from Matt Carlson of The Hockey News,

Tomorrow’s NHLers won’t resemble Robocops, but they will take off quicker and fly on the ice with lighter, streamlined skates, sticks and protective gear. The future New York Rangers will probably look more the like the Power Rangers, with a dash of Speed Racer.

Equipment will help players maneuver more naturally and perform better. And despite the reduction in bulk, gear will be more protective to compensate for faster shots and harder impacts. New materials and technologies handed down from the aerospace industry are already propelling the evolution. They’ll be more prominent as the composites and foams that make a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lighter and fuel-efficient land in the sporting goods industry.

Those new materials will be deceptively rugged. Besides absorbing and channelling collisions and stress, they’ll be tuned to help players better transmit energy to skate and shoot faster.

“Advances in raw materials at the high-end to make airplanes will move down the chain,” said Keith Perera, Warrior Hockey’s brand manager. “Aerospace pays top-dollar for them. Even right now, we’re getting access to the best materials we’ve ever seen from a durability and performance standpoint.”

continued