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The Glorious 1 Piece Composite Hockey Stick

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:53:17 +0000

TSN writer Wayne Karl wrote a GREAT article about the state of the composite hockey stick in the NHL today and where it has come from over the last 10 years. It is not often that you get a top professional writing and entire article about ice hockey sticks so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Highlights from “The One-Piece Composite Stick” article include…

Ten years later, the one-piece composite hockey stick is anything but outlawed – it has been embraced as the weapon of choice by almost all NHL players, and is one of the most significant success stories in the hockey business in decades.

..and…

“It gives a better release, a harder shot, better everything,” Gomez said in The Hockey News 2001-02 Yearbook. “What else can you ask for?

NHL players were soon asking for it in a hurry, once they could see the 460-gram stick could help them shoot quicker, harder and more accurately. No more fussing with inserting a wood or graphite blade into a composite or aluminum shaft, or fumbling with heavier wood sticks. The Synergy gave them light weight, power, quickness and consistency, every time.

…and…

Even Ottawa Senators forward Jason Spezza, one of the last wood stick holdouts, as late as to the beginning of the 2009-10 season, has seen the light.

“I’m pretty set with what I’ve got right now (a Reebok one-piece),” he says. “I feel really comfortable with my stick, so I think I’m pretty much done with wood. I was one of the few remaining guys. Nobody really wants to make wood sticks any more because there’s no market for them. Everyone’s buying one-pieces.”

The article also cites stats about how the average goals per game has remained a pretty consistent 5.6 in the just before and since era of the one-piece composite sticks.

There is a ton more great info in the original article. You can read it in its entirety here.

With better performance, dropping prices and a focus on improving durability from the manufacturers, how long will you still be able to buy wood hockey sticks?

Sidney Crosby Testing New Hockey Stick

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:53:36 +0000

photo by: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

The Penguin’s Sidney Crosby is trying out a new composite stick. He has been using a two piece hockey stick with a wood blade. The new hockey stick that he is trying out is a one piece composite hockey stick. The article states that wooden hockey stick shafts and blades are very rare in the NHL theses days as players look to gain more velocity with the new composite materials.

The full story is available at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette here.

Ice Hockey Stick Composite Technology

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:30:07 +0000

I found this blurb on some recent advances in composite technology as applied to building a true one piece composite hockey stick. You can follow this link to find more of our articles on composite hockey sticks.

Key snippets from the article include:

The stick uses a third generation toughened high-end resin system, Araldite NanoTech Composite new RTM system, to meet the most stringent demands of ice hockey players.

… and …

The Busch ice hockey stick is made of carbon and glass braids around a synthetic foam core which provide the stiffness needed to release maximum energy. This assembly is then inserted in a mould with an injection point at one end and an outlet point at the other end. Araldite NanoTech Composite is injected into the mould to impregnate the braids. This technology has been patented by Busch to produce the only true one-piece composite hockey stick with continuous fibre strengthening and no joints.

The article also state that the Swiss National Hockey team used pre-released versions of these 1 piece composite hockey sticks during the 2008 World Championships in Canada and that the stick were well regarded.

The original article can be found here.

New hockey stick test machine could help reduce breakage

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:08:14 +0000

Excerpts form the original article…

A revolutionary new ice hockey stick test machine looks primed and ready to shoot down its competition.

It just needs to be built.

Unsatisfied with the current principal method used to test stick durability, University of Waterloo engineering prof John McPhee set out to design a new system.

and ..

McPhee believes the answer will lie in testing the sticks dynamically. In other words, measuring the effects acting on the stick from the time it makes contact with the ice to when the puck leaves the blade.

Inspired by his work as a technical advisor for Golf Digest magazine, where computer-controlled robots were used to test out new golf clubs and balls, McPhee designed a robot based upon the same idea: a machine that repeats the exact same shot over and over again.

To make this happen, McPhee realized he had to overcome one major design obstacle.

“You need arms to attach to the stick at two different locations,” said McPhee. “Furthermore, the hockey stick has to be able to bend between those two places.”

This Article was originally published in the The Varsity Magazine and the full article can be found here

Hockey the Cause of Most Canadian Baseball Players Batting Left Handed?

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:47:16 +0000

Here is a fun story about the majority of Canadian Baseball player batting left handed due to playing hockey left handed as they grew up.

Why do so many Canadian baseball players bat left-handed? Jason Bay has a theory: When first handed a hockey stick, the typical Canadian kid grabs the end with his right hand.

…

“I don’t know the scientific approach to it,” Bay said Wednesday, “but that was the Baseball Canada consensus in the locker room — that it had everything to do with the hockey stick. Everything. I think it boiled down to being right-hand dominant and using that on the top of your stick as your control hand. That’s the best that we could come up with.”

…

According to various Internet entries, about two-thirds of NHL players shoot left-handed. Roughly 90% of the general population is right-handed.

The full story can be found here (NOTE: original link no longer active).

Fast Company Names NHL.Com As One Of Their Top 10 Most Innovative Sports Companies

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:08:24 +0000

NHL.com: The challenger brand of sports leagues is becoming quite the creative digital-media company. Free from other leagues’ restrictions on video, NHL.com shows exclusive off-the-ice footage as well as every goal scored.

The Top 10 In Sport Category page can be found here.

Mike Green’s Record Setting Hockey Stick Is A Hot Commodity

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:19:33 +0000

The International Herald Tribune (the global edition ofthe New York Times) ran a nice story today on the Capital’s Mike Green and the Hockey Hall Of Fame seeking his record setting hockey stick. Mike Green recently set the all time record for the longest goal scoring streak by a defenseman at 8 games.

Quotes from the article…

Green scored every goal during the streak with the same stick. It has lasted about 10 games, a good run considering he usually makes it only five of six games with a stick before it breaks.

