Stick pattern advice

[louierev07 31]

After years of playing roller with friends, we're finally doing a league this summer. Up until now I've always used a stick with a large curve and closed face. For the past few years, we have played on and off, but I have just about always used a sherwood 5030 with the Coffey pattern.

I have always played with a ball, so I'm not sure how playing with a puck is going to affect my shot - which is why i initially thought about using a statsny - which is about the same, but with a more open face.

In the last few months, I have been trying out different patterns to see what I like (besides the coffey), and I think I like the Hall the best. (Ive used sherwood: ryan, statsny, coffey, and PP10 and the easton hall). The only problem I've had with the Hall is that the stick I bought it with is probably twice as heavy as the others (sherwood 5030 vs easton ABS synergy). Are all ABS sticks like this? I thought the only difference is the blade. I wont be using an ABS with a puck, but when we do practice on asphalt, I cant keep using wood because it gets destroyed pretty quick.

Im pretty sure I wanna go with the Hall because: Its very popular, so it wont be hard to find equivalents. Its sort of the "default" stick, so learning on that will be a better base than something like the Coffey - which i would consider more specialized.

Should i also be concerned about lie? Im 5'9", and my blade usually wears near the heel first. This could be because if i slam it down, it hits that spot first. Is 5.5 pretty standard for someone who is 5'9"?

Not sure if i should also mention, Ill be playing defense - if that makes any difference. My biggest weakness is puck handling.

Lemme know what you guys think. Any general advice on moving from street to puck/ice would be awesome. Our league starts in about a week, so I might wanna order a composite before it starts.

EDIT: Ok so looked through a bunch of older threads here, and the consensus seems that for a beginner, something like the iginla curve would suit me best for learning. I know im used to the Coffey, but I'd rather just go back and learn how to use a neutral stick like that before getting something else.

Ive currently got my cart loaded up with a few different wood/abs sticks and plan on trying them out to see which one I like the best - but before I do that - would i be better off getting a two piece with a bunch of different blades and switch them out until i found my favorite? How hard/time consuming is it to switch out a blade? I do own a heat gun if that matters.

If im going to go the first route, these are the sticks I'm probably going to order:

Easton Synergy SY50 - Iginla

Reebok 10k ultimate - Datsyuk P38

CCM crossover - Nugent-Hopkins

CCM 252 Heat Multi-Lam - Nugent-Hopkins

I guess once im really comfortable with either any of those or the Hall, then I'll buy a composite stick and spend a little more.

[McDugan 89]

My recommendation would be to buy a composite shaft or two (if you dig around you can find some really good deals on excellent shafts from a few years ago) and wood blades in several of the patterns you're considering.

Try them all, and then buy a composite version of the curve you like best. You can keep the wood blades for your backup sticks.

I'd keep street/ball hockey stuff separate. Personally, I find an aluminum shaft and ABS blade best for that - still fairly light, and super durable. I find a wooden extension in the aluminium shaft helps balance out the ABs blade's weight, but I will say that a little blade heaviness doesn't bother me too much.

[HockeyStop 7]

For roller using a shaft/blafe combo is really common. Switching out blades takes maybe 5-10 mins and if u already have a heat gun you're set

[louierev07 31]

My recommendation would be to buy a composite shaft or two (if you dig around you can find some really good deals on excellent shafts from a few years ago) and wood blades in several of the patterns you're considering.

Try them all, and then buy a composite version of the curve you like best. You can keep the wood blades for your backup sticks.

I'd keep street/ball hockey stuff separate. Personally, I find an aluminum shaft and ABS blade best for that - still fairly light, and super durable. I find a wooden extension in the aluminium shaft helps balance out the ABs blade's weight, but I will say that a little blade heaviness doesn't bother me too much.

I think im gonna do that right now. I have a warrior dolomite shaft in my cart. Im around 200 pounds, but im still working on my skills, so i think im gonna go with an 85 flex.

Not sure whether i should get tapered or standard. I've read that tapered feels better than standard - but is that gonna limit my options? Ideally, I'd like to have one composite blade that i really like, and id like the option to have ABS blades available to use for harsh surfaces.

I think im leaning towards standard, just for the amount of blades out there for it. Even if tapered has a small advantage over standard, finding tapered blades is gonna be a pain.

For roller using a shaft/blafe combo is really common. Switching out blades takes maybe 5-10 mins and if u already have a heat gun you're set

Cool, just watched a few videos on youtube - not sure why i thought it would be more complicated than it actually is. IS swicthing out blades frequently gonna do any damage to the shaft at all?

Ive decided that ive narrowed it down to either the iginla curve, or the P88 Kane curve. Gonna try those or ones like it. I just wish it were easier to find equivalents.

[louierev07 31]

@McDugan How long of a shaft should i get (at least), if this is how long my stick is after i cut it:

This guy on ebay is selling a bunch of pro stock shafts taken from one piece sticks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRO-STOCK-HOCKEY-SHAFTS-GRIP-NON-67-75-77-85-87-95-102-112-FLEX-BAUER-EASTON-/171046927820

Theyre both standard and tapered from what he told me. Would it be possible to use standard on tapered or vise-versa by either cutting and/or using a heat gun and glue? Lemme know what you think.

[McDugan 89]

They can't really be both standard and tapered. Shafts from a broken OPS will usually fit a tapered blade if cut properly. The butt end has standard dimensions and you can put a standard blade in it, but then the low kick point of the tapered stick is flipped up abnormally high.

IMO you'll be better off finding a standard shaft. The TotalOne and the Dynasty ax1 look great but they're way out of my budget. The nice thing about those newer composite shafts us that they are full composite, no wood extension so you don't have to worry about length.

I recently picked up some non branded aluminum shafts from an eBay seller for peanuts. They're surprisingly light and ok. Hockey Giant also has some Tour shafts hanging around for very cheap. For your purposes, since you want something useful for both ice and outdoor roller, I'd recommend staying away from broken OPS and tapered blades.