bytebark fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Mar 16, 2011

bewbies fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Mar 16, 2011

Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Mar 16, 2011

Time to start on the "how to" part of the FAQ. Today I'll talk about
shooting, people seem to have a lot of questions in general about shooting. I wish I could do my own videos, instead I had to scour youtube.


I want to score goals. How does one do this?

By shooting!

I think shooting is the most technically demanding part of the game, and it is also one of the more useful skills to have at all levels of play. Being able to take a quick, heavy shot will go a long way to making you a
dangerous motherfucker on the ice.


Once you develop a heavy shot, you're going to see a lot of pucks going in. This is doubly true at lower levels, where goalies' positioning and reflexes aren't as good: often you really don't have to be terribly accurate (just hit the frame) to have a puck sneak in. Hard shots also create rebounds, which gives you assists, which makes people think you're a team player even if all you're doing is shooting all day long.

That said, hockey is hard, and so is shooting. As such, I recommend you practice a lot. Luckily, shooting practice is fun! I'll give you some drills to try out later.




Ok I am convinced, I want to be able to shoot well. Now what?

There is one basic fact to understand about shooting: shot speed is determined by how fast your stick blade is moving as it releases the puck. In this way it is the same as golf; the only important determining factor is stick velocity. That said, there are a number of useful techniques to generate this velocity. All of them use the stick to store potential energy in the shaft, which is then released as quickly as possible into the puck to propel it forward.

We talked about stick flex above, but I'm going to mention it again: the flex of the stick has a significant effect on how much (and how efficiently) potential energy can be stored in the stick. A stick with the appropriate amount of flex will ensure the highest possible energy loading: too stiff and you will not have the strength/technique to preload it enough, too whippy and you'll load it to its maximum level before reaching the limit of your strength/technique.



What shots are available to me?

First, this depends on who you ask. Everyone throughout the hockey world has different techniques and definitions for shots, so there are all sorts of answers you find out there. Here you will find mine!

Anyway, the shot types I teach are:


• Wrist shot - not as hard as a slapper, but release can be quicker and is far more accurate
  
• Slap shot - the hardest shot, but the least accurate and longest release
  
• Snap shot - quickest release, can be very hard and accurate with a lot of practice and as such it is the most used shot nowadays in the NHL
  
• Backhand shot - very useful but no one can do it anymore
  
• Chip shot (forehand and backhand) - useful in very specific situations
  
  
  I will describe how to do each of these in detail, and I'll post a youtube video that I think shows the proper technique.
  
  
  
  Wrist shot
  
  This is sort of a foundational shot, and it is the first shot you should work to perfect. It provides a good technical basis for the other shots (particularly the snap shot), is useful in nearly any game situation, and is really pretty easy to learn.
  
  When to use it:
  Pretty much anytime until your snapper is well developed. I still use it if I have a good open look and I really want to hit a small target.
  
  How it is done:
  Bottom hand is a touch lower than stickhandling position. The puck is drawn back behind the back leg (no need to go 6 feet behind you like you see in some videos), and weight is transferred to the back leg (bend the front knee again to ensure the weight is back). Position the puck on your blade, preferably on the heel.
  
  Then, simply sweep the stick forward. Drive with your back leg to shift your weight forward, slide the stick along the ice until it reaches roughly your front foot, let the puck roll from heel to toe, and as you get better, practice snapping your wrists as you come through. Roll your wrists as you follow through, and point your blade at your target.
  
  This is a pretty good tutorial, the little kid has a nice shot. This video featuring the legendary Mike Cammalleri is a good example of a very advanced shot.
  
  Other techniques and tips
  
• Adding the "snap": don't try this initially, but as you get better, you can really add some velocity to this shot if you master a little snap at the end. This is done by allowing the puck to drift just slightly ahead of the blade as it is coming forward, then driving the blade down into the ice and/or into the puck to add some extra loading goodness. You then let the stick release its energy into the puck as you complete the shot. New players seem to notice this as the audible "crack" you can hear at the end of a wrister taken by an experienced player. It is very similar to the snapshot technique, which I'll discuss later.
  
