Banana Blade

Why do players curve their blades?

Banana Blade is a term in hockey referring to a significant curve on the blade of a hockey stick. Players will often curve their blades aggressively so as to increase their ability to get the puck up as quickly as possible on shots.

The term originates from the similar look of large curved blades to the shape of bananas.

A good marksman takes pride in selecting the hockey stick with just the right curve of the blade.

However, in the past hockey sticks didn’t have a curve. The sticks were made of wood and the blades were as flat as a table surface.

But in 1927, Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators had an innovative offer.  He decided to curve the blade of his stick, using hot water to shape the wood.

The curve made the puck rise and sometimes even knuckle, making the shot completely unpredictable.

At this time the wrist flick was the most common shot in hockey. But with curved blades, powerful slap shots could be taken from greater distances, adding a whole new dimension to the game.

Although this new stick style had its obvious advantages, many of the players didn’t like the negative effect the curve had on their stick handling and backhanded shots. So, before it could get off the ground, the idea of curved blades was put aside and forgotten, for the next three decades!

It wasn’t until the 1960’s that the curved stick was introduced to hockey again and this time it was the result of a mishap!

Chicago Blackhawk Stan Mikita accidently broke his stick in practice but as a joke continued to take shots. He was surprised to find out that it added some zip to his shot. Soon after, Mikita and teammate Bobby Hull were experimenting with all types of curves ranging from slight bends to cartoonish hooks.

Hull and Mikita’s high-scoring ways made believers of many in the NHL, and soon players across the league all wanted their own curved blade.

This gave rise to the “banana blade” of the 1960s.

In the midst of this era, players would simply cross the blue line and let one fly with a slap shot, hoping the bizarre behavior of the puck would beat the goalie.

The goaltenders weren’t impressed, but the shooters loved it. They weren’t wearing masks in this era and were annoyed by the danger such wild shots posed. The players liked it because the unpredictability of the puck meant the goalie had to guess where it was going, and that often meant goals.

In response, the NHL began gradually decreasing the amount of curve a blade could legally have. Now the curve of a blade is restricted at most levels of competitive hockey, in general to an amount between ½ and ¾ of an inch.

Being caught using an illegal stick is typically punished with a two minute minor penalty.

For most players in the modern game, however, the emphasis is on shooting accuracy, which has largely eliminated any preference for extreme blade curves.

To get an accurate measurement of the blade the NHL uses a “stick gauge” which measures a curve precisely.