It all began during the COVID-19 pandemic when hockey legend Alpo Suhonen – former Chicago Blackhawks coach and championship maker with EHC Kloten and SC Bern – brought a Finnish hockey stick to the home of Riccardo and Dayana Signorell. China could no longer supply enough sticks, revealing just how vulnerable the ice hockey supply chain truly was.

This moment of scarcity sparked a realization: the lack of sustainability in ice hockey would make it difficult to carry this wonderful sport into the next decade. The industry consumed enormous amounts of carbon, metal, textiles, water, and electricity. While other industries were working to conserve resources, hockey players were still confined to overpriced «refrigerators,» paying more and more for ice time.

It was time for a reinvention.

From Sticks to Blades: The First Innovation

From the original stick project emerged our first NHL-ready product: The “Black Ghost” Carbon Blade a revolutionary hockey blade lighter than anything else on the market that helped players improve their game daily.

The necessity to test this material, combined with the expensive hourly rates for renting ice and limited year-round opportunities, naturally led to exploring synthetic ice as an alternative. However, tests with conventional blades were deeply disappointing.

Traditional ice skates face a significant challenge on synthetic ice: they fail to glide effectively and become dull after just a few minutes. This fundamental problem had prevented synthetic ice from becoming a viable alternative to traditional surfaces.

Out of this necessity, SHARKBLADES were born. This innovation didn’t happen in isolation – it was developed through collaboration with professors from the Institute for Materials Engineering and Plastics Processing (IWK) in Rapperswil, ex-professional hockey players, and the Swiss metal industry.

The Technical Challenge of Synthetic Ice

The SHARKBLADES development team faced several critical technical challenges:

• Creating consistent glide that mimics real ice
• Enabling edge control for turns and stops
• Developing a durable solution that wouldn’t quickly wear out
• Ensuring compatibility with existing skate holders
• Maintaining the authentic feel of ice hockey

After extensive research and testing, they revolutionized the synthetic ice skating experience by developing a lightweight, compact and durable tool that combines numerous components to replicate the feel of real ice. This breakthrough allows players to perform all traditional ice hockey techniques on synthetic surfaces.

From SHARKBLADES to OCEANICE: Creating a Complete Ecosystem

The innovation journey didn’t stop with SHARKBLADES. The development of these specialized blades led naturally to the need for an optimized surface – which became OCEANICE, crafted partially from recycled ocean-bound plastic.

With OCEANICE, Green Hockey overcame widespread disbelief to produce an eco-friendly ice alternative. Working in collaboration with leading environmental partners, they created a surface that repurposes significant amounts of reliably sourced, fair-trade ocean-bound plastic, turning waste into a high-performance, ISO-certified, non-toxic skating platform.

Unlike traditional ice rinks, OCEANICE requires no water and eliminates the need for energy-hungry cooling systems. The result is a pure, skateable surface that’s ready 365 days a year, regardless of climate or location.

Completing the System: The Greenly Puck

As the team tested their new surface and blades, they discovered another challenge – standard pucks didn’t perform optimally on the synthetic surface. This led to the development of «The Greenly,» a specially engineered puck that maintains the characteristics of a traditional puck while excelling on synthetic ice.

This completed Green Hockey’s holistic ecosystem – innovative blades, sustainable surface, and specialized puck, all working together to deliver an experience as close to traditional ice hockey as possible, but without the environmental and access limitations.

Real-World Testing with Elite Players

We know that what truly distinguishes revolutionary sports technology is not just its performance in controlled settings, but how it holds up under the scrutiny of those who push athletic boundaries daily. We have embraced this challenge by orchestrating rigorous field tests in environments that would typically render traditional hockey impossible and together with with players of any skill levels, NHL stars, hockey and skill coaches.

What emerges from these field tests is confirmation that our approach – combining innovative surfaces and adaptive equipment – creates a cohesive system that preserves hockey’s fundamental experience while breaking free from traditional constraints.

From Swiss Innovation to Global Vision

Today, we stand as the only company worldwide offering a complete holistic ice hockey package that allows the game to be played, expanded, and grown regardless of climatic location – without complicated and expensive ice rinks, yet with the same agility as real ice.

The next generation will play ice hockey on two different surfaces – just one click, and the blades are ready for players who want to improve every day. The surface, the blade, and the puck work together in one system, giving players the feel of real ice and the possibility to practice anywhere, anytime.

As we look toward the future, we envision the NHL as a partner to help distribute the fastest team sport to all corners of the world. Our mission is beautifully simple: Just grow the game.

This isn’t just about creating better hockey equipment – it’s about reimagining what’s possible for the sport itself. It’s about ensuring that future generations can enjoy hockey in all its forms in more places than ever before, without compromising the health of our planet.

From a Finnish hockey stick during a global pandemic to a complete ecosystem that’s revolutionizing how and where hockey can be played – the innovation journey behind SHARKBLADES and OCEANICE is a testament to Swiss engineering, hockey expertise, and environmental commitment coming together to solve complex challenges.

This is the future of ice hockey. And it’s gliding smoothly on OCEANICE with SHARKBLADES.

Let’s grow the game together! 💚🏒