Auston Matthews has one of the most deadly releases in the NHL, which has allowed him to pile up goals since entering the NHL in 2016.
With so much focus being put on the release of a shot, choosing a hockey stick can be an important part of a player's arsenal. Matthews revealed in an interview with Bauer that he likes an especially whippy stick, using an 80 flex stiffness along with a Joe Sakic curve.
Most people are familiar with the P92 Sakic curve that comes stock with most brands, but the 80 flex is interesting.
We've recently seen more and more NHL players equip themselves with lighter flex sticks (Many using 70 flex or less) as snapshots become more of a focus. Matthews even says how slapshots aren't a huge focus of his game.
The more we see players shift their flex the more we're interested in the decision making behind the stick.
For example, we'd be interested to see if Canucks forward Brock Boeser uses a similar strategy. His release has been one of the most talked about parts of this season as he absolutely lights up the league with his shot.
With the way he shoots the puck, he may be using a whippier stick as well.
Patrick Laine on the other hand scores with a lot of one-timers and we would expect him to use a slightly stiffer flex. That is, if he's using a stick at all.
