The impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak are being felt around the world, including in the NHL.
It's not anywhere near as serious as the other issues being caused globally by the virus, but the league's supply of custom sticks is taking a hit, as most of the sticks were made in China, where the virus is slowing the country's exports.
On Thursday night, NBC's Pierre McGuire said on an NHL broadcast that equipment managers around the league are talking about the dearth of sticks.
Some players still use old-fashioned wooden sticks, but the majority of the league uses composite sticks, of which 75% are made in China, according to ESPN. Hockey sticks, and many other far more important goods that are exported by China, are now dealing with significant delays, or even complete shutdowns.
The coronavirus has caused concern around the world since it first popped up in December via a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China. As of February 9, over 800 people have died from the virus, which causes respiratory infections in humans.
Bauer, which makes a significant portion of the hockey sticks used in the NHL, told the Boston Globe that retail stores have enough stock to deal with the league's demand for sticks for the rest of the season, although they did admit that production had been halted for the moment.
