Goalie Paddle Tape and Blocker Grip: How to Set Them Up

The paddle is the wide part of a goalie stick above the blade. Where it narrows into the shaft is the shoulder, and that is where your blocker hand holds the stick. How that spot feels decides how well you can control the stick, poke-check and play the puck.

The rules on the paddle

• NHL Rule 10.2: the widened portion can run no more than 26 in up from the heel and be no more than 3.5 in wide.
• USA Hockey Rule 301(b): the same 26 in and 3.5 in limits.

Tape on the paddle is allowed. The NHL allows tape of any colour anywhere on the stick; only the knob has a colour rule.

Taping the lower paddle

The lower paddle meets the ice and takes low shots. The hockeytape.ca goalie tutorial tapes about 20 cm up from the heel, then waxes it with the blade. GoalieMonkey’s guide suggests an extra layer along the bottom edge to absorb impacts and reduce wear.

Building a blocker grip

The tutorial’s method, in short:

1. Start just above the top of the paddle and wrap about 15 cm up the shaft.
2. Overlap each pass by about half so the glove has plenty to grab.
3. Build a finger stop at the top: five to eight wraps over the same spot to make a small ridge, so the stick does not slide through your glove.

Cloth tape works. Grip tape is an option if you want more tack. Howies says to stretch its grip tape gently as you wrap until it reaches the thickness you want, and that applies here too.

How NHL goalies shape the shoulder

In a January 2024 NHL.com feature, Kevin Woodley described how pros customize this area. Most of it is the shape of the stick, made by the manufacturer or cut by hand, not tape.

• Henrik Lundqvist used a squared-off top edge so his blocker hand could stay relaxed.
• Sergei Bobrovsky uses a steep shoulder that starts further down his stick and narrows gradually, which helps his balance and lets him grip lower on the paddle.
• Chris Driedger copied that steep shoulder and cut a notch on the bottom edge so he can wrap a finger around the stick when playing paddle-down. Warrior later made the notch part of his pattern.
• Marc-André Fleury adopted a convex slope on the top of his grip after using a stick that had been shaved down there. He said it freed up his thumb.

“I can really grip the stick.” (Chris Driedger, NHL.com, 2024)

Where tape fits in

Tape can copy some of these effects without cutting the stick:

• A ridge of extra wraps at the top of the grip acts like a stop for your fingers.
• Extra layers fatten the handle. NHL.com reported that Martin Jones adds layers of stick and grip tape for his large hands, as Carey Price used to.

Safety note

Do not cut or shave a composite stick yourself. Driedger’s notch was later built in by the manufacturer; you can get a similar result safely with tape or by choosing a pattern with the shoulder you want. And keep your utility knife pointed away from you whenever you trim tape.

How to get it right

1. Tape it, then test it with your blocker on. Drop into your stance and hold the stick as you would in a game.
2. Check the finger stop sits where your fingers end, not under them.
3. Poke-check a few times. The stick should not slide through your glove.
4. Adjust in practice, not on game day.

For the full stick, see how goalies tape their sticks and goalie stick knob rules.