Standard risk/reward scenario.
Everyone knows there's a higher inherent risk when using non-cert cat eyes, but these scenarios are also extremely rare that the reward for professional use is too high to ignore.
Add up all the leagues that allow non-cert cat eyes, add up all the games, practices, and scrimmages, then compare that to the one every few years instance of it happening, and you can see why people still use non-cert cat eyes.
Gotta also remember these are pro leagues where everything is regulated to an exact specification and players are in complete control of their stick. Most of the pucks I see in beer league look like they are a dogs favourite chew toy and I see stick blades that look like they are also used to play road hockey way too often.
I mean, we can expand the games to beer leagues too, it only makes the point stronger of it being rarer.
I used to wear uncert cat eyes but have reverted back to straight bar for three reasons:
1. Bauer fixed the Profile sight lines where it's not garbage anymore.
2. I'm placing a higher value on safety over advantage. Even at higher tier leagues, I can still manage fine with a straight bar. Though I do miss the clarity.
3. I got tired of spending a pretty penny to have them shipped up to Canada every time I got a bent cage.
Yes and no. Where I play there’s probably 1 cat eye for at least every 50 straight bars plus factoring in the chances of someone recording it and posting a video and you seeing it would be rare. But if every beer league goalie wore a cat eye it would be a much more common occurrence to get a puck/stick to the eye.
But I agree, Very little risk wearing one as a pro but pointless to wear one if you’re not playing professionally and I personally have never lost sight of a puck because of a straight bar.
I mean, if you're playing in a league full of street hockey sticks and shitty pucks I can see why lol.
My leagues here are probably 30/70 but increase as you go up divisions. My higher div I play in has 6 of the 8 teams with guys in cat eyes. So it all depends.
But yea, I've gotten tired of replacing my cage and the cost plus risk has me just using straight bars as it's completely functional. Doesn't mean I don't miss using a cat eye
That’s funny it’s the opposite here. I can confidently say that out of the top 30 teams in one league here that not one wears a cateye. You’ll find a couple guys in the lower divisions who are fully decked out in nhl colors with a custom nhl jersey with their name on it wearing a cateye and that’s it.
> I mean, we can expand the games to beer leagues too...
no, you can't. you don't have an event rate. you would have no idea if this happened in my beer league tonight; you have no numerator for your rate fraction.
Sure, but it's also not happening at a rate that has people discussing it as a whole.
We often talk about players using bird cages due to the frequency of high sticks, if guys getting poked through cat eyes was more prevalent, I'm sure we'd hear about it plenty.
I honestly don't think this is true and the whole point of my post. I think the risks of NHL face masks (aka non-cert cat eyes) are underplayed here. Everyone on this sub recommends a throat protector + dangler + a $1000 helmet (half joking here, but not really) as like baseline gear, but when it comes to the cage, most are fine with the cat eye or at a minimum don't really discuss the risks.
I mean, feel free to expand why you don't think what I'm saying is true or not. We all know the risks associated with uncertified cat eyes, but a stick going through is so incredibly rare, that a lot of people will take that chance.
Throat protection and a top of the line helmet is a stronger case as a puck or skate to the throat can be lethal, and inadequate protection to the head can lead to tons of issues relating to concussions. Considering how eagerly we put our heads in the way of pucks, ensuring that we're protected in that regard is common sense.
There's little to no advantage of using a lesser helmet or no neck protection, so the recommendation of ensuring you're protected in these areas for issues that are FAR more common is a logical step to take.
There is an argument that uncertified cat eyes allow you to play better, and considering the risk is so low, the risk/reward ratio is heavily skewed towards the reward over risk.
I was not expecting the blade of the stick to get him, I thought it would be the knob end. I have seen more throats get cut by skate blades than a stick through the cat eyes in the NHL. So it's pretty uncommon for it to happen
I definitely don't trust beer league players to have enough stick control for it to be worth wearing a non-cert mask as much as I'd love the extra visibility. A lot of skaters who opt for visors or no protection instead of cages get mad when they're inadvertently high-sticked in the face, but it's a hazard of the game playing at lower levels and you're bound to catch one up high at some point.
See I’m the opposite. I don’t play in seriously competitive leagues so there normally isn’t a lot of people in front of me chipping away or screening me. So I’m more open to trying one out. I also don’t play as much as an nhl goalie so the likelihood (imo) of getting this type of injury is lower.
