Blade 4 
Known As:
Bauer P91A (Staal)
CCM P6 (Phaneuf)
CCM P15 (Jones)
Warrior W05 (Granlund)
True HCR
STX X91
Sher-Wood P20
Easton E6 (Drury)
Pro Blackout P91
Formerly Suter/Kovalev/Parise
Description:
Blade 4 is a long blade with a deep heel curve and a very open face and rounded toe.
Looking for Something Similar?:
Blade 4 is the most common heel curve in a market where very few stock options are currently available. Blade 7 would be the most similar, but features a very squared off toe. Blade 8 is also a heel curve, but is far more gradual and moderate than Blade 4, and features a deeper midsection.
What it’s Good For:
The very open face makes it easy to chip out pucks and elevate shots from the point. The extra length on Blade 4 also makes it ideal for breaking up plays and digging for pucks in the corner. Blade 4 users will also feel the benefits of the pattern on their slapshots, especially one timers.
Downsides:
The face of Blade 4 twists to be extremely open, so watch out for your teammate’s heads when taking clappers from the point. Heel curves can feel a little bit clunky with stickhandling as well, especially when attempting toe drags.
Pro Players Using This Curve (or Similar):
Lots of NHLers swear by Blade 4, most of whom fit into the archetypical heel curve play style; power forwards and defencemen. Some examples of players using Blade 4 would be Kyle Okposo, PK Subban, Milan Lucic, and Jack Johnson
Our Take:
The prototypical defenceman’s curve. Though most retail sticks tend to be mid/toe curves these days, the heel curve is still very prevalent among pro players (and is also a favourite of beer league grinders). Perfect for players looking to do the hard work and who aren’t too worried about looking flashy out on the ice.
2 comments
Do you have a list of the lies of the curves you offer? I know the Bauer 91A is typically a lie 6. Is the intermediate shaft with 91A a lie 5 or 6?
My stick length is 58 9/16 from floor to butt end of stick I’m wondering how many inches I would need to cut off the 65 flex and what would the actual flex after I cut the shaft down. I have an intermediate Bauer Vapor 67 flex but when cut to my length it’s a 80 flex. That particular stick is still pretty whippy even at 80. I have A Easton Synergy II 70 Flex shaft and when it’s cut to the same length it’s much stiffer. I’m wondering how your intermediate shafts might fall between those two examples. Could you identify which blades have a 5 lie and I can figure out if I can use one of those curves. I’m typically a heel curve similar to P91 or P91A.
Thanks,
Phil
Do you have a list of the lies of the curves you offer? I know the Bauer 91A is typically a lie 6. Is the intermediate shaft with 91A a lie 5 or 6?
My stick length is 58 9/16 from floor to butt end of stick I’m wondering how many inches I would need to cut off the 65 flex and what would the actual flex after I cut the shaft down. I have an intermediate Bauer Vapor 67 flex but when cut to my length it’s a 80 flex. That particular stick is still pretty whippy even at 80. I have A Easton Synergy II 70 Flex shaft and when it’s cut to the same length it’s much stiffer. I’m wondering how your intermediate shafts might fall between those two examples. Could you identify which blades have a 5 lie and I can figure out if I can use one of those curves. I’m typically a heel curve similar to P91 or P91A.
Thanks,
Phil