Mastodon
@Buffalo Sabres

Too Whippy? Too Stiff? NHL Players Try Out Different Stick Flexes



Too Whippy? Too Stiff? NHL Players Try Out Different Stick Flexes

These are some of the best players in the NHL  I’m Jack Hughes I’m Robbie Thomas to Thomas he   scores hey guys it’s Jason Robertson Robertson  scores I’m Bowen bym and he scores I’m Quinn   Hughes shoots scores this is Adam Fox he  scores and we had them test out different  

Sticks pump to try this one with different  flexes I hate this this sucks to see which   ones they like which ones they don’t like  it’s really stiff can’t I can’t even Flex   it you know and why it felt like I had a log  in my hand yeah I can’t believe people use

This I use an uh 87 Flex on my stick I’ve been using it for as long  as I can remember since I knew what   Flex was and uh just kind of stuck with it since

Then I use an 80 Flex I was using 75 flex and  then finally got a little bit stronger and made   the jump to [Music] 80 I use an 85 flex I actually  just recently went up from 75 last year [Music]  

82 Flex I used to be an 87 but I just realized  I would get more whip out of the shot with an 82 77 Flex I cut it down a little bit so it’s  probably like more of a [Music] 82 I’ve been using  

Hunter Flex for 6 years now now when I was about  16 years old I was using 85 flex and I remember my   coach and my dad watching me take shots and be  like Jay like your stick looks like a you know  

Wet noodle like it’s it’s got to go up so I ended  up moving up to 100 that year I kind of just fell   in love with the what it is and what the control  is and I used it ever since every player’s Flex  

Number is different higher numbers mean the stick  will be stiffer lower numbers mean the stick will   bend more [Music] but it wasn’t always this way in  the beginning NHL players use sticks made of wood   usually with flex numbers that were more uniform  giving all sticks a similar [Music] [Applause]  

Feel then they began using sticks with aluminum  shafts that had a couple different Flex options to   choose from in the grety era Flex didn’t matter as  much the greatest goal scorer in National Hockey   League history but in the oetkin era that we see  today they use one piece composite sticks with  

Nearly unlimited Flex options and each player has  a different reason for the number they decide to use I think the biggest reason for uh you know  picking the right Flex is just the feel your  

Stick finds the open man it’s Fox he scores you’re  always flexing it even on a simple pass or on a   shot if you have a stiffer Flex it’s better for  one-timers and slap shots if you have a lighter  

Flex it’s it’s better for Richard than snapshots  here’s H shooting scor it’s all just personal   preference and whatever you feel comfortable  with and it’s not just about shooting but you   know handling pocket and receiving passes and  and things like that too when hockey players  

Discuss stick Flex there’s one term you’ll hear  often pretty whippy very whippy it feels whippy   pretty whippy stick I still got some Whip too  whippy wh whip whip whip whippy it’s pretty   whippy more whip whip whip whip wh whippy way too  whippy that’s really wh wh wh whippy getting low  

With it and having it whip so whippy I still like  some Whi in my stick not as much whip to it get   more whip out of the shot way too way too way  too whippy the lower the flex The Whipper the  

Stick will be this means it’s easier to bend the  stick and move the puck quickly a lower Flex is   better for players who specialize in The Catch  and Release like Austin Matthews is 80 Flex or  

Conor Bard 71 Flex that’s why you see them picking  Corners every night with the best of them here’s   our players testing out a very whippy 65 Flex this  feels like I might break it I don’t think I will  

But definitely a lot more whippy than what I use  I could have been [Music] low this feels like uh   one of those plastic mini sticks so flexy yeah I  mean it’s it’s a light Flex feels whipper than my  

Stick but not too much I don’t think I’ll be able  to shoot the puck very hard with it but that’s all [Music] right oh see I I just  can’t handle it it’s way too whiy I feel like I’m going to  fall over when I’m shooting it

You can just kind of feel it give out a bit it feels whippy and it feels small felt like uh like I was  almost using a Broken [Music] Blade I do not like this uh I feel  like I have no control when it [Music]

Bends yeah I can’t believe people use this  when it comes to stick Flex the opposite of   whippy is stiff stiffer sticks are stronger  and don’t bend as easily players that take a   lot of slap shots usually use a stick with  a higher Flex like s Daniel Chara and his  

