Ottawa's minor hockey parents know that outfitting their kids with the best hockey equipment can quickly become an expensive endeavour.
But if money is no object and your goal is to equip your young player with the same gear as the Ottawa Senators, the team’s choices this season (according to a list assembled by geargeek.com and updated by PuckPedia.com) offered a clear picture of what’s popular right now at the highest level of the game.
Starting with sticks, out of the 31 players in the organization who are listed, the Senators are split among three brands: CCM, Bauer, and TRUE. We could give you the full company rundown of what each stick delivers, but rest assured, at this level, these sticks are strong in all categories.
The CCM JetSpeed FT7 Pro (10) stands out as the most popular stick model across the team and the NHL. Players like Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto, Nick Jensen, and Ridly Greig favour this stick.
Bauer sticks are also widely used. Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot prefer the Bauer Proto R, while Dylan Cozens and Artem Zub opt for the Bauer Nexus Tracer, and Carter Yakemchuk and Claude Giroux swear by the Bauer Vapor HyperLite 2
Meanwhile, only three Senators listed roll with TRUE sticks, but that includes two of the team's best in Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson, who go with the TRUE HZRDUS Smoke.
As for goalies, Linus Ullmark goes out there with the Bauer Vapor HyperLite2, Leevi Merilainen lets Warrior 'come out to play-ay' with the Warrior Ritual V2 Pro+, and Mads Sogaard has a TRUE Catalyst 9X3.
While CCM is the most common twig in the Senators' stick rack, things flip hard to Bauer (18) when it comes to skates. TRUE (7) lines up in second in Ottawa, followed by CCM (6).
The Bauer Vapor HyperLite 2 skate is by far the most common Sens model, worn by 13 players, including Tkachuk, Batherson, and Giroux. It's also the most common brand in the league by a long shot.
Not all players stick to Bauer, though. Cozens and Sanderson both rock versions of the TRUE Catalyst skates. Shane Pinto and Fabian Zetterlund both wear CCM Tacks XF Pros. All three goalies go with TRUE, including the two top guys, who wear TRUE Stock Two Piece Skates.
Bauer and CCM dominate the helmet choices, with different versions of the Bauer Re-Akt or the CCM Super Tacks/Tacks worn by all but three players listed. Specifically, eight Senators wear the CCM Super Tacks X and eight wear the Bauer Re-Akt 150.
As with the latest golf gear, we all know that it's only the coolest, newest, most expensive gear that will take you from terrible to terrific. Practice? Who needs it? Now get out there and get that second mortgage so you can look like a pro – at least until the game starts.
By Steve Warne
Sens Nation Hockey
Image credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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