All Star Hockey Set (2019-

[Bananabelle]

As someone who loves hockey and AG, as soon as I saw this set, I knew I had to have it. I played for a team also name the Stars for several years (except our colours were red/black/white) and I would have loved this when I was younger. Which is why I had to have it. No matter the cost or the quality of said set.

The set comes with sixteen pieces:

1 Helmet
1 Jersey (ahem, sweater)
1 pair of "Breezers," (hockey pants? I have never heard of this term. Even the French below translates them as "hockey pants)
1 pair of Gloves
1 pair of Socks
1 pair of Skates
1 pair of Shoulder Pads
1 pair of Shin Pads
1 pair of Elbow Pads
1 Hockey Stick
1 Puck
1 pair of Skate Guards
1 Roll of Tape
1 Hockey Net
1 Hockey Bag

As a hockey player, this set reminds me of the "starter kits," you purchase when you first start playing hockey. When you don't want to shell out big bucks for equipment, but you want everything you need as a beginner.

I'm not going to put a "realistic," spin on this review because it's hockey equipment for dolls. It's not supposed to be ~realistic because, if it was, the doll would look like a marshmallow. However, there is a lot of plastic to this set. And if you don't like the plastic, then this set is not for you.

I'll go over each piece individually.

1 Helmet - Completely plastic. The helmet and cage are plastic. The cage could have definitely been metal. There's no "dimension," to this piece (stickers could have been added, some buttons, etc) There's no "padding," on the helmet as the Maplelea one does. However, in AG's defence, that helmet is a bit too much and it makes the doll's head look unreasonable large. I don't mind this piece. I might alter this a big.

1 Jersey (ahem, sweater) - MUCH better than Mia's hockey sweater from 11 years ago. Fits the shoulder pads and elbow pads well. They could have added a number on the back and sides if they wanted to?

1 pair of "Breezers," - Made out of nylon which is what actual hockey pants are made of. I have no complaints.

1 pair of Gloves - They remind me of oven mitts, but AG was kind of handicapped with these, since AG hands are awkward for gloves and mittens. They have two little plastic bands to hold the stick, which was very cute.

1 pair of Socks - Awesome! They are knitted cotton and slide easily over the shin pads.

1 pair of Skates - Again, similar problem with the helmet. No dimension to the skates at all. I love the blade of the skates, but the boot is literally a boot with a blade attached.

1 pair of Shoulder Pads - Awesome! Not super bulky like real hockey players shoulder pads tend to be

1 pair of Shin Pads - These are simply plastic "moulds," that snap onto the shins of the doll. No straps, nothing else. It doesn't matter since the socks cover them anyway. But again, dimension could have been added in the form of straps or other decoration.

1 pair of Elbow Pads - Similar to elbow pads with rollerblade sets. Hockey elbow pads are more of a "L" shape since you are required to move your arms to shoot, skate, etc. But obviously AG arms do not bend, nor do they have posable joints, so it doesn't matter. You also cannot see them since the sweater covers them up.

1 Hockey Stick - Plastic. They could have gone with fiberglass or wood. I don't have Mia's stick to compare. But they seem very similar. The scale is correct.

1 Puck - Plastic and out of scale. Pucks are rubber and the skate guards are rubber, so why didn't they make this rubber as well??

1 pair of Skate Guards - Awesome! I have only seen plastic or cloth guards. Kind of weird to see rubber ones? They also have some glitter on them.

1 Roll of Tape - I haven't unrolled this but it looks and feels like actual hockey tape.

1 Hockey Net - This is the biggest disappointment. The scale is completely off. The doll is taller than the net (the net comes to her elbows). What was the point of this?? I would have preferred no net to this.

1 Hockey Bag - A nylon bag. Nothing wrong with it. As I mentioned before, this bag reminds me of what would be included in a starter set for a beginner player. I haven't tried to fit everything in, but I'm sure (and hope) everything fits.

Overall, I'm happy with this set. It's not perfect, but I'm glad to see AG create a hockey set instead of rehashing the same five sports over and over again. If this goes on sale, I can see myself purchasing a few more so I can have a "team."

