Tuesday’s Pittsburgh Penguins practice was staged at their state-of-the-art modern Cranberry Township facility, and it was run under the specter of some very 2021 coronavirus-related protocols.
But there was one aspect of the session at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex that turned back the clock about three decades.
The players took the ice without their usual composite sticks and instead were holding some old-school lumber.
Practice photos, featuring wooden hockey sticks.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 9, 2021
Wooden sticks are generally heavier, less flexible, and have less bounce... Perfect for working on puck control. pic.twitter.com/ge0J3dYwR1
“We’re always looking for things to do to make practices more entertaining and be creative at times,” assistant coach Todd Reirden said after practice. “And actually the players came up with the idea, so the credit goes to them and they had some fun with it today for sure.”
A message posted to the verified Twitter account for the Penguins explained the move thusly: “Wooden sticks are generally heavier, less flexible, and have less bounce… Perfect for working on puck control.”
Tuesday’s session lasted more than 90 minutes — eventually, the players were back using their modern regular sticks — and included plenty of full-ice drills and 5-on-5 work in addition to plenty of special teams practice. A Zamboni even cleaned the ice midway through the practice.
The Penguins are in the midst of a stretch of playing one game in nine days because of postponements related to covid-19. Coach Mike Sullivan could be overheard telling players on the ice that Tuesday’s practice was structured in respect of that as a way for the team to “stay sharp.”
The Penguins’ lone game since Feb. 1 was a 4-3 loss at the New York Islanders on Saturday. Their next scheduled game is also on Long Island, 7 p.m. Thursday.
