CCM Vizion Goalie Stick Review

Well, the new gear keeps showing up. We we've got the we we talked about, the Warrior twentieth anniversary. We got the Swagger stick next, like a let retro look stick next week in the gear segment. The Vizion stick from CCM with a a layer of aluminum, basically, to increase durability. They call it Aluply.

We just got ours over the weekend. Did not get a chance to take that CCM Vizion out on the ice myself. Well, I did. Here's the thing. It's so pretty that I couldn't put tape over it.

So I was like, oh, it's so pretty. I was taking pictures in the locker room, and then I got on the ice and I just couldn't put tape over it. So I took a few shots with no tape, and then I'm like, oh, I I can't. So I went back to the practice stick, the warm up stick, Daren. But we will get it on the ice.

We'll get feedback. I guess the only feedback you need on the CCM Vizion stick is Dustin Wolf liked it so much he refused to give it back and started using it last year before it was supposed to debut in the NHL. That's pretty good feedback. So we'll let Cam break down the rest. Reminder, though, that all your needs, including all the new equipment that continues to arrive even into the fall, can be found at the hockey shop source for sports, thehockeyshop.com.

35,000 square foot building loaded plus containers in other warehouses full of extra equipment. Like, they've just got it all. If you need it, they've got it, and they've got the expert to help make sure that what you get is right for you and your game. Check them out. The Hockey Shop Source for Sports, thehockeyshop.com.

You know, back in the day, there was an aluminum goalie stick.

Was there?

It was heavy. Yeah.

Really?

Yeah. Really? There was an actual aluminum goalie stick.

I have an aluminum player stick with a wood blade stuck into it. I took it out to a shoot with a with a bunch of junior kids earlier this year where I had to push pucks around and I wasn't coaching. I was supervising, basically, because the the real coach couldn't be there and just basically helping them run his drills. So I took this old stick out there, and the the the junior age shooters couldn't believe it. Like, you could still see the glue from shoving the wooden blade into the aluminum stick, and it was so heavy compared.

But remember when that was exciting? The, you know, the Gretzky aluminum stick with the wood blade, that was new, and these kids couldn't believe how heavy and clunky it felt.

I love collecting things, memorabilia from all sports, primarily hockey. If I could get my hands on a Gretzky Easton aluminum stick, I would be the happiest guy going.

See, and this is I very much regret being cheap at the time, but my aluminum stick is a Bauer Supreme, so I don't have a Gretzky Easton for you, Daren. I should have just bucked up at the if I bucked up at the time, I'd be getting paid back right now.

We got the CCM Vizion stick, with our Gear Segment over at the Hockey Shop. Here is Cam and Woody.

I've had a vision.

Actually, I finally have a vision. The CCM Vizion, the stick that you have been hearing so much about. A stick that Dustin Wolf got to try last year and refused to give back. Yeah. A lot of anecdotes at the pro level about that.

[crosstalk] This is the Hockey Shop Source for Sports. This is the Gear Segment at the InGoal Magazine, and we are gonna talk about what makes the CCM Vizion stick so special. So special that several pros that tried it refused to give it back last year, which is why you saw it a little earlier in the NHL that maybe was intended, but now it's in the store in Cam. Tell me why other than the, like, pop of this graphic and look. What makes it special?

So there's a few things. One, we're gonna continue along the lines that goalies can't spell properly, and we're gonna spell vizion with a zed, which is fantastic. I love it. And just every time, every time we talk about something, it always has to be spelled slightly wrong, which is okay. It's fine.

But anyway, I'll be the visionary here and we'll talk about the CCM Vizion. Ladies and gentlemen, this stick is light. Great feel. Overall balance is fantastic. Got some a little bit special in my hands.

We'll leave this one to the side. We're gonna focus on these two for now. Kevin, had talked about when we were discussing off camera, aluminum.

I think Ali Pro is that what they call it, right? Yes. So it's basically a layer of aluminum worked into their carbon weave that gives you increased durability.

Durability.

Which is another thing that we've heard from the pros that have used this. They can't believe how much longer it's lasting and these are guys that get new sticks whenever they want. So that's a positive.

So without adding too much weight at all, actually, anything,

anyway lighter.

Yes. Exactly. We've increased the overall, you know, longevity of the stick, we'll call it. I always shy away from the word durability because we've seen them all break. Sticks break.

Yeah. 100%. Yeah. I mean, I'm not pretending that it's, like, never gonna break, but it's going to be improved in durability. Correct.

Don't be scared of the work, Cam. I I am scared of the work.

So start with the shaft and work our way down. That v style geometry makes its return that we saw on the AXIS sticks in

the XF A Pro and little a little thinner and your finger is a little thicker as the top. Have you gripped that?

