He may not play in the NHL any more but Chris Joseph still knows how to shoot a puck. To make the most of this expertise, the former Oilers defenceman has opened a new custom hockey stick business in St. Albert.
Base Hockey, located in Campbell Business Park, is little more than two, small synthetic ice sheets and a row of disassembled sticks and shafts hanging on a wall. The magic happens when a player comes in to get fitted. For 45 minutes and $50, Joseph puts him on the ice, looks at his shooting technique and assembles different shafts and blades until he finds the right combination.
That particular stick is then manufactured in Mexico and shipped back to its new owner within two to three weeks.
"When I played we used a wooden stick and everybody back then used a wooden stick and they all came pretty similar," Joseph said.
"And if I didn't like the way this curve was I would take a blowtorch, and I would heat it up and bend it ... Kids nowadays can't do that."
Base Hockey has been operating for a few years in North America but Joseph's franchise is the first of its kind in the Edmonton region. Joseph said it was started by Ron Kunisaki, one of the first stick builders to incorporate graphite into the shaft, instead of making sticks from wood and fiberglass or aluminum.
In 1993, Kunisaki founded Innovative Hockey Inc., the first composite (made with graphite and Kevlar) hockey stick company in North America. In 2005, he sold the company to Warrior Hockey.
Kunisaki later started up a new company. Base Hockey now has locations across North America, most of them run by retired hockey players.
At Joseph's shop, players choose from about 20 to 30 different combinations of shaft flex and curve patterns, depending on their age and skill level. It usually doesn't take long to find the right one, he said.
Sticks range from $130 to $195, depending on texture and materials used. Players can choose from different colours and designs, and add a company or team logo as long as it doesn't infringe on copyright laws.
Joseph's main focus, though, is on designing a stick that maximizes the player's performance.
"The things you look for are different shaft sizes and length. You want the right amount of bend. You want it to bend because your muscles do all the work," Joseph said.
"The stick bends and the stick releases so that gives you that snap. But you don't want too much because then you lose control."
Affordability
St. Albert hockey dad Serge Lajoie, a former Alberta Junior Hockey League player and current head coach of the NAIT men's hockey team, said there is a need for affordable hockey sticks in the market, especially with parents buying them and not the children.
Most sticks cost between $175 and $200, he said. And while many sports stores offer custom fittings, they also come at an added cost.
Offering a better price may work in Base Hockey's favour but the newcomer will also have to compete with the advertising of the major brands, he said. That means convincing players of the quality of their sticks.
"Is there a need for a stick that is maybe at a better price point and more customized? Absolutely," he said.
"But kids are always looking for the best possible stick and they go on YouTube and they go on the Internet and they see the new CCM or the new Bauer stick and that's usually what you have to contend with," he added.
Joseph said Base Hockey offers more options and better analysis of the players' shooting technique than most stores and major brands. With two high-speed cameras he captures each shot on the ice in high definition and slow motion.
Based on the video, he recommends not only the right stick but also works on the player's technique. The latter comes at an extra cost.
For $150 players can go through a one-hour video analysis of their wrist, snap and slap shots. Joseph looks at how much they flex the stick and how well they shoot. He then fits the player with the best stick and gives instructions on their performance.
For $100 players can also book him for a one-on-one shooting instruction, while teams can have on-ice shooting clinics for $40 per player. Both sessions come with video analysis.
"The one thing we don't really work on here is skating skills because this ice is, although it's great, it's not real ice," he said, pointing at the synthetic ice laid out on the floor of his business.
"But every kid walks out a better shooter than they came in. So they get encouraged by that."
