Buying a first stick for a seven-year-old is mostly guesswork: you grab something off the rack, cut it down, and hope the flex isn't a two-by-four. Sherwood's rebuilt Playrite line is aimed squarely at that problem, and it is now showing up in the Source for Sports online catalog, with the first listing posted August 28, 2026.
The idea is a ladder. Four models, Playrite 0 through 3, each with a length and flex matched to a player's height and weight rather than sold as one generic "youth" stick. Playrite 0 is 44 inches at 10 flex, the 1 is 46 inches at 20 flex, the 2 is 50 inches at 30 flex, and the 3 is 52 inches at 40 flex. Sherwood's own sizing chart puts the 10 flex under 4-foot-1 and under 50 pounds, and steps up from there to 4-foot-9 through 5-foot-4 and 75 to 100 pounds for the 40 flex.
What actually changed is the shaft. Sherwood says the construction is new, with smaller shaft dimensions and rounded corners to cut down on the stick twisting in small hands during a pass or a shot. Playrite 0 and 1 use a youth shaft geometry; the 2 and 3 move up to a junior size, so the transition as a kid grows is less jarring. Blade patterns were redesigned too, with retail listings showing PP92 on the two smallest models and PP92M on the 2 and 3.
The build is honest about what it is: a speared two-piece carbon fiberglass shaft with a traditional foam-core blade, tacky grip finish, low kick. Ice Warehouse independently weighed the 20 flex at 46 inches at 267 grams. The manufacturer warranty on the composite stick is 30 days through Sherwood direct.
Pricing at Source for Sports runs CA$64.99 and CA$69.99 for the two youth models and CA$74.99 and CA$79.99 for the junior sizes. U.S. listings at Ice Warehouse show the same $64.99 to $79.99 spread, in stock in both left and right hands.
For parents, the practical win is that the buying decision is a chart lookup instead of a coin flip. For the kid, a properly soft flex is the difference between learning to load a stick and learning to slap at the puck.
