October is here, which means that NHL teams are back on the ice and getting ready for the 2022-23 season. All 32 clubs are now back in the rink for preseason, and their players are starting to break out the new sticks that they've been sent by their sponsors in time for the season.
Whether the sticks have officially released yet or not, this is the time of year for manufacturers to get their new toys into the hands of their biggest stars to test and show off. True, Bauer, CCM, and Warrior are among the brands our team has spotted debuting twigs in camp - see more details below!
Bauer AG5NT
We have already wrote on what we're expecting out of the Bauer AG5NT, and it is appearing more and more as we approach its official release date. Bauer's latest contender for lightest stick on the market is supposed to weigh just 335g, which might explain why NHLers have been racing to get their hands on them.
The AG5NT is set to be something of a succesor to the Vapor ADV, but will feature the XE taper that has grown popular from the Flylite and later the Hyperlite.
Jack Hughes, Nick Suzuki, Connor Bedard, and Trevor Zegras are among the players we've seen with the AG5NT so far - part of what seems like a conscious effort on Bauer's part to target younger stars and their fans.
Zegras was also featured in our first look at the Vapor Hyp2rlite - an early promo shot. It seems like the orginial Hyperlite just came out, but we know that brands are pushing the release cycle faster than ever lately, so it shouldn't really come as any surprise.
Scheduled Release Date: Mid October 2022
Warrior Novium Pro
Warrior looks like they're bringing back a third line of sticks, adding the Novium in addition to their current Covert and Alpha series. The return of a mid-kick Warrior stick should be well-received, as the Dynasty series has been missed since it was discontinued.
Warrior's Novium Pro will feature a taper reminiscent of the Ribcor taper prior to the Trigger 4. It will be interesting to see how this translates to a mid-kick stick as this thinning out towards the hosel would typically be associated with low-kick twigs. Either way, we got to check out a Novium at some conferences this spring, and we can confim that it felt great!
Many of Warrior's most notable pros have been sporting the Novium in camp as well as in promo material, including Darnell Nurse, Drew Doughty, and Mark Schieffele. So far we've only seen it in a stock black and red colourway, which looks very clean and should be prove popular at retail.
We also got our first look at the Alpha LX2 Pro when Brad Marchand was showing it off during his Bruins headshots. Expect to hear more on that front shortly!
Scheduled Release Date: Early November 2022
CCM SuperTacks ASV Pro
CCM's latest installment in the Tacks series will bring some significant change with it for the first time in the few generations. After years of similar (but beloved) sticks, the newest SuperTacks twig will feature some major innnovation on the shaft.
The new Tacks twig has been in the hands of a number of NHLers, including Leafs captain John Tavares, who has spent the last few seasons using a Jetspeed.
The ASV Pro will feature a unique shape on the shaft, comparable to what we've seen recently on Bauer's Supreme Ultrasonic & Supreme ADV. The big difference? It will bulge on the shaft where the top hand goes rather than the hosel/taper, so it will directly impact how the stick feels in your hands. It will be interesting to see how many pros pick up on this new tech vs preferring a traditional shaft shape.
The ASV will be the last CCM stick from this generation to be released, with the FT5 and Trigger 7 already available. We're sure that the next wave of CCMs won't be far behind though if recent releases are anything to judge off of!
Scheduled Release Date: Early November 2022
True HZRDUS
Currently holding the crown for the lightest stick on the market, the True HZRDUS was released earlier this summer, but this has been our first chance to see it in the hands of pro players.
Mitch Marner is the posterboy for all things True, and already has his hands on a custom blue HZRDUS twig. We got to see an early version of Marner's HZRDUS before he got his custom graphic - check out the video below!
Scheduled Release Date: Out Now!