Stick Breaks - A new epidemic?

[Greatzsky 99]

Its rampant

 

[LuGBuG]

Maybe Brady Tkachuck got a hold of their sticks like he did Giroux.

 

[chaser17]

Demidov breaks his stick every couple one timer he attempts. At what point does stick "performance" is worth more than wasting a shot attempt every 2 shots?

He's gotta be using a 70 flex stick or something, which is crazy to me, but that seems to be the current trend. The new sticks are almost literally light as a feather and generate insane pop but lose integrity easily from slashes or puck impacts.

 

[Our Lady Peace]

Sandin-Pellikka also breaks a lot of sticks

 

[wolfgaze]

I recently viewed this Canadian media segment about a hockey player who started his own company making more affordable hockey sticks. I was anticipating the sticks would cost somewhere around $150 or something close to that. Their price point? $200-$250. I was also shocked to learn that sticks from other brands can cost close to $400. In the video they interview an OHL player who shares that he broke 7 sticks already this year. Hockey parents must burn through money funding this sport.

 

[malcb33]

Demidov's a Bauer guy, Mike is CCM. So they're not using the same stick brand, and not Warrior.

They were. Both are Warrior endorsed athletes now. Demidov signed the biggest endorsement deal in Warriors history.

Rookie sensation Ivan Demidov signs record-breaking contract

Ivan Demidov has finally made his NHL debut. But already ahead of the game, he signed a record-breaking deal with Warrior.

www.thehockeybeast.com

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

My brain read this as "bread sticks" for some reason

 

[malcb33]

I recently viewed this Canadian media segment about a hockey player who started his own company making more affordable hockey sticks. I was anticipating the sticks would cost somewhere around $150 or something close to that. Their price point? $200-$250. I was also shocked to learn that sticks from other brands can cost close to $400. In the video they interview an OHL player who shares that he broke 7 sticks already this year. Hockey parents must burn through money funding this sport.

Well over the $400 mark now for the top tier retail sticks.

Those Shift sticks are pretty good, made in the same Chinese factory as a bunch of other smaller stick companies. It's great to see more affordable options out there as the price of hockey is crazy these days.

 

[gary559]

I recently viewed this Canadian media segment about a hockey player who started his own company making more affordable hockey sticks. I was anticipating the sticks would cost somewhere around $150 or something close to that. Their price point? $200-$250. I was also shocked to learn that sticks from other brands can cost close to $400. In the video they interview an OHL player who shares that he broke 7 sticks already this year. Hockey parents must burn through money funding this sport.

Would be interesting if the league made any stick not made of wood illegal. Would really help the entry cost of this sport.

 

[Helistin]

$160k worth of hockey sticks in a season.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Should start making the sticks out of cast iron.

 

[malcb33]

Would be interesting if the league made any stick not made of wood illegal. Would really help the entry cost of this sport.

Goal scoring would also decrease significantly, and the game's entertainment factor would be impacted.

The difference between shooting with a modern stick made to amplify the current shooting technique, compared to a wooden stick, is night and day. It would be like entering a stock Honda Civic into a F1 race.

 

[BB79]

Goal scoring would also decrease significantly, and the game's entertainment factor would be impacted.

The difference between shooting with a modern stick made to amplify the current shooting technique, compared to a wooden stick, is night and day. It would be like entering a stock Honda Civic into a F1 race.

Well, there are some people out there who think Honda Civics are sports cars so there's that..

 

[malcb33]

Well, there are some people out there who think Honda Civics are sports cars so there's that..

True. Many of them love cosplaying Fast and Furious.

They think that until they race a car geared for racing without budget constraints on the track. Then they realize they are full of

 

[Canadienna]

Anyone watching the Habs this season is talking about the broken sticks. It's been absolutely wild and I wish someone had the time to go back and tally up every broken stick this season for the Habs. I've never seen anything like it. Here's another one from last night.



Sticks rarely used to break anywhere but the middle of the shaft from overloading it on a shot. Now sticks seem to regularly break on the heel and top of the shaft. Are stick companies prioritizing weight reduction and spreading out the flex points over durability in a way that's actually detrimental to NHL level play?

Are we going to start seeing players ask companies to make stronger versions of sticks at their flex?

 

[Djp]

its honestly ridiculous with the technology available today that they can't build a high performing stick with better durability.

Thsts science and engineering with complex systems. You want it lighter but also stronger and with flex to shoot pucks fady.

It’s similar to car racing where teams where you have all the different ways to adjust things in a car to get better performance under that days weather conditions , track surfaces, and race trip lop type for what max speed

 

[PuckFegula]

Thsts science and engineering with complex systems. You want it lighter but also stronger and with flex to shoot pucks fady.

It’s similar to car racing where teams where you have all the different ways to adjust things in a car to get better performance under that days weather conditions , track surfaces, and race trip lop type for what max speed

Or how if you breathe on an F1 car wrong it breaks. It’s nice in theory, but top performance is often at odds with durability.

