President Donald Trump's latest slap shot aimed at Canada has sailed wide, with a 50% tariff on Canadian ice hockey sticks set to have little overall impact on the hockey-mad country. 

On Monday, Trump unveiled 50% tariffs on a wide range of imports from Canada, including ice hockey gear, expected to take effect in 30 days. 

A banner reading "Buy Canadian", in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, is held aloft by a pair of hockey sticks in front of a house in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada March 5, 2025. REUTERS/Ed White

But with only one major ice hockey stick factory left in Canada – and the wooden sticks it makes on the decline – the largely symbolic swipe at the country's unofficial national game has missed the net.

Traditional wooden sticks, like the ones churned out at Roustan Hockey's Ontario factory, are no longer used by today's professionals and many children, who favour ultra-lightweight composite sticks made overseas that help deliver more powerful shots and offer better puck control.  

"There is a decline in wooden hockey sticks," said Fiorenzo Arcadi of Toronto Hockey Repair, a retail and repair business that also manufactures custom ice hockey equipment. "We do sell a fair amount, but mostly to beer league goalies."