Blade 4 
Known As:
Bauer P91A (Staal)
CCM P6 (Phaneuf)
CCM P15 (Jones)
Warrior W05 (Granlund)
True HCR
STX X91
Sher-Wood P20
Easton E6 (Drury)
Pro Blackout P91
Formerly Suter/Kovalev/Parise
Description:
Blade 4 is a long blade with a deep heel curve and a very open face and rounded toe.
Looking for Something Similar?:
Blade 4 is the most common heel curve in a market where very few stock options are currently available. Blade 7 would be the most similar, but features a very squared off toe. Blade 8 is also a heel curve, but is far more gradual and moderate than Blade 4, and features a deeper midsection.
What it’s Good For:
The very open face makes it easy to chip out pucks and elevate shots from the point. The extra length on Blade 4 also makes it ideal for breaking up plays and digging for pucks in the corner. Blade 4 users will also feel the benefits of the pattern on their slapshots, especially one timers.
Downsides:
The face of Blade 4 twists to be extremely open, so watch out for your teammate’s heads when taking clappers from the point. Heel curves can feel a little bit clunky with stickhandling as well, especially when attempting toe drags.
Pro Players Using This Curve (or Similar):
Lots of NHLers swear by Blade 4, most of whom fit into the archetypical heel curve play style; power forwards and defencemen. Some examples of players using Blade 4 would be Kyle Okposo, PK Subban, Milan Lucic, and Jack Johnson
Our Take:
The prototypical defenceman’s curve. Though most retail sticks tend to be mid/toe curves these days, the heel curve is still very prevalent among pro players (and is also a favourite of beer league grinders). Perfect for players looking to do the hard work and who aren’t too worried about looking flashy out on the ice.