youth hockey sticks

[cdnrookies 0]

Well this is my first post, and before anyone chimes in, I know young kids don't NEED a composite stick. Lol!

But here's the thing, I have a young son (just turned 5) and he is obsessed with his hockey. He doesn't play video games and when it comes to birthday or Christmas gifts he want a new helmet or gloves or of course a new stick.

So, besides that I've noticed some youth blades flex almost as much as the shaft (which I would assume is not wanted) what else is there to look for? Also, I've found a real shortage of youth sticks, where do other people in Canada buy theirs?

Thanks

[AIREAYE 248]

If you want to really impress your son, then just know that youth OPS are basically sold for the image. They (the so-called high end ones) typically sell for $50-80 and you can find them at the big stores like pro hockey Life, hockey Experts and even sportchek

[HockeySavants 5]

I'd invest in wood sticks, honestly that is the best way to learn

[cdnrookies 0]

It does make me laugh when I hear the stores talk about flex in a youth stick, what 5 year old puts enough pressure on their stick to flex it!

I picked up a TPS comp a few months back for 25 bucks, he loves the stick and does really well, don't think any stick would make a difference.

But, he does like walking into the rink with a new stick, gonna look and see what options are out there in wooden sticks

I'd invest in wood sticks, honestly that is the best way to learn

[HockeySavants 5]

It's kinda funny the flex youth sticks have, I've seen 40 flex sticks, those are the real twigs

[ahbroody 1]

Late bump, but figured I would offer a stick my son likes.

My son is 5 as of October in his second year of league play. He sounds the same as your boy and has the gear whore sickness bad. It must be genetic.

I am partial to the CCM Ovechkin/RBK Crosby. Same curve. He has used both for about 8 months, one for summer and one now. He is lifting the puck well on wrist shots in game. The curve lends itself well to it. That said the blade and stick durability is crap. As others have mentioned they are just badged up sticks. He plays pretty hard on the wall digging at pucks and camps the front of the net a lot looking for change and the stick after every game looks worse and worse. It MAY make it a season if your son is in the mix a lot, but the curve is good for the little guys because they can lift it easy on wrist shots and it makes them happy.

[SolarWind 23]

I am partial to the CCM Ovechkin/RBK Crosby. Same curve. ... the curve is good for the little guys because they can lift it easy on wrist shots and it makes them happy.

what curve is that exactly? most youth sticks have a very mild curve, almost very litte depth (almost straight) abd with a neutral face, from what I've seem Crosby is no different?

Do you have a link?

[Cove 38]

I'd invest in wood sticks, honestly that is the best way to learn

This is always my advice to parents or older guys who want low end OPS. Wood will allow him to learn his fundamentals without learning to use the stick as a crutch.

[goblue9280 33]

This is always my advice to parents or older guys who want low end OPS. Wood will allow him to learn his fundamentals without learning to use the stick as a crutch.

No doubt, nothing wrong with little guys using wood. But I seriously doubt that an 8&under kid will learn to use an OPS stick as a crutch. My 7-year-old is average size but pretty strong for his age, and doesn't come close to flexing his bauer youth OPS. I don't think there is any difference between him using a wood or OPS. The reason I've gone OPS is simply because the sticks last longer. He'd go through a couple of wood sticks a year because the blade would start cracking (no matter how often I changed the tape). With the OPS, I change the tape a lot less frequently, and the stick has lasted a year. Since I have to order most everything online, 2 wood sticks work out to nearly the same cost as a youth OPS.

One thing I see a lot of is parents buying and cutting down junior sticks for kids under 8. I figure they make the youth size sticks for a reason, so I've always gone that route, as it seems the smaller thickness fits his hands better. Also, parents will buy gloves that are far too large. I see 6 year olds wearing 11-12" mitts. I think improper glove and stick size does far more damage than choosing between curves or wood vs OPS.

[Steve_v3 289]

I'd invest in wood sticks, honestly that is the best way to learn

+1

I had a parent on his knees with a Bauer & Easton youth OPS comparing the lie of each stick. he said what would be better for his 7 year old son. He then said his son likes to take wrist shots. I told he was better off with a wood stick & there wasn't much difference between the two. His kid says: "Dad I don't care just get one." I could almost tell he was thinking "Well how am I going to impress the other parents if I don't get the most expensive youth stick."

[goblue9280 33]

+1

I had a parent on his knees with a Bauer & Easton youth OPS comparing the lie of each stick. he said what would be better for his 7 year old son. He then said his son likes to take wrist shots. I told he was better off with a wood stick & there wasn't much difference between the two. His kid says: "Dad I don't care just get one." I could almost tell he was thinking "Well how am I going to impress the other parents if I don't get the most expensive youth stick."

