Stastny Embodies Old-Time Hockey

(above) DU alum Paul Stastny still uses a wooden hockey stick

From: Denver Post
by Adrian Dater

Hockey dressing rooms are notorious for their smells. If you have a weak stomach, you do not want to get a whiff of an NHL player's sweaty glove. Another olfactory hallmark around the locker room used to be the smell of propane-torched wood and glue, from players molding wood hockey sticks to their liking.

But that smell is drifting away from the room because wood sticks are nearly extinct. The Avalanche's young star, Paul Stastny, is one of the last holdouts, one of an estimated 10 players in the NHL who still uses an all-wood stick.

Wood's obsolescence is startling when you consider just 25-30 years ago every NHL player used all-wood sticks. But, starting with aluminum shafts in the 1980s and the evolution to today's one-piece sticks made of graphite, Kevlar and fiberglass, wood sticks are going the way of wooden drivers in golf (read rest of article).

(below) click to enlarge

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Old Time Hockey! Like Eddie Shore

dggoddard said...

Nice work achsdu17. Cue obligatory Slapshot movie quote...

Reggie Dunlop: I am personally placing a hundred-dollar bounty on the head of Tim McCracken. He's the head coach and chief punk on that Syracuse team.

Jim Carr: A bounty?

Reggie Dunlop: Yeah, a hundred bucks of my own money for the first of my guys who really nails that creep.

[later...]

[Reggie is trying to get his pre-game nap]
McGrath: Are you nuts? A bounty? We could all end up in the clinker for this. You can't put a bounty on a man's head.

Reggie Dunlop: Bullshit. I just did.

[Hangs up, Phone rings again]
Dave 'Killer' Carlson: Coach, I want that hundred dollars.

Reggie Dunlop: Ya gotta earn it, Killer.

Dave 'Killer' Carlson: My attitude's right.