A Good Stick to Start With?
- Thread starter NeoCanuck
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I always really liked the Sherwood John Leclair sticks for practicing. Ãt has next to no curve. I hate the expensive sticks because I break them off all the time. But beside that, if you want to rip a nice accurate slap shot, the Sherwood Paul Coffey model, I used that model from the time I was 15 to 22 years old...
For modern Sherwood sticks, I'd take a Leclair for practice, and for game play, grab a "Canandian" stick the Bondra model.
I hate expensive stick people, so this is my input on regular priced wood.
For modern Sherwood sticks, I'd take a Leclair for practice, and for game play, grab a "Canandian" stick the Bondra model.
I hate expensive stick people, so this is my input on regular priced wood.
mattihp
Registered User
doc5hole
Registered User
Wood, wood, wood.
There are a few things you need to decide that no one can prescribe for you, based on your height, strength, body type and skating stance. I, too, have long-time favorite and hated brands, but that's nowhere near as important as the following.
In the age of the synthetic stick, it's become harder and harder to find a wooden stick that feels like it was made for you. So do your best by running through the following tests.
Categories I always inspect before buying: 1. Weight (swing weight, too); 2. Hook (blade type); 3. Stiffness; 4. Length (easy to lessen with a wood stick);and 5. Lie (last but not least).
1. Weight: Self-explanatory except for swing weight. Some sticks are very blade-light, whereas others feel like you're holding a bowling ball on the end of the chain. Find what's comfortable for you. Your upper body strength needs to be fitted accordingly.
2. Hook: Many modern sticks are hooked off the heel, and that affects how far forward the puck is when you pass-shoot. The greater the hook off the heel, the farther back the puck needs to be when you're in shooting position. A heel hook gives you more leverage for the shot but, conversely, makes it more difficult to launch the backhand. If you're new at this, choose as conservative a hook as possible so you can manipulate the puck on both sides of the stick, get overall skills feeling comfortable, then develop a liking for a particular blade.
3. Stiffness: If you're a new player, choose a more flexible shaft. Take a stick off the rack and put it in position down on the floor. Put the lower hand halfway down and bend it against the floor. It won't break. Do this with several sticks to get a sense of stiffness.
4. Length: Straight-up skaters, especially tall ones, tend to favor long sticks, but as Brad Park pointed out to me last year, I'm a few inches taller than him but my hands, with arms straight down by my side, are as close to the floor as his. So a long stick isn't necessarily the right choice for the taller player, especially if he skates in a hunched-over position.
I take the stick and pretend with it a little, feeling the imaginary puck. If it's just right in length, I try to go for a little longer because I'll be on skates when I do it for real.
5. Lie (last but not least): Take two sticks and compare their lie by turning them upside-down and putting the handles against the bottom of the rack, then hold them together near the top squarely. This allows you to see the lies relative to one another. Some sticks still put "5" or "6" near the inside top of the handle. The higher the lie number, the more like a golf putter.
Low skaters, regardless of height, tend to favor low-lie sticks (Bourque, Donato). Guy Lafleur's old Sher-Wood PMP had to be around an 8. That was my favorite stick of all time. Find what feels right in your hands and against the floor.
As your skating style changes (again, assuming you're a new player), your taste will change somewhat as well.
Why I like wood and why new players should learn with it first before moving on to synthetics ...
It feels the puck easier so it catches passes easier, and shoots the slap shot as hard. The standing record in NHL was set with wood.
The only substantial advantage of the new stick is letting the wrister snap off from a weak spot leverage wise. You still get a lot of pop.
Happy hockey.
There are a few things you need to decide that no one can prescribe for you, based on your height, strength, body type and skating stance. I, too, have long-time favorite and hated brands, but that's nowhere near as important as the following.
In the age of the synthetic stick, it's become harder and harder to find a wooden stick that feels like it was made for you. So do your best by running through the following tests.
Categories I always inspect before buying: 1. Weight (swing weight, too); 2. Hook (blade type); 3. Stiffness; 4. Length (easy to lessen with a wood stick);and 5. Lie (last but not least).
1. Weight: Self-explanatory except for swing weight. Some sticks are very blade-light, whereas others feel like you're holding a bowling ball on the end of the chain. Find what's comfortable for you. Your upper body strength needs to be fitted accordingly.
