Islanders Bo Horvat Testing Out New Equipment

If you asked anyone on the New York Islanders who the biggest equipment geek is, Mathew Barzal would be the unanimous winner.

The face-of-the-franchise forward is always trying out new gear.

Barzal's dynamic duo, Bo Horvat , has been a Bauer guy for most of if not his entire career.

Last season, he rocked a Vapor HyperLite 2 graphic stick, per our good friends over at GearGeek.com :

But could Horvat be thinking about making a change?

On Monday, GearGeek.com shared a photo of Horvat getting in an on-ice offseason workout. But instead of using his usual stuff, he was testing out a CCM bucket and a True HZRDUS 9X4:

Speaking with GearGeek.com , there are a few reasons why Horvat may be testing out some new toys.

"So, if the Bauer sticks he was using this past season were indeed built as Vapor ADVs (and there's a good chance they were), then that stick is actually lighter than this True HZRDUS 9X4 he was practicing with earlier," Gear Geek shared with The Hockey News. "Not by much, only about 5 grams. But still, this new 9X4 from True is built with new technology. Perhaps it was enough to convince Horvat to try something different.”

However, the other reason for the change is that Horvat's endorsement deal with Bauer could have expired.

"The other thing is that it's possible his partnership/endorsement deal with Bauer is over. The fact that he was wearing a CCM helmet also makes me think that the deal has indeed expired," Gear Geek said. "Unfortunately, there aren't any websites or sources that keep track of those deals that players have. You just kinda have to make educated guesses based on similar situations like we see today with Bo."

Earlier in the 2023-24 season, I spoke with Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock about his shooting accuracy through the years, and he said a lot of it had to do with his struggles in finding the proper stick.

You can check this story out below:

Related: EXCLUSIVE: Islanders Ryan Pulock Opens Up About Emerging From His Shot Consistency Struggles

It's important for players to feel comfortable in their equipment, and it was clear Horvat was comfortable last season.

In his first full season on Long Island, the first year of an eight-year extension worth $8.5 million annually, Horvat scored 33 goals with 34 assists for 68 points in 81 games.

Regardless of the reason he's testing out new equipment, there's no better time than the summer to try things out.

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