i'd suggest you to stick and puck and see how you like skating with a stick in your hand and shoot around for a bit. there's usually some beginners there doing the same but there's an abundance of good players there as well so dont feel too discourage if you decide to try it. if stick and puck piqued your interest even more in ice hockey then you should go and invest in some gear

What exactly is Stick and Puck?
Is it a drop-in thing to practice puck handling and shooting and stuff?
Is full equipment required?? Is equipment rental available? etc

Where can I find more info about the pricing and all that stuff.

Think of it like public ice skating, except everyone has a stick and a puck to play around with. The only requirements are gloves and helmet, and you're not allowed to organize a game(s).

Just borrow equipment. i'm sure you know ppl with extra sets. Then go try it out and see if you like it or not.

Nice! where can I join? Kinda excited and pumped up for it.

Richmond Ice Center is the best. 9am to 3pm.

Otherwise 8 rinks, but I don't recommend it.

Richmond is the best and the only place you should go for stick and puck! It's only $5.55 and you get to have 6 hrs of ice time.

http://www.icesports.com/Burnaby_Dro...s.ashx?lang=en
this is 8-rinks, but more or less its usually 10:30-12:15 and again at 2:45-4:15 every monday-friday.. Saturday has the morning skate, but i would not recommend it because they are alway full... they max out at 24 people and 24 on the ice at once there really isn't much room to move. Weekdays average about 6-10 skaters.

It's $8 at the moment. And they require helmet and gloves

Richmond runs one also
think its 9-3 at $5-$6, but you should call them before heading down there because i personally haven't found an online schedule for them yet.

Theres probably more out there but those are the ones i go to.

as for the pick up, went to it this week and i find its a good place to get some confidence with the puck and just try somethings out while in a quasi-game environment.

R.I.C. and Minoru's schedules are available here:

http://www.richmond.ca/parksrec/arenas/adulthockey.htm

Damn, honestly all these times are horrible for stick and puck :(

Mon-Fri work 8:00-5:30. Won't even get home until 6:30pm. Any sessions for people that work office hours?

Feeling so depressed now. Ice hockey must really hate me.

^^ There should be a stick and puck in bby early in the morning on the weekends, i'm not sure exactly when but i think it's hella early

Depending on where you work, I do believe Brittania has a stick and puck session on fridays starting at 12 noon.
I've been contemplating of bringing my skates and going to stick and puck as I can take a 2 hour lunch on fridays. Sure beats going to chinatown and eating a big lunch.

That would work best. lol. Doesn't matter how early, i'll be awake for it.

Just a warning, it's not about how early that time slot is, it's how early you want to get to stick & puck. You could show up 30 minutes early and be out of a spot as they only have a limit of 24 and you're competing with other stick & puckers who are showing up early for a spot. Burnaby 8 is notorios for being busy.

I don't bother with it as it's almost a competition to get in. If you want to go for a guaranteed stick & puck, you should go to your friends pick up games (or like the pick up posted by the OP).

Usually there's a 10 - 15 minute warm up before a game starts which you can use for stick & puck. I'd say just bring a glove and a helmet and at least you get a goalie to shoot around a bit. Do this enough or for a few weeks and eventually you'll get the hang of it or confidence to play a pick up game. :)

From the looks of it, the stick and puck session schedules don't match up with mines. Only 8 rinks does, but everyone said it's too crowded there. I probably won't bother with stick and puck then. The only thing that actually attracted me was that I only needed minimal equipment to be able to participate, and all I really want is just to skate around and handle a puck.

I am noob with the equipment too though, so I probably don't exactly know how to put everything on properly. Well, I'm pretty sure everything's self explainatory. I'm not at the "hockey" sport. Just that I have never put anything on before, and I could imagine an embarrassing situation when somethings put on backward or something's hanging out.

For these pick-up games the OP posted, everyone there has full equipment more or less, right? It would seem silly to come for the 10-15 minute warmup and pay $15. Unless I can do it for free? :D

I'll go look at some gloves and sticks during my lunch break at sportchek. If I can get my hands on some stuff, maybe I'll be able to join you guys on dec 13.

