Heel to Toe or Toe to Heel: Which Way Should You Tape?

The direction you wrap the blade is one of the most argued details in hockey. It is also one of the least proven. Here is what is known.

What the two terms mean

• Heel to toe: you start at the heel, where the blade meets the shaft, and spiral out to the toe.
• Toe to heel: you start at the toe and work back toward the shaft.

Either way you overlap each pass, so the edges of the tape form small ridges across the blade. Changing direction changes which way those ridges face. That is the only physical difference. You can see both side by side on the blade styles page.

What the rules say

Nothing. NHL Rule 10.1 lets you put tape of any colour anywhere on the stick. It does not mention direction, and neither do the Hockey Canada or USA Hockey stick rules.

Who does which

Both are used at the top level.

• Toe to heel: Sports Illustrated wrote in 1982 that Wayne Gretzky taped his blade “all the way from toe to heel.” Chicago forward Philipp Kurashev told Second City Hockey in 2023 that he starts at the toe, the way his father taught him.
• Heel to toe: In the same Second City Hockey piece, Jason Dickinson described his tape job as heel to toe with thin white tape, doubled at the toe.

The common claims

HockeyMonkey’s taping guide repeats two widely held ideas:

• Heel to toe adds spin to the puck that is hard for goalies to handle, though it may slightly slow your shot.
• Toe to heel slightly shortens the time it takes the puck to leave the blade.

We found no test that measured either effect. North American Tapes, which makes Comp-o-stik tape, calls direction a personal choice and says tape applied smoothly without wrinkles is fine either way. Treat the spin and speed claims as lore until someone measures them.

What else to get right

• Smooth, tight wraps. GoalieMonkey’s taping guide aims for a consistent layer with no bubbles or creases, and North American Tapes says smooth, wrinkle-free tape is what counts.
• Even overlap. See how much to overlap.
• Coverage. Taping the whole blade or only part of it changes which part of the blade is bare. See full blade vs mid-blade.

How to decide

1. Tape two sticks, one each way, with the same tape and overlap.
2. Use both in the same practice. Take passes and shoot from the same spots.
3. Keep the one that feels right. If you cannot tell the difference, pick the direction that is easier for you to wrap neatly.

The hockeytape.ca forward, defence and goalie tutorials all go heel to toe, anchoring the first pass at the heel. You can switch the direction in the Tape Lab and see how the edges change.