Shift Change - Staying in the game at 50+
Aug 3, 2026 · 23 min · 11 segments
In this episode of Shift Change, Rich walks through Hi hockey bag, comparing 1980s gear to today’s equipment and explaining how modern skates, sticks, helmets, pads and base layers improve…
Rich InesonHost
The first thing I wanna talk about are the skates because in my opinion, that's one of the biggest things that have changed and made the game different.
But I remember the skates being just a steel blade, a full leather boot, and not a lot of structure to it.
You'd get a new pair of skates, and it seemed like it would take half the season to break in the skate.
There was always the, you know, if you soak 'em in the tub and then put 'em on wet and tighten 'em up, that they'd kinda mold to your foot that way.
And I remember when Gretzky came in the league, he was wearing the Daoust, D-A-U-S-T, the Daoust or Daoust.
And Gretzky had a leather boot, but he also had those blue blades, and boy, did I want those blue blades.
But the skates also rotted away, and if you used them enough and you played enough, the rivets would rot, and the skate would get dry-rotted.
But then they came out with the clear Tuck blade or the Tuuk blade, however you pronounce it, and that was something I had to have.
And I remember all the guys on my team had 'em when we were just, you know, 10 or 11 years old, and they were great, but then they were breaking when a puck hit 'em.
They would crack, and then the rivets would rust, and the rust would run down the clear part of the blade.
So they were really cool looking, and they were basically changed hockey skates at that point.
But when I look at my skates today, I wear the Bauer Hyperlites, and they are an amazing skate.
The holder and the blade systems for swapping out the steel is absolutely amazing.
The first thing I wanna talk about are the skates because in my opinion, that's one of the biggest things that have changed and made the game different.
But I remember the skates being just a steel blade, a full leather boot, and not a lot of structure to it.
You'd get a new pair of skates, and it seemed like it would take half the season to break in the skate.
There was always the, you know, if you soak 'em in the tub and then put 'em on wet and tighten 'em up, that they'd kinda mold to your foot that way.
And I remember when Gretzky came in the league, he was wearing the Daoust, D-A-U-S-T, the Daoust or Daoust.
And Gretzky had a leather boot, but he also had those blue blades, and boy, did I want those blue blades.
But the skates also rotted away, and if you used them enough and you played enough, the rivets would rot, and the skate would get dry-rotted.
But then they came out with the clear Tuck blade or the Tuuk blade, however you pronounce it, and that was something I had to have.
And I remember all the guys on my team had 'em when we were just, you know, 10 or 11 years old, and they were great, but then they were breaking when a puck hit 'em.
They would crack, and then the rivets would rust, and the rust would run down the clear part of the blade.
So they were really cool looking, and they were basically changed hockey skates at that point.
But when I look at my skates today, I wear the Bauer Hyperlites, and they are an amazing skate.
The holder and the blade systems for swapping out the steel is absolutely amazing.
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