Which way do you shoot and how tall are you?
I have a bunch of left handed sticks that I don't use anymore and would be perfect for beginner's. Only down side is I am like Wellwood, and play with a short stick.

As for gear, it is really hard to put it on wrong. It's not like you are going to wear a jock around your face like a facemask.
If you really wanna go cheap, set yourself a budget and stick to it.
I'd say $100 for skates.
$30-50 for shin pads. $50 for pants.
$50 for elbow pads. $15 for jock/gater belt combo.
$10-15 for socks, and $30 for a practice jersey.
$50 for helmet and $30 for a cheap cage.
$50 for gloves and $20 for a cheap stick.

Things I have at home if someone is in need of cheap gear.
CCM pants, blue large size.
Old practice jersey's.

I just came back from Sportchek, can't believe I spent over an hour there in the hockey section. Quite overwhelmed by all the different stuff and sizes, considering I know squat. Like how long should your stick be? I tried to remember to take in consideration I will probably be 2 or 3 inches taller with skates. I personally like using shorter sticks for better control. But are you supposed to be arching your back or somethign when you play? For gloves, I found 13.5" to fit snuggly, my fingers right at the tips. 14" felt more roomy but more comfort. I don't know is "roomy" a good thing in hockey though. (btw, the gloves were VIC xcaliber. only $34.99) RBK 1K $90 skates, I'm either size 8 or 9. Once again, 8 fit snuggly, 9 was more roomy. I heard hockey players use small skates though for better mobility?? I think on rollerblades I'm a 8, but I wear 9 in normal shoes.
I guess I should really just ask the salespeople for help, but being at Sportchek with commision, some of those guys really put unnecessary pressure on the customers. Kind of annoying.

I'm very small built.. Picture a typical skinny asian guy. I'm 5'7", most stuff in order to fit me will have to be "S". 32-34" waist or something. I use right handed sticks.. haha no luck there. Can't borrow your stick. I could use practice jerseys (as long as they have been washed ;) ) but I have a feeling they may be too big for me. But how much bigger should a jersey be than your normal shirt size, to compensate for all that gear you have on.

Looks like we are taking over on this thread.
I guess I'll do the right thing and start a new thread for you. :thumbsup:

Where's the new thread? or are you telling me to make a new thread? lol

Damn..that's starting to add up! It'll be like $300 for equipment + * x $15 each time you go, I think it'll hit $500~

Going from memory, some of the high end gear without any discount (just for the sake of number crunching)
Pump 9K skates $580ish
9K shin pads $100
Pro RBK pants $200
Jock/socks $35ish
Pro-grade gloves $200
Pro-grade shoulder pads $150
9K helmet $100+
9K elbow pads $100
9K OPS $250
Oakley Visor $85+
And this is all before tax. Approx $1800 before tax to look like a pro. =P

Goalies are a lot more $$$ too.

whats a place to go if i want to just start up ice hockey? i dont really have any experience other than PE class in highschool. Im looking to play a goalie position too.

Oh, btw, how much physical contact is there gonna be at these sessons?
Are there gonna be a lot of bumping or harder bodychecking?
And how are positions determined? and how much ice time do people get on shifts? etc

barely any physical contact unless u accidentally run into ppl.
ur either going to be a forward of a defenceman and shift will be until ur tired, which is usually around a minute.

theres no bodychecking, but shit happens and thats why you want full gear to minimize the potential damage. Its newbie hockey and people skate with their head down, can't really stop, or can't dance around people so again shit happens. Bumping into each other on the other hand is different because its part of the game. People will battle for the puck and that sometimes means having to touch each other.

you just play were you want... no one really plays positions during pick up anyways. I never saw anyone covering the point :P You usually divided into fowards or defense, thats if you have enough people otherwise you just roll the bench.

The amount of ice time varies depending on how many per side (if theres only 5 people then you're never getting off :P)

YAY! I hope only 12 people show up including goalies!

lol..

btw, if I want to sign up for dec 13, should I email the OP? Is that the procedure? Pay when I get there?