In the fast-paced and exhilarating sport of hockey, every detail matters. From lightning-quick sprints across the ice to precise stickhandling maneuvers, players rely on a variety of techniques and equipment to gain an edge over their opponents. One such technique that has become a fundamental practice among hockey players is taping their sticks.
Why do hockey players tape their sticks?
Hockey players tape their sticks for increased grip and control while handling the hockey puck.
Why Do Hockey Players Tape Their Sticks
The one reason hockey players tape their sticks is to increase the overall grip and control of the stick. Hockey players usually tape both the knob (top of the stick) and the blade (curved end of the stick).
Blade
The reason hockey players tape the blade of the stick is to increase the grip between the blade and the puck.
Hockey sticks are usually made of carbon fiber. And carbon fiber is less grippy than hockey tape, especially when exposed to ice and water. Carbon fiber tends to become slippery when exposed to the ice and water of a hockey rink. And any kind of slippage between the blade and puck negatively affects stickhandling, shooting, passing, etc.
Additionally, new hockey pucks typically come with a mesh pattern engrained all around the outsides. This mesh pattern grips much better against hockey tape than the smooth carbon fiber of an un-taped stick.
Knob
The reason hockey players tape the knob of the stick is to increase both grip and comfort while holding the stick.
When it comes to the shaft of the hockey stick, they usually come in two varieties: grip and non-grip. Grip-enabled hockey sticks come standard with a grippy, polymer-like coating all around the shaft. In this case, taping the knob of the stick is done more purely for comfort than grip, as the polymer-coated shaft is already very grippy.
For “non-grip hockey shafts” however, taping the knob is essential as the raw carbon fiber offers little to no grip when held in a player’s hands.
Besides “grip”, comfort is also an important reason, if not a more important reason, for taping the knob of the hockey stick. When a hockey player holds a stick, the knob of the hockey stick will usually be somewhere in the palm of their hand. And having the jagged, square end of the hockey stick digging into your palm can be uncomfortable.
So, hockey players will often put multiple layers of hockey tape around the very knob-end of the hockey stick. This creates a kind of soft “ball” at the end of the stick which fits nicely into the palm of a player’s hands. Having this soft, form-fitted knob assist in stick-handling, shooting, passing, etc.
Why Do Hockey Players Only Tape the Toe of Their Stick?
Many hockey players only tape the toe of their stick because it is where the most grip is required. In both shooting and passing, the mid-to-toe range of the blade is used a lot more than the heel (where the blade meets the shaft).
There are really only two situations where a player will use the heel of the stick blade:
- Saucer Passes
- Stick Handling
Saucer passes – passes where the puck is lifted off the ice like a flying saucer – involve the puck starting on the heel of the blade, and being spun towards the toe while being lifted off the ice. But even in this case, most skilled players can get away with starting a saucer pass in the middle of their stick blade.
Stickhandling is the only other time when a player might use the heel of their stick. Newer generations of hockey players tend to stick handle a lot more with the heel of their sticks than previous generations – Connor Mcdavid is a prime example of this.
Some players feel that they can stick handle better and faster without tape on the heel of their stick. Not putting tape on the heel does provide a “quicker” and “snappier” feel when stick handling with the heel.
How Often Do Hockey Players Tape Their Sticks?
The frequency at which hockey players tape their sticks is a matter of personal preference.
Some players tape their sticks every few games. Some players tape their sticks before every game. And then again, some players only tape their sticks if they’ve had a string of bad games.
One situation in which all hockey players would re-tape their stick is if the tape begins to peel or becomes messed up somehow. Sometimes the blade of the stick will take an impact from an opposing player’s stick or skate which causes some of the tape to be torn off the stick.
Centers usually have to deal with re-taping messed up tape jobs, more than other positions, because of all of the faceoffs they take. Faceoffs usually involve a lot of hard impacts between the blades of opposing players’ sticks.
White Tape vs. Black Tape
One important decision to make when hockey players tape their sticks is whether to use black tape or white tape.
Questions regarding black or white tape on the blade of hockey sticks will often spark a passionate debate amongst players. And although the debates are mostly for fun, each side has its reasons nonetheless.
Players who use black tape often claim that the black tape helps camouflage the puck against the black background of the tape, making it harder for opposing goalies and players to tell where the puck is.
Players who use white tape often claim that white tape helps the blade camouflage with the ice, confusing opposing goalies and players as to where the blade is in relation to the puck.
Some black tape users in the NHL include:
- Nathan Mackinnon
- Leon Draisaitl
- Sidney Crosby
- David Pastrnak
- Nikita Kucherov
Some white tape users in the NHL include:
- Connor McDavid
- Matthew Tkachuk
- Jack Hughes
- Auston Matthews
- Steven Stamkos
What Is Hockey Wax Used For?
One lesser-known product that’s used nearly every time hockey players tape their sticks is hockey wax.
Hockey wax is usually pasted onto the blade of a hockey stick after the tape has been put on, and it serves two main functions:
- Increased grip
- Waterproofing stick tape
With a strong enough stick wax, you can literally stick the puck to the blade and hold it upside down without the puck falling. The increased grip gained from adding wax is obvious to every player who uses it.
The other benefit that wax provides is waterproofing. Wax is hydrophobic and putting it on the blade of the stick makes the hockey tape more hardy and resilient.
Although many hockey brands make stick wax, many hockey players (including myself) swear by surf wax instead. Surf wax is usually far grippier than hockey wax allowing for extra control while stick-handling, shooting, passing, etc. Two of the best surf waxes to use on a hockey stick are:
- Sticky Bumps – Cold
- Sex Wax – Cold
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