If you haven’t heard of Marsblade. They are a company that’s starting to grab some market share in the skate blade industry. Jack Drury (Hurricanes), Gustav Nyqvist (Preds), Tyler Boucher (Sens), and Oliver Bonk (London Knights) are some of the players wearing them. The list is growing and The Flyers’ first first-rounder loves them.
Per Mars is the founder and he knows his skating. These skates help ankle flexion, for example, and that’s an important part of skating.
“The key to generating power when you’re skating is to get a large movement at the ankle while also keeping the steel flat on the ice to provide support. The technology adds another dimension of movement at the ankle so it allows the person to get more range of motion, while increasing steel contact to the ice,” Mars explained. “It doesn’t only help the players that are struggling with poor ankle flexion. It helps anyone. A good example is a beautiful skater like Jack Drury in Carolina. A super nice kid. It helps benefit him a lot and he said he was like being ‘stuck in the mud’ after going back to his original skates are trying Marsblade.”
Bonk first tried out the skates and he liked them immediately.
When we filmed a testimonial with him, he talked a lot about similar things,” Mars added.
“Yeah, it just happened during the summer. I was with my skating coach. Just normal skating. Then in the morning, she gave me an option to try these new blades. That it was something I might like,” Bonk remembered. “I tried them out in the morning and I really liked them. I was surprised at how much I liked them at first. Then the Marsblade guys put them on my skates for a practice later that day and I never got out of them.
“It was just getting used to them for a couple of weeks. I used them in the Hlinka/Gretzky Cup last summer and they were good. You just have to get used to your blade moving after 14 years of hockey that teaches you that the blade doesn’t move and it starts moving and you just get used to it with your stride. It feels more natural now and I have a bit more pop.”
Edgework is important to all skaters and NHL skaters have become much better with this over the last 5-10 years.
“They feel a lot more comfortable and secure on their edges. It increases your sweet spot on the steel and you feel more balanced. You can be more relaxed and more secure on your edges. Like crossovers, c-cuts, or transition as mentioned in a Brock University study on the skate blades,” Mars explained.
Helping a defenseman in transition is a big plus with these blades.
“They are a big part of that. You get almost a slingshot when you are transferring your weight around,” Bonk revealed. “I think it definitely helps me. The c-cuts too. As you get older and skaters are getting better and better you can’t be crossing over as a defenseman. The players will read that and expose you for it. I haven’t had any trouble c-cutting or anything like that.”
“Bumper Bonk” is real and the origin of this is interesting.
“Alec Regula used to play for the Knights before me. When I got drafted some made the soft comparison that my game resembled his. By my second year, I was at the top of the power play. Normal defenseman stuff. Then this year, we were playing maybe a 6-on-5 in practice and I kind of found myself in there. It was natural for me and they had Regula in that spot a few years ago. He had a lot of goals that season. We just tried it out and I have Jacob Julien who can really pass the puck down low and it helps a lot with that guy. It just kind of stuck.”
Beer leagues and professionals can benefit by using Marsblade.
*photo courtesy of the London Knights and CHL.
