Stick Fix is giving broken hockey sticks a second life

If you’re a hockey parent who has spent hundreds of dollars on one hockey stick alone, you probably hate to see them broken. But it inevitably happens.

It’s a cringe-worthy scenario: your kid is playing his heart out. He’s set up for a slap shot, and when his stick hits the ice, it snaps. For the kid, it’s a disappointment. For the parent, it’s dollar signs flying away.

Maybe your daughter is digging in the corner for the puck, and her stick gets wedged between other players. It gets twisted in ways it wasn’t made to support, and it breaks. There are many ways sticks can break, and the fact wooden sticks are fading fast, the cost of composite sticks can add up even faster.

Luckily, replacing broken sticks is becoming a thing of the past. That’s where Sandro Spadafora and his team at Stick Fix Sudbury come in.

Spadafora, vice-president of operations for Rezplast Manufacturing and his partners purchased the franchise in Sudbury last year. With one hockey season already in the books, Stick Fix has provided a cheaper solution for broken sticks to many hockey parents already. It’s good for the wallet, and it’s good for the environment, too, preventing thousands of discarded carbon fibre hockey sticks from going to the landfills.

“Rezplast has been around for about 30 years, and the staff is trained and certified in composites,” Spadafora said. “That’s why we decided to get on board with Stick Fix. We already had the knowledge, and this is a service that wasn’t really available in the city.”

Athletes are choosing carbon fibre because it’s light weight and engineered to maximize performance, whether its biking, hockey or tennis, Spadafora said. Compared to the traditional wooden hockey stick, composite sticks last much longer and provide more flex for more powerful shots.

Stick Fix uses a secret “baking” process to repair broken sticks to their original strength and balance, thereby ensuring even the most fickle hockey player will be satisfied.

“There are other methods to fix carbon fibre sticks, however our methods have proven to be superior in short and long term performance for the players and outlast other options available on the market today, as we fully restore the original strength and we do not need to shorten the sticks in any way,” Spadafora said.

Stick Fix can also fix most small carbon fibre items such as bike frames, canoe paddles, wind surfers, fishing poles, ski poles and racquets.

Our warranty is the same as all major manufacturers and we back the repairs with a 35 day warranty. If your stick breaks in the same area in that time, you’ll receive a complimentary fix.

A standard stick fix starts at $64.99 and the turnaround is 24 hours. Need a stick faster? Stick Fix has hundreds of refurbished sticks available at their Notre Dame location.

Stick Fix also manufactures its own sticks, which can be custom designed for various purposes.

For example, sticks can be made with any team or company’s logo right on the stick. They are also about 40 per cent cheaper than composite sticks on the market, but are made of the same high-calibre material.

Having a successful first year, Spadafora said it only made sense to expand into Sudbury’s hockey repair shop, specializing in stick repairs and skate maintenance. It’s basically a one-stop shop for all your hockey needs, he said.

Curious? Stick Fix is located at 680 Notre Dame Ave. It’s open seven days a week, starting at 7:30 a.m. Monday to Friday in order to accommodate the early rising parents.

“That way, parents can drop off skates on their way to work to avoid rushing around after work, another convenience Stick Fix offers keeping in line with helping parents not just with saving money but saving time, too."

The new repair shop will open Oct. 1. Stick Fix will offer a Grand Opening special of $5 skate sharpening for the first week of October. (Oct. 1 to Oct. 7).