Sidney Crosby has been one of the best hockey players in the world for over a decade now, and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats. A special player deserves a special stick, and Crosby's pro stock sticks are some of the most unique we have seen. Everything from top to bottom is custom designed to Crosby's preferences, resulting in a stick far different than anything you can pick up off the shelf. We at HockeyStickMan wanted to take a closer look at one of his sticks and share what we found.
Crosby came into the league using two piece Sher-Wood sticks, but later switched to the Reebok Ribcor and continued to use the Ribcor line when Reebok Hockey was absorbed by CCM. Crosby has used the Ribcor Reckoner as his stick of choice for the past number of seasons, settling in on the model he liked rather than continuing to use the newer version released every season. Though this is not uncommon among pro players, manufacturers usually insist on painting the sticks as newer models in order to promote new products. A player with as much starpower as Crosby usually gets what he wants though, and he continues to use the Reckoner despite four generations of Ribcor sticks having been released since the Reckoner.
This specific stick is 100 flex, but we have also seen Crosby pro stocks at 105 and 110 flex. This shows how unbelievably strong Crosby is, as high flexes like that are typically what you would associate more with bigger players. Crosby is also known for wanting to maximize puck feel, and many players find a stiffer stick helps with that.
Crosby's pro stock sticks have the traditional "T" shaft with squared corners that is common on retail sticks, but the grip finish is quite unusual. Crosby prefers the sandpaper grip finish (note the speckled look on close up pictures) which is a little more slick than most standard grip finishes, but the raised bumps give a texture to the shaft that prevents the hands from sliding too much.
Finally, the curve. Many people assume that the P29 curve that CCM markets as the Crosby curve (Blade 1 on our site) is a clone of his pro curve, but that is not the case. Though a lot of pro players do use the P29 curve, Crosby himself uses a custom curve that is almost flat in comparison. It does have a slight bend and twist open, but is much straighter than anything available retail. The straightness of the blade allows Crosby to effectively use both sides of the blade, and he is known for having arguably the best backhander in the NHL.
You can see below a by side comparison of the Pro Crosby curve (left) and retail P29 Crosby curve (right). The P29 is far deeper in the midsection, and has a much more open toe than what Crosby actually uses. The Pro Crosby blade is also slightly longer, allowing more surface area to play the puck. While the face of the blade is fairly standard looking, Crosby's blade also features a very low lie, allowing him to stay low to the ice and reach far away from his body while keeping more stick on the ice. If you are looking for a retail equivalent to this curve, the closest would probably be a CCM P14/Bauer PM9 (Blade 3 on our site), though this would be slightly more of a curve.
But why buy something close when you can have the real thing? To kick off the launch of our NHL Pro Stock collection, we are giving away this stick!
All you need to do is follow us on Instagram or like us on Facebook and Tag 2 Friends on our Sidney Crosby Stick Giveaway Post!
Didn't win or want to check to see what other NHLers' sticks we have available for sale? Head to this link to see sticks for sale from Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Matt Duchene, and many more of your favourite players!