Pro stock hockey sticks.....

[noupf 42]

Ok, so I'm curious to know what the deal is with pro stock sticks. I've been playing hockey for 15 years ( ice for 5 now ) and I never heard of pro stock equipment until a couple years ago. I know some guys who would buy game used stuff from their teams local area ( in the fan shop inside the arena ) but I never knew you could get these stick a brand new ( as I just discovered today ).

Here's what got me to his point.....

Two weeks ago I was cruising around on eBay looking for some hockey stuff, I find a guy who sells tons of hockey equipment, pro stock sticks included. He feedback was great and I notice he has a bunch of last years pro stock total ones with my flex and curve. They were sticks from Andres Nodl of the Hurricanes. He said they are all good and in very good shape, So I figure I'd grab two bc I thought they were a good deal ( $90 a piece ). I got them yesterday and they look barely used, so I'm pretty excited in trying them out this week. I never buy high end sticks, about $150 is my max. What's the difference between these and the retail sticks? These look like no brainers if somebody doesn't want to spend $275 on top of the line sticks.....

Sorry if this is a noob question, but I'm intrigued by this stuff......

Thanks

[beaver5 1]

Pro Stock. No warranty, custom patterns/lies. Flex generally arent marked.

[chippa13 1844]

Pro stock sticks could be anything from just retail with a different pattern to everything being different from retail. It runs the gamut on what guys will tinker with when they can come up with their own stick.

[CTB 32]

It's all about features that aren't generally available to the average consumer. Different flex profiles, shaft construction, blade construction, blade patterns, length, flex, colors, etc. Most of the time the stick differs from whatever model the graphics represent. For instance Patrick Kane is Bauer's poster boy for the new Vapor stick but his actual stick (last time I checked) is a Supreme One95 with a blade pattern that differs from the P88 retail curve.

It takes a while to figure out but once you find a pro that has specs you like its a lot cheaper to get those sticks than a customized version from like MyBauer.

[noupf 42]

Very interesting. Thanks guys.

Somebody told me that the build quality is generally better with pro stock stick. True or not ?

[jimmy 194]

Very interesting. Thanks guys.

Somebody told me that the build quality is generally better with pro stock stick. True or not ?

Not always true. I stopped repairing prostock sticks because on many of them, the walls of the stick are so thin. I'm assuming this is done for lightness as durability is generally not a concern for a pro as it would be for a retail customer. By all mean buy a prostock if it has a feature/pattern you can't get at retail, but that would be the only reason.

[A2rhino 62]

Just be aware that if you find a pattern you love that isn't retail you may get caught not being able to find that pattern again and lose your mind.

A lot of Pro's change their patterns never to use that same one again. Damn you Robidas!!!!!!

[hyster110 3]

Very interesting. Thanks guys.

Somebody told me that the build quality is generally better with pro stock stick. True or not ?

definitely not true in all cases, pro stock sticks are customized to do a job, as pros get as many sticks as they need, so they are not built for durability.

[CTB 32]

Or they switch brands and you have to figure out if you like the pro specs of a different brand.

[Mimizk 114]

I don't know well about the other companies' sticks though, Easton provide options, graphic, pattern, surface, flex, length, blade kinds and shaft kinds for pro stock stick. For example I've heard that Bauer can provide carbon sheet kinds or kick point change etc but at least Easton doesn't receive such ordering even from pro players.

For example if someone order a stick to Easton, he can choose like this.

*Graphic... of course include the model and some of previous model's coloring.

*Surface... grip or non-grip. Maybe there is some of ribb pattern or other skin.

*Flex... 65, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95...

*Length... able to change producing length of the stick.

*Blade kinds... able to choose kinds of blade and shaft model separately. Now Easton can provide 4kinds for elliptical tapered one-peace stick as V9E, XS19, XU19, XV9E PRO, XV9E NHL. Then 5kinds for normal tapered stick as Synergy HTX, XSE8, XBCNHL, XST M5, XHTX PRO, XHTX NHL.

*Shaft kinds... for elliptical taper, XS19, R125, XS19 RD, XS19 SQ, XV9E NHL, XV9E PRO. For normal tapered, EL, EL DB, EL R125, EL RD, EL SQ, XHTX PRO RO90.

As already this thread men wrote, it's hard to consider from our position about what model would be under the graphic / what combination was chosen by the pro.

[noupf 42]

well, this experiment went bad pretty quick.

