STX Stallion - mcdougalfaschnitzer

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Open

[McDougalfaschnitzer 32]

Background:

5'9" 150lbs

RH shot 85 flex

Playing style:

I am a rushing D/Set-up LW who loves the Gretzky curl. I like slap shots, weak side one timers, and left side rushing backhands. I will almost always take a snap shot if I am below the top of the circle. I don't dangle, but I use speed and quick stickhandling to make my way around the ice and prefer to set others up over scoring goals. I guess I'm also a shootout specialist.

Recently used sticks:

Easton Mako II

Bauer Nexus 800

Bauer TotalONE NXG

Bauer Vapor APX

Miken Zero Limit

I received the stick probably an hour before I had a game, so I quickly cut it, taped it up, and immediately used it.

Before I get to the performance, I think it is worth talking about first impressions. This is a new stick by a "new" company, so there is a bit of uncertainty when it comes to dealing with these kinds of products. "How can they be better than the big brands?" "What is the point of joining the market unless you create the greatest thing ever?" Those are questions a lot of people seem to bring up, but I don't think they are warranted. Competition is always good for us, and thinking outside of the brands we tend to stick with can lead to good results that we never would have had with the traditional close-minded approach to equipment that we often fall into.

In my initial visual inspection, you can tell the stick was made by a company with experience creating high quality products. The fit and finish of the stick is very nice, and though it seems the graphic design is simple, there are nice details that are a bit more embedded and don't yell for attention. I like the minimalistic design, and the grip coating of the shaft is probably the first that I've liked, as it isn't really noticeable but provides a bit extra to hold onto. It is almost like it is there when you need it, but when you want to move your hands it disappears. The shaft cut clean and upon inspecting the cut off piece the construction of the shaft looked good with even walls.

The stick feels balanced and light, probably the biggest compliments you can give a stick. It feels a bit whippy, but not like a rubber band. There is a good feeling of tension that brings the stick back to being straight that I like; I'm interested to see how long it lasts.

I was able to bring the stick into the game cold turkey and didn't miss a beat. Even though the stick is whippier than the Nexus stick I use, it didn't cause me to lose the puck or juggle anything. It actually felt a bit whippier than my Mako II, but the Mako II didn't have the same "spring back to straight feeling" that I mentioned before. Performance was smooth, and pucks took off from the blade. I really liked the balance of the stick, as it really became a part of me in short time. Passing felt natural and on key for me, which is important because I always look to set people up. I got a couple one timers that went where I wanted, as well as some snaps that didn't go off my trajectory. Unfortunately, the goalie got in the way, but my accuracy felt on par.

So for a first impression, being able to use something new with little to no adjustment is really as good as it can get. With the way stick technology is at the moment, it's hard to imagine using something that will give a leaps and bounds improvement over other sticks I use, but the Stallion is definitely a legit stick that on first glance I would have no problem recommending. However as is the purpose of long-term reviews, I am interested to see how long this honeymoon can last. Tomorrow I will be on the ice and I'll probably be able to take a lot of shots and stickhandle more with it, so it will be the first real stress test with repeat actions.

[McDougalfaschnitzer 32]

I was able to put the stick through a two-hour stress test on friday, and I explored pretty much every facet of the stick I could think of.

Before I start, I'd like to reiterate that when focusing on playing a game, I was able to use the stick fine without noticing it. This time, I was turning my attention to the stick and how it behaved.

The balance of the stick is very nice. As you can see from the pictures, I don't like to use a lot of tape at the top of my stick, so sometimes there can be a little bit of balance issue with some sticks feeling a bit blade heavy. I didn't have any issues there. That balance also lead to smooth stickhandling that felt on par with the Mako II I previously used, which was a great feeling stick. The Nexus tends to be a big pingy when stickhandling, and with many super light sticks you sacrifice a soft feel of the puck for weight which I don't really like.

The stick was responsive stickhandling from the heel, from the middle of the blade, and the toe. I like to test out the entire range of the blade because sometimes you can end up with a dead zone where you don't feel the puck as much. I was able to do fast stickhandling (for me) with confidence, and didn't feel like I was chopping at the ice; Something I feel with low weight low feel sticks. The whippiness of the shaft also translates well for a quick stickhandling move when you slightly lean on the stick to whip it across. All in all, the feel was very good whether I was looking at the puck or not. Even when heads up I could feel where the puck was on the blade, which is more valuable than just knowing if it is on the blade somewhere.

Passing felt good forehand and backhand, whether it was close up bang bang passes, long range sauce, or smooth and hard on the ice to a moving target. I didn't notice much whip lag when loading up on passes either, which can affect accuracy for me in a fast situation. I have to point out that receiving passes with the stick felt great. Cradling felt awesome and even while moving I was able to smoothly accept hard passes not only on my forehand, but on my backhand. It is often tricky to cradle on the backhand while moving, but I was able to do it with the Stallion.

In regards to shooting, the stick definitely has a sweet spot. Fortunately for me, that sweet spot is very large and I was able to get my ideal shots off pretty much every time. Most of my shots are either off the toe or off the middle of the blade, but they launched off the stick despite which location I chose. My earlier comments on receiving passes comes into play again, as the ability to control passes made it easier to cradle a pass and shoot all in one quick motion. Even for harder passes where I didn't cradle it fully and just stopped it in front of me made way for a very quick shot with only forward motion and no pull back of the puck. In that kind of situation, say one where you would want to one time the puck but the timing was off or the pass wasn't right, I felt like I was still able to get a shot off faster than normal, and not just a flick or a chip either, the shot was noticeably fast for me given the situation. It was also effortless for me to get the puck to go in my "just above the pad but below the glove/blocker" zone of happiness that I mostly shoot for.

Slap shots were good, and with me playing defense most times, I appreciated the ability to consistently get some shots that hovered around 4-6 inches off the ice the entire path to the net for those deflectable/rebound shots. Like with snap shots, I was able to get quick slap shots off that had little to no wind up and still have some speed on them. In other situations, the puck went where I pointed it, so there were no unexpected trajectories.

One-timers felt really good, and very responsive. From a full wind-up to a quick stick-on-the-ice one timer, I was able to lean on the stick and launch the puck where I wanted. After a while my wrists had had it with one timers and my ability to push down into the ice lowered which caused me to open up the blade on my follow through, making the puck fly up and wild to the right, but that was more the fault of my arms and not the stick.

I want to mention backhand shots because most people don't really go into them too much. I am a big fan of backhands though, and my backhand shot felt faster with the stick. There was a newer feeling of being able to lean in on the stick for the backhand which I'm not sure if I've felt in a long time. Back when I used wood sticks this was more noticeable to me as I could get a good amount of flex on a backhand shot. I haven't felt it much in one piece sticks but I was able to crank backhands this time around.

I took well over 100 shots in total and gave/sent off tons of passes, and the stick felt good the whole time even though I got more and more tired as it went on. I will be on the ice for another such session soon, and at this point of knowing the high points of the stick and how well it can work, the most important factor for me and anyone reading this who is considering the stick is how that performance will hold up and if there is a honeymoon phase that quickly goes away to reveal a worn out stick that doesn't love you anymore, wants to stay on the bench, hates your friends, doesn't like visiting your family, and nags you constantly about fixing the house.