Or he could have been thinking exactly what he was asking, which lie is better for my 7-year old. Why is asking about lie for a 7-year old not a legitimate question? You could answer that at his age, his growth will make lie a moot issue... but it's still a valid question. For a lot of parents (and people in general) it's not about buying what will impress others, but rather spending for quality/durability/comfort/protection. I buy my kids good skates and a good helmet because I consider those the two most important items... the rest of their gear is middle of the road at best... I never consider keeping up with the jonses.

[ahbroody 1]

what curve is that exactly? most youth sticks have a very mild curve, almost very litte depth (almost straight) abd with a neutral face, from what I've seem Crosby is no different?

Do you have a link?

This is his ove, but its the same as his current. Im not the best at taking photos and its the camera on my phone.

The sticks do have curves and they are different from brand to brand. He liked this stick over the others and can easily lift it if asked after practicing with it and learning the basics. Far from an expert so maybe he just learned to lift because he learned, but he has other sticks in the garage and he prefers this stick and seems to have a harder time with the other sticks. Who knows who cares. Hes happy.

As to the wood stick argument.

I think as with many things it depends on the kid. If my five year old averaging a goal to two goals a game is a crutch I am cool with that. Last week we let him play roller hockey at the roller place in their U7 league. Now granted the kids were not as good as the kids he plays ice with, but some were pretty good. In a 40 minute game he scored 9 or 10 goals. They stopped putting goals up at 10. He skates his little butt off, has a lot of fun, and loves the game. He is always smiling out there and chirping it up. If he wants a one piece because he thinks it cool to have a stick like dad I dont see the harm. Sorry.

I also didnt listen when people said they didnt need good tailbone padding, but thats a whole different discussion.

[goblue9280 33]

This is his ove, but its the same as his current. Im not the best at taking photos and its the camera on my phone.

Is that a youth or a junior stick? Just looks like significantly more curve than on my sons youth bauer OPS.

[Chadd 916]

+1

I had a parent on his knees with a Bauer & Easton youth OPS comparing the lie of each stick. he said what would be better for his 7 year old son.

Lie is actually pretty important for kids, just like with adults. If the blade isn't on the ice, you might as well skip the stick entirely.

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

I can see why someone would by a youth stick for durability reasons with wood, but I can't ever remember going through more than one wood stick in a season until I got to pewees.

[SolarWind 23]

thanks for the picture!

Is that a youth or a junior stick? Just looks like significantly more curve than on my sons youth bauer OPS.

I'm second to this question - just today I went through pretty much all brands and could find a youth stick with an open curve, most were neutral or even closed, and none had a depth even remotely close to the one pictured.

[cdnrookies 0]

First off, thanks for all the info, there are some valid points. That being said, I will try to word this carefully so I don't get jumped on for being "one of those parents" that so many get labelled as.

My son does very well, he is 5 and playing in his first year against kids turning 7 this year (he does not turn 7 til late 2012) he plays in the odd tournament with 8 and 9 year olds when needed and averages about 4 goals a game in his division. We tried the wood sticks after I posted this, stick handling seemed to be ok, shot was still getting a little bit of height but not as high as he can shot with his TPS R61 ( which we buy here for 29 dollars)

The wood stick costs 15, he shattered the blade on the first one trying to take a slapshot at practice, he had the stick for 3 icetimes.

The second stick lasted about 6 ice times but was so bably chipped I didint want him playing with it so it is now a road hockey stick.

The third we just bought is now a backup.

He has used his TPS all season (roughly 30 ice times) and its no worse for wear, they simply last longer, and it you add up what we spent in wood sticks, we should have stuck with the comp.

But that's just our .2

[ahbroody 1]

Is that a youth or a junior stick? Just looks like significantly more curve than on my sons youth bauer OPS.

It is a youth not a jr. Says youth and 35 flex. It doesnt show, but its lie is nice. He has a wood straight stick in the garage that he cant shot nearly as well with.

As to the durability discussion I would argue the ccm/rbk sticks are not any more durable then wood. The blades are not the quality of jr or adult. If you have a kid like mine who digs hard they can get chipped up fast.

Ooo by the way cdn almost all 5 year olds playing are in the same situation. There are the same kids in our league, I am sure there are plenty of 5 and 6 year olds also in your l league. The kids who turn 7 after january are generally fewer. For a challenge move him up to might next year. Thats what we are likely going to do.

