Hockey blade with pin-reinforced core

A hockey blade structure formed by a method comprising the steps of:

• forming a foam core, the foam core comprising a first core face, a second core face, a top core edge, and a bottom core edge;
• injecting a first plurality of discrete pins into a first area the first core face having a first density, the first plurality of discrete pins having a first areal weight, and extending between the first core face and the second core face;
• injecting a second plurality of discrete pins into a second area of the first core face having a second density, the second plurality of discrete pins having a second areal weight higher than the first areal weight to configure the second area of the first core face as a preferred impact area of the hockey blade with a puck, the second plurality of discrete pins extending between the first core face and the second core face;
• wrapping the foam core with a layer of fiber tape to form a wrapped core, the layer of fiber tape extending along the first core face, the top core edge, the second core face, and the bottom core edge of the foam core, wherein the wrapped core has a first wrapped face, a second wrapped face, a top wrapped edge, and a bottom wrapped edge;
• and
• molding the wrapped foam core in a mold,
• wherein each of the first plurality and the second plurality of discrete pins has two opposing pointed ends,
• wherein a portion of each of the first plurality and the second plurality of discrete pins extends out of the foam core beyond the first core face and the second core face, and
• wherein the portion is configured to embed into the layer of fiber tape.