NHL goalies embracing switch to composite sticks (2024)

FAQs

Do goalies use composite sticks? ›

Today, nearly 100% of goalie sticks are built of composite materials, making them stronger and lighter than ever before. In 2022, the goalie stick market is dominated by Warrior, Bauer, and CCM.

Stood on his head: This is a term to describe an outstanding performance by an ice hockey goaltender in a short period of time. Often when a goalie lets out a rebound, the opposition returns the shot quickly, and the goalie has to make a quick save.

Composite sticks tend to have a larger sweet spot which makes it easier for younger players to hit the ball correctly with power. Wood is more susceptible to wear and tear on sand based surfaces whereas composite sticks are more resistant and so have an increased playing life.

Composite sticks weigh less, generally provide more power, have a custom kick point, and are more durable than wood sticks, which tend to be heavier and stiffer. Wood is also less consistent—every piece of wood is different, whereas several composite hockey sticks can be built with uniform qualities.

The majority of goalies use wax on their tape to lengthen the lifespan of the tape used, as well as to improve puck control.

Unlike the rules regarding other players, a goalie can continue to play with the broken stick until he can make it to the bench during a pause in the game to retrieve a new one. He can also be handed a stick from a fellow player; however, this must be considered a legal hand-off.

A black knob on the end of a goaltender's stick could easily be mistaken as a puck. And when the rule was written years ago, players had two tape colors to choose from. Black and white. By mandating goaltenders use white tape, the NHL was lessening the chance of blown calls by the goal judges.

Snarl: The step before the donnybrook/dropping the mitts/tilly/fisticuffs. Tilly: Oh look, it's another word for a fight!

Having eight arms, the octopus symbolized the number of playoff wins necessary for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. The practice started April 15, 1952, when Pete and Jerry Cusimano, brothers and storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market, hurled an octopus into the rink of Olympia Stadium.

Asphalt and concrete will chew up a street hockey stick blade, so dropping a bunch of money on a high-end twig just doesn't make much sense. You'll risk cracking and splintering wood and composite blades on the street, as well. The best street hockey blades are ultra-tough ABS plastic material.

What is the most popular stick in the NHL? ›

Sidney Crosby uses a CCM P29 curve. This Hockey Stick Blade is one of the most popular in the game today and features a deep mid-curve allowing for great stickhandling and puck control.

As long as you kept it properly stored, that 10 year composite stick will be the same as when you left it. While wood sticks are susceptible to the humidity or dryness, modern composite will remain pretty much the same. The only thing that would effect it is extreme heat or cold.

A composite stick MAY last longer then a wood stick but can break just as quickly. The bottom line is hockey is a rough sport and sticks are going to break. In fact, they HAVE to break for safety reasons alone.

The biggest myth out there is that black tape helps you hide the puck from goalies, but Coyotes netminder Mikael Tellqvist was very definitive in saying that it does not make a difference to a goalie what the shooter uses.

The reason for the use of white tape, rather than other colors is to distinguish between the puck and the knob of the stick. Some goalie's have a quite large knob which can be mistaken for a puck. Keep that in mind if you want to use another color tape as well.

Many believe that using black tape is what hides the puck from the goalie, but many goalies actually mentioned that white makes it harder to see when they are shooting the puck because the tape blends into the color of the ice.

Is a player able to bodycheck the goalie like any other opponent on the ice? The goalie in hockey is not allowed to be hit by a player. There is no instance where the goalie is 'fair game' and allowed to be checked like a regular skater, even if the goaltender is handling the puck outside of the crease area.

Yes. A player may lift the opponent's stick at anytime provided they do not impede their progress. This is most often done in an effort to prevent the opponent from playing the puck and is considered a good defensive play.

Per the NHL rule book: “When a goalkeeper has lost his helmet and/or face mask and his team has possession of the puck, the play shall be stopped immediately to allow the goalkeeper the opportunity to regain his helmet and/or face mask.

Is black tape illegal in the NHL? ›

IIHF – link. Adhesive tape of any non-fluorescent color may be wrapped around the stick at any place. Only tape that is rolled onto a stick is allowed for covering the blade. Any adhesive peel-and-stick tape is illegal.

A blocker is sometimes called a waffle, and less commonly as a domino, in reference to older models, which were covered with real leather, but had holes cut in the leather to save weight, giving the blocker a waffle-like appearance.

It helps to prevent excessive force being applied to the joints in the fingers when gripping and grappling. This increases your grip strength by moving the strength emphasis away from your fingers to your wrist and hands.

Flamingo: when a player lifts one leg, standing like a flamingo, to get out of the way of a shot.

Muffin‐ a weak shot. Natural Hatrick‐ scoring three consecutive goals in a game. Old school‐ generally referring to someone who has old equipment or a goalie with an old style of playing net.

Pigeon: a player who can't score on his own and relies on others to feed him the puck or pick up the garbage. Pipe: the goal post. Pinch: when a defenseman moves into the offensive zone in an attempt to keep the puck inside the zone.

A very commonly used term that most hockey fans should already know that refers to an insane shot that places the puck in a tiny space for a goal. A sniper is a player who can do this on a regular basis. Example: Dangle, Snipe, Celly, the perfect combination.

