Puck Pockets may soon be coming to a store near you.

The netted pockets are used for shooting drills during hockey practice, where they fit in the corners of the main net. They can even fold back for use with a goaltender already in place. Whitehorse resident Art Birss, the former coach of the now defunct Yukon Claim Jumpers, recently had the idea patented.

'I've been involved in hockey for a long time at the coaching level,' Birss explained in an interview last Friday. 'I always watched practices, where the players would just come down the ice and shoot, with no real targets. I was sitting at Takhini Arena one day and the idea just came to me.'

Getting the Puck Pockets off the ground was a little more challenging than Birss first thought.

'It took me a while to really look at it, and decide whether it was worth going forward,' he said. 'A patent is really expensive.'

Eventually, Birss connected with a patent company in the U.S. called Concept Network. They told him it would be about $600 U.S. to test it out and see if it was worth a patent.

They thought it was a pretty good product, so in April of 2001, Birss sent the first paperwork to the company.

He then faced two challenges from people who already had patents on similar products.

'I had to look at their products and tell why mine was better, how it was different,' he said. 'First of all, none of the ones already patented had safety features on them.

'Then I had to go back to Concept Network and get extra artwork improved. You have to change 25 per cent of the design to get a patent when someone challenges you.'

By the time Birss was done, it cost him near $20,000 (CDN) for two patents, not to mention the two years plus in time spent.

'You can see why people don't go after a patent on a maybe,' he said.

Birss contacted a patent company in Edmonton, where he got his Canadian patent done as well. Then it was time to start production, which has been limited at first.

'I tried to get Yukon companies involved in the production as much as I could,' said Birss. 'The metal is made by Duncans, the safety pads are made by Jim's Upholstery, and the logo and artwork are done by Terra Firma.

'I had to contact ABC netting in Ontario for the net.'

To date, 164 Puck Pockets along with their instructional videos have been produced. Eighteen sets are out as prototypes at different businesses, and one set is already being used by a junior hockey team.

'A friend of mine took a set to Estevan (Saskatchewan), where the Bruins have had them on their nets since the start of the season,' said Birss. 'They really like them.

'It's helping to identify any problems the goaltenders may have. Everyone is really pleased with the results.'

Soon, a lot more hockey teams may be investing in Puck Pockets. Birss received some good news Thursday.

'There's an international sports show in Toronto this week, and we sent four of them (Puck Pockets) down,' Birss began. 'They called me back (Thursday) morning, before the show even began, and were interested in talking marketing and price.

'I kind of put them on hold, because this is all moving so fast. I contacted my lawyer, and she got in touch with them. She said, Let's give it the weekend and see what all the reviews are like. When the weekend's over, we'll talk again.' My stomach was in knots. They were talking about having it mass produced in China and the Middle East.'

Whether that happens or not, Birss said at the worst, he will produce the pockets in the Yukon and distribute them across North America. He would like to see the product really take off.

'There's a huge market,' he stated. 'Hockey is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. There are more kids in hockey in the state of New York than all of Canada right now.'

And Puck Pockets don't necessarily have to be limited to hockey either, said Birss.

'It's a hockey concept, but there are a number of things it could adapt to. First, there's indoor hockey, outdoor hockey, field hockey and in-line. But even indoor soccer could use something similar.'

In the same manner, Birss said, while the pockets are intended for administration, managers and coaches to purchase for team use, that doesn't mean they can't be purchased individually, for use in someone's back yard.

The Puck Pockets will get their first publicized test in Whitehorse by a minor hockey team at Stan McCowan Arena, Tuesday at 7 p.m.

'They're still going to go through some work,' Birss said. 'We don't know if the netting is even the right size yet.

'We'll probably go through some growing pains as we get them to market.'