The best players, not just in hockey, often have custom gear. The reasons, why many superstars want to be different can be getting into the spotlight, but more often than not it is their own specific style of play that requires custom gear. We can see custom hockey sticks, blade patterns, tape jobs, skates, gloves, and many more accessories. It's a way to express your individuality, and bring out the best performance based on your style of play. But let's focus on the blade of the hockey stick for now.
Zdeno Chára with his custom Rezztek®
The Tape Job: Be As Unique As You Need To Be
Hockey players can impress not only with their goals, assists or hits on the ice, but also with their tape jobs. Some of them are really interesting or even weird. Why are they doing it and how it is contributing to the quality of their performance? In the early 1900s, cloth adhesive tape was invented, and this had long lasting impact on hockey. It offered a good hold, making it ideal for securing pads, socks, and skates.
But it wasn't until the 1950s that adhesive tape was used to wrap hockey sticks. This allowed for more customization, as players could choose the thickness, texture, and color of tape to suit their playing style and express their individual tape preference along the way.You can find out more about this topic in our blogs The Wacky, Weird, Crazy and Unique Tape Jobs in the NHL and The Unique Tape Jobs of the NHL.
Tyler Bertuzzi has a Rezztek® with the Leafs' logo and his number (#59)
The Alternative Way to Tape a Hockey Stick
As technology advances, the world of hockey tape and alternative products like Rezztek® continue to evolve. Will we see more advanced adhesives, new materials, or even smart tape that responds to a player's movements or tracks it? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure – tape or its alternatives will continue to be a vital part of the sport for years to come as we already covered in our previous blog. Players want their shots to be faster, harder and more effective. That's the reason why they are trying new things. Evolution has always been a big part of ice hockey.
Jakub Lauko's Rezztek® has a more narrow shape, more of a strip of material in the lower part of his blade
Rezztek®: Who's Using this Alternative to Hockey Tape in the NHL?
The number of NHL players who are using Rezztek® is increasing. One of the first pioneers of this technology was legendary defenseman Zdeno Chára. The Bruins legend who played his last two seasons for the Capitals and the Islanders always wanted to make sure every detail about his gear is helping his performance.
Captain of the Nashville Predators, Roman Josi, was spotted using Rezztek® as well for a couple of seasons now and used Rezztek® also in the World Championship as well as in Olympic games and NHL all-star games.
Who else? French forward Alexandre Texier (currently St. Louis Blues), Jakub Lauko (Minnesota Wild), Tyler Bertuzzi (Chicago Blackhawks), or David Kämpf (Toronto Maple Leafs), Brandt Clarke (Los Angeles Kings) just to name a few. It's not just players, but goalies too. A good example is Petr Mrázek of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Customize Your Rezztek® However You Want to
Players use their tapejobs to express their individuality, but most players test what works best for them and then stick with it. The blade of the hockey stick is such a vital part of hockey player's equipment, because it is the only part of the equipment the player uses to shoot, pass and stickhandle the puck. Rezztek® provides a material with more grip and more durability than hockey tape, and at the same time it is water resistant and water repellent - making sure the blade of the hockey stick behaves the same also towards the end of the game, when you need it the most. The fact that Rezztek® lighter and thinner than hockey tape makes it an ideal alternative for players looking to enhance their performance on the ice. For example, look at Alexandre Texier's stick during his time at the Columbus Blue Jackets, when he was testing different versions of Rezztek until he developed his own shape that suited him the most.
Alexandre Texier is trying Rezztek® with different colors and shapes
It's up to the player. There are no limitations, because an imagination has no limits. If you want to find out more, check out Rezztek® Custom Edition on our website. You can choose from plenty of options from adding your number to adding your team's logo directly to your Rezztek® and we will try to meet all your requirements.
Alexandre Texier with his white version of Rezztek®
How To Make a Custom Rezztek® For Your Hockey Stick?
The whole process between the player and Rezztek® starts when the player becomes interested in Rezztek®. We then send him a sample to try it out and see if it fits, what he would improve, change, etc. If he or she is satisfied and has a request for a different shape, he then sends us his hockey stick and we make him a fully custom Rezztek® that fits the blade of the hockey stick perfectly. This service is usually offered to professional players only as it requires a good deal of expertise and most NHL players are using a version of their own, very unique Rezztek®.
Making of Adam Gajan's (NCAA - University of Minnesota) custom goalie Rezztek®
At the end, we usually put the player's number and the club logo on the now fully custom Rezztek®. After that, the club just orders more Rezztek®s whenever the player needs a new pack. Some professional players spend more than 100 packs for a full season, usually corresponding to the number of sticks the player uses throughout the season.
Adam Gajan's finished fully custom UMD Rezztek®
Every Detail Matters
NHL players try to use every little thing to their advantage, every detail that can take their game to the next level. Rezztek® is part of that development process. The custom feature is available not only for NHL superstars but also for our customers, who can create their own version here.
PHOTO SOURCES: NHL, GI, X
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