TPS Response Sticks: Back For Another Iconic Shift

[A2rhino 82]

Who is now manufacturing this stick? 

https://www.hockeymonkey.com/tps-response-hockey-sticks?trk_msg=EQD3RIN3M57KNERCMIT4J8524O&trk_contact=BUB674MH6J9E44N6TML47PIHMO&trk_sid=VC5D5TI1HSEDRCQTA2SIGDIR68&trk_link=DPNQPG6G2K8KNBDNE9H2D0TO5S&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=TPS+Response+Rubber+and+Response+Vintage+Hockey+Sticks&utm_campaign=LTK+BC+TPS+Response+Hockey+Sticks

[helmet91 20]

Seems that it's Canadian Tire by way of Sherwood.  At least that's what our AI overlords have told me.

[A2rhino 82]

Interesting. HockeyMonkey SWEARS its the return of Louisville TPS.

[xstartxtodayx 345]

Heard rumblings of them selling the name back to Louisville and the new ones being Louisville TPS's again, it better be for those prices.

[helmet91 20]

https://forums.hfboards.com/threads/tps-hockey-is-back.2981965/

Maybe some equity firm owns the name now?

[A2rhino 82]

Well after seeing that PDF, I'm guessing TPS is back. Although I question the 335g weight. 

[Buzz_LightBeer 984]

I bought the yellow original not knowing they were two different quality sticks. I can weigh mine but it's very light, and a good value stick for the money

[start_today 781]

Ok, again, I’m jaded and don’t like anything. 

But, this is just a brand name stamped on a mediocre stick, right? Like the “synergy” sticks that are a low tier Bauer with Easton graphics and a higher price point than they should have. No one under 40 actually cares if some ancient brand makes sticks again. 

If this were a new, modern build offering something unique, wouldn’t they use a new name to capture the youth market, who is far and away the biggest selling point? And if it’s the “classic” TPS, why does anyone care about people who have been out of the game for 20 years? 

And, outside of the XN10 (which, to be fair, people loved), TPS was never putting out GREAT sticks, right? They were fine, but it’s not like they were pushing boundaries and doing interesting stuff and suddenly stopped.

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. 

I’m happy to be proven wrong but, nothing about this strikes me as actually exciting. 

[shooter27 122]

I don’t know about what they’re producing now.  But I will agree that the XN10 was an outstanding stick.  People really liked the Response too.  

[stick9 908]

On 9/13/2025 at 9:11 AM, start_today said:

Ok, again, I’m jaded and don’t like anything. 

But, this is just a brand name stamped on a mediocre stick, right? Like the “synergy” sticks that are a low tier Bauer with Easton graphics and a higher price point than they should have. No one under 40 actually cares if some ancient brand makes sticks again. 

If this were a new, modern build offering something unique, wouldn’t they use a new name to capture the youth market, who is far and away the biggest selling point? And if it’s the “classic” TPS, why does anyone care about people who have been out of the game for 20 years? 

And, outside of the XN10 (which, to be fair, people loved), TPS was never putting out GREAT sticks, right? They were fine, but it’s not like they were pushing boundaries and doing interesting stuff and suddenly stopped.

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. 

I’m happy to be proven wrong but, nothing about this strikes me as actually exciting. 

Yup, 100% dad market cash grab.

What sort of irks me about these things is trying to make it feel like the original, or hyping it like its some other worldly thing they are bring back for a limited time. Those TPS sticks were great at that point in time. I can't imagine they'd stand up to a modern composite.

I think CCM got it right with the retro Tacks.

[A2rhino 82]

On 9/13/2025 at 9:11 AM, start_today said:

Ok, again, I’m jaded and don’t like anything. 

But, this is just a brand name stamped on a mediocre stick, right? Like the “synergy” sticks that are a low tier Bauer with Easton graphics and a higher price point than they should have. No one under 40 actually cares if some ancient brand makes sticks again. 

If this were a new, modern build offering something unique, wouldn’t they use a new name to capture the youth market, who is far and away the biggest selling point? And if it’s the “classic” TPS, why does anyone care about people who have been out of the game for 20 years? 

And, outside of the XN10 (which, to be fair, people loved), TPS was never putting out GREAT sticks, right? They were fine, but it’s not like they were pushing boundaries and doing interesting stuff and suddenly stopped.

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. 

I’m happy to be proven wrong but, nothing about this strikes me as actually exciting. 

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. This is a great point! And you are correct. The XN10 was a great stick. BUT........  How would it compare to sticks today? No different than any other great stick or skates in the past. Would they really compete? Maybe, but most likely no. 

However, lets face it. Marketing sells and I would believe its safe to say; Marketing OVER SELLS. No different than in this instance. 

[flip12 735]

I have an original Dolomite I bust out sometimes. I think it shoots just as well as anything I've tried since. Sure it's heavier, but the balance is nice so I don't notice the weight. I think the newer sticks are mostly marketing hype. There has to be a narrative that promotes their superiority otherwise there's no reason to try anything new, and certainly not anything more expensive than its previous iteration. The original Synergy is a lot closer to today's sticks in performance than it is to the sticks that were around at the time of its release.

