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Pro Stock Hockey Blog
Stick Insight: Ryan Dzingel
Ryan Dzingel has always been good with the stick. Of course, growing up outside Chicago, the stick was frequently a baseball bat. And Dzingel, the son of a father who played collegiately at Louisiana Tech, was an all-state shortstop for Wheaton Academy. But then, Dzingel had also been playing hockey since he was 5 years old, and nobody was certain [...]
Hockey Stick Handedness
While World Is Right, Hockey Leans Left Ninety percent of the world is right-handed. Yet, in the NHL, more than 60 percent of the players have a left-handed shot — i.e., with their right hand on the top of the stick’s grip and the toe of the blade curving to the right as you look down on it. Manufacturers generally sell [...]
Remain Flexible When Considering Hockey Stick Flex
The moment anyone starts talking about hockey stick flex, Zdeno Chara’s name comes up. The 6-foot-9 Boston Bruins defenseman is known for having the stiffest stick in the NHL, typically playing with a 150 or 155-flex stick in a league where anything in three digits is considered stiff. But there may be an evolution underway for Zdeno Chara, a 250-pound behemoth who in [...]
Best Goalie Masks For Current NHL Season
Major League Baseball endured a months-long controversy during the 2018 season, springing from the Cubs’ Ben Zobrist deciding to wear black spikes in violation of the league’s uniform policy.In the NFL, players are routinely fined for such violations, as when the 49ers’ Frank Gore took a $10,500 hit for wearing low socks in the 2012 NFC Championship game.Thankfully, the NHL encourages [...]
Bauer Vapor 1X Gets All The Glove Love
Bauer Vapor 1X gloves are the most popular gloves in the NHL. That’s not exactly news. Last season, the Vapor 1X was also the most popular glove in the league. This year four versions of Bauer Vapor gloves are on the list, with the Vapor 1X again leading the way. Actually, when it comes to appendages, Bauer 1X is apparently the way [...]
How Tall Should A Hockey Stick Be?
It’s important to know the proper hockey stick length. Playing with an improperly sized stick can slow players’ development, make their shooting less accurate and powerful, and even throw off their skating. How Long Is a Hockey Stick? That’s a question with many answers. The proper hockey stick length varies depending on the size, strength and playing characteristics of the player, [...]
Blade Grades: Having A Feel For Hockey Steel
In the equipment-centric world that is hockey, perhaps no bit of gear is as important as your skate blades. The wrong hockey skate blades can make you work too hard, tire too easily, move too slowly or wobble too often. The best hockey skates have blades that make you feel kinetic and connected. Choices are many. Which skate blades are [...]
Should You Grab a Hockey Stick Grip?
Almost forever — OK, since the early 1900s — hockey players have been applying tape to their sticks. While the blade gets most of the attention, for reasons of both protection and performance, the butt end of the stick requires equally careful taping to enhance a player’s ability to hold onto the most important piece of hockey gear north of his skates. Or [...]
Choosing Between Hockey Pants and Girdles
When choosing hockey pants, you don’t want to make a mistake. We’re not even talking a Cooperalls-level mistake. Long pants have, thankfully, been consigned to the clearance rack of hockey history. Rather, your choice is between traditional ice hockey pants and ice hockey girdles. They do the same job, but differently enough so that choosing between the two is not merely a matter [...]
How To Tape A Hockey Stick Toe Like A Pro
Most hockey players take their tape jobs seriously. David Pastrnak, not so much. The Bruins forward has blamed his drunken candy cane swirl of a tape job on penny-pinching ways born from his Czech upbringing. And he celebrated the Islanders’ signing of his friend, ex-Russian leaguer and fellow Czech Jan Kovar, by declaring on Twitter, "... finally won’t have the [...]
