Influence of Hockey Tape on Speed, Rotation and Energy of Shots

Parameters of a shot of an ice hockey player are mostly determined by the capabilities of the player itself and the stick that is used. However, every hockey player uses also hockey tape for an adjustment of the stick blade to get better skills in shooting, passing and stickhandling the puck. Properties of the tape like thickness, roughness and the way of application influence the quality of the stick in terms of weight, balance and blade surface and therefore also the performance of the player itself. Within our analysis we have focused on the influence of the tape on specific capabilities of the players, namely the Wrist shot and the Slap shot. In cooperation with a set of players ranging from amateurs and junior players to NHL superstars, we have measured the properties of their shots using two different taping methods and tape materials on the blades of their sticks. For our analysis, we have chosen one traditional tape (rolled onto the blade, Renfrew hockey tape) and one alternative tape product that comes in a form of a blade sticker that adheres to both sides of the hockey stick blade (Specter hockey tape). We have shown that shot speed, puck rotation and overall energy of the shot have increased using the latter with statistical confidence of more than $99\%$.