I skate once a week with a group of former players here in Vancouver, and today a 15 year NHL and Canuck defenseman Jyrki Lumme joined us for the skate. It’s always a blast to play with former players, especially those that make an effort to blend in, to be one of the guys.
His old school, shovel blade, 30 pound wooden Jofa stick added a bit of nostalgia to the game. Parents often ask me about the quality of sticks today, the importance of using $300 sticks at a young age, and wonder if they are doing their children a disservice by not spending all that money.
Although I personally have a very tough time going back to the old wooden stick, I was reminded today that the game can still be mastered, equally as effectively, just a little less flashy than it is these days. Remember when sticks like the old Sherwood 5030 Coffee special were the norm? Jyrki’s patience with the puck, calm demeanor, and fluid hands reminded me that a player doesn’t have to to make 100 moves on the way down the ice instead of 2 or 3.
Today is the new era of fast hands, lightening moves, and hundreds of dollars in sticks per year. It is much harder to handle the puck quickly in traffic with a wooden stick IF you play like it’s a $300 stick. Peer pressure forces young players to think they can only play the game with the very best equipment. Today’s skate was a re-education and reminder: it’s not the stick, it’s the player at the end of it that makes the game great.