2. Hook: Many modern sticks are hooked off the heel, and that affects how far forward the puck is when you pass-shoot. The greater the hook off the heel, the farther back the puck needs to be when you're in shooting position. A heel hook gives you more leverage for the shot but, conversely, makes it more difficult to launch the backhand. If you're new at this, choose as conservative a hook as possible so you can manipulate the puck on both sides of the stick, get overall skills feeling comfortable, then develop a liking for a particular blade.
3. Stiffness: If you're a new player, choose a more flexible shaft. Take a stick off the rack and put it in position down on the floor. Put the lower hand halfway down and bend it against the floor. It won't break. Do this with several sticks to get a sense of stiffness.
4. Length: Straight-up skaters, especially tall ones, tend to favor long sticks, but as Brad Park pointed out to me last year, I'm a few inches taller than him but my hands, with arms straight down by my side, are as close to the floor as his. So a long stick isn't necessarily the right choice for the taller player, especially if he skates in a hunched-over position.
I take the stick and pretend with it a little, feeling the imaginary puck. If it's just right in length, I try to go for a little longer because I'll be on skates when I do it for real.
5. Lie (last but not least): Take two sticks and compare their lie by turning them upside-down and putting the handles against the bottom of the rack, then hold them together near the top squarely. This allows you to see the lies relative to one another. Some sticks still put "5" or "6" near the inside top of the handle. The higher the lie number, the more like a golf putter.
Low skaters, regardless of height, tend to favor low-lie sticks (Bourque, Donato). Guy Lafleur's old Sher-Wood PMP had to be around an 8. That was my favorite stick of all time. Find what feels right in your hands and against the floor.
As your skating style changes (again, assuming you're a new player), your taste will change somewhat as well.
Why I like wood and why new players should learn with it first before moving on to synthetics ...
It feels the puck easier so it catches passes easier, and shoots the slap shot as hard. The standing record in NHL was set with wood.
The only substantial advantage of the new stick is letting the wrister snap off from a weak spot leverage wise. You still get a lot of pop.
Happy hockey.
bleedgreen
Registered User
sherwood 5030 or 7000, easton zcarbon wood stick. you can find these for 25-35 dollars usually. stick to a simple pattern - dont get a huge curve. koho is good, and ccm makes a wood stick with a composite blade that will last a long time thought its a little heavy. i believe its the v-60. its a good beginner stick - recchi pattern if you can find it. the thorton is a bit of a banana curve, which i said before to avoid - but that kind of big curve is better i think to start with than say the lidstrom or sakic easton curves.
NeoCanuck
Jay Beagle? In THIS economy?
Well, Im 15 and Im at least 6"0. Im thinking by 18-19, Ill be around 6"2-6"3.
I was thinking about wood, MacInnis used Wood for the hardest slashot, and I used a REALLY cheap stick, Joe Thornton Curve. It was okay, but it didn't handle the ball well, and it lost the ball on breakaways etc..
I was thinking about wood, MacInnis used Wood for the hardest slashot, and I used a REALLY cheap stick, Joe Thornton Curve. It was okay, but it didn't handle the ball well, and it lost the ball on breakaways etc..
I have one stick from Canadian Tire that I usually buy but it's broken in a garbage can somewhere so I have no idea what it's called. Otherwise I'd just go to Canadian Tire and pick out a few sticks, try 'em out, and see which one works for you. Hell, they're only 15-20 bucks each. It's not necessarily what the best stick is but what the best stick is FOR YOU 
. Mine just so happens to be this particular wooden stick.
. Mine just so happens to be this particular wooden stick.Canadian tire is the place, cheep sticks, btw, Never go with easton, they always break, I hate em. go with a koho, or a ccm vector, in the 19-30 dollar range, no need to spend money on sticks that break easily. especially if ur not raking up the cash.
NeoCanuck
Jay Beagle? In THIS economy?
cjbhab said:
Awesome! I knew Canadian Tire was a good place to go.
A CCM Vector you say? Alright. Ill check them out.
I LOVE CCM Vector sticks... well, the blades anyway. I've gone through a variety of composite shafts, and liked most of them.
Also, I noticed you mentioned "ball". This is clearly for off-ice use, so make sure you find a stick with a blade that isn't wood all the way to the bottom. The CCM Vector have an insert that you'll notice at the bottom of the blade, that goes up maybe 3/4" from the bottom. This will help make the blade last longer. With all-wood blades, once you "break the seal" of the wrap around the bottom, the wood will start to break off very fast if you use it off the ice.