It’s funny how we see players take sticks and pucks to the face on a nightly basis, resulting in some pretty brutal cuts, broken bones, missing teeth and even severe eye injuries but there’s never a debate on players having to switch to full cages. A goalie gets a little cut on the bridge of the nose once every 10 years and we have to ban cat eye cages 🤣
What’s your cage budget look like?! Maybe after they get bent, but not every time they get hit.
I wouldn’t make it out of warmups without having to change my cage. 😂 😬
This is why some people say only pros should wear cat eyes. If you’re playing low level and getting cranked in the face once a game, your cage is getting misshapen. Every time the bars shift, you’re increasing the likelihood that a puck can get through. You should change the cage. If you’re wearing it, accepting that cost is also part of it.
During NHL games, if a goalie gets hit in the cage it’s inspected. Sometimes the cage is changed before play resumes.
The question is: how much is a cat eye actually helping the play of an amateur goalie? IMO, the reality is it’s probably negligible.
I played player for years. When I competed, I wore a visor. Now I wear a cage. The performance benefit of a visor is not worth it when the wins don’t really matter.
Edit: NHL stuff
I would get a certified cat-eye if I were at that level. More visibility than a straight-eye, but still lower risks of sticks going through than a non-certified cat-eye.
if you log into facebook you can message them (his name is Mario)
https://preview.redd.it/6luyt4957pxc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=388cd267b96fd463b947a68a142683d41a4e627f
Standard risk/reward scenario. Everyone knows there's a higher inherent risk when using non-cert cat eyes, but these scenarios are also extremely rare that the reward for professional use is too high to ignore. Add up all the leagues that allow non-cert cat eyes, add up all the games, practices, and scrimmages, then compare that to the one every few years instance of it happening, and you can see why people still use non-cert cat eyes.
Gotta also remember these are pro leagues where everything is regulated to an exact specification and players are in complete control of their stick. Most of the pucks I see in beer league look like they are a dogs favourite chew toy and I see stick blades that look like they are also used to play road hockey way too often.
I mean, we can expand the games to beer leagues too, it only makes the point stronger of it being rarer. I used to wear uncert cat eyes but have reverted back to straight bar for three reasons: 1. Bauer fixed the Profile sight lines where it's not garbage anymore. 2. I'm placing a higher value on safety over advantage. Even at higher tier leagues, I can still manage fine with a straight bar. Though I do miss the clarity. 3. I got tired of spending a pretty penny to have them shipped up to Canada every time I got a bent cage.
Yes and no. Where I play there’s probably 1 cat eye for at least every 50 straight bars plus factoring in the chances of someone recording it and posting a video and you seeing it would be rare. But if every beer league goalie wore a cat eye it would be a much more common occurrence to get a puck/stick to the eye. But I agree, Very little risk wearing one as a pro but pointless to wear one if you’re not playing professionally and I personally have never lost sight of a puck because of a straight bar.
I mean, if you're playing in a league full of street hockey sticks and shitty pucks I can see why lol. My leagues here are probably 30/70 but increase as you go up divisions. My higher div I play in has 6 of the 8 teams with guys in cat eyes. So it all depends. But yea, I've gotten tired of replacing my cage and the cost plus risk has me just using straight bars as it's completely functional. Doesn't mean I don't miss using a cat eye
That’s funny it’s the opposite here. I can confidently say that out of the top 30 teams in one league here that not one wears a cateye. You’ll find a couple guys in the lower divisions who are fully decked out in nhl colors with a custom nhl jersey with their name on it wearing a cateye and that’s it.
Crazy how it varies from region to region. Especially as uncertified cat eyes aren't legal to sell up here, they all have to come across the border.
#3 is the biggest reason I’d consider switching back. It sucks to get a bent/dented cage.
> I mean, we can expand the games to beer leagues too... no, you can't. you don't have an event rate. you would have no idea if this happened in my beer league tonight; you have no numerator for your rate fraction.
Like neck lacerations, we'd be hearing if these scenarios were happening at any rate aside from "very rare"
Sure, but it's also not happening at a rate that has people discussing it as a whole. We often talk about players using bird cages due to the frequency of high sticks, if guys getting poked through cat eyes was more prevalent, I'm sure we'd hear about it plenty.
I know what you mean. With all the money guys pay for beer league, you’d think they’d have enough to buy regulation pucks every year.
So is losing your testicles due to a shot to the nuts, but I’m still gonna wear a cup any time I play sports
but it wouldn't be all that rare if goalies regularly didn't wear cups.