[chernayakoshka]

Breezers: A+

These shorts are made of black nylon with a red, faux-lace-up tie in the front. They have what feels like padding on the side of either leg. I’ll admit here that I know nothing about hockey attire, but it seems like this would be useful for protecting Nia’s legs from errant pucks!

The waist is elastic and has enough stretch to easily slide over the doll’s legs. Nia is a chubby PC girl and they fit her fine.


Front. I really like the tie crossing in the front - again, I don't know if it's realistic, but it looks cool!


The back. You can see the padding a lot clearer here.


On Nia.

Shoulder Pads: A+

Oooh, I love pieces like this! These are made of a stiff, padded material and, while I have no experience with the real life version of these, look and seem to be constructed just like the real thing. They’re made of four pieces pieced together: a front piece, a back piece, and two shoulder pads. It opens at the left shoulder seam with Velcro and also features Velcro straps on each side and around each arm to hold it in place. I may not have experience with hockey gear, but I have made cosplay armour and this is very similar to how I construct that, so it seems very practical! The flexibility in the shoulders is really impressive. It also has enough padding to at least feel like it would serve as a decent buffer against another hockey player or a wall, depending on how much into the fray Nia throws herself.


The front.


Demonstrating how it opens.


How it all goes on the doll.


And from the back. I really love the shoulder pads' flexibility!

Elbow Pads: A+

The base of these is made from red, flexible plastic with a white centre featuring a stamped star and raised dots. Thick, white elastic with Velcro closures is run through the plastic to hold the pads onto the doll’s arms. These are shaped like standard AG elbow pads and seem pretty sturdy. I like these – they feel like they’d do the job and they stay on Nia’s arms just fine!


Simple, but practical.


They're easy to put on and stay in place.

Jersey: A+

This is made of breathable jersey material. It’s primarily white with a thick, blue stripe across the bottom and sleeves and a thinner red stripe over the blue on the torso. The word “Stars” is printed in blue across the front with red and blue stars above it. The V-neck is trimmed in red. The sleeves are full length and go to the doll’s wrists. AG has put one of their ugly plastic tags on the front left of this, but I won’t count it against the outfit.

It opens fully in the back with non-stick Velcro for easy dressing. There’s plenty of room for it to fit over the shoulder and elbow pads, even on a thicker doll. It fits great! Honestly, with so many of AG’s recent offerings being super tight and offering very little wiggle room, I’m very, very impressed with this!


Front.


Back.


There's plenty of room even when it's put over the padding.

Shin Guards A+

They’re just moulded plastic that snap onto the doll’s leg, but I can’t find it in myself to really complain about these. They feature a star in the centre, various lines crossing the guards, and three dots on the bottom. While normal guards are likely made from a different material and have straps, I can appreciate AG’s method to make them a little easier to put on and a little less bulky (this is the same sort of design used on the Team USA Soccer Set shin guards). They snap easily onto the doll’s legs and go up to her knees. Nia’s legs are perfectly encased!


The design might be hard to see, but it's there!


The design is clearer here. I'd definitely feel protected in these.

Socks: A+

These are…interesting. They’re a typical pair of thick, knitted AG socks in white with a thick blue stripe sandwiched between two thin red stripes...except they have no foot. Google tells me that this is accurate, so I’m running with it! Good on AG for this accuracy! They slide easily over the shin guards and have plenty of stretch, so they fit and will stay up.


Some very nice fabric tubes.


Perfectly covering the shin guards.

Skates: A+

From the start, I love how different these are from AG’s typical figure dancing skates. The boot is black faux leather with a grey design on each skate’s outer side. The ties are white (and they actually tie…unlike the other current skates). The white plastic base and silver plastic blade are very heavy and sturdy. They look just like a pair of hockey skates (to this untrained eye!). They’re super easy to slide on and tie, especially since the socks don’t cover the foot. If your doll has tight limbs, she’ll balance just fine.


Super cool skates.


No issues with the "socks" at all.


Comparison to the Team USA Figure Dancing Set skates. I appreciate the variety.

Skate Guards: A+

Just a pair of flexible, rubbery skate guards. These ones are red with silver sparkles. They fit over the blades and aid in balance. Nothing to complain about here!