Another thing to keep in mind is that since you're likely using a light ball, any quick jerky movements (such as on breakaway dekes) will cause you to lose the ball unless you're VERY good at handling it at high speeds. Never underestimate the success of a five-hole shot. One quick fake to split the goalie's legs up and a quick slide of the ball/puck between the legs does the trick 80% of the time.
Good luck!
Also, I noticed you mentioned "ball". This is clearly for off-ice use, so make sure you find a stick with a blade that isn't wood all the way to the bottom. The CCM Vector have an insert that you'll notice at the bottom of the blade, that goes up maybe 3/4" from the bottom. This will help make the blade last longer. With all-wood blades, once you "break the seal" of the wrap around the bottom, the wood will start to break off very fast if you use it off the ice.
Another thing to keep in mind is that since you're likely using a light ball, any quick jerky movements (such as on breakaway dekes) will cause you to lose the ball unless you're VERY good at handling it at high speeds. Never underestimate the success of a five-hole shot. One quick fake to split the goalie's legs up and a quick slide of the ball/puck between the legs does the trick 80% of the time.
Good luck!
Definately go with a wood stick.
I've been using Montreal sticks since I was 9 or 10 years old and I refuse to use anything else. I've seen them range between 25 and 35 bucks (american).
I've been using Montreal sticks since I was 9 or 10 years old and I refuse to use anything else. I've seen them range between 25 and 35 bucks (american).
MassiveHabs
Registered User
GBG BLEED BLUE
Registered User
I use a Canadien wood core and a CCM Heat wood core Joe Thorton Model. They both are great sticks to use.
RedAce
Registered User
For years i used and absolutly loved Montreal sticks,, great feel and i loved the eurocurve. Now i used Innovative and i love this stick!!!!!
But for you i would recomed also a sherwood like 5030 with these you can also shave the blade to the shape and curve you want.. So if it's just for practise this works great.
If you come up with a great pattern of blade that you like then you can contact your local hockey shop and they can send the blade to KOHO who can make you custom blades but you have to get like 12 made up.
But for you i would recomed also a sherwood like 5030 with these you can also shave the blade to the shape and curve you want.. So if it's just for practise this works great.
If you come up with a great pattern of blade that you like then you can contact your local hockey shop and they can send the blade to KOHO who can make you custom blades but you have to get like 12 made up.
FLYLine27*
BUCH
NeoCanuck said:
Honeslty...i really dont think there is a "good stick to start with". Whatever you feel comfortable with.
I really like the Nike Kovalchuk stick. A killer heal curve which lets you shoot nice and fast wrist shot.
I usually always buy this stick for my beer league team.
I usually always buy this stick for my beer league team.
waffledave
waffledave, from hf
waffledave
waffledave, from hf
Duff said:
Well, I'm exaggerating a little, but I've had about 6 of these sticks and I find they break rather easily...But they are dirt cheap and I absolutely love the curve on them so I buy them often.
I recently bought this Koho Torpedo stick, with an Amonte curve I think, and so far I like it. For some reason, I can't get my slapshot to rise properly with it but I've had that happen to me before and it just takes some breaking in. I love how the stick feels in my hands and my wrister is pretty nice with it.
I also bought the Nike Quest 2 stick with the Lecavalier curve (the red and beige one) and used it all winter. At first, I really, REALLY hated the stick. I couldn't get a slapshot off, I couldn't get a wrister off, it was terrible. No matter what, I couldn't lift the puck. But after maybe 2 weeks of using it, it became my favorite stick. I started ripping these amazing shots, and because the stick is so long (which I like), nobody could get past me (I play D on ice). I would highly recommed this stick if you want something cheap. It also doesn't seem to break as easily as the other Nike Quest sticks, which is a plus.
Another good stick I used this summer was this stick I found at Sports Experts. I can't recall the name of the stick, but it was black and said "Roller Hockey Stick" on it. It had the most amazing curve I have ever seen. I have never shot the ball the way I did before this stick. It also had a fiberglass blade which lasted a good 2 months of roller hockey. The stick is still good, but the blade is getting kinda thin now. It's a bit more pricey than other wood sticks (around $40) but it was soooo worth it. I originally bought it just for the curve but I'm glad I did because it turned out to be the best stick I ever had (for roller hockey). I would have gotten another one but they only have it at the Sports Experts in downtown Montreal and I didn't feel like going all the way there.
JonathanK
McOptimistic
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