ASKED & ANSWERED: Hockey Stick Lie & Flex 

I agree, going to a sports store can be overwhelming with all of the choices. Sometimes it is best to find a stick, skates that you like and try to stick with the same pattern, lie, brand.

Thank you, Glad to hear that you enjoyed the video. Best of luck.

Thank you for the comment, we appreciate the feedback.

As a tall player a lie 4 probably wouldn't help. I would recommend raising your top hand/arm when stick handling and shooting. That will help your blade stay flat on the ice and you can use more of your blade when your handling a puck or shooting a puck. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AvZKXqd8bCM.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-e4z_curuJqI.html

Haha! Thank you,

Stick length is going to come down to personal preference as well as the type of player you are. If you look at Crosby, he uses a shorter stick but tends to go to one hand a lot, protects the puck well in small areas, makes a lot of in tight plays around the net but is not known as a pure shooter so it suits his style. If you look at a player like MacKinnon, Stamkos or Kessel they tend to use a longer stick allowing them to have a heavier shot, still able to add movement to the puck before releasing. At young ages it is important to keep some length on a players stick to allow them to learn proper shooting technique but as players develop they will adjust and try different lengths depending on what type of player they are.

@@nsdahockey I totally agree. You guys are the professionals when it comes to teaching kids. You are right with MacKinnon and Kessel. Great shots with longer sticks. For me I have a wing span of a 6'2" player on a 5'10" frame. I have monkey arms essentially. I was jammed up with a long stick until my mid 20s until I accidently stumbled upon a short stick method. All I'm suggesting is allow kids the knowledge that if they feel jammed up they always have the option. I was never told this growing up. I also did not grow up in the RU-vid generation.

@@nsdahockey When you say Kessel/Stamkos use long sticks, how long are you referring too? Thanks

@@greggf6831 good question, a short stick would be below the chin and above the chest area and a long stick would be up by a players nose or some even taller while standing in their skates. Ideally you’d want your stick length somewhere between your nose and chin on skates. It’s all personal Preference depending on the type of player you are. Stamkos and Kessel are shooters, I’m not sure the exact height of their sticks but I would say they would be above their mouth closer to their nose in skates.

This is a good and very common problem, finding the best stick/lie/flex combo for players. When lies are higher (5/6) the toe will be higher in the air when a player is standing upright holding the stick with 1-hand out in front of their body. One way to use your lie properly is how you hold your stick with 2 hands on it when stick handling and shooting. Keep your top hand up and away from your body (elbow up) this will bring the toe of your blade down towards the ice it will also bring the puck a little closer to your body and allow you to add more strength to your stick handling and power to your shot. You may feel that the lie 4 is too low of a lie and forces your stick a little further away from your body?

Lie 4 cut stick at collarbone while in skates

Your lie would depend on how you skate and how you puck handle and shoot. If you are a player who keeps their top hand up with stick handling and shooting that would help keep the toe of your blade closer to the ice allowing you to play efficiently with a lie 5 or lie 6. If you carry your top hand lower, this will elevate the toe of your blade from the ice then you'd look at using a lie 4 or 4.5 to help keep the toe of your blade closer to the ice. I hope this helps.

Sorry for the late reply. A lie 4 will help but the higher lie is fine. One quick fix is when your stick handling or shooting keep your top hand up. If you hold your stick with your arms by your side the toe of your blade will pop with any lie. As you bring your top hand up the toe of your blade will descend towards the ice, this will help you use more of your blade when shooting and stick handling, it will also allow you to use the shaft of your stick when shooting and passing. Allowing you to push down your shaft in order to use the flex of the stick to add power.

A lie 6 brings the toe of the blade up away from the ice, a lie 5 brings the toe of the blade closer to the ice, a lie 4 even closer.