The Wand Chooses the Wizard: a Story of my Hockey Stick
Just to set the record straight: I am not a wizard. I am still pretty new to hockey. Now that we got that out of the way…
We had a super fun game last Wednesday. I also broke my beloved hockey stick. In search for a successor I discovered that while popular articles discuss stick length and stick flex, there was a lot more nuance to getting that right feeling. Ever read Harry Potter? “The wand chooses the wizard…” Experienced players intuitively know when the stick feels right, but as a newbie I had to learn this the hard way. Here are my lessons.
Grip
I always wanted to try a shorter stick. Typical advice is that your stick should be about at the level of your lips when you stand it upright in front of you with your skates on. You can go shorter or longer depending on your preferences. Many of my pro friends recommended a shorter stick for easier handling. My good friend whose stick handling skills are just about elite uses a shorter stick. So do Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin and many other great players (see this article).
So I went and got myself a shorter stick. It was a junior stick; I am a small player, so I can get away with those. Bonus: a lot cheaper than senior sticks. Only 40 flex, but I am not very heavy and still a newbie, so should be okay. I also had another stick that I had gotten off craigslist. It was cut to exactly the same length as the new stick, but from a larger intermediate stick. I took both of them to the ice for my next game.
The verdict? Playing with a junior stick was a disaster. I could not generate any power, not on my shot, not on my pass. The reason? The shaft was too thin. Imagine playing with a pencil-thin stick. You can’t grip it properly, because your hand grip is too wide for it. You end up using your fingers and holding it sort of diagonally, which is weak… The intermediate stick was thicker and felt much stronger in my hands.
The thing with shorter sticks is that they come with narrower grips than the longer sticks. So if you are a short person with large hands, you might be better off getting a longer stick and cutting it to the right length. And vice versa.
Lesson #1: make sure the stick grip is right for your hand size.
Arm length and wrist flexibility
As this article (among many others) explains, when you set your stick on the ice, the blade must the flat on the ice. If your stick is too long, the toe of the blade lifts off the ice and you can miss passes.
The thing with the blade though, is that you usually don’t just hold it straight; you cup it over the puck to receive the pass.
If your arms are long and/or your wrist is flexible, you can use a longer stick and provide a sufficient cup to receive the pass. If it’s not (like mine), then you gotta go with a shorter stick, because your cup won’t be as deep.
Lesson #2: consider arm length and wrist flexibility when picking a stick.
Top hand grip
There is one more thing about stick length and blade position that actually comes back to the grip. We talked about the bottom hand grip, now let’s talk about the top hand. While experimenting with sticks of different lengths I found that your perfect length is not absolute. You want the blade to be at the right angle relative to the ice (flat or almost flat), but you can also adjust your top hand grip to make up for small length variations. For example, you can hold your top hand such that your pinky is aligned with the end of the stick. Or you can hold it such that your pinky is hanging off the end of your stick. Or your pinky and your fourth finger are hanging off… If you hold it with your fingers hanging off, you can get away with a shorter stick. Some people say that this kind of top hand grip gives them get extra mobility. It’s a matter of preference.
Lesson #3: experiment with your top hand grip.
Shoulder width
When you take a shot, e.g., a wrist shot, the bottom hand of your stick has to be kinda low, where your stick flexes. If you take a slapshot, it needs to be lower still.
From allblackhockeysticks.com: [For wrist shot] your bottom hand (the hand closer to the blade) should be positioned approximately halfway down the shaft. This hand provides the leverage needed to generate power. […] Bottom Hand: Ensure it’s placed about shoulder-width from the top hand. This gives you both power and the flexibility to adjust quickly if needed.
Imagine a very tall player with very narrow shoulders. If they position the bottom hand shoulder width on their long stick, the bottom hand will not be midway through the shaft, but higher, sacrificing power. This player might enjoy a shorter stick instead.
Lesson #4: consider your sholder width when picking stick length.
So there you go
Lesson #1: make sure the stick grip is right for your hand size.
Lesson #2: consider arm length and wrist flexibility when picking a stick.
Lesson #3: experiment with your top hand grip.
Lesson #4: consider your sholder width when picking stick length.
Happy hockey, everyone!