I got the sticks and they looked great. They are barely used and they are light as hell. Nice and stiff and not a thing appears wrong with them.

however, apparently the stick was cut about about one inch shorter than my standard length supremes. No big deal right, i add an extension of about 3 inches to my sticks any way ( being 6'4 )......so this time ill just add a 4 inch exntesion........

Not happening........ inside the sticks end is a reinforcement insert of some sort....... See how much thicker the walls are on the one stick vs the other ( the thinner one is a Supreme 180 that i have not used yet )?? At first i thought the pro stick was built that way ( a thicker end ), but when i slide a finger in there, i can tell its an insert, as it only extends down about 2 inches. And no matter what i do ( it is deffiantley an extension that was slid into the end of the stick ), i can not get it out........

I shaved down the sides of one of my wood extensions, but the amount of wood that i had to take off for it to fit was too much. I got the extension in and then put some weight on the stick ( as if i was taking a wrister ) and the butt end snapped right off.

(Redacted)

the one on the right is the pro stock, the left is the supreme 180. Theres a bit of an optical illusion on the top and side of the 180 making it look as thick as the pro stick, but its not really like that at all

[JaniV 9]

just make the woodplug fit in the smaller hole. :)

[Gummer12 134]

Get a heat gun and a flathead screw driver.. heat up the handle and then slide out the extension piece with the screw driver

[fcalog 58]

just make the woodplug fit in the smaller hole. :)

"I shaved down the sides of one of my wood extensions, but the amount of wood that i had to take off for it to fit was too much. I got the extension in and then put some weight on the stick ( as if i was taking a wrister ) and the butt end snapped right off."

[noupf 42]

Get a heat gun and a flathead screw driver.. heat up the handle and then slide out the extension piece with the screw driver

My man, I tired, I heated that thing up good and nothing got it to move. Ok, well almkst nothing. In my attempt to fit the oversized wood extension in, with a great deal of force, I was able to get it the move about 1.5mm farther into the shaft. It was a result of the plug not being shaved down enough so it was forcing the insert down just a little. Honestly though, with the force I was putting on it, that insert thing should have pushed all the way in ( or have easily come out ). I don't know what kind of adhesive they used, but it ain't coming out.

"I shaved down the sides of one of my wood extensions, but the amount of wood that i had to take off for it to fit was too much. I got the extension in and then put some weight on the stick ( as if i was taking a wrister ) and the butt end snapped right off."

just make the woodplug fit in the smaller hole. :)

Yep, reading comprehension is good. lol just kidding. I'm the same way, never read things fully.....

So in my infanant wisdom, I thought to myself, since this insert only goes down about 2 inches, what about cutting the stick just under the insert????

The wood extensions I buy are 7-8" long. I usually add a 3 inch extension normally. So for this to work ( cutting the stick below the insert ) I'd just have to add anoth couple inches to my extension size ( roughly a 6 inch total length extension ).

Mind you the stick was already cut an inch or two by the player and now I'm cutting it down 2 more inches to add the long wood extension.

Would i be messing with the sticks design too much? Possibly making it too stiff, messing with the kick point and how it was designed now that it's a shorter stick with a huge extension in it?

[JaniV 9]

Youre right. I did not read. I just looked the pics. :D:D but i think you would ve ok to cut the stick and insert longer extension. Some nhllers do this too.

[Mattc555 22]

I'd put a spring wing nut, attached to a long threaded bolt, and pull that sucker out with heat. You can drill a hole in what's left of the wood plug, screw in a lag bolt, and pull that out first.

[noupf 42]

I'd put a spring wing nut, attached to a long threaded bolt, and pull that sucker out with heat. You can drill a hole in what's left of the wood plug, screw in a lag bolt, and pull that out first.

I'm telling ya, that fucker ain't coming out. I just used a wood screw and a plyer and was able to pull the busted wood piece out.

I tried using a skinny piec of thin steel stock that I had and made an L out of it to grab the inside lip.......the fucker wouldn't budge. I had the stick hot enough that I couldn't hold the end.....

I'm thinking the player or the equipment manager used some sort of adhesive and not just a glue stick to hold the insert in place.

I think I'm just gonna cut below the insert and put a longer than normal wood extension in and give a try.

[pittu 15]

Dremel and steady hands?

[Vet88 673]

pity you pushed it in a way. To get the hosel out of a one piece that has a broken blade on it I use a mix of a very small flat head screwdriver, chisel and a hammer. Just keep working your way around the plug lifting off the various layers of carbon fibre until you get to the shaft wall. Then a flat file or small dremel to touch up the left over residue and you are away with a butt end or new blade.