Andy Greene twirled his stick in his left hand during a Devils practice, bringing the blade up to eye level for closer inspection. Greene grabbed the blade, and with quick snap, the stick was in two.

Greene skated over to the bench, snagged a new stick from an equipment manager and went about his business on the ice.

Breaking sticks is common place for hockey players, whether it be in practice or games. That adds up over time.

Ever wonder how many sticks a player goes through in a season? Well, NJ Advance Media has the answers. We asked each Devils player how many they typically use over the course of 82 games, and we got a wide range of responses. This story includes only players who have played at least one full pro season in the NHL or AHL.

Here are those, often surprising, answers, plus some other stick quirks from players.

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Chris Ryan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Taylor Hall

Estimated stick total: 100

Hall ranks among the top of the Devils' stick users, and it's not because he breaks them frequently. He chooses to use a new stick every single game.

So each night, he'll have a new one ready to go, plus backups if he does inevitably break the first one. Even if Hall has the game of his life, that stick won't see another game.

"No matter if I'm minus-five or I score a hat trick, I use a new stick," Hall said. "I like the feel of new ones."

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Julio Cortez | AP Photo

Miles Wood

Estimated stick total: 100-120

Like Hall, Wood likes using a new stick every game. Wood doesn't take many one-timers or face-offs -- two plays the increase the odds of a broken stick -- so he doesn't have to rotate them out.

"I don't break a lot, but I like to switch them out for games and stuff," he said. "I play with a new stick each game, and then I use my used ones in practice."

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Nico Hischier

Estimated stick total: 20

Hischier is the complete opposite from Hall in terms of changing sticks. Hischier will use the same stick for multiple games if possible, and he'll generally switch a stick only if it breaks.

Like a lot of players, Hischier needed to think for a few seconds to estimate how many he uses in a season.

"I'm a guy that likes to practice and play with the same stick until they break," Hischier said. "I would probably say I'm one of those guys who uses 20, maybe."

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Adam Hunger | AP Photo

Kyle Palmieri

Estimated stick total: 70-80

Kyle Palmieri was the common answer to a question posed around the locker room: Which player goes through the most sticks?

Well, Palmieri ranks up there, but he's not at the very top. The logic behind that thinking checks out, though, given Palmieri's affinity for one-timers. That aspect of his game does play into how often he changes a stick, though.

"The ability to be accurate is the ability to trust what your stick is going to do in a certain situation," Palmieri said. "If it gets extra whippy and I start missing high, then you have to change things. I think for the most part, trying to have a consistent flex to the whole stick is a key, especially for the one timers."

While some players like their sticks with some added flex, Palmieri will rotate some sticks out if they get too soft. He said some batches of 12 come in where the sticks are too soft to begin with, and he'll fly through those quickly.

Other sticks will last a bit longer.

"Sometimes a stick feels good and it will last two or three games, and then one day you'll go out midgame or the next game for warmups, and it just feels (soft)," he said. "I know pretty early on whether a stick's going to feel good."

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Cory Schneider

Estimated stick total: 50

Over the course of this project, we expected the skaters to have the most interesting stick numbers. It turns out the goalies might be the most fascinating.

First, Schneider pointed out that when he used to use wooden Warriors (his brand of choice), those sticks never broke. He could use them forever, retiring them only when they'd go dead.

Now using a new material, he flies through them.

"Sometimes I'll break one or two a practice, but I think they've strengthened them up," Schneider said. "They usually don't break in games to be honest, it's usually more in practice. Some weeks I might break three or four, then some weeks I might not break any."

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Bruce Bennett | Getty Images

Keith Kinkaid

Estimated stick total: 20

That brings us to the other Devils goalie. His Vaughn sticks don't break as much, and as a result, Kinkaid will sometimes use a stick until it can't go anymore.

"I'll tape up the injuries it has," Kinkaid said.

Naturally, that leads Schneider to give him a hard time.

"Schnieds gets on me. 'Dude, we have so many other sticks,'" Kinkaid said.

Like many goalies, Kinkaid is also superstitious. Performance goes into his stick of choice.

"The first five games I used the same stick because I thought it was lucky," Kinkaid said. "Then it was just too bad and worn to use. If I won the game before, maybe I'll use it again. But if I lose, it doesn't get used again."

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Vincent Carchietta | USA TODAY Sports

Ben Lovejoy

Estimated stick total: 60

At the end of a season, Lovejoy will be able to tell you exactly how many sticks he used. Why? Because he numbers each of them.

Entering the Devils' 10th game of the season, Lovejoy was on stick No. 12, going back to the start of training camp. So why does he number them?

"I don't like to look down and be like, 'When did I use this one?'" Lovejoy said. "'Did I like this one?'"

Lovejoy also said his preference of stick varies year-to-year. Sometimes he likes new sticks right off the rack, and other times he'd rather use a stick until it breaks.

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Andy Greene

Estimated stick total: Unsure

Greene wasn't able to put a number on it, but from talking to him and other players, he goes through an above average amount during the season.

One reason for that is his shot-blocking ability. While Greene and other players use their body a lot, Greene is good at getting his stick on shots. That leads to trauma on a stick and a few more breaks.

For Greene, his use usually comes down to the quality of the batches he gets.

"You get some where you go through quite a few of them," he said. "Some seem like you could use them all year, and one one-timer and they break. Some batches feel like they can last all year, some you can go through five or six is a week."

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Chris Ryan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Travis Zajac

Estimated stick total: 60 (but maybe more)

Center Travis Zajac doesn't break a ton of sticks shooting, but he does on face-offs.

"I could make it last more if I didn't take draws," he said.

