Most of those who watched the Blue Jackets on March 12 in a 7-4 win over Boston were focused on the scoreboard. But for a few eagle-eyed spectators, there was something else of note.
Sergei Bobrovsky, who has played with a Warrior stick for years, stood tall and stopped 27 of 31 shots in that game while playing with an all-white, unbranded stick.
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Was this a new stick? Well, yes and no.
Every year, Blue Jackets equipment manager Tim LeRoy maintains the proper inventory of all the tools that players need throughout a season, including sticks. For a player like Bobrovsky, who uses a new stick every game, LeRoy is always sure to count how many sticks remain and to manage ordering replacements in time.
But for Bobrovsky, that isn’t as easy as it sounds. While many goaltenders have moved to the newer technology of composite sticks, (both Joonas Korpisalo and Keith Kinkaid use these lighter versions), the two-time Vezina winner has elected to stay with a more traditional foam core structure. He likes the weight and feel of that type of stick.
Sergei Bobrovsky plays with a Warrior stick March 11 against the New York Islanders. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)But with wood/foam core sticks disappearing from goaltending, given the changes in demand, the Warrior factory changed from a location in Ontario, Canada, to one in Finland.
So, in early February, when LeRoy reached out to Warrior to order more sticks, even though he was asking for the same equipment, it wasn’t going to be made where, or how, it had always been.
“I knew how many we had left,” LeRoy said. “I was telling the (Warrior) rep, ‘I have this many left, we have to get more in here.’ He asked me to send him one of Bob’s sticks to send to their factory (to replicate it) because they changed where they are being made.”
When the new sticks came back, LeRoy and Bobrovsky immediately felt a difference.
“For me, the most important thing is balance between the top and lower part (of the stick),” Bobrovsky said. “If they make new sticks with new materials, they make the top part very light and the low part very heavy and I don’t like it. … I need (that) if it’s light it should be both sides light. It should feel balanced in the hand.”
While Bobrovsky still had some of the original version of Warrior sticks to play with during games, in practices, he was trying out newly shipped options. He wasn’t pleased with what he felt.
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That’s when something triggered in LeRoy’s memory. Last year, a representative from Vaughn had brought by some versions of their goaltending sticks. Part of his pitch at the time had been that the sticks came from the same factory as the Warrior sticks Bobrovsky was using.
LeRoy had Bobrovsky try them after the conclusion of last season, and at the time, the goaltender had said he couldn’t really tell the difference, that they were “close” to what he was using now.
So LeRoy got to work behind the scenes. He still had the old Vaughns from last year, but, with the company’s name emblazoned on them, they couldn’t be used in games due to the lack of a licensing agreement between the manufacturer and the NHL.
“I knew I had these old Vaughn sticks that were like Bob’s sticks,” LeRoy said. “I called my rep and he said, ‘yeah, we can make those sticks. How many do you want?’ ”
Vaughn sent a batch of unbranded, all-white sticks to Columbus that were made in the same factory as Bobrovsky’s original Warriors.
At first, the goaltender was leery. Rightly particular about his equipment, he said he’d try the Vaughns out in practice.
“Timmy knows that stuff, so he told me we have still the option to have the sticks,” Bobrovsky said. “At first when I tried in practice you feel (a little difference), but as soon as you feel it’s the same stick, you forget about it and just play your game. (There’s) not much difference.”
Sergei Bobrovsky plays with an all-white stick March 12 against Boston. (Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)The Athletic’s goaltending expert, Catherine Silverman, hasn’t used the new Warrior sticks herself so she can’t speak to how different they might be, but she can definitely see the value in switching brands if it means staying with the equipment that works the best for the goaltender.
“I think the convenience and mental aspect of sticking with what (Bobrovsky) knows has to be the biggest part of this for Bob,” Silverman said. “Ultimately the changes in the stick itself shouldn’t be enough to derail your season, but taking away that extra nagging thought about adjusting to a perceived difference in equipment could be the difference in second-guessing your technique and stickhandling in-season.
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“We sometimes joke about how these guys are too nitpicky with equipment, but the mental comfort of believing that your stick is still exactly what you like takes away a distraction.”
Changing sticks has had no discernable impact on the netminder’s play — “Yeah, thank goodness!” laughs LeRoy. And Bobrovsky said it’s “crazy” how two different brands of a stick can feel so similar. While he has a new shipment of Warriors to try, he’ll wait till the offseason — as he usually does — to try out a variety of new equipment and see if he’ll switch back to the Warriors or go with something else.
“Whatever is more comfortable for me, for my game, that’s the most important for me,” Bobrovsky said. “Who makes it doesn’t matter. I don’t think I will change the design of (my stick), maybe (I’ll) go lighter, or I try how it feels and then decide.”
(Photo of Sergei Bobrovsky, Chris Wagner: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)
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