from Tom Spears of the Ottawa Citizen,

What makes a top-end hockey stick cost $300? We asked Dave Sauvé of Valiquette Source for Sports for some pointers.

• All modern sticks are a mix of carbon fibre and graphite, which is why they’re called “composite.” But the sticks that sell for less than $100 have more graphite and the expensive ones are proportionately more carbon.

• Carbon is lighter and “whippier” and the stick may weigh only 390 grams. “It responds better to shots, so when you’re flexing it, it snaps forward quicker. They do tend to break a little bit quicker at the higher end though”, Sauvé says.

“It gives you more of a snapshot bonus. It’s letting the stick do more of the work.”

Graphite is heavier and stiffer, so a stick weighs up to 500 grams. These sticks are cheaper but stronger.

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