And that’s why we regulate. Sticks must pass the “cross check Nick Cousins in the kidneys” test. If the stick breaks more than 1 in 1000 tests you gotta redesign and redo.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Hello my fellow HFers,

Wondering if this is a trend for only Habs players but these days it's almost guaranteed a player will break their stick on a shot every single game. I feel it's worse this year than it's ever been. Is it a league wide issue or only a Demidov or Matheson problem?

Are stick companies cheapening out? Is it the flex players are using?

Pretty common issue and I know most know this...

Sticks used to be stronger because they were mostly wood but also heavy because of the lack of technology to make them lighter and still have flex, so you have these composite sticks and if you make them more rigid, they have less flex and are useless for players and that's just the nature of the sport really, you can't have a stronger stick without it giving up flex, unless they create a new material that is capable of that sort of thing for durability, we'll keep seeing this like usual.

It's like with the filaments and resin I toy with for my 3D printers with prototyping and other things, you get a good idea of how these materials react under pressure and their breaking points and the sticks are mostly made out of a mix of foam, resin, kevlar, titanium, and carbon fibre/graphite, fiberglass, and yeah that's pretty common of an issue with those materials used in that way.

I did toy around with making a stick for my nephew, one of those mini ones that were popular this winter that were the mystery bags. That was a fun experiment with various types of filament with PC, CF, ABS, ASA, and TPU...

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Well over the $400 mark now for the top tier retail sticks.

Those Shift sticks are pretty good, made in the same Chinese factory as a bunch of other smaller stick companies. It's great to see more affordable options out there as the price of hockey is crazy these days.

The issue is the cold, you have strong materials in these sticks in their composite builds, most have some form of foam in the middle and use mostly graphite/CF and also kevlar, but you mix in cold, that x-factor is what creates that shatter issue. Also I get to toy around with things I make and playing rec league, getting to test things.

I've spent way too much time screwing around with materials and testing them in various environments, but strong materials used in cold climate situations are always the one where whatever you think is strong, usually isn't. Of course, heating sticks isn't smart given it's played on ice, I think if a manufacturer figured out how to blend in a rubbery component, like say a TPU that is better on the shore scale (I think 95A would be a good start), I feel like you could make one that has good flex and energy that won't shatter as often.

 

[ElysiumAB]

Never said it's new. Asking if it's becoming worse over time

The title of your post is literally ...
"A new epidemic?"

 

[Victoire HuGo]

The title of your post is literally ...
"A new epidemic?"

If there is an issue but it's manageable and that issue suddenly become worse; hence the term epidemic. Unless you count the original transition from wood sticks to now which happened almost 20 years ago... why are you being nitpicky on the title of someone that speaks English as a second language lol

 

[malcb33]

The issue is the cold, you have strong materials in these sticks in their composite builds, most have some form of foam in the middle and use mostly graphite/CF and also kevlar, but you mix in cold, that x-factor is what creates that shatter issue. Also I get to toy around with things I make and playing rec league, getting to test things.

I've spent way too much time screwing around with materials and testing them in various environments, but strong materials used in cold climate situations are always the one where whatever you think is strong, usually isn't. Of course, heating sticks isn't smart given it's played on ice, I think if a manufacturer figured out how to blend in a rubbery component, like say a TPU that is better on the shore scale (I think 95A would be a good start), I feel like you could make one that has good flex and energy that won't shatter as often.

Interesting take. Modern sticks don’t have foam in the shafts, just in the blades to dampen vibrations and increase feel.

CCM has started to incorporate aluminum in some of their sticks to increase strength. It’s a fairy new thing and I haven’t seen any info on the process.

 

[Trash Panda]

A big part of this is the general transition away from the ridiculous 110 flex sticks of days gone by, into the wet noodles of today.

A 200lb pro loading up a 75 flex stick is gonna pop that thing a lot quicker than if it was a 100 flex.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Interesting take. Modern sticks don’t have foam in the shafts, just in the blades to dampen vibrations and increase feel.

CCM has started to incorporate aluminum in some of their sticks to increase strength. It’s a fairy new thing and I haven’t seen any info on the process.

Aluminum is useless with how light they want the sticks, you'd need to use enough to make it worth while to keep it strong and yeah the foam is used in some way still or a version of it in blades, shaft lining etc as absorption etc etc.

 

[malcb33]

Aluminum is useless with how light they want the sticks, you'd need to use enough to make it worth while to keep it strong and yeah the foam is used in some way still or a version of it in blades, shaft lining etc as absorption etc etc.

CCM disagrees with you....

• ALUPLI Composite: Reinforced with aluminum layers for ultimate impact resistance.

CCM Vizion Player Stick Senior - Hockey Sticks

Shop the CCM Vizion hockey stick—designed for explosive shots with a supercharged mid-kickpoint, Soft-Stiff-Soft blade, and elite durability for peak performance.

us.ccmhockey.com

There is no foam in the lining of a shaft. I've broken many, many sticks and I can tell you I have never seen foam in the shaft (unless it's on a microscopic level).