HFBoards - View Single Post - stick recomendations for offensive defenceman

Jarick · 09-22-2011, 02:02 PM

All those things you mentioned are skating and skill related and not really the stick so nothing should be affected by your curve selection.

The closer in you bring the puck the higher lie and shorter stick you'd want, and the further you keep it away the lower lie and longer stick. Personally, I like to stickhandle at a medium distance and shoot from closer to my body so I do like a little rocker on my blade.

As for your wrist shots, I don't think the stick is going to add lots of speed, but I can tell you from my experience what I've found:

- Sticks that feel heavy in the blade slow down my stick handling and slow down my wrist shot release. It feels to me like I need to get more momentum before I can release the shot with high speed and power, so there's a split second delay. With a light blade I just push-pull with my forearms and the shot comes off; with a heavy blade I have to pull the puck a bit first and then push-pull. Maybe it's just me.

- Flex is important for quick shots to me. Too stiff of a stick and I will keep trying to lean into shots to load them, which wastes time. Too whippy and I lose power and velocity and might introduce lag into the shot. Just right and I like to use snap shots which come off quick and hard.

- More open curves feel like they have more velocity to me than closed. I went from PM9 (flat and closed) to P88 (curved and closed) to P91 (flat and open) to P92 (curved and open). The more open the curve, the harder and quicker my shots. The P91 had the hardest shots but I had trouble keeping passes and shots low to the ice and the flat blade made toe drags more difficult. I have been using P92 for the last year and most of my shots go right for the corners, although I can keep them low if I try, and passes have stayed low with stickhandling nice and easy.

I would not recommend the T90 because it's a pretty heavy and poorly balanced stick. I would look for clearance sticks from Warrior, Bauer, and Easton right now with new models coming out.

I can also tell you I've spent a lot of time and money on sticks and regret purchasing pretty much anything that wasn't high end. The best stick I've ever used is my Bauer X60, which is light, durable, and shoots hard. I have a few other sticks, a Warrior AK27 and Dolomite Spyne, both impulse buys, and both are heavier and don't shoot as hard.

If you're still deciding on what curve and flex you want, the best choice is to try and find cheap used tapered shafts and buy a few different wood blades. You can probably find 70-100 flex shafts for $20-30 each on Craigslist or eBay and tapered wood blades are $25 each. Try them until you know what you like, then splurge on a good stick, especially on clearance.

09-22-2011, 02:02 PM	#8
Jarick Moderator Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: St Paul, MN Country: Posts: 19,003 vCash: 50	All those things you mentioned are skating and skill related and not really the stick so nothing should be affected by your curve selection. The closer in you bring the puck the higher lie and shorter stick you'd want, and the further you keep it away the lower lie and longer stick. Personally, I like to stickhandle at a medium distance and shoot from closer to my body so I do like a little rocker on my blade. As for your wrist shots, I don't think the stick is going to add lots of speed, but I can tell you from my experience what I've found: - Sticks that feel heavy in the blade slow down my stick handling and slow down my wrist shot release. It feels to me like I need to get more momentum before I can release the shot with high speed and power, so there's a split second delay. With a light blade I just push-pull with my forearms and the shot comes off; with a heavy blade I have to pull the puck a bit first and then push-pull. Maybe it's just me. - Flex is important for quick shots to me. Too stiff of a stick and I will keep trying to lean into shots to load them, which wastes time. Too whippy and I lose power and velocity and might introduce lag into the shot. Just right and I like to use snap shots which come off quick and hard. - More open curves feel like they have more velocity to me than closed. I went from PM9 (flat and closed) to P88 (curved and closed) to P91 (flat and open) to P92 (curved and open). The more open the curve, the harder and quicker my shots. The P91 had the hardest shots but I had trouble keeping passes and shots low to the ice and the flat blade made toe drags more difficult. I have been using P92 for the last year and most of my shots go right for the corners, although I can keep them low if I try, and passes have stayed low with stickhandling nice and easy. I would not recommend the T90 because it's a pretty heavy and poorly balanced stick. I would look for clearance sticks from Warrior, Bauer, and Easton right now with new models coming out. I can also tell you I've spent a lot of time and money on sticks and regret purchasing pretty much anything that wasn't high end. The best stick I've ever used is my Bauer X60, which is light, durable, and shoots hard. I have a few other sticks, a Warrior AK27 and Dolomite Spyne, both impulse buys, and both are heavier and don't shoot as hard. If you're still deciding on what curve and flex you want, the best choice is to try and find cheap used tapered shafts and buy a few different wood blades. You can probably find 70-100 flex shafts for $20-30 each on Craigslist or eBay and tapered wood blades are $25 each. Try them until you know what you like, then splurge on a good stick, especially on clearance.