SoftCap®
IMPROVED PLAYER SAFETY
Hockey is one of the world’s most physically demanding sports, filled with hard hits, and even harder landings. That’s why we developed the SoftCap® Caprail System and introduced it to the market in 2006.
SoftCap® is designed to help reduce the likelihood and potential severity of injury to players, by providing a more forgiving surface at the caprail location of the boards, the most likely point of player contact, where injuries to the head, chin, mouth and elbow can occur.
SoftCap® is extruded with built-in cavities to enhance the deflection of the caprail upon player impact. Made of an advanced, flexible thermoplastic elastomer, formal testing shows SoftCap® is 96% more compressive than the current HDPE caprail, meaning impacts are more readily absorbed and energy more rapidly attenuated by the softer surface of SoftCap®. Available standard in red or blue as well as a variety of optional or custom colors.
SoftCap® can be specified as part of your new Crystaplex® or PRO Series™ dasherboard system, and can be retrofitted to many existing board systems as well. It’s a good first step toward reducing injuries.
Player safety is the way of the future for hockey at all levels and is currently mandated in all NHL arenas. Due to increased awareness, the number of community, college and university rinks in North America interested in making their dasherboards safer, is increasing.
With SoftCap®, we help make your facility a better, safer place to play!
When we talk about “Safety Through Innovation”, we mean leading-edge safety options that provide both improved player safety and reduced liability and risk for owners and operators of rinks. Options such as SoftCap® our industry-first, impact absorbing cap rail system.
Now protected by Canadian Patent # 2,552,340 and other patents internationally, SoftCap® is 96% more compressive than the standard High Density Polyethylene cap rail every other dasher board company in the world uses. Think about that: SoftCap® is nearly twice as forgiving upon impact as standard cap rail.
SoftCap® is the only safety cap rail system approved by both the National Hockey League and the Kontinental Hockey League, and is now used in more than half of all NHL rinks, as well an ever-growing list of AHL, KHL, NCAA, and community rinks.
What about so-called ‘flush-mounted’ glass? Isn’t no caprail better than a SoftCap® rail?
No, it really isn’t.
Athletica Sport Systems test-marketed a version of this design years ago, and we learned that when players are checked into the boards, the differential between the boards and the shielding allows the hips and shoulders to make contact at the same time, distributing impact evenly and more safely.
In addition, the overwhelming opinion of players was the caprail provides a necessary leverage point to help them keep their feet during scrums in the corner, or when cycling the puck.
And having no caprail takes away a valuable perch for game officials in need of quickly getting their feet out of the way of the play.
Removing the caprail isn’t the answer.
Improving it is.
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