You take an old favourite into the shop and look for a replacement. The graphics are chipped, the blade is getting soft, and the code near the heel says PM9, P106 or P91A.
The new sticks answer with the same few names: P92 or P29. P28. P88. Maybe P90TM.
Looking at the rack, you could reasonably assume that players abandoned flatter heel and mid curves, toe curves took over, and manufacturers followed. The available numbers make that story harder to tell.
We could not find an official NHL-wide curve census or a public dataset that follows the same players with the same classification method over many seasons. We did find surveys, sales claims and documented pro sticks. P92/P29 keeps appearing near the top, while custom blades make up a substantial share of the pro examples.
The clearest change is on the shelf: some familiar patterns have moved out of ordinary stock and into custom ordering. The NHL picture takes more care to read.
Count the right thing
A catalogue tells us what a brand offered. A survey tells us what its respondents used. A collection of pro-stock sticks tells us what the collector could get hold of. Each can answer a useful question, provided we remember who or what was counted.
In 2018, Massachusetts retailer Sports Etc. wrote that nine out of ten players chose (opens in a new tab) one of three families: P92/P29, P88, or P28. The article says the ranking was based on sales, but publishes no unit count, store count, geography beyond its own context, or sales period.
In 2020, a self-selected r/hockeyplayers survey (opens in a new tab) collected 234 responses. The P92/P29/P92M group took 35.9%, P88 took 23.1%, and P28 took 17.9%. Together, the same three broad families accounted for 180 of 234 responses, or 76.9%.
Those respondents give us a useful picture of one hockey community. Comparing their answers with a retailer’s sales claim would tell us very little about how curve use changed between 2018 and 2020.
What the numbers show over time
These are the dated figures we could trace. The last row records when we accessed the database; the sticks themselves span undisclosed collection dates.
Scroll horizontally to compare all columns
| Year | Sample | Result worth keeping | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Retailer sales claim | 9 in 10 chose P92/P29, P88, or P28 | No published denominator or sales window |
| 2020 | 234 community respondents | P92/P29/P92M 35.9%; P88 23.1%; P28 17.9% | Self-selected amateur sample |
| 2023 | Top 50 NHL point scorers, community researched | P92 40%; custom 18%; P28 and P88 10% each; P90 8% | No raw data; one corrected chart label |
| 2025 | CCM representative’s estimate across NHL, AHL, NCAA, and major junior | 70–80% used a toe curve, hybrid, or a modest variation | Expert estimate; very broad population and category |
| Accessed October 2026 | 93 documented NHL/KHL player specifications | P92 43%; custom 29%; P28 11%; P90 5%; P88 4% | Non-random sample; includes retired players; collection dates undisclosed |
The 2023 top-50 chart (opens in a new tab) needs some caution. Its author compiled several sources without publishing the underlying player table and later corrected one of two P77 labels to P71. We can report what the chart says, but cannot check every player behind it.
The ABSHockey database lists 93 player specifications (opens in a new tab)—68 NHL and 25 KHL—from sticks it physically handled or information obtained through the pro-stock trade. Forty are assigned to the P92 family. Twenty-seven are custom. Its table includes retired players, and the source explains that the selection was not random: it represents the sticks and information it could access.
That makes a supposed P88 decline from 23.1% to 4.3% especially misleading. The first figure comes from volunteer community respondents; the second comes from documented NHL/KHL sticks. We would need comparable samples before describing a rise or fall.
Across these samples, P92/P29 keeps appearing near the top. The 2020 survey also shows how much of that community used the three familiar families. The pro records add something the rack makes easy to miss: plenty of players use custom geometry.
The shelf changed more clearly than the players
Retail catalogues give us a cleaner history of availability.
Bauer’s 2010 North American catalogue (opens in a new tab) listed five stock patterns for the Supreme ONE95 Senior: PM9, P88, P92, P106, and P91A. In the 2015 catalogue, the Vapor 1X Senior’s Tier 1 menu had three: PM9, P88, and P92. P28 appeared in the secondary made-to-order list.
On October 11, 2026, the senior selectors for Bauer’s PULSE 2 (opens in a new tab), PROTO2 (opens in a new tab), and Supreme FUSE (opens in a new tab) each presented four: P92, P28, P88, and P90TM.
