What Are the Different Types of Hockey Sticks?

Hockey is one of those rare sports where participants have to learn an entire mode of transportation in order to play, plus the game is a rarity in that it is one of the few team sports that don't revolve around playing with/chasing after/avoiding a ball. The equipment, while familiar in some aspects to other sports gear, is centered on what to do with that small slab of vulcanized rubber called the puck. Hockey sticks are designed to deal with that puck.

  1. History

    • The hockey stick is as old as the game itself and little has changed since its introduction in the late 19th century. In the beginning, the sticks were carved from wood and featured a flat blade. They were also heavy and cumbersome when taking shots on goal. Players in the 1920s began taping the blade for better puck handling and taping the stick shafts for a more comfortable grip, a practice still in effect today.

    Types

    • There are only two types of hockey sticks used in the game, a players stick and a goalie stick. A players stick, used by defensemen, wings and center, measures around 57 inches in length with the blade being around a foot or so long. Goalie sticks are the same length as the player sticks, but flare out an inch midway down the shaft to create a "paddle," giving the goalie additional net coverage.

    Materials

    • Wood was in abundance in hockey's infant years, so naturally it became the preferred material. As the technology became available, stick manufacturers turned to lightweight aluminum shafts that required interchangeable wooden blades to be glued into the shaft bottoms. Aluminum then gave way to the use of composite materials, which reverted the stick to being a solid one piece. The lighter and stronger composite material added additional velocity to shots and soon became the players' choice. Plastic or wooden sticks are more common in ball hockey than in games featuring any puck play.

    Function

    • Simply put, sticks are used to keep the puck away from the opposition and to shoot the puck into the other team's net. Shafts are generally rigid, but allow a degree of flex, or "whip" that acts as the puck firing mechanism. The curve on the blade, the "scoop," is a matter of player preference: more pronounced curves gain accuracy but lose some puck-handling capability, and vice versa. Goalies usually have lesser blade curves for puck playing and blocking. Some players also prefer the heel of the blade to be angled higher off the ice surface, resulting in the so-called "lie" that corresponds to having the stick heel on the ice in relation to the player's height.

    Fun Facts

    • In the mid '60s, Chicago Blackhawks winger Bobby Hull accidentally bent his blade in practice, only to discover the slight curve from the damage increased his puck-shooting accuracy. The idea quickly took the league by storm.
      Despite the popularity of curved blades, iconic players like Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby prefer flat blades for better passing and backhanded shots.
      If the stick blade opens to the left, it's considered a left stick. The opposite is true for right-shooting players.