Training tool or gimmick: are Marsblades worth it?
When the inventor of a new type of hockey skate claims that it can make Connor McDavid even faster than he already is, the first instinct is to roll your eyes and add it to the pile of failed gimmicks collecting dust in the back of your local pro shop. But Per Mars is not just another snake-oil salesman. And Marsblade is not just another version of the Reebok Pump.
Since 2011, the former NHLer-turned-inventor has been disrupting the in-line hockey market with his unique roller skates, which employ a “flow motion technology” that mimics an on-ice stride. In the past year, more than 300 NHLers have been using Marsblades as an off-ice training tool. That includes McDavid, Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Evgeni Malkin, Roman Josi and Auston Matthews, with the latter becoming an investor in the company.
This week, Shane Wright, who is projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2022 NHL entry draft, was named an official Marsblade ambassador.
If it’s a gimmick, then it’s a gimmick that is fooling a lot of high-end hockey players.
“It’s been incredible,” said Mars in a phone interview from the company’s home base in Sweden. “It’s starting to become what I envisioned — or maybe even more — when I started tinkering with the idea 10 years ago. It’s something that all the players should have.”
Now, comes the next step in his grand vision: taking Marsblade off the asphalt and onto the ice by convincing NHLers that the rocker system, which splits the skate’s chassis in two to provide a more flexible stride, can do the same for their skating as a composite stick can for their shot.
“Definitely,” Mars said of improving a player’s speed. “Our vision is that it becomes the new standard, just like the composite stick or carbon ski, where there’s no looking back at the old technology.”
It’s a lofty goal. While other companies have tried to introduce non-fixed blades that allow for a longer strides or heated blades that reduce friction, the skate market has largely remained unchanged.
Part of it is that old habits are hard to break. For years, Mars was convinced he had developed a better mousetrap with his invention of Marsblades, which he invented more than a decade ago to help build up his balancing and core muscles while rehabbing an injury. But in order for them to truly take off, he desperately needed an infestation of mice.
That’s where the pandemic came in.
With ice not readily available, NHLers were scrambling for ways to train and keep in shape a year ago at this time. Some dusted off their old rollerblades. But for anyone who has gone from skating on ice to pavement in the same day, the feeling can be as natural as walking around with your shoes on the wrong feet.
Rollerskates tend to be more rigid than skates, because you can’t dig into the pavement the way you can on ice. Marsblade solved this problem by splitting the chassis in two, allowing players to rock back and forth in a way that mimics a normal stride. When that same technology is applied to ice skates, players are able to move in a way that they can’t on traditional skates.
“It gives you the benefit when you’re turning where the blade stays on the ice longer and you don’t dig into the ice with your toe,” said Mars. “You still have firm support. But it allows you more blade contact, so you get better glide and better balance. It increases the sweet spot. You get a better glide and it’s a more natural movement rather than being stuck in a rigid skate.”
Hockey players are creatures of comfort. Convincing them to switch up their rollerblades is one thing. But convincing someone who has worn Bauer Supremes all his life to swap them out for a pair of Marsblades is a different challenge altogether.
Wright, who was drafted fourth overall by the Seattle Kraken in 2022, should help in that regard. After all, if you want players to change their habits, you need to get them when they’re young.
When the OHL cancelled the season a couple of years ago, Wright was forced to spend more time on Marsblades than he would have probably liked.
“It’s the next closest thing to skating,” said Wright. “I love using them for my training. You get that glide almost like you’re skating on the ice. That’s why they’re so popular.”
As for Marsblades’ ice skates, Wright said there’s a learning curve.
“It’s different,” he said. “It’s definitely different. It really feels like you’re rocking back and forth and it definitely takes some getting used to. It’s a different feeling for me. But I’m excited about what it could mean.”
Mars is also excited about what the future holds. Who knows, maybe one day his technology will change the way we skate. Then again, we were once saying something similar about Cooperalls.
“It’s nice to see all these NHL players using the product and skating coaches recommend the product,” said Mars. “All the guys need to jump on board.”
heyhockeyverse@gmail.com