Zajac, maybe more than some other players, is also a little superstitious with his sticks. If he scores one game and it doesn't break, it's definitely making another appearance.

Also, if you ever see Zajac duck off the ice early during warmups, he's not hurt. He's just making a last-minute alteration to his stick.

"I'm pretty finicky with them. I'll go in during warmups while guys are still on the ice and try and saw it down if I don't like it," he said.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Stefan Noesen

Estimated stick total: 100

Noesen said his preference comes down to feel, and a lot of times, with how thin and strong blades are cut, he might get a batch he doesn't like. With how active he is with his stick and how often he shoots, he flies through them.

"When I was in juniors, I'd go through about 100. I couldn't even tell you," Noesen said. "We order a dozen at a time, sometimes two to be sure. Go through one a game, and then maybe break one there or at practice."

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Marcus Johansson

Estimated stick total: 40

Marcus Johansson qualified as one of the players who will run a stick into the ground (ice?) before making a switch.

"I normally go until I break it," he said. "I like it once they're really broken in. A lot of guys are very different when it comes to this stuff."

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Jesper Bratt

Estimated stick total: 15

Here's how the conversation when down trying to figure out how many sticks Jesper Bratt uses in a season.

"Not a lot," Bratt said.

"What, two?" Jean-Sebastien Dea chimed in.

"The least sticks on the team, maybe. 15 maybe?" Bratt said.

Bratt was right when he said the least on the team, though. He came in with the lowest total of anyone asked. Like Hischier and Johansson, Bratt will use a stick as long as possible.

"I usually just play with it until it breaks," Bratt said. "I know guys just switch it before games and stuff. I just switch it when it breaks."

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Brian Boyle

Estimated stick total: 60

Like a lot of players, Boyle had to think about how many he goes through each season. Then he wisely used a lifeline and turned to Devils equipment manager Chris Scoppetto for assistance. The two settled on about 60 sticks per season for Boyle. Boyle plays center and takes a good amount of face-offs, which leads to some more broken sticks than a winger.

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Blake Coleman

Estimates stick total: 30

Coleman used to use a stick with a squared-off heel, which adds a little bump to the end, sort of like the knob on a baseball bat. When he used that type of grip, the heel broke more often while the rest of the stick was fine, but that hasn't been an issue for him with his current stick.

He goes through a few more sticks early in the season, trying to find the right measurements to suit his game.

"Sometimes it's feel, or if it's the occasional change of stick length, if you want to mix things up a little bit," he said. "I probably changed that twice already. Usually you like to find a spot that you like and you can stick with it."

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Jean-Sebastien Dea

Estimated stick total: 50

Dea has had plenty of experience at the pro level in the AHL, and he's gotten a good gauge on how much lumber he uses in one season.

"I'm not too picky with the stick. I know some guys are," he said. "As long as I feel right and I can shoot right, I'll just keep it. But obviously I usually break one or two sticks a week."

How does he break them?

"I'm pretty strong, so some go that way," Dea joked.

Like some other forwards, the draws usually get Dea.

"Sometimes on face-offs it's an easy break," he said. "Mid-shaft is usually where theyll go on a one-timer."

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Damon Severson

Estimated stick total: 20-40

At least for this season, Severson has a system down for his sticks. He still has some leftover of an older model from 2017-18 season, so he uses those in practice.

Then for games, he'll use the newer model ordered for 2018-19.

"I don't go through a ton like some guys. I go through spurts," Severson said. "I might break two sticks in a game just randomly. Then I might not break one for a month. It's crazy. I like to hold on to sticks for a long time."

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Sami Vatanen

Estimated stick total: "I have to say I have no idea."

Defenseman Sami Vatanen wasn't entirely sure how many he goes through, mainly because that number has evolved over time.

"When I was younger, I broke a lot of sticks," he said. "But this year they've been pretty good. I don't think I have broken many during the games, so not that many this year so far."

As for when he changes, Vatanen simply does it when he feels like it.

For what it's worth, some teammates pointed to Vatanen as someone who goes through a lot of sticks, which makes sense, given the number of shots he takes as a defenseman.

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Will Butcher

Estimated total: 30-40

Outside of possible Vatanen and Greene, Devils defensemen reported pretty low numbers for total sticks used. During his first season in the NHL, Butcher fell into the same range as other blue liners.

"It's about one every two games, or something like that," he said.

Butcher added a heavier emphasis on shooting the puck during the offseason, so that number may spike a bit in his second season.

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Kevin Rooney

Estimated stick total: 15-20

Between playing in the AHL and NHL, Kevin Rooney has broken his fair share of sticks on face-offs. For that reason in particular, he likes using a stronger model.

"I use a stiffer stick just for the face-offs, so I'm not breaking them on shots or one-timers or anything like that," he said. "I go through a little less. Sometimes I'll just pop (the blade). It didn't really break, but I'll be like, 'I need a new one.'"

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Drew Stafford

Estimated stick total: Formerly 100, now 60

Drew Stafford, who has been playing in the NHL since the 2006-07 season, used to fly through sticks. He typically used a new one every game, and with a few broken ones added in there, he put his total around 100.

Now that he's playing a little less with the Devils, that number isn't quite as high. His most interesting tidbit came about the stick habits of some former teammates.

"I've played with some guys that have three new ones a game, and that's a little aggressive, because, why? You know?" Stafford said. "Now that I'm playing a little less, I don't do as much damage, plus they're a little stronger nowadays. Technology's gotten a lot better."

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Mirco Mueller

Estimated stick total: 20

Mueller, like other defensemen, does not fly through too many sticks. And while Mueller blocks a lot of shots, he doesn't do so with his stick too often.

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WHERE TO REACH ME

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.