Nikolaj Ehlers' Stick: What a Stick That Was Actually Played Tells You
Nikolaj Ehlers' Stick: What a Stick That Was Actually Played Tells You
With the last stick in this series we had to write that we didn't know whether it had ever been on the ice. With this one there is no doubt.
White tape, puck marks running right across it, worn edges, carbon showing through at the toe. This is a tool, not a display piece – and that's exactly what makes it the more interesting stick.
What's on the Shaft
- Model: CCM Ribcor Trigger 7
- Flex: 80
- Shaft geometry: E
- Code: E36598 · V01
- Shot: Left
- Grip: Dark grey cloth tape up over the butt end
The stick dates from Ehlers' time with the Winnipeg Jets. The purple graphics on the lower shaft belong to the Ribcor Trigger 7 line.
The “E”: a Spec You Can't Buy
With most pro stock sticks in this series, the story was the blade. Here there is something printed on the shaft that isn't even an option at retail: the shaft geometry.
CCM builds pro sticks in several cross-sections. The E is one of them:
| Dimension | Shaft shape E |
|---|---|
| Width | 19.8 mm |
| Height | 29.5 mm |
| Corner radius | R 5.75 mm |
It sounds like splitting hairs, but it's the difference between “sits right in the hand” and “doesn't”. A shaft with a tighter corner radius feels more edged and gives you more feedback on where the blade currently is. A rounder one turns more easily in the lower hand.
Flex 80 – and Again No Extreme
Eighty. That puts Ehlers exactly where nearly everyone in this series now sits: Kane 77, Zegras 77, Aaltonen 77, Hischier 80, Malkin 87.
Eight sticks, and the average sits below 85. Ehlers is one of the fastest skaters in the NHL and lives off pace – a softer shaft loads quicker, and quicker is his entire game. The exception remains Draisaitl at 100.
The Blade
There's no blade code here either – the third case in this series after Ambühl and Aaltonen. At CCM that's the rule: the blade hangs off the specification behind the code E36598, not off a number on the blade.
On top of that, the blade is fully taped. Tape softens every edge, and a curve profile can't be judged seriously underneath it. So let's be clear: we're saying nothing about the curve here. We didn't see it bare, and guessing would be easy.
What we can see is the wear – and that says more than you'd think.
What the Wear Reveals
Look at the first photo again. The wear isn't spread evenly across the blade; it concentrates in two zones: the bottom edge and the toe.
The bottom edge wears on everyone – that's the contact with the ice. The toe, though, gives away the playing style. Anyone who works a lot through the tip of the blade – toe drags, digging pucks off the boards, tight turns – rubs the tape through exactly there. On Ehlers' stick, the toe is the most beaten-up part of the blade.
That fits a winger who works through pace and tight puck handling rather than a shot from distance.
The Grip
Dark grey cloth tape, wrapped in tight overlapping turns, pulled cleanly up over the end of the shaft. No built-up knob, no spiral, no colour.
After Zegras in yellow and Aaltonen in red, this is the most restrained version so far – and it shows there is no rule to grip tape, only habit.
The Player
Nikolaj Ehlers, born 1996, is the best Danish hockey player of his generation. Drafted ninth overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2014, he spent ten seasons there. Since 2025 he has played for the Carolina Hurricanes, where he scored in the Stanley Cup Final against Vegas in June 2026.
His trademark is speed – he has been among the fastest skaters in the league for years. A stick with a moderate flex and visible toe wear is exactly the tool that fits that game.
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