Tape or No Tape?

Sep 23

5 min read

Almost every hockey player tapes their blade.

I did too.

For most of my life in hockey, taping the blade wasn't really a decision. It was simply what you did. I was a full-blade tape guy, and I even used to give kids a hard time when they only taped the toe or didn't tape their blade properly.

But about five years ago, I started questioning it.

Why are we actually putting tape on the blade?

And more importantly:

Does it make us better with the puck?

Why I Stopped Using Tape

Part of the reason was practical.

I'm sometimes on the ice six hours a day, and I got sick of retaping my stick every two or three hours because the tape was shredded.

Around that same time, I was watching hockey skill influencers like Pavel Barber, Swaggy P, and Zach Bell on social media.

These guys have incredible puck skills—and I noticed they weren't using tape.

I could do many of those same puck-control movements with tape and wax. So I decided to tear the tape off and try them.

Suddenly, I couldn't do them nearly as well.

That got my attention.

Instead of putting the tape back on, I kept training without it.

Eventually, I could do everything I could do before—and more.

And that experience completely changed how I looked at tape.

Tape Can Be a Crutch

Tape and wax can create a really grippy surface.

That's not necessarily bad. In fact, some players love that feeling.

But I think that extra grip can also become a crutch.

Take the tape away and suddenly the puck reacts much more sharply to the angle of your blade. Your hands have to become more precise. Your touch has to become lighter.

At first, it's harder.

That's exactly why I like training without it.

When the tape isn't helping hold the puck on your blade, you have to develop better control over the puck yourself.

Over time, I found that it helped me develop what I would call a more masterful touch.

I Can Feel the Puck Better

This is probably one of the biggest differences for me.

Without tape between the puck and the composite blade, I can feel exactly where the puck is on my blade much better.

There's more feedback through the stick.

And that's important.

If I can feel where the puck is without looking at it, I can keep my head up more. I can see the ice. I can read what's happening around me instead of constantly checking where the puck is.

For me, removing tape didn't reduce puck feel.

It increased it.

Modern Shooting Changed the Equation

We also shoot differently today than we did years ago.

The traditional shot traveled much more heel-to-toe across the blade.

Modern sticks and curves have changed that.

Take a P28. It's an aggressive curve, and on many modern releases we're shooting the puck extremely close to the toe.

Think about a toe-drag release.

You pull the puck toward your body, separate the blade from the puck and then reconnect with it near the toe.

When I do that without tape, that reconnection feels incredibly strong.

There's a pop off the bare blade that I really like.

And what's fascinating is how little blade the puck actually needs to travel across to still generate significant rotation.

So if we're releasing the puck differently than we did years ago, it's worth asking whether we automatically need to prepare our blades the same way we always have.

The Blades Have Changed Too

This is an important part of the conversation.

Modern composite blades are better than they used to be.

Years ago, we would destroy the heels of sticks from stickhandling and puck contact. Tape wasn't just providing grip—it was helping protect the blade.

Today's blades hold up much better.

And there's another major difference:

Manufacturers are already putting texture on the blade.

The bare blade isn't necessarily a perfectly slick surface anymore. It already has friction built into it.

I actually think manufacturers could take this further.

My ideal stick would have a whippy shaft, an extremely stiff blade and a high-friction blade surface.

Give me the flex and loading I want from the shaft, but make the blade stiff, responsive and grippy enough that I don't need tape to create that interaction with the puck.

I think equipment is already moving in that direction.

The Ice Buildup Problem

This might be one of the most obvious advantages of going without tape.

Watch a hockey bench.

You'll see players come back and scrape snow and ice off their blades.

Tape gets wet. Snow sticks to it. Water freezes to it.

Wax helps, but it doesn't eliminate the problem.

Now you've got snow and ice building up on the exact surface you're using to stickhandle, pass and shoot.

That changes the interaction between the puck and blade.

With my untaped blade, it's simple.

I smack the blade against the ice.

The snow flies off and I have a clean blade again.

For me, that consistency matters.

Does That Mean Tape Is Bad?

No.

That's not my point.

Some players love tape and wax. They like the additional grip and they like the way the puck feels coming onto the blade.

Great.

Use it.

I'm not trying to tell players what they have to do.

I'm trying to get players to ask a different question:

Am I using this because I've tested it and know I prefer it—or because this is what hockey players have always done?

There's a big difference.

Here's What I Tell Players

Try training without tape.

You don't have to immediately play games that way.

If you want tape during your team practices and games, use it.

But when you come to Read React—or when you're doing additional skills work—take the tape off.

Stickhandle.

Pass.

Shoot.

Try your toe-drag releases. Try the things you're already good at.

It's probably going to feel harder at first.

That's okay.

Pay attention to what the puck is doing. Learn how sensitive it is to your blade angle. Learn to use a lighter touch. Learn to feel where the puck is without looking down.

Then put the tape back on and compare.

Make your own decision.

Don't Be Afraid to Experiment

This is really the bigger lesson.

I've experimented with skate sharpening.

I've experimented with whippier sticks.

I've experimented with no tape.

I've also experimented with things I didn't like—and stopped doing them.

That's the point.

Hockey is a long development process. If we automatically accept the same conventional wisdom everybody else accepts, we leave very little room to discover something better.

I'm not here to tell anybody what they have to do.

I'm here to offer information, let players test things and help them understand what they're feeling.