Was the game better with wooden sticks?

[Victorias]

Obviously composite sticks offer advantages in terms of flex and weight, but have they taken any skill out of the game? The slap shot from the dots has definitely disappeared.

On the goaltending side, it seems that size/positioning has completely supplanted reactions in importance because goalies supposedly cannot react in time to most shots now.

For comparison, aluminum bats are allowed at youth/college level in baseball but not in the MLB. If they were, you would probably see ridiculous velocity on every hit.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yes.

There are some aspects of the game that should be difficult. Roofing the puck, shooting at 80mph, flicking your stick one-handed to knock the puck away from an opponent.

Composite sticks make these difficult tasks much easier, to the point of being nearly effortless for a trained pro. This has downstream effects on safety, goaltending, ice time distribution, offensive strategy, etc. The great majority of those changes work against the entertainment value of the game.

This doesn’t get into the economic impacts that composite sticks have had on the development system, which are a travesty.

 

[The Panther]

Yes.

The game would be much better, more 'unique' to fans, and with a greater diversity of skill on display if all sticks were mandated to be wooden. There's something fishy when third-pairing, stay-at-home defencemen can suddenly wire 90mph slapshots top corner. And yeah, the goaltending position has become dull and generic across-the-board as a result of this.

It would also be more affordable to the casual fan if sticks were wooden, allowing more kids to get into the game. When I was a wee tyke in the 80s, my friends and I (only one of whom played hockey at a competitive level) all had hockey sticks, usually in multiples, and if we saved our allowance for a few weeks, we could buy one ourselves. I'm talking when we were 9 years old, and I had quite a low-income family without two cents to rub together. A family exactly like mine today would never have a hockey stick in the home because it would be unaffordable.

The NHL blew it with allowing that. Once out of the box, it can't go back in.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

I don't necessarily mind that the skill level for certain tasks have been lowered by composite sticks, but I wholeheartedly agree that hockey's worse off for this development being one of the contributing factors in pricing so many kids out of hockey.

Definitely agreed it's a shame wooden sticks weren't standardized and mandated at some point.

 

[sr edler]

There's a pinball-ish aspect to modern hockey that's kinda boring, and reminds me a bit of floorball (which is fun to play but not to watch).

I don't know if this is a very hot take or not, but a guy like Auston Matthews IMO isn't a very exciting player to watch, and he's kinda the new school poster boy for whipping the puck.

 

[MadLuke]

A family exactly like mine today would never have a hockey stick in the home because it would be unaffordable.

Or they would have $30 composite stick from Canadian Tire (around $13 1987 dollar), every kids you ever see with a phone could have skates, bag of sticks and pucks instead if we are speaking not trying to make it in the triple letter type.

It is a good question, but I feel goaltending was going into that direction and you are always better to be well positioned than not regardless of the stick, I am not sure how much of a cost goaltenders pay in exchange of having less to rely on reflex as they can ?

And with how much goaltender equipment got better would the arm race been lost it is not like non-Ovechkin level player beat them on clear shot from far away even with those stick, maybe they would adjusted for it and would have resulted in a better game

 

[blueinbigd]

I think the game was better with a wooden stick.
These new sticks seem to be able to break without the player realizing it
Before I dont remember watching a player try and make a pass only to have his stick break in the process.
The phrase beat the goalie makes no sense any more
If players accuracy improved with how much harder they can shoot now both teams scores would be in double digits

 

[Boxscore]

Yes, the game was better with wooden sticks, the same way it was better with smaller equipment, and jerseys that were actual jerseys and not skin tight with limited designs.

Composite, one-piece sticks contributed to the cartoony, dangle and whip fest we see today. There was something fun about players wiring slappers with wooden sticks and breaking them at the most inopportune times. Even the sound of the puck coming off a wooden blade while being passed or shot sounded magical.

Wooden hockey sticks were nostalgic and charming like wooden bats in baseball. The NHL should have left the sticks alone.

 

[57special]

As someone who is old enough to have played with a straight bladed, wooden stick(fibreglass wrapped wood sticks were the high end), I would say that it isn't that big of a deal. The backhand was a much better shot and pass back then because of the nature of the stick, and, i would argue, deflections. Beliveau did some amazing things with his backhands. Once the curve came in the shots lifted more easily, and had a more unpredictable flight.

The curve was the much more important innovation. I would argue that a Bobby Hull, Bossy, or Jacques Lemaire shot would've given goalies today a of trouble, especially if they were wearing older pads.

Personally, as a Dman, i preferred(back when i got on the ice) a curved wood stick when shooting from the point. More controllable... I tried a ton of composite sticks with all sorts of kick points and i could never get them to stay down.

There is no doubt that youth players can fling the pick much more easily, and with a quicker release than with a wood stick, but once you have a 200 lb athlete bending the stick i think it's less important.

Modern goalie equipment, modern skates, and overall much lighter, more protective equipment have done more to change the game, IMO. Blocking shots with the old leather skates was not for the faint of heart. They had little to no protection compared to today's skates.

 

[bleedgreen]

Yes it was better. It was much easier to one touch pucks in any situation. If someone threw you a wobbly pass you could still one touch it accurately to someone else vs it bouncing away. You could redirect passes on net accurately from tough situations. I watched a 90’s game for a bit not too long ago for giggles, and what really stood out was the bottom six forwards seemed to have much better hands in these situations. To me it’s the wood sticks.