I do appreciate the sparkles.


I tend to leave skate guards on to help the doll balance while being displayed.

Gloves: A

Black, padded gloves with a Pleather, white palm. These look like real hockey gloves, in as much as AG can accomplish that (they’re more like mitts and have no articulated fingers, though the finger shape is sewn into the padded back). Each one has a clear loop to, I assume, hold the stick in place. They’re pretty difficult to get on, but not impossible. I swore a few times 😉. I imagine that a kid would have a hard time getting them on the doll’s hands.




Definitely some of the more difficult gloves I've put on a doll of late.

Helmet: A-

I find the lack of padding disturbing. This is primarily made of thick, sturdy red plastic. The cage is made of hard silver plastic. There’s a soft, leathery chin guard held in place with nylon strapping inside the cage. The fastening is Velcro on nylon strapping and secures under the doll’s chin. There’s a star embossed on each side of the helmet and “American Girl” stamped into the back. The cage opens via Velcro and a hinge at the top to make it easier to put on the doll’s head.

If I’m going to be honest, I don’t love the way this looks. The helmets that come with the Team USA winter Olympics sets look fantastic and are easy to get on, but this one is difficult to put on (especially if your doll has thick hair like Nia) and looks a bit large and awkward once in place.


Front.


From the side.


"American Girl" stamped on the back.


With the face cage open.


And on Nia.

Hockey Stick: A

Made of durable, blue plastic with black stripes on the handle and a star at the base. “American Girl” is printed on the handle in white. The design is the same on either side. It does fit through the loops in the gloves, though I feel like the doll’s hold is sort of awkward (I also knocked a glove off while I was trying to figure out the posing, and given how difficult the gloves are to get on, that wasn’t something I was exactly thrilled about…).


One hockey stick, what you see is what you get!


Being held. Don't come after me if I positioned it wrong, please!

Tape: A+
It’s a roll of red tape on a white roller. The box advertises that this can be used to wrap the hockey stick. I don’t doubt it, but I’m also too nervous to do it myself right now, so I’m going to leave it on the roll. I peeled a bit off and can confirm that it feels and sticks like tape.


A tiny roll of tape.

Puck: A-
It’s a plastic puck. Right shape, wrong material. There’s a white star and white circle on the top of the puck. I wish it was more rubbery instead of being hard plastic.



Net: B-

Easily my least-favourite part of the set. It’s difficult to put together, impossible to adjust once it’s together, and super out of scale when put next to the doll. It doesn’t even reach the doll’s rear. Even as someone who hasn’t seen much hockey, I can tell that this is way too short. I’d rather AG not have included this at all!


There was a lot of sighing and mumbled cursing leading up to this thing finally getting together.


Way too short to be accurate.

Bag: A

A square, black nylon back with silver straps and “American Girl” and “Stars” in red, blue, and white with four stars printed on the side. There’s a zipper in the top for easy packing. The net does not fit (I broke it down and tried), but I imagine that the other pieces would. I’ve only taken off a point because I wish the net fit. That would have made for super easy storage.


Not bad! I just wish the net also fit...or, you know, AG had left out the net altogether. Either one.

Pamphlets
I’m not going to grade these, but I wanted to mention them. One has instructions for putting the net together (which I didn’t see until after I’d muddled through it). The other has a little quiz to determine which spot you fill on a team and images of AG other athletic outfit offerings. Nothing super special.


Instructions that I totally missed until after I'd put the net together.







Good Value?

This retails direct from AG for $75, which I think is very fair given the number of pieces included and their quality.

Overall: A

This isn’t a perfect set – especially with the tiny net – but I’m so happy that AG finally stretched beyond figure skating, skiing, and snowboarding. This is a lovely, practical, sporty outfit for a non-girly doll (just like Nia, who’s happy to take to the ice and throw some boys through the glass!) and I love that AG took the plunge and made something like this. There are a tonne of pieces included and most of them are very well made (with the others being above average). I’m so happy to have finally bough this! Maybe someday, I’ll actually wrap the hockey stick. For now, Nia will enjoy her outfit as it currently is.