  The timing on this is tricky, but it is really pretty simple to master. Once you've got the technique down, it is really a jack-of-all-trades shot, and it will probably be harder than most guys' slapshots in lower leagues.
  
  
• Keeping your head up and hitting the target: I suggest that new players start this early on. Don't get used to keeping your head down while taking a wrister, it isn't really necessary. Instead, look at your target, follow through straight at it, and try and get used to doing it without looking at the puck. You'll be shocked how easy it can be to hit corners, and if you can do it with your head up, you've got a winner.
  
  
  
  Slap shot
  
  When to use it:
  Most commonly, it is used by defensemen on the point. It can also be useful in any situation where you are shooting it from outside, in which case it is very useful to be able to take it in stride.
  
  How it is done:
  When stationary, the puck should be just inside of your front foot. As you're learning, point your feet towards the puck. Lower hand should be about halfway down the shaft, a bit lower than your standard hand position. Weight should be on your back leg, your front knee should be bent slightly to reflect this.
  
  Raise the stick about waist high (maybe a bit higher, but any more than that is excessive for beginners), and keeping your eye on the puck, swing down hard, shifting your weight forward pushing hard with the back leg and drive your stick into the ice just a touch behind the puck. Follow through high, rolling your wrists over so your blade faces the ice and points at your target. The motion should be a downward one, not a forward one. To shoot high, you open the face of your blade as you make contact with the puck, to keep it low, you keep the blade level or cupped as you make contact.
  
  The key to getting power and accuracy with this shot, just like with any other, is preloading your stick properly. This is really determined by where you strike the ice: too far back and your stick will hit the ice, release too early and maybe swipe the top of the puck; hit too far forward and you're basically just hitting the puck, which prevents a lot of good preloading action from happening.
  
  Initially, you will have a very tough time elevating this shot. Don't sweat it, we were all like that at one point (generally youth players can't elevate their slappers at all until they're 11-12 years old at the earliest). Be satisfied with a hard, low shot that you can reliably get on net from the blue line. Don't fall into the trap of trying to hit the puck directly to elevate it: this is basically just a big snap shot and it is not a good habit to get into.
  
  This is the best video I've seen of a stationary slap shot, note his stick flex and how much weight he gets on the stick (and transferred through the shot).
  
  
  Other techniques and tips
  
• Draw it inside while skating backwards: this is probably the most important skill to learn once you've mastered the basic shot. When you're playing the point, this is absolutely critical. Basically, when you're shooting, instead of just catching the puck and letting fly, you're moving backwards while controlling the puck, and you let a shot go while moving backwards. The trick to this is to draw the puck into your feet with the toe of your stick, then time your shot so you take your regular slap shot just as the puck reaches your normal release point. It is hard to do well and it takes a lot of practice, but if you're a defenseman it is incredibly useful. If you can do this reliably with your head up you are a superstar: Nicklas Lidstrom can do it better than anyone (watch the 2nd goal for an example).
  
  
• Shooting while moving forward: this becomes very important at higher skill levels: if you only shoot while stationary, most of your slappers are going to get blocked. As a forward, you will most likely be shooting while skating. The trick here is to nudge the puck just a bit in front of you and then skate into it as you're shooting rather than trying to mimic the puck position you use while stationary. This is about the best example I could find of how to do this.
  
  
• Keeping your head up: if you're new to the game, DON'T TRY THIS. Trust me, you're going to swing and miss, keep your eye on the puck. If you've been playing for a while and you have good muscle memory established for a slapper, you can give this a try. I tend to receive the puck, glance at its position relative to my feet, and then look up as I take the shot. I still swing and miss (or just mishit) sometimes though, its embarassing when it happens. Sergei Gonchar is wonderful at this, watch his eyes in this video.
  
  
• Make your shot quick: it seems like a LOT of players at all skill levels are very fond of raising the stick way the hell above their heads and leaving it there for a bit while they think things over. Don't fall into this trap: make a short, quick backswing, don't pause at the top, and concentrate hard on driving that stick into the ice. A quick release is worth far more than a slightly harder shot; you'll notice that few professional players use a full windup in a game situation (and if they do, they're moving as they do it).
  