Pizza: A brutal pass up the middle of the ice intercepted by the opposing team. "Bidini is serving up more pizzas tonight than Little Caesar's."

The straight blade is not common in the NHL because many players, constantly searching for any possible advantage, bend their blades outward from the heel to the toe in order to enhance shooting accuracy.

Composite hockey sticks can also be altered by heating the blade and some pros still do this to find the ideal custom curve and then send the specifications to the manufacturer. See also Do Hockey Players Wear Cups? To do this you should heat the blade evenly from heel to toe for approximately a minute.

What is the oldest hockey stick? ›

Known as the Moffatt stick, it was hand hewn in the 1830s in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, from a single piece of sugar maple. The Museum purchased the artifact from Mark Presley of Nova Scotia through its donor-supported National Collection Fund.

BAUER'S LIGHTEST HOCKEY STICK EVER.

AG5NT – Bauer's lightest, most advanced stick – uses the revolutionary material BORON to change the game as we know it.

Built on a brand new platform, the Supreme Ultrasonic is our lightest Supreme stick ever. At 390 grams, it's the same weight as Vapor FlyLite. And it's been re-engineered for snapshots, not just slapshots.

Connor McDavid Stick Spec Check

McDavid's custom curve is a variation on the popular P92 pattern, with a smaller, slightly squared blade face. He has been using the curve since he was a young, and for the most part has stuck with it throughout his pro career (with some brief experimentation here and there).

While all COLT Hockey products are approved for NHL and professional use, you won't be seeing any COLT hockey sticks in the NHL this year. We've been there before, and we're proud of that accomplishment, but the reality is that the NHL only represents one thing: an expensive means of mass product placement.

Bauer custom made the new sticks for only seven players in the NHL, including DeBrusk, the Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov, the Senators' Brady Tkachuk, the Avalanche's Cale Makar, the Canucks' Quinn Hughes, the Devils' Jack Hughes and the Blues' Brayden Schenn.

This is up to personal preference. Some players prefer lighter sticks because they are easier to handle and move around on the ice. Others choose a stick with more weight because it helps to build up strength while using it and can be tougher for opponents to lift off the ice.

Remember, too, you may want to replace a stick when it's not broken—it may have lost its stiffness, its pop. When a stick feels “whippy” or weak in shooting or passing, many players will buy a new stick because the old one isn't performing like it should. It's worn out—a factor that a novice may not even notice.

What Flex does Ovechkin use? ›

Alexander Ovechkin is 230 pounds and uses a 79 flex stick, which is probably a big reason for his one-timer. Sidney Crosby uses a 100 flex stick, higher than you may imagine for a skilled player.

Retired goalie Henrik Lundqvist was the last to use a wood Bauer stick, switching to composite in 2018-19, almost 12 years after the company started leading the NHL trend toward composite goalie sticks.

Players tape both the blade and knob of their sticks. They tape the blade for added protection and to give them a better feel when controlling the puck. They tape the knob for grip and it helps in picking up the stick quickly if it falls to the ice. Let's look at the reasons players tape their stick in more detail.

DOES CUTTING DOWN A STICK OR ADDING AN EXTENSION CHANGE THE FLEX? The simple answer is yes, a shorter stick will feel stiffer and will perform more similarly to a stick with a higher flex number. A longer stick will feel softer and will perform more like a stick with a lower flex number.

You won't find wooden sticks in the NHL anymore. No, the sticks NHL players use all tend to be made from carbon fiber material. Although CCM currently has a stranglehold on the stick market in the NHL, with 42.5% of all NHL players using their sticks. It's Bauer who actually has the most widely used model.

Wooden sticks are only prevalent with youth players who are first learner to play simply due to their affordability. Many coaches today though still use wooden sticks because they are better to pass with than composite sticks. Other than that, two-pieces are the most widely used sticks in ice hockey.

Some sticks made solely from fiberglass have been produced but today, fiberglass is most commonly used as a composite with other materials, such as wood, carbon fiber, and/or kevlar.

Offensive and defensive players -- those skating across open ice -- almost all prefer stronger and lighter sticks made primarily from composite materials. Most NHL goalies use wooden sticks, officials from the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets said.

Sidney Crosby uses a unique two-piece hockey stick with a blade that's nearly straight. There's no wicked curve on the blade – it bends only slightly near the toe.

The defining moment will always be the day Wayne Gretzky, the game's greatest scorer, switched from wood to aluminum, popularizing the switch from twigs to new age sticks. That Gretzky led the way is odd, in that he rarely fussed over his old wooden Titan stick he used so famously in Edmonton.

How long does a goalie stick last? ›

Depending on the construction materials and the roughness of the goalie, an ice hockey goalie stick should last around 4-6 years.

Modern goalie blades have become much taller to give goalies the ability to have a wide stance without losing their blade edge contact with the ice.

Push the wax up from the tube and rub it across the sliding surface of each leg pad. We recommend the pads being room temperature or warm to help it spread more smooth and consistently, but this is not required. To help make sure you have an even coating, use a soft cloth to buff any excess wax into the pads.

Adding tape improves the contact between the blade and the puck. The taped surface of the blade makes it easier to control the puck and accurately shoot a pass across the expanse of the rink to a speeding teammate.