“That one felt the best I’ve ever used,” Green said. “It just comes off the blade good. You don’t have to look down. It’s a good feel.”

and…

Green scored 10 times over the eight games, including five goals on power plays. The record-breaker came on a power play at 5:33 of the second period in Saturday night’s 5-1 win over Tampa Bay. The entire team went on the ice to congratulate him, having received special permission from the NHL to empty the bench.

You can read the whole story at Caps’ Green says no to Hall of Fame, keeps stick.

NHL Hockey Stick Budget

admin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:41:22 +0000

Some nice Ice Hockey Stick $$$ info from a recent article…

Reaching a breaking point on stick budgets?

The odds that the hockey world would ever go back to wood sticks are probably on a par with goalies everywhere going back to pads stuffed with horsehair.

But it sure gets frustrating, night after night, to see NHL ice surfaces littered with shattered pricy carbon shafts, which seem to have a way of vaporizing just as a point man puts the hammer down on a 40-foot slapper. Imagine the pain felt by parents who shell out $100, $200, or more for a stick, only to take home two halves to stake tomato plants in summer gardens.

“It’s a big point of contention among GMs throughout the league, I’ll tell you that,” said Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. “The stick budget for every team keeps going up.”

According to Chiarelli, the Bruins spend some $400,000 per annum on the lightweight sticks.

“They all want them to be light, and I understand that,” said Chiarelli. “But the trick is to find a balance between what the player wants and a stick that will stay intact.”

The complete article can be found here. Boston Globe Article from February 15, 2009.

Bauer Hockey goes on a growth spurt and acquires Mission-ITECH Hockey

admin — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:17:45 +0000

Bauer Hockey bought Mission-ITECH at the end of September, just 6 months after the Nike, Inc. sale of Bauer closed in April. The enthusiasm of the new Bauer Hockey is exciting to see.

It seems like the end of the “Nike” name on the Nike Bauer brand is nearing the end of its days. It was reported that the Supreme One95 will be the last hockey stick made with the Nike Bauer brand. All future products will be branded exclusively Bauer Hockey.

Here is the press release from Bauer Hockey regarding the Mission-ITECH acquisition…

Bauer Hockey Buys Mission-ITECH
Wednesday September 24, 2:43 pm ET

TORONTO, September 24 /PRNewswire/ — Bauer Hockey today announced it has purchased Mission-ITECH Hockey, a leader in goal equipment, protective apparel and facial protection.
The purchase strengthens Bauer’s overall position in the marketplace and is part of the overall growth and investment strategy of Bauer’s management team and new ownership group, consisting of Kohlberg & Company and Montreal businessman W. Graeme Roustan.

“The combination of innovation and expertise that is at the core of both of these leading organizations provides us with a unique opportunity in the highly competitive hockey industry,” said Kevin Davis, CEO & President, Bauer Hockey. “Mission-ITECH has made its mark on the industry with cutting-edge product innovations, and the addition of Mission-ITECH’s complementary categories such as goal equipment, protective apparel and facial protection to Bauer’s core strengths will allow us to further advance the performance of hockey players all over the world.”

“Consolidation is essential for the long-term success of the overall hockey industry,” said Mike Whan, CEO, Mission-ITECH. “Mission-ITECH and Bauer Hockey are both dedicated to improving the game and creating a better experience for all players. That combined commitment will only help increase the overall health of the industry and the sport itself.”

Bauer Hockey Corp., the Canadian entity of Bauer Hockey, based in Mississauga, Ontario and St. Jerome, Quebec, will acquire Mission-ITECH’s Canadian operations. Mission-ITECH’s facility in Kirkland, Quebec and its distribution facility in Plattsburgh, N.Y. will remain open until May 31, 2009. Approximately 140 non-union employees will be impacted by the multi-phased closure of both facilities.

To minimize the impact of the acquisition, Bauer Hockey will provide affected Mission-ITECH employees financial assistance, applicable benefit packages and outplacement counseling.

Bauer Hockey continues to employ nearly 300 Canadian employees at its Research, Design & Development center in St. Jerome, Quebec and its Canadian headquarters and distribution center located in Mississauga, Ontario. More than half of all Bauer Hockey’s global employees are based in Canada.

About Bauer Hockey

Bauer Hockey is the world’s most recognized designer, marketer and manufacturer of hockey equipment and currently operates under the Nike Bauer Hockey name. Founded in Kitchener, Ontario in 1927, Bauer developed the first skate with a blade attached to a boot, forever changing the game of hockey. Since then, Bauer has continued to develop the most sought after products in the industry, including the widely successful Supreme and Vapor lines of products.

Inside Scoop: Hockey Sticks of the UND Sioux

admin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:38:44 +0000

This is a really interesting article written about the UND Sioux college hockey team and their Ice Hockey Sticks. Here is a link to the original article from the Grand Forks Herald Stick shtick: Breaking new ground by Brad Elliott Schlossman. (NOTE: Original link is no longer active)

The article is worth a full read on its own but here are some interesting quotes…

A new era of the game has arrived in the form of the one-piece composite stick. Carbon, Kevlar and fiberglass are being used to construct a stick that is largely replacing wood and the two-piece, shaft-blade combination throughout the game.

The one-pieces are popular for being light and flexible but dubious because they break often and are expensive.

This season, the Sioux expect to spend $80,000 on hockey sticks alone.

When the one-piece sticks started gaining popularity in 2003, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Minnesota Wild had a stick budget of $225,000. The Wild wouldn’t even say how much they spend now.

The average Sioux player is breaking 24 to 36 sticks a year, Swanson said. Then, there’s Andrew Kozek. The senior forward, known for his rocket wrist shot, broke 70 last season.

See the original article for more good info.
Enjoy!