Instead of two posts Ill condense here is a ppic showing youth

[cdnrookies 0]

Yeah he's playing what we call might (or tyke) now, novice will be next year, but the kids are quite a few years older. Most of the 4-5 year olds do hockey school in our league

[ahbroody 1]

Yeah he's playing what we call might (or tyke) now, novice will be next year, but the kids are quite a few years older. Most of the 4-5 year olds do hockey school in our league

Guess its just the Norm here. He started the season last year while still 3, Late October birth. He was the youngest kid in the league last year. So He has been playing against older kids always. The rink here in San Jose follows the USA hockey model U7 before january is minimite here. 7-8 I is mite. It has made him a much better skater though and he is one of the fastest kids in the league. We have some 5 year olds mostly 6 year olds and some kids who have started to turn 7 so its just the norm here as I would imagine around most of the country that follows the model. I actually dont want him to play U7 next year because he wont struggle and for him playing against bigger kids motivates him to skate hard. Sounds like your kid may benefit from playing against older boys and having to work harder. That combimned with all his close friends are moving up and he wants to go with them.

[HockeySavants 5]

that 35 flex is crazy, then again it's roughly a 77 flex in senior size if you go by proportions.

which is why I still stress that kids should start off on wood sticks, they will appreciate a very well balanced OPS as they get older vs "well Dan's son has a Total One so I have to get him one too"

On a side note, protection wise always get a good helmet and shins, the kids will outgrow everything else faster than you can skate from one end to the other

[cdnrookies 0]

Couldn't agree more on the helmet, we always felt our priority regarding equipment was helmet, skates, shoulder pads. My parents were out watching him play one week, they were surprised how different the hockey was from when we were that young. A lot faster (for that age anyways) and the kids tend to be a little more aggressive.

[leafs1967 2]

I live in rhe UK and it works out considerably cheaper to get ops yth sent to me from my family in north america than buying wood sticka from shops here. Ive been able to pick up sticks for about £25 a stick including shipping. Where I'll pay probably more than that for a decent wood stick. We are also pretty limited for teams here as my are 5 and 7 and are playing under 12's hockey as ita the youngest team we have. It's both there second season playing at this level. So they were 4 and 5.5 when they both started last season

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

that 35 flex is crazy, then again it's roughly a 77 flex in senior size if you go by proportions.

which is why I still stress that kids should start off on wood sticks, they will appreciate a very well balanced OPS as they get older vs "well Dan's son has a Total One so I have to get him one too"

On a side note, protection wise always get a good helmet and shins, the kids will outgrow everything else faster than you can skate from one end to the other

More of a problem once the kids reach 8 and older IMO. Buying a reasonably priced composite stick because your kid is somehow breaking wood is one thing, but I find it rediculous that some parents shell out $150 plus for top of the line sticks that their kid will outgrow and probably can't get all the benifits out of using a top of the line stick.

One of my younger cousins made his parents buy him an intermediate total one which is too stiff for him and he left it taller than he is. The stupid thing is he has a terrible shot and the stick he uses won't make a damn difference in his shot

[ahbroody 1]

I think there may be some confusion as to how much some of us are spending on these sticks.

I have never spent more then 45.00 on a comp stick for him and given they are lasting 4-5 months I guess thats not a bad deal. Had no idea woods wear down that quick as he only used all wood in the garage. When he first started playing at 3 he was using a Jr. two piece. He snapped it and we transitioned to a comp. I would never buy him an 11k or a S19 as they are to much. Generally 2x what I would pay for a stick for him at this age. We do have those parents. He actually plays with some of the Sharks kids and they have some pretty nice sticks and stuff. ;) I just grabbed him a lousiville comp stick off totalhockey for 29.00 to play with as we had to buy some other items. Will post the curve when it lands end of this week or early next week. Funny, but the supply of the CCM and Reebok sticks he likes that were $40 has dryed up for right handed shots(hes lefty) they were the older model. Hoping the newer ones are the same although the wood version I saw in the shop yesterday was different. So much so you could tell just by looking at it, but guessing thats a wood thing.

As to what gear we spend the most on. He is skating in Graf Supra 370s which were pricey for a 5 year old. He has feet like dad. Tall fat no arch. That said they are the best youth skate I have seen better then the old 892 tacks he was skating in and he loves them. All his gear is based on what I think is safest for him, I dont look at price in this area I look at quality/safety as he has often been the youngest kid out there. side note if you can find any of the CCM Vector 04 youth pants I would buy. Huge tailbone pad, and the rest is very well made as well. Best youth pant I found getting harder to source now.

Dont know if there is a banter section here. I know on a cigar discussion board I am on we have a hockey parent banter. Its kind of fun and a way to bounce ideas and talk gear. I know I discussed having Micahs skates radius changed and given a forward profile using wedges and most parents there had never even heard of doing this. It helped his stride.