Loading Stick

[grp 0]

How do I load a stick to create the whip on a wrist shot??

Thanks

[SouthpawTRK 1]

How do I load a stick to create the whip on a wrist shot??

Thanks

I would make sure that you are using a shaft that is not too stiff, keep your blade flat on the ice when shooting, and drive your hips and back leg down to help load the shaft. Here's a link to a great video of Mike Cammalleri on wrist and snap shots.

[Chadd 916]

Most of the whip should come from the forward motion of the shot, with just a little down force as mentioned in the video. When you have professional athletes like Cammalleri using 80 and Ovechkin using 85 flexes, it makes you wonder about all the rec league guys using 100+ flexes.

[shotty 7]

in rec league, the higher the flex rating one has, the more of a man one can claim to be.

[sickwilly 37]

Most of the whip should come from the forward motion of the shot, with just a little down force as mentioned in the video. When you have professional athletes like Cammalleri using 80 and Ovechkin using 85 flexes, it makes you wonder about all the rec league guys using 100+ flexes.

My old man (still playing at 68) keeps going back to 110 flex sticks. He tells me that they feel sturdier while they're holding him up.

[Chadd 916]

My old man (still playing at 68) keeps going back to 110 flex sticks. He tells me that they feel sturdier while they're holding him up.

Our 68 year old guy uses intermediate sticks.

[Jarick 5]

We have two guys over 60 and they both use intermediates.

[mug25 2]

Check this video out (especially his last set of shots)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKY7rEZ_2XM

Most of the whip should come from the forward motion of the shot, with just a little down force as mentioned in the video. When you have professional athletes like Cammalleri using 80 and Ovechkin using 85 flexes, it makes you wonder about all the rec league guys using 100+ flexes.

You make a great point, one that I really only noticed recently. I have 3 main sticks that I use. Two are S17's @ 100 flex with different curves. The 3rd stick, which I bought off of this site as a "3rd backup" is an original Stealth @ 85 flex. Even with the superior technology in the S17, I notice my wrist shot with the old school Stealth is much harder. Snap shot, different story.

I guess touching on the video of Kovalev here, he's using a stiff stick due to him putting so much pressure on the shaft. What flex are other guys like Crosby, Gaborik etc., using?

[gxc999 7]

My theory on the matter is basically the reason a guy like Ovechkin can use an 80-ish flex is because he can create enough time and space so that he can fully load the stick pretty much any time. My experience strongly suggests that you will shoot more poorly with a low flex stick if you don't take the time to fully load it. Whether the opposite is true, ya know, shooting better with a whippier model if you do load it all the way, largely depends on the technique and physique of the person using it. I've personally found a stiffer stick helps more on wrist shots and a softer twig enhances my slap shot, I also located a couple studies, peer reviewed, that suggested as much, I have no idea where they are now but I posted them in a prior thread around a year or so ago.

[tareatingrat 4]

I've gone back and forth on using stiff and whippy sticks.

Currently, I'm back to using 100 flexes.

I found that my wrist shots really needed me to load up with a whippy stick, and I get so little time to do that in a game. With the higher flex, I can get shots off a bit quicker.

I also find that I can stickhandle better with a stiffer stick.

I've never had much of a slap-shot, so I can't really comment on whether they were better with a whip flex vs stiff flex.

I think your preference will depend on a number of things, especially your techinque. I know my technique isn't "proper," but in game situations, I end up powering through shots because I'm not always in optimal shooting position, and I find a stiffer flex helps. If I've got time and space, I'm also heavy enough (220lbs) that when I lean into it, I'm getting a fair bit of power behind it.

My suggestion is to go buy two or three of the same stick in different flexes. Wait for a sale at your LHS where you get two for $99 or something. Won't know what works for you until you try the different options.

[chippa13 1844]

My theory on the matter is basically the reason a guy like Ovechkin can use an 80-ish flex is because he can create enough time and space so that he can fully load the stick pretty much any time. My experience strongly suggests that you will shoot more poorly with a low flex stick if you don't take the time to fully load it. Whether the opposite is true, ya know, shooting better with a whippier model if you do load it all the way, largely depends on the technique and physique of the person using it. I've personally found a stiffer stick helps more on wrist shots and a softer twig enhances my slap shot, I also located a couple studies, peer reviewed, that suggested as much, I have no idea where they are now but I posted them in a prior thread around a year or so ago.

Loading a stick doesn't depend on time but motion. Ovechkin uses a low flex stick because he is a strong guy with a quick motion that quickly loads the stick without a ton of effort from him.

[gxc999 7]

Loading a stick doesn't depend on time but motion.  Ovechkin uses a low flex stick because he is a strong guy with a quick motion that quickly loads the stick without a ton of effort from him.

I think that's a fair point. But how many people can do what he does? I think he's probably one of the best ever at getting so much power on a shot and getting it off quickly too.

[Chadd 916]

I think that's a fair point. But how many people can do what he does? I think he's probably one of the best ever at getting so much power on a shot and getting it off quickly too.

They would obviously need to use a stick with more whip to get the same results. Most players just aren't used to feeling the stick bend when they shoot and it feels uncomfortable to them.

[gxc999 7]

They would obviously need to use a stick with more whip to get the same results. Most players just aren't used to feeling the stick bend when they shoot and it feels uncomfortable to them.

That's true. Personally, I don't like a stick whipping on passes, but shots are of course good

[Rustpot 1]

My theory on the matter is basically the reason a guy like Ovechkin can use an 80-ish flex is because he can create enough time and space so that he can fully load the stick pretty much any time. My experience strongly suggests that you will shoot more poorly with a low flex stick if you don't take the time to fully load it. Whether the opposite is true, ya know, shooting better with a whippier model if you do load it all the way, largely depends on the technique and physique of the person using it. I've personally found a stiffer stick helps more on wrist shots and a softer twig enhances my slap shot, I also located a couple studies, peer reviewed, that suggested as much, I have no idea where they are now but I posted them in a prior thread around a year or so ago.

It really depends on what you're doing during the shot and whether your wrist shot is a true wind-up or just a snap from the side of your skating stance.

If you feel more power out of a stiffer shaft you're likely trying to generate your shot along the ice using purely arm and wrist strength. The stiff stick will transfer all of your body's force to the puck directly, while the whip flex isn't kicking until after the puck has left the blade so you're not benefiting at all. Your slapshot technique digs/slaps the ice enough to load the stick so your lower flex will load and the high flex is resisting too much and likely hits/pushes the puck instead of slinging it.

When I was playing I favored sub 85 flex sticks for a few reasons. Mostly because that it took very little effort to get flex out of the stick and I only took wrist shots. The weight of the puck with a wrist motion slightly towards the ice would snap off shots just as nice as guys playing forever. The downside of course was the stick feeling like it wasn't reactive or fast enough during stickhandling and getting too much snap on passes that were hard to control. Going up to 80-85 meant I needed a bit more force in the shot but it reacted so much better handling the puck.

I couldn't skate for shit, but I scored often enough being able to snipe rockets from the dots using a whippy stick with a fast release. I have a whipped out 85 SE shaft with a Rahkshani pro blade stashed away for when I start playing again.