The Creation of the Curved Hockey Stick

The curved hockey stick was perhaps one of the most critical inventions to the modern history of

the National Hockey League and other leagues in the world.

It begins

with the hockey stick being invented around the 1880’s. At the time, all sticks

were made of wood and there were no such things as ‘special’ sticks, however,

at the end of the 1930’s, laminated sticks appeared, and finally the curved

stick. The actual first inventor of the curved hockey stick is not known,

perhaps a myth, but it has been credited to Stan Mikita with the Chicago

Blackhawks and Andy Bathgate with the New York Rangers during that time. The

stories/myths follow: Stan Mikita and teammate Bobby Hull were taking a few

extra shots in the old Chicago Stadium after team practice in the 1970’s. The

creation was perhaps accidental, as Mikita was taking a shot; he cracked his

wooden stick, creating a curved to it. After, he angrily fired a shot towards

the net and amusingly gave the shot more power and it shot in a weird direction

that unexpectedly made the stick work. Perhaps, this is the most accepted

theory by many on who invented the curved stick.

The second myth is

from Andy Bathgate. While growing up in Winnipeg, he and his brother, Frank

often curve their sticks. A quote from Bathgate in The Stick by Bruce Dowbiggin stated, “We'd get them wet

and give them a nice bend. It helped us raise the puck.” He used it all the time, up to his junior