The last time I watched anything about Nashville, it was during the All-Star Game, and shocking news emerged about Shea Weber. According to Stanley Cuppa Chowdah, Shea Weber uses a 130 flex stick, but Zdeno Chara's stick is stiffer. In their words:
[During the Skills Competition live blog] It's revealed soon after that Weber uses a 130 flex stick, which one broadcaster referred to as using a crowbar to shoot because of how stiff it is. That explains Seguin's difficulty in bending it. Weber says he normally uses a 122 flex, which is still stiff compared to other defenseman.But!
But as with all things about Shea Weber, he's an okay knock-off to the real deal, Zdeno Chara. Let's go back to a PureHockey Gear Talk segment from March 2013. In it, Bruins equipment manager Keith Robinson had this to say:Z is a 155-150 flex. He kinda switches back and forth from time to time. To compare, another big strong guy, Dennis Seidenberg. He's a 107, which is considered pretty stiff, so 150-160 is built for a big, big guy. (Source)
So Chara's stick is stiffer than Shea's. But what other kind of skill can these players bring to the game?
Shea can defend better against high-danger shots than all but 11 D in the NHL:
Weber is constantly lauded for his defensive prowess; scouts love his active stick, his strong positioning, his defensive instincts. None of that is directly quantified in any of the aforementioned numbers. So how about Weber’s ability to prevent the shots that are most dangerous, to do the things that hockey people seem to commend him so emphatically for?Over the last four years, Weber is 12th out of 190 in allowing the fewest high danger scoring chances against per 60 minutes. He seems to be able to defend the danger areas as well as advertised.
Weber’s gap control and positioning are superb, but his stickwork is what truly stands out. He almost seems to intimidate Nick Bjugstad into attempting a poor shot in the latter play. He doesn’t panic, holds his ground, and gets the puck. (Source)
This seems to make a good case for Weber's skill with his stick, which is NEVER a bad trait to have. But what else makes Chara special?
The guy's been a stud ever since he's been in Boston. I would say his career has been overlooked, but at 6'9" and 250 lbs without skates, it's literally hard to be overlooked. (Source)OK, so now we see the true battle: not only is Chara's stick stiffer, but he's big as well. If you prefer your stick slightly less stiff but with skillful handling, Shea's your man. Looks like it's a matter of taste!