Vaughn Epics from Peranis

NEW PADS

There are a handful of firsts that are pivotal for hockey goalies. The first shot you stop, the first shot in the head, the first time you get run, and the first time you post a shutout. I’ve been through all those firsts. Recently, I got to go through another first: getting my own, new, custom made pads.

It started with a trip to Peranis in Flint. Peranis used to be a little place on Flint’s east side, near my grandma’s house. These days, Peranis fills a good size section of a small shopping mall on Flint’s Dort Highway. You would be hard pressed to find any place that has the same selection of hockey gear in every shape, size, color and price range. And that was part of why I went: I needed to try on pads, and I wanted to try on as many brands, as many models, as many variations as I could. Peranis is the only place I’ve found that actually has them on the shelf.

There was another good reason, though. These guys have been in the business for a while. While I was there, dozens of locals walked in, and the Peranis staff greeted them by name. They remembered which kids played for which local teams, gave words of encouragement, and in one case, even helped a young man get his tie done right. Not only are they one of, if not the, biggest hockey equipment dealers in the world, but I was confident that they would do everything they could to help me get what I wanted.

Step one to getting what I wanted was to talk with Matt Walker, who specializes in goalie gear. He can tell you about materials, features, possible changes and customizations you could do. He patiently pulled pads, one after another, for over two hours, while I tried on one model, then another, then another. He pulled down the models I expressed an interest in, then pulled down a few others he thought I should at least consider. After two hours, I settled on a model and a size. Then it was time to talk about the details. I wanted the thigh rises custom sized like a pro would have them, and, of course, custom colors.

I also had a special request. Some people have noticed I have been using a pair of pads worn by Marty Turco during the ’97-’98 season. The pads are done as mirror images, one mostly blue, the other mostly yellow. Watching Marty at UM was what inspired me to play in goal, plus, those pads won two league championships for me after Marty’s ’98 NCAA win. I thought it would be a cool nod to Marty and the old pads to stick to the mirror image theme. So, I asked Matt Walker if he thought we could get Vaughn to build me custom Epic pads with mirror-imaged black and white, plus a special touch of striping.

Vaughn builds a lot of their goalie gear right here in Michigan. While I picked their Epic pads because they were what fit me and worked best for my style, I have to say, it’s a big bonus to know you’re supporting folks doing business here in Michigan, especially when things are pretty tough here economically.

In the end, not only did the folks at Vaughn do the mirror image graphics, but they made sure that every piece, right down to tiny reinforcing bits of leather, were done as opposites in black and white. Even the straps are consistent with the theme: black straps on one leg, white on the other. The extra cost of the custom colors and thigh rises? Nothing. I did pay the small fee to have my name put on them. You can see how the folks at Vaughn handled that.

And how do they perform? Amazing! Right out of the box, with no break in, the pre-shaped pads almost totally closed up when I butterflied. A tiny bit of break in later, and they present a solid black, white and yellow wall along the ice. They weigh less than half what my old ones did. The fact that I get compliments from everyone that sees them is also a bonus.

I don’t usually give endorsements to stores or companies, especially because everyone has different needs. I can honestly say, however, that the service at Peranis, and the custom work done by Vaughn, put them high on my list of folks to do more business with. In the next few months, I hope to have custom gloves made to match the new pads. You can bet I will be visiting Peranis in Flint and giving serious consideration to Vaughn when I start selecting the new gloves.

And, of course, I’ll keep you posted on how they come out.