whats the dissadvantage to having your stick to long???

[whjs416]

just wondering if there is a major dissadvantage to having your stick to long i am a foward so i know your not supposed to i just cut it just wondering what difference i will fell.

[Alvare71]

Good question, and of course lots of different and reasonable answers to be had. For my money, I say go with the slightly shorter stick. A stick that reaches your nose when you're on tiptoes or in skates is probably a bit too long, and will encourage beginners to stand too erect -- already a tough problem, if you're just starting out.

The "expert opinion" on this seems to change every few years, but recently the changes have consistently been towards shorter sticks. The acid test for stick length is this: Standing with your skates on, with your knees bent in a hockey stance, you should be able to pass your top hand across your stomach without the tip of the blade coming up off the ice.


The motion is the one you'd make in order to take a pass on your forehand from someone almost directly behind you, but slightly to your forehand side. With a long stick you end up with only the heel of the blade on the ice as you pass the butt-end of the stick back and forth in front of you. Can't take a pass that way. In general, good puck control, a good wrist shot, pass-receiving and good hockey posture all suggest a stick reaching no higher than your chin when on tiptoe


I keep my stick to the middle of my chest, I like it that short because i get a quick shot off with it and stick handling. I don't play defence so it really doesn't matter. I know everyone has there own preference,


But it still has to be right until you are skating for a couple of years and then you can see what you like and don't like. I would say experiment with different lengths and find out which one feels best.

Plus I use wood sticks, so cutting it down makes it stiffer. I do not like composite because of the feel, when its new its great, but after you stretch the fiberglass it loses some of it strengh. Wood does not, remember that kids when you are spending 300 dollars, when you can get a great wood Coffey for 25.


No thats not a cup of Coffey.

I want to add one more thing since compsosite came out no one has broke the NHL scoring record.............WOW thats very interesting now isn't it.


REMEMBER you are not just carrying that stick around for nothing.

[MDE3]

I do not know what the disadvantage is...I have never experienced that situation.... :rolleyes:

....Otherwise...excellent post and good advice. Many of the "hotshot" stick handlers I have seen have their sticks cut as low as the center of the chest..maybe 4- 6 inches below the chin...when on skates. Like it was said..this is personal preference, and should evolve to your feel over time. If you prefer using a carbon fiber or composite stick, and you want it significantly shorter, maybe go down one flex grade, to keep the equivalent flex in the shorter stick.

In the "composite vs wooden stick category"...a couple of tidbits...Al McGuinesses "fastest shot" titles were always with a wooden stick, even though composites were readily available at the end of his career...and I cannot resist mentioning Bobby Hull...who at age 57 blasted a shot during a "guest exhibition" during the NHL skills competition..at either 115 or 117 mph(recall precision is fading lol), but then missed the net with his second attempt...which only broke the glass....He was standing on a carpet in street shoes, and using a wooden stick...(it was estimated from film archives, that Hull's slap shot may have exceeded 120 mph while playing in his prime.)

"woodie, woodie, woodie......" :p

[DannyG]

The shortest stick that you can play with effectively is the answer, through trial and error...

however...use a longer one once in a while, just for the heckuvit...

composite vs. wood...or, "sticks vs. logs" as they are affectionately referred to locally:

I used to use either a Mickey Mantle or a Carl Yastremski bat as a kid...thin handle, whippy-quick...then one day tried a Harmon Killebrew, handle so thick around, it actually felt like I was swinging a log...boy, could I punch out singles with it...it the next fifteen games, vs. some pretty high level college-age competition (I was 16 at the time), I batted about .450 and didn't strike out once in 50 at bats...

the analogous moral is change it up once in a while, it will reinforce what you like about each kind of stick...although I do like the Bobby Hull stat above.

just my two cents, and one old story...