Choosing a Stick: Blade Patterns – Part III of III

In case you missed part I, we covered how to find the right flex given your height and weight. Part II explained how to determine the correct length for your hockey stick. In the third and final segment, we will discuss how stick blade patterns can affect your game.  Retail blades are usual named after the professional player who uses them see the chart at HockeyGiant.com. Consult the table below before you purchase your next replacement hockey blade and most importantly, try out as many as you can before you buy! The best way to develop a preference is through experimentation.

Example	Attribute	description	Good for	Bad for
Curve Type
	Toe	Curve begins closer to the tip of the blade	Handling, quick wrist shots	Backhands
	Heel	Curve begins closer to the shaft of the stick	Slapshots, garbage collecting, one-timers	Wrist shots
Curve Depth
	Slight	Increases surface area	Accurate passes. easier backhands	Handling, control
	Deep	Puck spins of the blade easier	Creates spiral effect for faster wrist shots	Predictability when making or receiving passes, slap shots
Loft/Face Angle
	Closed	Blade is more perpendicular to the ground	Keeping it low on long-range shots, shooting accuracy	Getting lift
	Open	Blade is more wedge-like	Higher shots	Backhands, playing with a ball
Lie
	Low	Puts blade further from the body	Players who have a lower stance, slap shots	Handling, control
	High	Brings blade closer to the body	Players who stand more upright, quick hard shots	Defensive reach
Rocker
	No Rocker	Sharper Heel	More stick on the ice, easier to receive passes	—
	Rockered	Rounded Heel	Plays like low lie when handling, high lie when shooting	—
Shape
	Round	Smoother edge	Toe drags, fancier stick handling	—
	Square	Broader edge	Snagging pucks off the boards, receiving passes	—

Another factor to consider when shopping for blades is the length. A longer blade will obviously cover more area, but more wood means more weight. You just have to decide what you are willing to compromise on.

Ok, now here’s the test: I am a forward with a an upright stance, a weak slap shot, who likes to hog the puck and frusterate goalies with fancy wrist shots.What blade do you think I use? If you guessed a Thornton, you’re right.The deep-mid curve is ideal for putting a little zip on my wrist shots, and the round edge is nice for handling. The closed angle helps me control the height of my shots and a lie of 6 keeps the blade flat on the ground.

If you have a two-piece stick you can easily change out blades until you find what you like. Be sure to take it to a pro shop or watch this guide on how to replace a hockey stick blade. With a one-piece stick the decision is a little more permanent so be sure you know what you want before you get it.

Tags: stick