If you play hockey or have children in the sport you know it can be costly, especially if you need to replace expensive hockey sticks. Pat Foran has more.
Parents whose children play sports know all too well the expenses that come with them, including replacing damaged equipment.
One Ontario man told CTV News that he was tired of replacing his son’s hockey sticks, so he found a way to fix them and has now started a small business.
“Some families are buying three or four sticks a year which is costing them $1,200 or more,” said Rod Daigle, of Mississauga.
Hockey sticks can “self-destruct” and when that happens in recreational and minor hockey games, they can cost from $200 to $400 or more to replace.
Daigle said he has two sons in Triple A hockey and was growing frustrated with his increasing stick budget.
Most composite hockey sticks only come with a 30-day warranty and Daigle told CTV News it seemed many would break not long after the warranty expired, so he devised a way to repair them.
“I received this goalie stick yesterday. With the shaft broken the way it is it should be a straightforward repair,” said Daigle.
He explained to CTV News how shafts are easier to fix than blades, and said that sometimes it’s easier to fuse two broken sticks together to create a new one, something he refers to as a ‘Frankenstick.’
“Rather then toss them in the landfill, I’m actually able to make new sticks out of them. They’re affordable, useable and nearly as light as the original,” said Daigle.
Daigle has now turned what used to a money-saving hack into a small business, called ‘Stick Medic’, where he repairs sticks, often for recreational hockey players.
He has his own method of using resin, composite fibres and a steady hand.
He charges about $80 for a repair and says he guarantees it won’t break in the same place.
“When a stick costs $380 to $420 and you need three or four of them in a season that adds up,” said Daigle.
There are other companies across the GTHA now repairing hockey sticks and options to buy refurbished ones also exist.