Stick length for Defenceman

[bunnyman666 445]

If this has been covered, please point me in the right direction...

Any who... I am suddenly stuck on D in pu hockey. I can't skate backwards and my slap shot is suspect, but it seems I am somewhat in position and love to break up plays. I sized my sticks right at chin level or below in stocking feet. I can't sweep check the puck, so I am going for right at the nose.

What's your preference, D-men? What is correct?

[Wallzy41 9]

Whatever feels right for you, do it. I play a shutdown forward role when I skate out, but am only about 5'9". My sticks go up to my nose on skates.

[bunnyman666 445]

Whatever feels right for you, do it. I play a shutdown forward role when I skate out, but am only about 5'9". My sticks go up to my nose on skates.

That is a tall stick!!!!

[roar111 1]

I'm 5'9", also usually a D, I usually never have my sticks above shoulder level before skates. Being a more offensive minded D and occasional winger I find the shorter stick is a lot better for carrying the puck out of the zone or making a good breakout pass. I also use a higher lie to be able to keep the puck close in the not-exactly-rare event I run into trouble. I don't mind the reach detriment, poke checking to me is more of a matter of knowing when to make your move than simply going fishing and hoping you find the puck.

[MrData 93]

My 11k (lie 5 H14) goes past my eyebrows when not on skates, but my T100 (lie 6 PP05) is between my eyebrows and the tip of my nose. I'm 5'9 and also play defense, and I like playing with such a relatively long stick because of the reach. Really helps for stick-on-puck, poke checks, etc. and apparently, a longer stick is better for slapshots (my best and favourite shot).

In sum: Personal preference.

[Chadd 916]

I like it under my chin on skates. Once the stick gets too long, it's hard to play the puck on the boards, in scrums or near your feet.

[Stewie 721]

my d stick is roughly an inch longer than the one i use as a forward. It has a lower lie to accomodate this as well.

[swineanddine 2]

I'm 6'4", i play D and my stick is about 63" from the heel to the end (max allowed unless Chara I'm told). It's around my chin or something.

[Bengerm77 11]

I'm 5'7" and my stick is 57" long, that comes up to my top lip. I used to play with one that came up to my nose, but it became too unwieldy when stick handling.

[A2rhino 62]

I'm 5'11" however from fingertip to fingertip arms width I'm 6'1". I play a 64" (floor to butt end) stick on D.

As Chadd said: I like it under my chin on skates. Once the stick gets too long, it's hard to play the puck on the boards, in scrums or near your feet

[Mattc555 22]

I am 5'9", and I my stick to be at my adam's apple when on skates. I like this length for the reasons Chadd listed, and that I find it easier to stick handle with a shorter stick.

Poke checking is about timing and gap control.

[bmess6 2]

Timing is pretty key when stick checking, that doesnt just happen it takes a lot of practice. Just get out there and keep trying and it will come over time.

[bunnyman666 445]

My poke checks aren't bad, I just don't have enough reach to poke check effectively as a defence man. My stick has gotten longer since I started playing D. I may chop everything down eventually. Or everything will have a foot long plug...

From what I am reading, my stick could be too short.

[Chadd 916]

My poke checks aren't bad, I just don't have enough reach to poke check effectively as a defence man. My stick has gotten longer since I started playing D. I may chop everything down eventually. Or everything will have a foot long plug...

From what I am reading, my stick could be too short.

The key to a poke check is to bait the forward into getting too close. If I have a man one on one, I have one hand on the stick and my elbow is at my hip. Then I fire the stick out at the pick and I suddenly have two more feet of reach than I did before. If you have your stick extended the whole time, they know how far you can reach and will stay outside that range.

[YesLanges 127]

IMO, there is one and only one correct stick length for any given player and any given lie and it's almost always the length described by Chadd: somewhere below your chin on skates. Look at any pee-wee group and most of their sticks are nose-high or much higher. Take a look at an NHL bench during the National Anthem and you'll see almost all of them below the chin, sometimes by several inches...sometimes, by quite a few inches. Digging out by the boards is important but it's the least of it when it comes to stick length. You can barely stickhandle at all with a stick that's eyebrow-high or even nose-high because the butt-end of your stick or your top-hand elbow is jabbing you in the hip. Watch any group of novices (any age) of relatively similar skating ability and you can almost always correlate puck skills inversely with stick length. You need to be able to put the whole length of your blade on the ice and pass your whole arm from elbow to fist all the way across your body until your top-hand reaches your opposite leg without pulling the blade off the ice. Generally, that equates to a stick that is (at most) chin-high in feet and a few inches below your chin on skates. If your stick is too long, your top hand is sort of fused to your hip and you're only moving your bottom hand...like the hand of a clock moving around the dial. You can hardly do anything with the puck like that.

