SDHL Goalie Gear Chat: Frölunda’s Stephanie Neatby, “Gamer Nerd”

Stephanie Neatby is a native of Toronto, and played her first SDHL season in 2020-2021 with Linköping after four exemplary years at Princeton University in the NCAA. She joined Frölunda in 2022, and was a key member of the squad that helped FHC win promotion to the SDHL that same season. She currently boasts a .941 save percentage in seven starts.

Mask

Brand and model: 961xpm

Painted by: DaveArt

Design and Features: I am a big nerd so my mask is video game themed with one side having one of my favourite Pokémon, and the other with Bowser from the Super Mario franchise. My name is written in Mario Party font on the chin, and there are little GameBoys hidden all throughout the paint. On the back I secretly had Dave put a photo of my goalie coach William [Nordlund] without him knowing.

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Chest protector

Brand and model: Bauer Pro series. The model has been around the men’s pro leagues and has been unchanged for several years.

Tucked or Untucked? I wear it untucked, but I have added a strap to hold it down attached to the laces of my pants and straps on the back of it to hold it to the back of my pants. My model last year came with a strap on the back, but this one didn’t, so I made one myself using extra straps I didn’t need for my pads.

Customizations: The body is a large, but the arms are medium, and I shortened them by 2cm I believe. Bauer arms are very long even with my arms being as long as they are.

Pads

Brand and model: Bauer Hyperlite 2. Skinned to look like Shadows, I believe.

Size: Large

Customizations: Pretty much stock, just custom graphic.

Strapping: Only Velcro, no boot strap. These have an optional knee strap that I keep in.

Toe ties: I use waxed laces that I tie a bunch of knots into so my ankle can have more flexibility. I found waxed laces last much longer as toe ties than unwaxed laces.

Gloves

Brand and model: Bauer Shadow

Customizations: Stock Bauer Shadow, but something unique to me is I wear my glove as tight as it will possibly go and often need my equipment manager to add more Velcro (thank you Johan!).

Skate lace or normal lace? Skate lace

Break: 60 degree

Sticks and Tape Job

Brand and model: Bauer Shadow, 26in paddle, p31 curve

Customizations: None

Tape job – Knob: The knob is as wide as one strip of tape. I do two layers of twists for thickness and then close it up and add a strip of red tape. It is not a typical goalie size, but my dad used to do it this way when I started, and I never changed it.

Grip: I do a few layers of red grip tape and close it up with white on either side.

Blade: I go from heel to toe using thick white tape and then add a stripe of red tape. I’ve been adding a stripe of colour for whatever team I am on since I was a little kid. I use Howie’s blue wax after I add the stripe.

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Skates

Brand and model: Bauer Konekt 2

Customizations: I had added a piece of foam to the inside of tongue (where people normally get lace bite). These skates are a bit too wide for someone with small ankles. My heel tended to move up and down in the skate with each stride, and the foam is what fixed it for me.

Miscellaneous

Any equipment you wear for good luck?

Nope! Everything I wear is for function.

Any game day superstitions?

I don’t have any superstitions.

Favourite goalie when you were a kid:

Carey Price

Your personal favourite set up of all time:

My current setup is my favourite, I love the red pads with the stripes. Additionally, I think every helmet I got the chance to design with DaveArt has been incredible. My first season in Frölunda, I had Poseidon and a water Pokémon for a Gothenburg theme. And the next year I had [teammate] Hanna Olsson and [Frölunda GM] Kim Martin added to the side as a surprise.

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I also had some other CCM sets I loved. I got the opportunity to design one of the first printed CCM sets (after their premier at the World Juniors) a few years back in Linköping which was very exciting. Unfortunately, the design got immediately covered up by ad stickers. [Ed.: Most teams in the SDHL rely on corporate sponsorships and advertisements for large parts of their revenue. As a result, most goalie pads and blockers are covered by advertising logos.]. Finally, my Princeton [University, NCAA] gear was always fun to design with the unique colours of orange and black.

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Why did you become a goalie?

I was a skater for 4 years and I was average or more likely not very good. I got to try being a goalie somewhat frequently as our team rotated a set of equipment and you could volunteer. When I got to play, I loved it and I was probably the only one who liked getting hit by the puck. My first season I played on the same team as my sister who is 3 years older, and they put me in net for the championship game and we won. I asked to be a goalie [permanently] for three more years, and eventually one Christmas my parents gifted me goalie equipment, so I became a full time goalie that year. Additionally, I have an older cousin who was a goalie drafted in the 2nd round of the NHL draft. I watched him play in the QMJHL growing up and idolized him.

What goalie, other than yourself, has the best style in the SDHL?

[Frölunda teammate and Swedish U18 national team invite] Maja Helge

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