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In Canada, the first hockey sticks were made in the 1800s. Back then, sticks were hand carved from a single piece of wood. Most, if not all hockey sticks were made out of hornbeam wood in this time.
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The first laminated sticks were made from gluing a lot of layers of wood together to make a more improved, flexible and lighter stick.
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Stick making companies began to wrap the stick blades with fiberglass to make the blades more durable.
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Players began to heat the blades of their sticks and were able to make curves by putting them under doors. Cy Denneny was the first player to curve his stick in 1927. Players shots became wildly unpredictable and the NHL put restrictions on curves shortly thereafter.
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Stick manufacturers began to incorporate fiberglass throughout all of the parts of the stick, making them much lighter and durable.
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Aluminum shafts were introduced and became popular fast. They started to be made in 1980 and made legal in the NHL in 1981. They weren't as light as the wood and fiberglass sticks but they had more durability than any other stick.
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Composite shafts become immensely popular because they have both flexibility and stability. They also provide more power in their shots, all of which players desired.
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One piece composite sticks are introduced into the league, and they immediately blow up. Wooden sticks were quickly disposed of because the composite sticks were better in every single way than the wood ones. Every player in the NHL has a composite stick now.