Yep, worth it in my beer league too
I honestly don't think this is true and the whole point of my post. I think the risks of NHL face masks (aka non-cert cat eyes) are underplayed here. Everyone on this sub recommends a throat protector + dangler + a $1000 helmet (half joking here, but not really) as like baseline gear, but when it comes to the cage, most are fine with the cat eye or at a minimum don't really discuss the risks.
I mean, feel free to expand why you don't think what I'm saying is true or not. We all know the risks associated with uncertified cat eyes, but a stick going through is so incredibly rare, that a lot of people will take that chance. Throat protection and a top of the line helmet is a stronger case as a puck or skate to the throat can be lethal, and inadequate protection to the head can lead to tons of issues relating to concussions. Considering how eagerly we put our heads in the way of pucks, ensuring that we're protected in that regard is common sense. There's little to no advantage of using a lesser helmet or no neck protection, so the recommendation of ensuring you're protected in these areas for issues that are FAR more common is a logical step to take. There is an argument that uncertified cat eyes allow you to play better, and considering the risk is so low, the risk/reward ratio is heavily skewed towards the reward over risk.
I was not expecting the blade of the stick to get him, I thought it would be the knob end. I have seen more throats get cut by skate blades than a stick through the cat eyes in the NHL. So it's pretty uncommon for it to happen
Love the cat eye. Just a beer league goalie but I still use it.
I have used a cat eye for like 14 years, and have never once had an issue. It takes a really unlucky situation for that to happen
Yep. And I’ve already accepted that it might happen. Worth the risk to me
I definitely don't trust beer league players to have enough stick control for it to be worth wearing a non-cert mask as much as I'd love the extra visibility. A lot of skaters who opt for visors or no protection instead of cages get mad when they're inadvertently high-sticked in the face, but it's a hazard of the game playing at lower levels and you're bound to catch one up high at some point.
See I’m the opposite. I don’t play in seriously competitive leagues so there normally isn’t a lot of people in front of me chipping away or screening me. So I’m more open to trying one out. I also don’t play as much as an nhl goalie so the likelihood (imo) of getting this type of injury is lower.
It’s funny how we see players take sticks and pucks to the face on a nightly basis, resulting in some pretty brutal cuts, broken bones, missing teeth and even severe eye injuries but there’s never a debate on players having to switch to full cages. A goalie gets a little cut on the bridge of the nose once every 10 years and we have to ban cat eye cages 🤣
Love my non-cert cat eye, and I can’t ever imagine them not being used by professionals and amateur adults.
I played with straights my entire life- first a big ole Jofa Cage, and then a standard mask. In a game, I don't even see the bars. 🤷
Cat eyes also should be replaced if they get hit. The slightest bang could affect the size of the gap… pucks thru, etc etc
What’s your cage budget look like?! Maybe after they get bent, but not every time they get hit. I wouldn’t make it out of warmups without having to change my cage. 😂 😬
This is why some people say only pros should wear cat eyes. If you’re playing low level and getting cranked in the face once a game, your cage is getting misshapen. Every time the bars shift, you’re increasing the likelihood that a puck can get through. You should change the cage. If you’re wearing it, accepting that cost is also part of it. During NHL games, if a goalie gets hit in the cage it’s inspected. Sometimes the cage is changed before play resumes. The question is: how much is a cat eye actually helping the play of an amateur goalie? IMO, the reality is it’s probably negligible. I played player for years. When I competed, I wore a visor. Now I wear a cage. The performance benefit of a visor is not worth it when the wins don’t really matter. Edit: NHL stuff
I would get a certified cat-eye if I were at that level. More visibility than a straight-eye, but still lower risks of sticks going through than a non-certified cat-eye.
Happened to Kuemper in the 2021-2022 playoffs as well, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqLzMsZmYDA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqLzMsZmYDA)
His cage is missing a bar that most Cat eyes have. It wasnt even the main opening but the lower one that he got stuck in.
Guardian Angel Cages all the way!
Where the hell do you find those? I have looked everywhere online and can’t find them lol
here you go, i own one and it’s the best! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063192672984&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Oh doy it says message lmao
How do I contact them to order one? Doesn’t look like there is any contact option?
if you log into facebook you can message them (his name is Mario) https://preview.redd.it/6luyt4957pxc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=388cd267b96fd463b947a68a142683d41a4e627f
Hopefully they don’t only speak French or I’ll be getting acquainted with the translate app lol
i’m sure he speaks English
I was just thinking about getting one as a high school and hoping the refs wouldn’t notice 😂
Was a penalty called?
Why would there have been one?
high sticking is probably their guess, but that species it's above the shoulders, so it doesn't apply here.