AP Exclusive: New skate blade for off-ice training unveiled
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By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
New off-ice skate blade technology has been unveiled to help hockey players train their bodies better when they’re on the ice. Longtime trainer Kelly Riou and partners have developed DriBlades that can replace ice blades for lifting and other dryland training. Stanley Cup champion Chandler Stephenson is among the NHL players who train with Riou and have already tried out the blades. Riou and business partner and former quarterback Jason Johnson say the blades and accompanying weighted slide help players better represent the unnatural motion of skating than other off-ice techniques that try to replicate the lack of balance.