Sidney Crosby has one of the most popular curves among all hockey sticks, but some people may not be aware that they’re not using Crosby’s actual curve.
The sticks sold in mass to kids and rec-league players are actually a few stock curves that have existed for a long time and simply have their names changed to current popular players when someone retires or their performance drops off. For example, many people remember the Nicklas Lidstrom or Joe Sakic curves from the ‘90s and early 2000s, but those simply switch to another player once they retired.
Well, Crosby’s curve is another example of this. He even pointed it out himself in a recent video of In The Room with the Pittsburgh Penguins in which some kids from the Make a Wish Foundation were visiting:
As you can see in the video, Crosby explains that his stick is much straighter than the stock curve that comes on most CCM sticks.
Here is an example of the two curves next to each other:
It’s a subtle difference but you can see the curve on the right is a lot more open (The twist in the middle of the blade) and it’s more of a heel curve than the mid curve on the left. They’re subtle but they can make a big difference in hockey.
Many people may have already known about pro-stock vs. stock sticks as well as the rumours that go around of Crosby using a very straight blade, but still, it’s interesting to hear the man himself talk about it.
The curve he uses in real life is better-suited to for passing and backhand shots, so it makes sense with his style of play as well.
