History

• Until a company started manufacturing ice hockey sticks more than 100 years ago, each player made his own from wood. The first sticks were one-piece models fashioned from the hornbeam tree. Later, ash, hickory and yellow birch became popular. These first sticks were heavy and durable.
  
  

Function

• The stick is used to stop, carry, pass and shoot the puck. The stick is a long and thin shaft that the player controls with his hands and wrists. At the end of the stick is a flat extension called the blade, which is kept on the ice to ensure contact with the puck.
  
  

Few Changes

• Sticks remained the same for many years. Among the few improvements were the creation of two-piece sticks in which blades were glued to the shafts. Lamination, in which layers of wood were glued together to create a more flexible and durable stick, also became popular. Manufacturers later added fiberglass or other synthetic coatings to the wood to increase durability.
  
  

The Curve

• During the 1960s, players began curving the blade of the stick, which dramatically changed the firepower of shots toward the goal. Up to that point, a wrist flick was the most common shot to push the puck toward the goal. With curved blades, powerful slap shots now could be taken from greater distances on the ice. The curve, along with the flexibility of the stick, allowed the puck to rise and sometimes knuckle.
  
  

Goalie Sticks

• To protect the net, sticks for goalies have adapted a slightly different style. Thicker in the lower shaft and in the blade than the skater's stick, it helps the goalie stop or redirect the puck away from the net. About halfway along the shaft, where the thickest portion meets the thinner upper handle, the shaft is tapered to allow the goalie to securely grab the stick and control it.
  
  

Today's Sticks

• Today's players want sticks with more durability, but they also want them to be lighter for easier control. While the all-wood stick is not yet extinct, stick makers have been using less wood and producing more one-piece fiberglass, graphite and aluminum sticks to achieve these results (see Resources).