A razor-sharp twist on hockey gear

hamiltonbusiness / November 12, 2014

RZR Blades is a company a bit like Hamilton, built on steel and a love of hockey.

Lisa Grace Marr The Hamilton Spectator

It was started by two brothers and a friend who figured there was a market for hockey skate blades that could be custom designed and easily switched out for old blades. RZR Blades’ innovation was in its creation of a skate blade that it claims creates a blade edge five times harder, and a core that can withstand three times greater impact, than a standard blade.

It’s aimed at high performance and professional athletes but at $120 each, is priced within the reach of youth amateur hockey players as well.

Chris Verticchio works in the steel industry. His brother Michael is a coach for the Junior Bulldogs and their partner Nick Montecchia, a machinist, designed the original blade.

The concept helped the trio be named the grand winners of the 2013 Lion’s Lair competition, including $63,000 in cash and prizes.

It was enough to help the company get to the next stage of development – field testing.

Chris said a key to that process was bringing in the expertise of Kelly Lockwood, a sports scientist at Brock University.

“This has validated the performance increase we are offering,” said Michael.

The skate blades are made in Hamilton with North American steel, something that the owners have pledged will not change.

“The quality control and quality of steel from offshore isn’t there,” said Chris.

Once the field testing is complete, RZR Blades is hopeful a large skate manufacturer will sign on for an order big enough to start taking the company to the next level.

Chris said it’s only a matter of time.

“The hockey world is one of the only sports industries which is like electronics where people are constantly looking for the latest and greatest in technology,” he said.

Once the hockey skate blade market is secured, Chris said there are easy alterations that can be made for the blade for figure skates and for speed skating.

For now though, the blades are available at Source for Sports locations across Canada as well as some local pro shops such as Hoolie Hockey at the quad pad and some independent retailers throughout Canada and the U.S.

From there, the drive will be to developing market share, said Chris.

“We are in ongoing discussions with several of these potential clients and forecast growth,” he said. “An open mind is what has led us to now and is what will drive us forward.”

lmarr@thespec.com 905-526-3992 | @lisamatthespec