have done (come on, I'm not taking an apartment on the 14th floor, I'm not stupid).

I do remember Selanne wearing 13, and it didn't seem to do him any harm that year...


This led me to another question: which other numbers should be banned?

I have a couple of ideas as to how the banished number list should be established:


1) Any bad years for the Canadiens franchise should be banned.
This would include, among other possibilities:

67 – Though a good year for Montreal as a city and for baseball here, it was the missing year in another 5-year run. Some other team won...

94 – Missed the playoffs after the Cup, and Youppi, our new mascot, was shafted hard.



All numbers from 96-98 – The Montreal Forum is closed. No hockey and Nicholas Cage films a movie there (ugh).


2) Numbers that just aren't working for players This would include, among other possibilities:

53 – Racicot, Fitzpatrick and Sylvain Blouin. Do I need to explain?

54 – Traverse



59 – Jarventie

95 – Berezin, Olivier Michaud

I do have some reservations about these numbers being banned though, as Patrick Roy did pretty well for himself with what was up till his time a pretty mediocre number. Though number 33 with Riley and Sevigny would never have been up for complete banning.


In addition to these numbers, I also think 66 should be taken out of circulation in honour of the greatest offensive player to come from Montreal, and in my opinion, anywhere. It would be silly to see someone who couldn't wear 66 with the same presence and flair as Mario did.

I wonder if anyone had a little chat with Brisebois about the number 43 after he resigned. It's not really been a great number over the years. Brunet traded it in quickly, as did Cassels, and Brisebois ran the number out of town. I'm not sure his new choice of number (allegedly for Colorado reasons) is much better. The last sweater emblazoned with 71 didn't exactly leave a legacy of long success. We'll see if it lasts.

At least 71 has hope as it stands for beating the odds (or the Orrs). So Brisebois did well on that count.

Changing the ethic

After reading up a bit on the Canadiens last draft, I can see where the latest picks fit in the scheme of things.

I'll be up front about it, I would have picked Esposito if I had the chance, but that was when I was overlooking the overarching theme going through the current Canadiens team.

What I believe Gainey and Timmins have been moving to do since they arrived is to build a more mature group of players. A group who have wide experiences and are adaptable thanks to both their experience and maturity. This is where drafting the Americans comes into it – in my opinion. I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but American hockey players give the best interviews. They can articulate, and thank heavens, think of original things to say. Higgins, a Yale man, is our current embodiment of a mature youngster, some of the recent picks may come and show the same qualities.

I don't think Americans have a monopoly on these qualities, not by any means. I think Chipchura for example has those qualities among our prospects. Also, players like "Gretzky, Niedermayr, Yzerman, Lemieux, Brodeur and Iginla all have (had) these same qualities. The thing with the Americans is that when you are taking a bet on them (as in the draft), their route to the NHL lends itself to building more mature players. For one thing they have to stay in school – balancing studies with hockey. Many junior players finish at high school, if they get that far.

Why maturity counts in championships is leadership. Everyone touts the big leaders, the overt and outspoken guys. This was Souray last year from what I hear. But there are also deputies. These guys are critical, they lead by example. theymay voice an opinion in a disagreement, but will be mature enough to focus their energy in the right direction (helping the team win) at game time. This would be Saku Koivu in his younger days (he's gone furthere than that now), and Higgins and Plekanec now. These guys earn respect from their play and can get through to the ones who have lost touch with the leader or coach. They help hold the team together – something vital to a championship (unless the Habs plan on winning all their games and everyone stays happy all the time...)

I also think a lot of emphasis is placed on the interview. We can all see how Esposito, Cherepanov and McDonagh play on the ice, but how they answer questions in that important interview is not information us armchair enthusiasts are privy to. I liken it to the interviews I have done in hiring. CVs can look good, even tests, but an interview can change the whole impression of a person. In a draft, the team is looking for someone that could potentially be in the fold for the long haul, so personality and perceived work ethic, etc are very important. For the Canadiens, I think they also want players to represent them well, while playing well of course.

McDonagh, Mr. Hockey Minnesota, may or may not be that mature now. I have no idea. But the Canadiens minders seem to like the maturing process that can be gained from a few years at a decent hockey playing university like Wisconsin. Same goes for Pacioretty at Michigan. Esposito would either be entrusted to the Habs, Hamilton or Patrick Roy again in Quebec. I get the feeling the Habs would like the maturing to be someone else's responsibility.

I believe the maturity of the top prospects is a big reason why the Habs seem to have soured a bit on the QMJHL. It is no longer producing the classy forwards it once did in Beliveau, Lafleur, Lafontaine and Savard. Nowadays it seems a lot of the bigger stars are brats, at least for a few years. Ribeiro was, Theodore to some extent (especially in Ribeiro's company), Lecavalier was for a long time. Even Sid the Kid has his moments, though on most nights he puts in an honourable effort to be very mature. Gems like Simon Gagne, who seems very mature, come few and far between. Hopefully Latendresse can follow that path. he already seems mature.

I do, however, believe that the Canadiens would be well served (and indeed very eager themselves) to add a French Canadian star with the maturity and qualities they are trying to encourage. Lecavalier seems to have grown up now, and would be a fine addition. I mentioned Gagne, and he would be quite an acquisition too. Briere would be fine, but as long as Koivu is here just does not fit the need. The list isn't endless, but is long enough that they might be able to grab a player who fits both the new ethic of the team and the local star ticket.

Wouldn't it be nice to just buy the league with the Quebec Aces and bring in Beliveau? The perfect fit and with Art Ross talent too. Those were the days. As we're stuck with the draft, at least it seems our guys have a plan.