Taking a closer look at Jake DeBrusk's new, high-tech stick that's turning heads

Jake DeBrusk couldn’t quite put his finger on what was different about the latest twig he was testing. But whatever Bauer cooked up with its latest product, the Bruins winger had already bought in.

DeBrusk was one of many NHLers invited by Bauer back out to Boston for a special showcase this past summer, with the longtime hockey equipment manufacturer seeking input on new prototypes.

As he took to the ice with the likes of Quinn Hughes, Noah Hanifin, Andrei Svechnikov and others, DeBrusk immediately took a liking to the new stick Bauer was peddling. 

It was lightweight, as to be expected for the latest in a long line of carbon-fiber manufactured products. But the blade — concealed under a thick layer of black tape — confounded DeBrusk when it came time to fire off a few pucks.

“I was shooting with it and I was like, ‘Wow, I liked the way it felt. I like the way I’m shooting,'" DeBrusk said. "And I was like, you gotta give me one of these. … I pretty much begged them to give me a stick.” 

Having already been sold on the product, DeBrusk was finally allowed to look under the hood. The feel of the stick was great, but the optics?

“I remember untaping it and I was like — there’s a legit hole in there,” DeBrusk said.



It’s hard to not be a bit skeptical when examining Bauer’s new NEXUS ADV stick. Sure, the race to developer lighter, more effective hockey gear has led to some interesting creations — but a hole in the middle of the blade? 

“It gets a little bit of a mixed reaction,” DeBrusk told BostonSportsJournal Thursday morning at Warrior Ice Arena. 

But there’s a method to the madness when it comes to Bauer’s new twig. 

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“Aerodynamics” or “air resistance” aren’t the buzzwords Bauer opts for when explaining the reasoning for etching a hole through most of the ADV’s blade. In fact, a player could completely tape over the hole and it wouldn’t alter the blade’s ability to generate consistent velocity.

According to Bauer, the addition of the hole allows the blade to be split into two separate sections — each of which serves very different functions. While the top of the blade is stiffer in order to keep it stable when loading shots, the bottom is much more flexible, allowing a player to generate some serious velocity behind his or her shot attempts.

“The technology behind this, my question was, wouldn’t this break easy? I mean, there’s a hole in there,” DeBrusk said. “What if you tip a puck and something comes off? What they said is that the top of the stick, the little sliver at the top is stiffer than anything they’ve ever had there.

"It doesn't affect the blade or the shot, it’s kind of a holder and the bottom is more flexible. We call it a slingshot, so the slingshot effect is supposed to be push and pull, so maybe the top is supposed to the pull and the push is where you’re supposed to shoot.”

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Even with the expected benefits that come with this slingshot effect, DeBrusk admitted that it took some time to get completely comfortable with his new tool, especially when it comes to handling a stick with a higher kick point than what he is used to.

The kick point is the part of the stick that flexes when a player shoots the puck, with DeBrusk favoring low kick points (which lead to faster releases) for most of his time in the NHL.

"Obviously I have to load this stick a little bit different to get off the shot I want. … Sometimes it takes a little bit to get used to a stick, especially when you’re not used to certain things about it,” DeBrusk said. “I used the same kick points since I’ve been in the league, the same kind of models. But I’ve noticed, especially if you get good wood on it and if you put it in that sweet spot, it goes exactly where you want it to go.”

Case in point? Boston’s last matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 21, in which DeBrusk, armed with an ADV, rifled a puck past Marc-Andre Fleury —  picking the top corner for his 15th goal of the season. 



That’s exactly the shot I wanted to have and he was out pretty far, so I had to beat him pretty good," DeBrusk said of the tally. "I give that credit to the stick."

Despite testing the ADV over the summer, DeBrusk only started using the stick six games ago — starting with a road matchup against the Islanders on Jan. 11. DeBrusk appeared to be tempting the hockey gods when it came time to swap out his sticks, given that he scored two goals with his regular Bauer twigs during his previous game against Winnipeg on Jan. 9.

But two nights later, DeBrusk's goal-scoring salvo continued with the ADV in tow.

 "I scored in the first game I used it, DeBrusk said, harkening back to Boston's 3-2 overtime win over the Islanders. "I shot and it went off someone’s leg and it went in the net. I was like, 'I’m keeping this stick'.

While DeBrusk might have been the first NHLer to light the lamp with the ADV, more could be on the way across the league. Blues forward Brayden Schenn has also been spotted with it over the last couple of weeks, while other Bauer clients such as David Pastrnak, Patrick Kane and Hughes all gave their thoughts on the unorthodox blade during the All-Star Weekend.

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Given how much hockey gear has evolved — from sticks made of birch, maple and ash / to woven fiberglass / to aluminum shafts / to carbon fiber and other composite sticks, it should come as no surprise that tools of the trade such as the eye-catching ADV are starting to sprout up in the NHL.

DeBrusk believes that lighter skates could be the next market that companies like Bauer and CCM will look to corner in the near future. But, with the ADV currently the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to eye-popping optics, don't be surprised if more outlandish designs start becoming more commonplace on the bench and in the equipment room.

“It’s interesting. You can go any way," DeBrusk said of the continued evolution of hockey gear. "Obviously no one really knows, depends on the sticks they’re making. Growing up and kind of looking at different things, you don’t know if it’s necessarily just gimmicks or if it’s actually going to work. And that’s how I didn’t know how it was going to go after I saw this stick. When I used it, I didn’t think anything of it.

"I think the next development will be skates because the game is going faster and everyone is looking to get faster, everyone is looking to get (Connor) McDavid speed. If I had to guess, I’d probably say the evolution would be skates. But you never know with sticks, man. I mean, we’ve seen it all. It’s gone from wood to not wood to now there's a hole in there. So I don’t really know how many different ways you can go with a stick, I guess we’ll see."