For as long as there’s been hockey, there have been hockey sticks. For as long as there have been hockey sticks, there have been people working relentlessly to improve them.
The latest upgrades to the tool focus on its flex, a measure of the amount of force it takes, in pounds, to bend the shaft one inch. This is in response to a growing trend among players at the youth level through the National Hockey League ranks using lower flex ratings and multiple flex points.
"When composite sticks first came out, their flex was uniform," True Hockey senior marketing and business development manager Dave McNally said. "Over time, manufacturers have dialed in a little bit closer, changing how the stiffness happens throughout the shaft, and manipulating it so that the stick performs differently in certain shooting positions for a player depending on the type of kick point."
One change has to do with the flex profile, or the relative stiffness of the shaft. An aggressive flex profile has bigger changes in stiffness along the shaft, creating specific flex zones and a more dynamic stick response. There’s also the more traditional, constant flex profile, which has little-to-no change in stiffness along the shaft and allows the player to generate more load, causing the shot to be a lot heavier as a result.
True offers sticks with three distinct kick points, the specific part of the shaft where it bends the most, including a low, mid or dual kick.
Bauer offers a similar set of options with its sticks. Its Vapor line has a low kick point with a stiff blade, which allows the player to get the puck on and off the blade quickly. Then there’s the Supreme line, which has a high kick point and a softer blade designed for players who like to load a lot of power into their shots. Finally, there’s the Nexus line, which has a mid kick point and is designed to incorporate the aspects of the other lines.
CCM also offers sticks with varying kick points. Its Ribcor line has a low kick point, while its RBZ line has a custom flex, bending where the player’s lower hand holds the stick. Its Super Tacks line has a mid kick point with two optimized loading zones, one for wrist shots and one for slap shots.
In keeping up with the latest trend toward lower stick flex profiles, Warrior’s new stick line, Alpha QX, has a kick point that extends from the player’s bottom hand through the lower shaft and hosel. Its Covert QRL line features a low kick point.
The Alpha QX line includes a patented taper design called Sabre Taper, a re-engineered shaft and hosel design that helps players engage flex easily and reload quickly with its stiff mid-low flex arc. Combined bined with the low flex profile, it allows the stick to maintain torsional stiffness, which means the bottom of the stick remains more stable through the shot and won’t fly open, thus improving shot accuracy.
In addition to the major stick brands, other companies are on the rise in the hockey stick industry. One such example is STX, which is also responding to the latest flex trends.
"With the faster speed of the game after the new rule changes since the (2012-13) lockout, players want to get the puck off and to the net as fast as possible to catch the goalie out of position," STX hockey brand manager Matt Di Girolamo stated. "For that we are doing a lot of different flex profiles specifically geared toward our Surgeon line. Our new Surgeon Rx3 will be available in 2018 and is our low kick point stick."
STX is tinkering with different carbon fiber layouts in its sticks to achieve the perfect release. "To create that quick release, it’s just the different way the weaves of the carbon fiber are and the different direction the weaves are going," Di Girolamo said. "We are creating a much tighter carbon fiber weave at the bottom of the hosel to create that quick release."
Another point of emphasis with the Surgeon line is the shaft, which deviates from the more traditional rectangular design.
"We looked at the stick market, at hockey in general, and found that everybody has been focusing on stick flex, weight and materials," Di Girolamo explained. "Nobody is really focusing on the shaft shape. If you look across the board there’s really no sport that uses a completely square shaft. Lacrosse, field hockey, rowing, tennis, baseball, they are all rounded or octagon-type shapes. We focused on trying to develop a stick that basically gave you the most contact to your hand, which allows you to get the most ability to stickhandle and that feel for the shaft."
STX accomplished that with its patented Puregrip shaft, which has an increased surface area on the underside of the shaft. This change has a direct impact on flex.
Said Di Girolamo: "With the Rx3, we’ve really fine-tuned the flex profile to fit this shape shaft to not only help with stickhandling and passing, which the Rx2 does a great job with, but also with the shot coming off that shaft shape."
STX still offers the traditional flex profile and shaft in its Stallion line.
"Hockey is still a very traditional sport," Di Girolamo noted, "and some of the older NHL players prefer the more traditional flex with their sticks."
NICC Hockey, based out of Freeport N.Y., offers an innovative design that provides more power and control on shots while providing dead stop action on receiving the puck. The company says its unique weight distribution of the stick and blade creates three power zones, making it much more forgiving than traditional blades. The NICC blade stays more stable during the shot, allowing the puck to stay on the blade throughout the shot, rolling off the toe as the shaft recovers.
"The new NICC Speed Master gives you a shot like no other stick," said former pro player Andy Cozzi. "One immediately feels the power and control of the blade."
