Wild practice update: Jose Theodore is sick. They'll decide later today if they'll call up another goalie. Defenseman Marek Zidlicky (lower body) is not practicing and is doubtful. If he can't play, Marco Scandella will play.

The NHL officially approved Wednesday the Fusion Safety Pads manufactured by Minneapolis-based company Sports Resource Group. This had been in the works since last summer.

The first order will go to the Bell Centre in Montreal, company President Chris Guertin told me today, the site of where Max Pacioretty broke vertebrae in his neck when he was checked into the turnbuckle by Boston's Zdeno Chara.

I wrote about thenews pads last week at this link

It is up to each individual team and arena as to whether they want to purchase the new padding.

The Fusion Safety Pads have four design changes versus the current industry standard:

• Higher density foam
• L-shaped design to better hug the termination post corners
• Thicker foam at the most likely point of impact
• Taller options – 48", 60" or 72" high

Per the press release, under strict testing conducted by Vector Scientific Inc (VSI), SRG Fusion Safety Pads were able to reduce the impact that causes concussions by 88% versus no padding at all and reduce the impact by 75% versus the standard industry padding
"Hockey is a fantastic sport loved by millions of players and fans. As a leader in the hockey rink equipment manufacturing business, we never stop looking for ways to make the game safer so more and more players can enjoy it. To put it in hockey terms, we couldn't have asked for a better linemate then the National Hockey League as we developed this new technology," said Sport Resource Group President Chris Guertin.


SRG Fusion Safety Pads first made their debut at the NHL's Research and Development Camp in Toronto in August 2010, which is organized by Brendan Shanahan, a former longtime NHLer and the league's vice president of hockey and business development.
"When Chris showed up and put them up, even aesthetically looking, it seemed a big difference," Shanahan told the Star Tribune. "Then it was just a matter of him backing up his data and claims that they provide more protection and decrease the risk of concussions. We feel after some thorough, rigorous testing, that's been done. We think there's a future there."