I used to have a hacksaw with me and I'd ask for permission to cut down the stick of someone with a stick that was way too long. The difference in stickhandling, passing, receiving, and shooting was so noticeable and so immediate, that I could not possibly cut all the sticks being handed my way afterwards...With adults, I'd just mark them with a sharpie for anybody who wanted and they'd pass my saw around and do it themselves. So, if you're an intermediate-level player or less, poke-checking isn't close to important enough to dictate stick length compared with the optimal usable length for all-around puck skills. Just try it on any stick you can sacrifice: chin or below in feet and a few inches below your chin on skates. You will not be sorry and you will cut all your sticks down to that length.

[bunnyman666 445]

@YesLanges-

Oddly enough, I watched the video that highlights EXACTLY what you're saying. I cut all of my sticks below the chin (about 1/2" below) in sock feet. I tried longer when I ended up on D. I think maybe I had it a wee bit too short for my skating style, so I will add an inch on that and settle on somewhere in between.

I just felt I didn't have quite enough reach when trying to steal the puck.

Thanks.

And to the rest of you- thanks.

[YesLanges 127]

@BM: Sorry, stick length was always such a peeve of mine that I was more focused on the responses than on your initial question. Your stick sounds about right. As Chadd implied, if you're having a problem, it's more about positioning and timing than about stick length in the first place...if you try poking at someone both standing still and in range, you'll see that...it ain't exactly a complex skill with a lot of room for error...at any level. You should know that you have much more leverage flipping your blade up instead of poking with the blade turned town...blade-down poke checks are way easier to skate right through. You're also going with more blade (blade-up) which means you have more room for error aiming and way more force when you do make contact, vs. just the vertical end (or blade tip). Watch goalies when they mean business (and have the time): paddle gets turned over before being fired out there. But the most important thing is being in range first and not telegraphing what your range is in advance.

[bunnyman666 445]

@YL-

When I last played, I was more of a pest than an offensive threat left winger. I would end up breaking up plays, flip a pass to the right winger or centre, drawing penalties and got the occasional garbage goal. My goals per season would end up as a singular number, whereas my PIM were in the three digit count.

I end up on defence by default; nobody else wants to play D. I am starting to win battles behind the goal on the boards and sometimes make the young whipper-snapper dangle-festers in white skates and gloves pretty peeved when I break up their play, especially since I am old and slow. But since it seems that I am becoming the crappy backwards-skating (have a coach helping me with that) D with a suspect slapper, I just want to get every single advantage, which includes wondering what the best length stick is for my position.

Again to you and the other posters in this thread: I appreciate the advice.

[busdriver 6]

I prefer playing D so these tips have been great.

I really like the advice about keeping the stick close to bate the guy in.

I have really been trying to watch the forwards eyes and chest rather than the puck when they're coming in on me.

My question is how far should I back pedal before "stepping up on them" or going for the poke check? And/or which direction should I be trying move them as they come in?

Also on the defense topic, what should the defenseman be doing when the opposing forward is behind your own net . . . go get him or wait and cut off the pass into the crease?

Thanks in advance for the tips . . .

[YesLanges 127]

BD: Almost everything you asked is totally situation-dependent and too dynamic (ablity, relative ability between both of you, speed, flow, position of everybody else, the expectations of your D partner and everybody else on your squad, and your coach's philosophy or D scheme). Very generally, squeezing them toward the boards is usually an advantage, because they have only one good option and you have physical help from the boards, but still situation-dependent and dynamic...can't really go with a patterned approach. As for behind the net, it definitely depends on what your D partner is expecting, and where he is. Obviously, never want to let them feel they have a freebie and all the time they want anytime they get behind your net...but you don't want to chase them the same way regularly enough for them to bait you into leaving someone open in the slot, either...so mix it up as long as you're not also mixing up anybody whose jersey matches yours in the process. Your options also depend partly on how (or if?) your forwards backcheck and pick up open men. Probably the best "rule of thumb" is to always consider where you are and what the worst case scenario will be if you miss...which means the identical 1-on-1 situation in isolation has a very different answer depending where you and everybody else is at the time.

I'd also suggest that you not think of it as "stepping up" because some guys do sort of tense up and stop moving to make contact. View it in your mind's eye like looking down from above...he's usually moving faster so you have to play the right angle so that you converge at a point that's advantageous to you...but your paths should still make a "V" moving in the same direction toward the point that you pick based on your respective speeds and positions from the time he gets the puck or gets open for the puck. The less secure you feel about your skating backwards, the more lead time and space you need to allow for, but it's still about you being the one picking the angle and convergence point. Basically, same deal as a slower safety chasing down a faster receiver along the sidelines and relying on angles instead of matching speed.