Hi, I’m Tiffany Hamann. I played hockey for 15 years. After much practice, I have found the perfect way to tape a hockey stick. Without having a taped hockey stick, it would be much harder to grip the puck, make perfect shots and even pass. I am going to show you a few steps that will lead you in the right direction for taping a hockey stick. Within 15 years of taping a hockey stick many different ways, I have finally found the way to make handling and shooting the puck much easier.

There are many different ways to tape a hockey stick. Alexander Ovechkin, Bobby Orr, and Kevin Fiala are all NHL players that are known for taping their stick a certain way. Any player can choose how they want their stick to look whether they come up with something new, tape it the traditional way or copy an NHL player. Either way, it’s all personal preference.

Step 1: Gather the Supplies.

Hockey stick

Cloth or friction hockey tape

Scissors

Howie’s hockey wax or sex wax (optional)

Puck (optional)

Step 2: Choose Where to Begin.

First, decide what end of the blade to start at. Whether it be heel-to-toe or toe-to-heel. Either way will work, it’s just preference. I like to start at the heel and work my way to the toe so that’s how I will be explaining it.

Now, begin at the heel of the blade with the cloth or friction hockey tape and wrap the tape around the blade working towards the toe. Be as consistent as possible in the spacing of the tape. Again, it depends on preference on how much the tape overlaps. I usually like to overlap my tape halfway over the previous line of tape. Continue wrapping the tape tightly against the blade until the tape is somewhat close to the toe.

Step 3: Finish Up the Toe.

Next, we have to finish up the toe of the blade. For this, don’t wrap the tape tight against the blade. Instead, leave slack beyond the blade, squaring the blade off. Lay the tape slightly beyond the blade and then fold the tape over, covering the toe of the blade. This will allow the player to cover the whole toe without bunching the tape. Then, pinch the excess tape around the blade so when the excess is cut off, the blade is completely covered.

Step 4: Remove Excess Tape.

Finally, go around the toe, pinching the tape where the excess was cut off making sure it all sticks together. Then, take a pair of scissors and cut off the excess tape at the toe of the blade. This will give the player a perfectly rounded tape job covering the whole toe.

Step 5: Wax It Up!

As a final point, there is the option of finishing it off with wax, a puck or just leaving it as is. The wax will add durability to the tape job and grip to the puck. It will also reduce the ice and water the tape accumulates, holding the tape job up for a longer time. A puck will also add some durability but won’t hold water and ice out as much. However, it will flatten the tape to the stick, preventing it from peeling up. If the player leaves it as is, it will have the natural feel of cloth hockey tape. Although, it will require more frequent taping.

With this in mind, I enjoy waxing my tape job when finished so it will grip the puck and keep my tape from getting waterlogged. For this, all the player has to do is rub the wax up and down the blade, covering each part, especially where water will contact the blade the most. This will be at the bottom of the blade. I like to rub the wax in the same direction my tape is going so I don’t rip up the edges of the tape. This will keep the tape job looking nice and clean for longer. It doesn’t matter how much wax is used, although, players usually just put a single layer.