In addition to flex, companies are also making durability a focal point. Flex and durability are not directly related, but there’s always a battle between perfecting flex while also making sure the stick bends but doesn’t break.
For Bauer, the key rests in new resin systems the company is applying to its sticks. Resin is the glue that holds the stick fibers together and influences stick feel, impact resistance and longevity.
"We certainly have seen the trends moving down in flexes for kids as well as bigger, stronger players moving down in their flex," Bauer global brand manager Tyson Teplitsky said. "On our high-end sticks, everything can work in line with that, whether it’s the resin system that we’re using or a full carbon fiber stick."
Bauer also has an exclusive hockey partnership with TeXtreme.
"TeXtreme is a very lightweight but very durable carbon fiber that is very high on performance," Teplitsky added, "so it can bend and move very easily without compromising the durability of the stick. This is used in all different industries from Formula 1 race cars to high-speed jets and airplanes to super high-end road bikes."
Bauer also invented eLASTech, a distinctive blend of resins created exclusively for its company’s sticks.
"TeXtreme and eLASTech are the two things that are allowing that deformation of the stick and really allowing players to lean into it without it snapping," Teplitsky said. "It has a lot of give, but it doesn’t sacrifice the durability of the stick. Even when a player’s stick gets slashed and it makes a little bit of a crack in the stick, the resin that we have in there slows down the spreading of that crack to try to make it stay as durable as possible for as long as possible. It prolongs the ‘pop’ of the stick as long as it can, and it makes the stick feel newer, longer."
Of course, while companies continue to develop better sticks with various kick points, it means nothing if players aren’t using the proper flex.
The old way that players determined what flex rating was best was to divide their weight in half. That’s no longer the case.
CCM has on its website a chart that helps players find the best flex range. It not only factors in weight, but also the height of the player.
"We are so used to bucketing players into certain areas so it’s easy for a sales associate at a retail store to say, ‘Hey. Take your weight and half it and that’s right around where you should be on the stick,’" Di Girolamo said. "But now that these sticks have so much data behind them and money that’s being poured into research and development, a stick is all about preference, whether it’s a Bauer, CCM, Warrior, True or us. It really depends on how the player plays."
McNally used Hockey Hall of Fame forward Brett Hull as an example of a player who went against the grain with the old flex rule.
"Hull was a phenomenal shooter and a fairly big guy and certainly had enough weight to use a very stiff shaft, but he played with a 70-75 flex stick because his shooting mechanics allowed him to really load the stick properly and take full advantage of the benefits of a composite stick with a shaft stiffness that low," he said. "It doesn’t always play out with height and weight. It often times is relevant on how the shooting mechanics of the player is, how much ice they catch before they make contact with the puck, where their hands are positioned when they’re shooting, and things of that nature. There’s certainly a trend toward players starting to adopt a softer flex stick. At one time the 100-110 flex sticks were driving most of the volume in the market, and that’s certainly changed. Now we see many more 75-85 flex sticks."
Teplitsky said Bauer monitors data to see if NHL players are trending in a certain direction and responds accordingly.
"NHL players have a very large spectrum of true custom sticks," he explained. "They can mix and match and play Mr. Potato Head between different blade stiffness, different shaft shapes, different kick points, different curves, the whole gamut. We see if NHL players are shifting a certain way, and if there’s something there we do a little more research and see if it makes sense to bring it down to the consumer level. We’ve done that plenty of times. The Nexus line of sticks was brought in through a trend in the NHL."
While companies’ focus lately has been on flex and optimizing stick durability, they are already getting a head start on the next development. One example: swing weight and balance points.
Said McNally: "You’ll see in our new line — our A series, which will come out in 2018 — how swing weight plays out. A lighter hockey stick on a scale does not necessarily translate to better performance. It’s more about how a stick is balanced in your hands, and the speed at which you can swing it through your shot. The overall swing weight can drive performance more than anything. We’ve really dialed in to this particular concept, and because of our golf background we really believe we are doing it better than anybody else.
"The result is our sticks feel lighter and swing faster, but on a scale they are actually a few grams heavier than previous models. That also makes them more durable. That’s probably been our biggest focus over the last two to three years, and it’s really come to fruition here in this upcoming line, which we believe to be the best line we’ve ever put out."
While companies are continuing to improve its sticks, the market has never been better.
"It took us four years to ramp up to be competitive, maybe even go above and beyond other companies in the stick world," Di Girolamo concluded. "Now it’s up to us to find the new materials and find what feels best for our NHL players so we can pass it along to our customers. Bauer, CCM, Warrior and True are all doing the same thing. It’s amazing how fast the game is getting and how much more scoring you’re seeing because of the development of the sticks."