[Dmitrakov 10]

42 minutes ago, flip12 said:

I have an original Dolomite I bust out sometimes. I think it shoots just as well as anything I've tried since. Sure it's heavier, but the balance is nice so I don't notice the weight. I think the newer sticks are mostly marketing hype. There has to be a narrative that promotes their superiority otherwise there's no reason to try anything new, and certainly not anything more expensive than its previous iteration. The original Synergy is a lot closer to today's sticks in performance than it is to the sticks that were around at the time of its release.

With all due respect this is a crazy take haha. My dolomites feel like a weighted rubber training stick and they are severely bottom heavy compared to todays sticks, along with the synergy from 2 decades ago. They blade and shaft torque open and you feel it. I would say there is definitely tech that has improved the stick game, maybe the lightness of todays sticks hasn't "improved" the stick game per say, but the release/balance/power of these sticks compared to the latter is two different worlds in my opinion

[flip12 735]

7 hours ago, Dmitrakov said:

With all due respect this is a crazy take haha. My dolomites feel like a weighted rubber training stick and they are severely bottom heavy compared to todays sticks, along with the synergy from 2 decades ago. They blade and shaft torque open and you feel it. I would say there is definitely tech that has improved the stick game, maybe the lightness of todays sticks hasn't "improved" the stick game per say, but the release/balance/power of these sticks compared to the latter is two different worlds in my opinion

I do tend to use my Dolo with an end plug, but that also helps focus the feel for me with newer sticks like Hyperlite and Praux VF. Torquegate never bothered me with my Dolomite.

Balance is a stick by stick issue and I don't think stick balance has improved linearly over the years. A lot of super light sticks have really strange balance. The only stick I've used that felt perfectly balanced for me without any counterweight like a 25-30g Tacki-Mac and or a 20-30g end plug was my RibCor 2. I think that was around 430g. Felt amazing. My least tweaked stick with good balance right now is a Malkin pro stock SE16 that's right around 450g and has a 30g Kovalchuk Tacki-Mac on it. Without the Tacki-Mac, it feels dead to me. With it, it sings.

I don't sense much more power from newer sticks. This could be tested though. Get one of those testing machines to shoot pucks with NOS Synergy, TPS XN10, G3, etc., and compare it to the latest and most expensive models and see how much more powerful the shots are with the same swing.

[Hills 720]

On 9/11/2025 at 10:29 AM, helmet91 said:

Seems that it's Canadian Tire by way of Sherwood.  At least that's what our AI overlords have told me.

Not at all, Sherwood and The Tire have nothing to do with this.

On 9/12/2025 at 3:11 PM, Buzz_LightBeer said:

I bought the yellow original not knowing they were two different quality sticks. I can weigh mine but it's very light, and a good value stick for the money

Mine was 412grams before cut... it is steps behind the same priced Sherwood 7000 retro

 

[swede 53]

On 9/13/2025 at 3:11 PM, start_today said:

Ok, again, I’m jaded and don’t like anything. 

But, this is just a brand name stamped on a mediocre stick, right? Like the “synergy” sticks that are a low tier Bauer with Easton graphics and a higher price point than they should have. No one under 40 actually cares if some ancient brand makes sticks again. 

If this were a new, modern build offering something unique, wouldn’t they use a new name to capture the youth market, who is far and away the biggest selling point? And if it’s the “classic” TPS, why does anyone care about people who have been out of the game for 20 years? 

And, outside of the XN10 (which, to be fair, people loved), TPS was never putting out GREAT sticks, right? They were fine, but it’s not like they were pushing boundaries and doing interesting stuff and suddenly stopped.

Nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia. 

I’m happy to be proven wrong but, nothing about this strikes me as actually exciting. 

I would say that TPS was ahead of their time in before they were outbought by Sherwood.. TPS and Easton were the ones that came with new materials and new tech. Bauer weren’t even making composite sticks themselves back then, but bought sticks from Innovative (Warrior) and slapped the Bauer logo on them.. TPS were the ones that pushed the boundries weight-wise etc.. 

TPS problem was, that they were a smaller company without big financial muscles and could not compete with Bauer and  CCM for the big names like Ovechkin, Crosby and so on… Sure, Rick Nash and Patrice Bergeron, and Keith Tkachuk were great players, but they did they sell as much sticks as Ovechkin?? I think not..

It’s nice the see a few brands from the past rising from the ashes. I hope the sticks make it to Europe as well.. TPS adrenaline and Response R8 were my favourite sticks back around 2005-2008.

[A2rhino 82]

Thankfully the landscape has changed. Meaning now we have more than Pro Athletes pushing products. We have influencers like Justin at Beer League Bum who are the guys playing at our level and supporting brands as well as calling out brands for the quality of their products. I mentioned him in particular as I feel he is the most honest of the bunch being that he BUYS all of his own gear unless a smaller brand wanting some real feedback sends him something to review and he does long term testing of the stuff rather than the guy who says, it looks cool and shoots great. That is until the next new product comes out. SMH.. 

My point is that like music, we don't need to depend on the big labels and their over the top marketing to find great products. The internet changed all of that and I personally am grateful for it as I never would have found ProStockHockeySticks. 

And I do agree that TPS was ahead of their time and I believe that this forum actually helped make it an even bigger success.