The Hockey Stick Sham

Maybe the initial investment in the new machinery and stick factories keeps the prices ridiculous. (I'm trying to be fair here, aren't I?) But after ten years of production, I find it hard to believe that these corporations are still paying for these machines. The reality is is that the head honchos of Nike, Reebok, and Easton are laughing all the way to their Swiss banks.

So before I haul off and fly to a stick factory in Mexico just to pay someone $30 to run a stick off the line for me, so he can take home double what he makes in a week, here's the point, kids:

Hockey is already an expensive sport to play, what with the cost of ice time and liability concerns (read: a bunch of other crap that you won't understand until you're older). Just know that the price to play is by far the biggest barrier for kids around the world, and the increasing price of equipment can only hurt the game. And then remember that all the money and technology in the world will never make you as good as Sidney Crosby or Henrik Zetterberg.

The point for all the professionals that get paid to use this stuff.... Before your next game, consider all the needy kids who idolize you, and then squeeze hundreds of dollars out of their parents for the "latest and greatest" in stick technology.

And now for something completely different....

The stick that gave me the wickedest wrist shot of my life:

Sher-Wood PMP Paul Coffey pattern (and thank God they still make it! And in Canada, too.)—I used it for three years until it fell apart. I remember I liked it when the wood came unglued from the fiberglass. The blade had more give then, and I could control the puck better.

The stick that gave me the hardest slap shot of my life:

Easton T-Flex 95 Aluminum with a wooden Steve Yzerman blade—When I was fourteen-years-old, I clocked an 81 mph slap shot with that stick. An honorary "most vicious slash" award also goes to this stick. I always got my two minutes worth with the T-Flex, may it rest in peace.

(very awesome photo by Melanie Scott of Toronto) 

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