Shop Talk: Goalie celebrations fast approaching at Behind The Mask
Calling all goaltenders!
Coming up on Saturday, May 20, is the 10th Annual Behind The Mask Goalie Day.
Goalie Day was first held in 2008 in a small conference room at the La Quinta Hotel on Shea just east of the 101, right across the freeway from our current Scottsdale store. The goalies attending had to go through the hotel to find us. The room was small and packed with goalie equipment. At the time, we were making the transition to the new 11-inch pads and had lots of great deals on the wider 12-inch pads. In 2010 when our Scottsdale Superstore (Goalie Superstore) opened, we no longer carried goalie equipment in Chandler and Peoria, so there was some surplus gear.
Fast forward to 2017.
What is Goalie Day?
It is the day that BTM holds to celebrate our puck stopping friends. Company reps from manufacturers such as Bauer, Brian’s, CCM, Vaughn and others come to Behind The Mask Scottsdale from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. More than 100 goalies come out for this event, some driving from out of state. Others make the journey from Flagstaff, Prescott, Tucson and Yuma. BTM has free raffles and door prizes that each company provides, as well as lots of free goalie swag. Those who show up early get to take advantage of the best deals and get the best swag. Goalies get huge one-day-only, in-store savings on demo and salesman sample equipment, plus blowout deals on older model goalie pads, gloves, blockers, pants, chest pads at up to 80 percent off.
Company reps are continuously amazed by the number of goalies that attend, their knowledge, and their passion for the sport. The support BTM gets from the manufacturers is awesome. The companies send their top goalie gurus from across the country to our event. Many of these reps are the ones fitting the NHL, AHL, college and junior goalies.
That’s not all, though.
On Friday, May 19, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Arcadia Ice in Phoenix is the 5th Annual Behind the Mask Demo Day.
Demo Day allows goalies to try new gear on the ice for FREE. The companies provide the demo gear and BTM provides shooters for the on-ice experience. Goalies can learn proper fitting, tech and spec information on the gear from company and BTM goalie experts. We have junior, intermediate and senior leg pads, gloves, blockers and chest pads available to try. Most goalies show up early to talk to the company experts and to get all the product information and features. It is a meeting of the goalie minds. If you’re in the market for new gear, it gives you a chance to try different brands. As goalie equipment is expensive, you want to make sure what you are buying is exactly what you want, both in price and in functionality.
After Goalie Day is our BTM employee and company rep barbecue and festivities. This year’s activities will include a BTM employee and company rep ping pong tournament. The BTM BBQ has become famous in the hockey industry as company reps fight for the chance to attend.
One of the highlights is seeing Bauer rep Dan Kennedy on the same team as CCM rep Scott Morrow. There are some epic chirps and not many subjects are out of bounds over the years with these two.
If you’re a goalie, I hope you can make it to the 10th Annual Behind The Mask Goalie Day at BTM Scottsdale. Please pass these two events on to any goalies you might know.
See you soon!
Randy Exelby is the owner of Behind The Mask Hockey Shops.