P88 and P92 are the two patterns shared by the 2010 and current stock lists. PM9, P106 and P91A are absent from the newer selectors, which include P28 and P90TM.
The count goes from five to three to four in these particular models, so this is hardly a straight march toward fewer curves. The more useful change is in the shapes offered: a flatter PM9 and the more heel-oriented P106 and P91A have been replaced on these stock menus by a more aggressive toe option and a hybrid.
You can still order some of the older shapes. Bauer’s Custom menu includes PM9, P106 and P91A (opens in a new tab). Its faster QuickTurn tier offers P92 and P28.
For someone replacing an old favourite, that is the practical difference. A pattern that used to be on the wall may now require a custom order, or a search through pro stock and older inventory.
What a toe curve changes
Watch a pull-and-release shot. The puck begins away from the body, moves laterally toward the skates, and leaves from the front half of the blade without a long wind-up.
A P28 concentrates more curve and openness toward the toe. That geometry can help cup the puck during the pull and lift it from the forward portion of the blade. A P92/P29 is less aggressive but still open toward the toe. Hybrid patterns bring elements of both shapes together; the exact result depends on the brand’s mould.
For a player who releases this way, the geometry has an obvious appeal. It gives the hands some help with the part of the blade they use most.
In a 2025 feature about stick customization, CCM representative Shawn Mamane estimated (opens in a new tab) that 70–80% of players across the NHL, AHL, NCAA, and Canadian major junior used a toe curve, a hybrid, or a modest variation. His basket included P28, P92, P90, and P88 families. It is a broad expert estimate across several levels, not a measured NHL percentage.
The same article describes players pairing lower flexes with quick-release mechanics. Curve, flex, kick point, lie, blade shape, and hand position work together. A toe hook alone does not create a modern release, and an open face can turn a rushed miss into a souvenir just as efficiently as it can lift a good shot under the bar.
The pros did not become a four-curve league
The retail code is only a starting point when you are looking at a professional player’s stick. Blade height, face angle and custom moulds can change what that code actually describes.
In ABSHockey’s sample, 27 of 93 players—29%—used a genuine custom shape. The independently maintained StickDNA curve census (opens in a new tab) makes the same problem visible in a different way: it preserves named pro moulds and one-off customs rather than forcing every similar blade into P92, P28, or P88. Its methodology (opens in a new tab) treats readable build codes and physical-stick evidence more strongly than visible graphics.
That classification choice changes the chart. A custom P92 with extra blade height, a P28-derived Fisher pro mould, and a P92/P28 hybrid might become one large “toe and hybrid” category in one dataset and three separate identities in another. Neither choice is automatically wrong. They answer different questions.
A retail curve named after a star can therefore lead you to the wrong conclusion about that player’s stick. The name helps you find an option in a shop; identifying the pro blade takes evidence about its actual shape.
If your curve disappeared
Start with what the old blade lets you do. The retired player name printed on it will only get you so far.
Compare six pieces of geometry:
- Curve location: Does the pocket begin at the heel, middle, or toe?
- Face angle: How open is the blade where you normally release the puck?
- Toe shape: Round and compact, or square and long?
- Lie and rocker: Where does the blade actually contact the ice in your skating posture?
- Blade length and height: How much surface do you have for receiving, battling, and tipping?
- Release point: Does the puck leave from the heel, middle, or front third in your normal shot?
Then compare the replacement at the same finished length and a similar flex and kick family. Run ordinary actions, not a ten-puck audition for the crossbar:
- receive firm passes on the forehand and backhand;
- pull pucks off the wall;
- pass flat and through the air;
- shoot low through traffic;
- lift the puck from beside the net; and
- release while moving, with imperfect time and balance.
If a stock curve handles those actions well, the fact that it is common is an advantage. You can replace it. If your old PM9, P106, P91A, or custom mould solves a problem the stock options reintroduce, custom and pro-stock searches may be worth the inconvenience.
The next time you stand in front of the rack, popularity can help you find a replacement you can buy again. Let your passes, backhands and releases decide whether it is the right one.