15 5 Flex or Victor hedman’s 122 Flex you  rarely see sticks this stiff and good luck   finding numbers this high in your local Pro  Shop here are our players testing out a 110 Flex this feels like a wooden stick like literally  taken from a trunk of tree and just can’t can’t  

Move it yeah I mean it’s really stiff can’t I  can’t even Flex it you know it’s pretty stiff   I’m really have to put my uh my whole body  into that one I don’t think it’ll work too  

Well for me might break my wrist but that’s all  right I feels like 110 I would say that’s all I   can say about it I don’t know if I’ve ever  used a 110 flex but guess we’ll see how it Goes you can tell it’s not flexing [Music] much the control I have on  it doesn’t feel as as good to me for me no bueno I hate this this [Music] sucks I actually don’t  mind it for taking slap shots I wouldn’t use it it’s too like firm  for like receiv receiving all my

Pucks got to have a little gift  to it I think shooting a a thing   that feels like iron I mean just doesn’t fure my game it felt like I had a log in  my hand we don’t love it I feel  

Like I could still grind it out though no  that’s that’s it a 110 Flex to stiff a 65   Flex to whippy that’s why most sellers  find themselves falling right in the [Music] middle box with a [Music]

Sh you know when I releas it it you know what  I’m comfortable with and uh feels good to me here’s a great move by Tomas he comes  in shoots he [Music] [Applause] scores   yeah that’s my my normal stick  feels uh right where I want to

[Music] be shoots scor yeah  feels good ready to [Music] go H in Robertson one timer [Applause] score  yeah it feels stiff like the way uh I like the [Music] sticks he shs he scores again yeah it feels pretty normal cuz my stick and feels comfortable back to Bo byon with the shot he

Scores yeah it feels good to me little bit of  both not too stiff not too rcky choosing a flex   is all about feel whether it’s a one timer or a  tow Dragon release it all comes down to scoring goals finds the open man it’s Fox  he scores drops it back he shoots  

He scores in front th shoots and he scores shot  score Robertson back to B byon with a shot he scores

NHL players take to the ice to test 65 and 110 flex hockey sticks and compare them to their current gear.

Subscribe to our channel for the latest hockey action by clicking the big, red, shiny SUBSCRIBE button.

Breaking news, scores, stats, analysis & real-time highlights: https://www.nhl.com
Feeling social?

Twitter: http://twitter.com/nhl
Facebook: http://facebook.com/nhl
Instagram: http://instagram.com/nhl

47 Comments

  1. This was a great video! I feel like most people are gear geeks so it’s kinda strange we don’t spend more time talking with players about what they think – they’re the best after all!

  2. And what pucks have become, soft and bounce, like a tennis ball !) Sliding though goalkeepers✌️

  3. There should be a slapshot competition.
    The players take one shot with 65, 75, 85, 95 AND 105.
    Top accumulative M/KPH wins.

  4. Love videos like this! Do more of these, would be cool to see their reasoning behind stick height and skate profiles!

  5. Bowen Byram and “some of the best players in the NHL” shouldn’t be in the same sentence 😂😂😂

  6. Felt like a professional video that was enjoyable and filled with personality; considering how the NHL is personality wise. Keep making videos of this quality, and, if not, better.

  7. As a 12 year old kid growing up playing roller hockey my first two piece was a 75 Flex Easton Typhoon and that thing felt too soft. I went up to 100 as a preteen…I have no idea how an adult at any level can handle the puck with anything less than 85 😅 I went down to 100 when I switched to Ice, but I’m baffled how pro’s use such soft sticks! Robertson is the only relatable guy lol

  8. Too hard to use a radar to get real measurements on the difference for the players? Feeling is one thing but results are what’s actually interesting

  9. Seems like player height (stick length) also matters a lot to whippiness. Chara with 145flex and Bedard with 70 flex indicates that longer stick needs higher flex due to it's longer length. Imagine that Chara's stick with 70 flex it would be probably unusable

  10. Still have no idea how ppl use such a whippy stick ive used a 105 flex since i was 13-14 years old, granted i was a defenseman and took more slap shots than most players seem to take in todays nhl.

  11. Honestly great vid but why in the f* do big corps like NHL have the most ads per video it’s make wanna vomit.

Write A Comment