That tapered feeling, especially in your hand, a, gives a good nice control feel.

I like the feel. I like the feel.

But b, as you're as you're going in in terms of actual, like, flex profile and overall general feel of the stick, like, I really like it. I think having this a little bit more of a rounded edge can add to that, you know, durability potentially of Good the

you, Cam. Good for you. You got there.

It felt weird. It felt weird.

For a guy who talks about other people not being able to spell him, his inability to talk is remarkable.

Inability to talk, but I'm more durable. Speaking. Speaking.

Speaking of

Paddle and blade.

The steep paddle, this is kinda echoes what we saw in the

Steepest standard.

XF. Yes.

So I get that

sort that that bob feel or along the lines of being able to choke down on a little. Maybe not quite as extreme as bobs, but Definitely not as we're seeing in the National Hockey League.

Exactly. So another cool feature of the stick itself is that this is all one piece now too as well. So the blade and paddle are designed to be one. As opposed to, usually, we'll have a sandwich or conjoined motion of the paddle and blade together at some point. Sandwiched.

Sandwiched. This is all one piece all the way up until the conjoin of the shaft.

Wow. Okay. Now tell me why the paddle's got the different like, what's different here on the sorry, on the blade?

So when we're looking at the blade, we're looking at that textured carbon. Overall, stiff, thin. I I don't know what you were checking out there, but just in case.

Texture.

Texture. See texture.

You can oh, hold on. You can hear texture.

You can hear texture. I've always wanted to hear texture. Anyway, when we're looking at them, stock p four curve. So this is our old Crawford kind of design similar to a p 31 in a Bauer and twist in a Warrior, t 31 in a true. What else do we got here?

What am I missing? Don't know. Anyway, your standard, what is now overall mid style of a curve. Next, we have one other little gem mixed in between.

Hey, let's get to it.

Okay. You're slow

to plan this.

Finishing off. So not only do we have some nice colors in the stick, but actually have a couple pro returns in the Vizion itself. So remember when we said that they didn't wanna give them back, there was a few overruns from last year. A few still exist. I'm holding a Markstrom one in my hand right now.

Alright. So slightly different curve than what your standard Vizion stick would be, but that said, still same overall construction.

I was showing off the graphic on the back.

No. There is a graphic on the back too. Yeah. Is. Thank you.

Stay with the v. Okay. So it's in stock. You've seen it in the National Hockey League. It's in store here at The Hockey Shop, online at thehockeyshop.com.

If anybody has any questions about fit, like example, Pro Return, I see that that's not a steep I'm guessing the Pro Return does not include a warranty.

No, it does not. But all of

these do. Make sure you give Cam a call.

(624) 589-8299 or 1-800-567-7790 or check us out at the hockeyshop.com. That said, I had a vision of the Vizion stick.

K. Say that again. The the aluminum foil that's over top.

Aliply. Aliply. Aliply? I think it's a l I p l u. Alli aliply no.

I think it's aluply, a l u p l I. Yeah. See, I can't spell, boys. Too many pucks off the head. Not that bright.

Not many hockey brands can spell with the names they use.

That's true. Vizion is spelled with a zed, by the way, so maybe

I'm off the hook. Really?

Yeah. See that? When I start googling these things, that doesn't help me.

Well, see, now you know, Daren, we're here to educate you. You can you can type in VIZION. It's got a really cool on the back, the graphic. It's got a big z on the like, it it is jokes aside, and I did it for social media content, it's sexy. Like, it's a it's a it's beautiful.

Like, it is you look at it and you're just like, I don't wanna put tape over this. I don't blame you there, Woody. And and and honestly, I could only tape the smallest little knob at the top because I don't wanna cover up the alu ply word because I'm gonna need that to sort of show off for for for a review. I need people to see and be able to spell it later on, so I didn't wanna cover that up. It's up up near the top of the shaft.

So it makes it more durable both on the paddle and on the shaft?

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Well, actually, I need to double check that. I think Cam in the segment explained it partway and I should be careful, but I know for sure on the shaft, it runs through the shaft.

I don't know if and then it's a one one piece sort of shaft through blade construction. The blade is noticeably stiffer for sure. It's a stiffer stick. I'm not sure we got into that in the review. We talked about the profile, but it is a a stiffer.

It's a mid flex, but it's a stiffer flex point than than, like, an EFlex model would be for CCM. The the the blade, though, like so if you're if you're playing at a really high level, NHL guys, obviously, probably why they love it, junior kids, that stiffness of the blade for stopping hard rims, once guys can really fire that puck along the boards, that matters. This has got it in spades.