gear mods - stick grips

A perfect way to foray into goalie mods, a grip modification helps with wrist mobility and blocker placement.

With what seems like a modification fit for the modern goalie, the altered goalie paddle has in fact been around for much longer than thought. Starting way back with the original Curtis curve by Vic and continuing with Christian, to the 'Hasek' style grip, and further evolving to the 'Lundqvist' and trigger/notch style grips, tendys have been altering grip styles for quite some time.

As a CMA, please be careful undertaking any modifications (tool safety y'all!) and make sure you're fully sold on an altered grip before hacking up your stick. There is, obviously, no going back! I recommend taking your backup twig to begin with and seeing if you like the grip.

Today's post will focus on 3 more modern options for grips, including the finger stall shave, 'Lundqvist' style, and 'trigger' or notch grip.

For all of these options, they can be performed on virtually all sticks, but I recommend trying it on a foam core or wood stick first - to get comfortable with cutting and to ensure you like the modification. Make sure to take your time and mark out all cuts you are going to make clearly with marker (especially with the trigger grip, it is crucial for it's usefulness). I recommend a jigsaw with a fine metal blade if you have access to it and covering the areas to be cut in painters tape; this will help with splintering/any edges wanting to chunk off. Cut slowly and deliberately. If you do under take cutting up your composite stick, be sure to mind all the splinters as they are a large pain to find under your finger nail.

One final note on cutting, make sure to avoid the actual shaft of the stick. Cutting in to this can make a weak spot if it is severe enough. Contrary to what some message boards and interweb comments say, I have personally found no ill-effects to the shooting, longevity, or strength of my sticks.

**Since I wrote the above originally, carbon fibre sticks have come leaps and bounds. I have cut every single one of my sticks since and have never broken a single one due to the trigger grip cuts. If you cut and seal them correctly, they will last you.

With all sticks, once you have made your cuts, sand edges smooth and be sure to seal the now exposed interior. A couple coats of an acrylic paint or clear sealer will work, but I prefer to use a thin layer of epoxy. I add it a bit thick and then sand any rough or bumpy areas smooth, and then cover the area with grip tape. I know this is not everyone's preference, and have seen examples painted and sealed with clear online that seem to hold up- though I cannot attest to it personally.

On to options, there are many styles out there but generally I think they can be grouped into slight variations of the following three:

-Finger stall shave, or the Hasek grip. This maintains a stock thumb position but allows for eased closing of the hand by setting the middle, ring and pinky fingers around the paddle. This will shift the nose of the blocker down slightly as well.

-'Lunqvist' style. Finger stall shaved (generally more so), and the thumb postition is notched to a square. Pointer finger will more or less point straight down the paddle with the notched thumb space and allows middle, ring and pinky fingers to wrap around the paddle more. This cut helps reduce fatigue and wrist lock.

-'Trigger'/notch grip. This cut is similar to the Lundqvist style grip, but a notch or 'trigger' is left on the finger stall side. This is gripped by the middle finger and provides a very locked in feeling, as well as providing relief to wrist lock and improved blocker positioning.  Another option for the thumb side is to shave the stall rather than notch, as shown with a slight shave in the third example. A common critique of this cut is impeded movement of the blocker hand off of the grip to poke check or puck handle. I have used this cut extensively and find it no more cumbersome than a standard stick personally.

Out of the three, I prefer the trigger for its combined control and reduced wrist tension. I recommend leaving the 'trigger'/notch full size at first, as you can reduce it's size if you prefer it so. This cut is growing in popularity around the goalie world, and is a custom option with many of the big brands in their stick programs.

Reach out today if you are interested in learning more or are ready to try out a new grip yourself! I have multiple options available to try, as well as can cut to suit if you have a variation or custom idea you would like on your paddle.

happy tending!

mek