Guys using light flexes have improved this to some level recently but overall I think it holds true. The main improvement with the tech has been in the power and consistency of shooting accurately if you’re someone with the skill to take advantage.

 

[quietbruinfan]

It is a very good question. Initially I wanted to say no, but after reading the thread and thinking, I will say yes. Composites do break at a higher rate I think, and the expense is not good.

The smaller reflex goalie is a thing of the past. Although, the changes goaltending have more to do with the evolution of the butterfly and bigger players than anything.

The old rush down the wing and blast it was going out of the game the second the red line disappeared. People emphasize standing up at every line and "gap control" more than they used to now and that has almost eliminated it.

There is kind of an argument of natural evolution of things versus change caused by the sticks and given that third pairing defensemen are flicking pucks away, and picking corners at 90 miles per hour, there is a strong case that wooden sticks would be better.

 

[Sadekuuro]

I do miss a stick check just being a routine play instead of a nearly automatic two minutes for slashing.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Yes. Wooden sticks caused more separation between players who could really shoot and those that could not. And wooden sticks don't blow up 5 times a game or cost hundreds of dollars.

 

[SovietWings]

Last player with wooden stick
Is that true or was it somebody else?

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Last player with wooden stick
Is that true or was it somebody else?

Jagr used wooden sticks his entire career...?

Not sure if there are conclusive answers for the NHL. I heard Markus Näslund talking about never switching to composite, and feeling like a grumpy, stubborn old man late in his career as he was being taunted for his wooden stick. I read a claim online that Paul Stastny were the last. However, Adrian Aucoin seems the most popular answer to the question of who was the last to use a wooden stick. He says in an interview he broke his last wooden stick during his time with the Coyotes, tried different teammates sticks and then went with Shane Doan's because he scored a goal using it. He says he probably was the last to switch from wood, but that he knows Spezza used one off and on and might have been the last. He says he could shoot harder with wooden sticks, and that he never was much of a skill guy so wood made sense. Source

 

[Ralph Malfredsson]

Puck received and puck shot off of wooden sticks... so nostalgic. The game just sounds different now.

 

[Dingo]

Ya, I am onboard the wooden stick train, too.

and simple leather pads. Not hard plastic weapons.

 

[GMR]

The game was better when men wore mustaches, swung wooden sticks, and drank beers after games.

Not the milksops of today with their composites.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The NHL blew it with allowing that. Once out of the box, it can't go back in.

While true, there is absolutely no reason that the amateur orgs (e.g. Hockey Canada, USA Hockey) can’t ban composite sticks below a certain age.

I have been on this bandwagon recently and hoping it picks up steam. Mandatory wooden sticks U14 and below. Let kids pick up $200 composites when they’re getting ready to make the jump to juniors. Before that, it’s not necessary whatsoever. Drop the cost of youth hockey by hundreds of dollars a year, removing a financial barrier for millions of families. And teach kids to pass until they have an actual open shot to beat the goalie (that is, the goalie who no longer needs NASA-certified pads to be safe against a 12 year old’s eye-level 70mph wrister).

Will it hurt the stick companies? It sure will. **** them. The game should not be an “industry” at the grade school level.

 

[BraveCanadian]

While true, there is absolutely no reason that the amateur orgs (e.g. Hockey Canada, USA Hockey) can’t ban composite sticks below a certain age.

I have been on this bandwagon recently and hoping it picks up steam. Mandatory wooden sticks U14 and below. Let kids pick up $200 composites when they’re getting ready to make the jump to juniors. Before that, it’s not necessary whatsoever. Drop the cost of youth hockey by hundreds of dollars a year, removing a financial barrier for millions of families. And teach kids to pass until they have an actual open shot to beat the goalie (that is, the goalie who no longer needs NASA-certified pads to be safe against a 12 year old’s eye-level 70mph wrister).

Will it hurt the stick companies? It sure will. **** them. The game should not be an “industry” at the grade school level.

Agree with almost anything making hockey more affordable.

It is crazy right now how many players in the league are relatives of former players. Really demonstrating how inaccessible hockey has become and how narrow the talent pool is and will be in the coming years.

 

[hacksaw7]

One thing is for sure watching old games on youtube the click/clack of the puck in a wooden stick is definitely much louder than what you hear today...always liked that.

 

[BraveCanadian]

One thing is for sure watching old games on youtube the click/clack of the puck in a wooden stick is definitely much louder than what you hear today...always liked that.

It is like the crack of the bat in baseball

 

[Buffalowing1988]

I think that, absent the introduction of composite sticks, there would have been enough demand to evolve the modern wooden stick to the point that, even then it would be unrecognizable to the stick used in the 70s/80s.

Mickey Mantle and Albert Pujols both used wooden bats, but they're quite different in terms of the design and technology invested into them.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Agree with almost anything making hockey more affordable.

It is crazy right now how many players in the league are relatives of former players. Really demonstrating how inaccessible hockey has become and how narrow the talent pool is and will be in the coming years.

Sticks would just be a drop in the bucket. Skates, all the other equipment, ice time and team fees, travel etc. still make it unaccessible for a lot of people.

Entry level composite sticks are comparable in price to wooden sticks, anyway.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

The baseball bat comparison isn't really there. MLB Players with metal bats create unsafe exit velocities, thats why they can't use metal bats.

Composite sticks don't make you shoot harder, they just make it easier and more efficient. Just like composite skates make you skater easier and more efficiently.

If you rollback sticks you might as well rollback skates, goalie equipment.

No point. The game is as fast and as skilled as it's been in part to technology.