What to Consider When Choosing a Hockey Stick
The right hockey stick can help a player’s game by advancing their stickhandling, shooting skills, and overall control. Picking it requires considering several factors, including the player’s size, position, proficiency level, and skating and playing style. In addition, players should match these factors with options highly impactful for the performance, such as the stick’s blade curve, flex, grip, height, kick-point, and lie.
The blade curve refers to the blade bend from the heel to the toe. Depending on where the bend starts, three main blade curve varieties exist — heel, mid, and toe. Heel curves are suitable for low long passes, one-timers, and slap shots. They serve best defensive players as the large flat surface allows them to deflect pucks easily. This type of curve, however, is not a good option for stickhandling.
Mid curves are handy in various situations, including backhands, passing, puck control, and shooting. This characteristic has made them the most widespread among the three types of blade curves. They are also great for novice players. Toe curves are the most difficult blade to use, but they allow for exceptional control of the puck and pulling off quick and crafty moves.
A hockey stick’s flex denotes the amount of pressure measured in pounds needed to flex the stick one inch. Higher numbers represent lower flex or stiffer sticks and vice versa. Selecting a proper flex contributes to higher overall shot velocity as flex functions as a slingshot to some extent. If a player uses a stick with too low flex or too stiff, their shots will not be powerful enough. If the stick has too high flex or is too whippy, it will compromise the shot’s accuracy. Professionals advise starting with a flex equal to half the player’s weight and adjusting from there.
As for the grip, two main types of shaft finishes exist — grip and non-grip or clear. The first adds to the control and stability a player’s bottom hand has on the shaft and allows them to shoot with full power. But the grip coating can limit the ease of sliding their hand up and down the shaft. Conversely, with a non-grip finish, players can shift their bottom hand up and down the shaft easily. However, this type of finish may loosen their handle during a shot and decrease the latter’s power.
With regards to the stick’s height, an average one is when the butt of the shaft reaches a player’s nose while they stand in their stocks and hold the stick between their feet and parallel to their body, with the stick’s blade toe on the floor. Long sticks are those surpassing a player’s brows, and short, those reaching below their chin.
Typically, defensive players use longer sticks to boost the power of their poke checks, slap shots, and shot-blockings, while playmakers prefer shorter ones.
A stick’s kick-point is where its shaft’s flex is the highest. Sticks come in three kick-point varieties: low, mid, and high. Low-kick-point sticks facilitate stickhandling and contribute to a faster release of wrist shots and snap shots; thus, playmakers usually favor them. Mid-kick-point sticks allow for longer shots and are the preferred choice for players that enjoy full-powered wrist shots and strong slap shots. And high-kick-point sticks resemble their mid-kick-point counterparts, but their design specifically amplifies firing hard slap shots and one-timers.
Finally, a stick’s lie refers to the shaft’s angle in relation to the blade when the latter is flat on the ice. A number, ranging between 4 and 7, on the shaft indicates the stick’s lie. Higher numbers correspond to a more upright lie. Higher lies suit better taller players or those who tend to skate upright. Lower lies are great for shorter players or those who prefer to skate low and lean forward.