  
• Don't aim high. We're all amazed by Yzerman's stupid overtime winner and the occasional Heatley highlights we see of him roofing slappers, but for all but elite levels of play, a low slap shot is far more useful. From the point it means that your shot is more deflectable (and less dangerous!), from a direct shot it means the goalie will have to go down to stop the shot, which means you have more of a target. A hard slapper aimed towards a post is a lethal combination for lower level goalies, as they don't get down fast enough or have the lateral mobility to deal with it.
  
  
  Snap Shot
  
  This has become probably the most widely used shot at the higher levels of the game. It generates velocity comparable to the wrist shot (better if you're very good), is reasonably accurate, and most importantly, has the quickest release. Personally, this is the shot I use about 75% of the time, and I bet I score 7 of 10 goals with it. I use it pretty much everywhere in the offensive zone (including the point). I do not have an exceptionally accurate snapper, but I can get it off very quickly and with some good pace on it, and it has been a reliable weapon for me for a long time.
  
  
  When to use it:
  Once you have the technique solid, it can replace any shot. Professional players can get this thing going at upwards of 80 mph, good recreational players can often times manage something surprisingly close to this. Best use, however (in my opinion at least) is on the rush. More on this later.
  
  
  How it is done:
  More than any other shot, the snapper relies on the flex of the stick to generate power. Bear this in mind as you're learning the technique: the key phrase to remember is let the stick do the work. Just like in golf, swinging harder does not always translate to higher ball/puck speed.
  
  As opposed to the wrist shot, where the puck starts well behind your feet, with the snapper you usually start it just behind the heel of your inside foot. Bottom hand is slightly lower than stickhandling position. Skates are pointing towards the target (in contrast to the other two shots), weight can be on either foot, but only on one foot. Head is up, looking at the target.
  
  The shot itself is a very quick motion: open the blade up slightly and draw the puck in towards your foot. Jam down hard on the shaft, pressing the blade into the ice, and deflecting the shaft as much as possible (this can be increased by transferring some of your weight from your skate to the stick: in other words, balance a bit on your stick). As the stick is flexed, push it forward into the puck, let the stick release its energy into the puck. This creates the loud "snap", and drives the puck forward. Follow through by rolling your wrists over and pointing your blade at the target.
  
  You can take this shot off either foot. I personally prefer the inside foot, and if I can, I'll get my outside leg up in the air. This puts more of my weight on the stick, and thus increases the amount of deflection it gets. This can be tricky to do though, especially for new skaters.
  
  It is NOT necessary to raise the stick off the ice, nor is it necessary to "sweep" the stick along the ice for any length of time. Simply lifting the heel of the stick off the ice for a brief bit and the driving your weight DOWN onto the shaft will create all the deflection you need, while keeping the shot release quick.
  
  Brett Hull had the best shot ever in the NHL, look at him for exactly what to do...he really was the one who introduced the modern snap shot to the world (along with Joe Sakic). This is a good closeup of how the stick should move.
  
  
  IMPORTANT:There are a lot of videos out there that show pretty poor snap shot technique. For example the following are not good references:
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFzYssoo6UU&feature=related
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_h9GF7fYYs&feature=related
  
  Other techniques and tips
  
• Draw it inside! Just like the slapper, if you move the puck slightly before you shoot, you can avoid blocks and change the angle of the shot to the goalie. As you're skating at the defenseman with the puck, stickhandle as you normally would; when you're ready to shoot, draw the puck in towards your foot, slide your bottom hand down as you're drawing it in, flex the stick and release the puck all in one motion.
  
  
• Shoot it in stride. This is absolutely lethal, and it is something I started doing very recently as a result of some discussion in SAS. Instead of starting to glide just before you shoot (and thus giving the defense and goalie warning you're about to shoot), you release the puck in between strides. Basically, you put your weight on the stick as you're moving your weight between strides (you can even "hop" a bit to make this happen), then release before you've stopped skating. It is very tough to do, but once you've got it down it is an extremely useful technique.
  
  
• Keep it low! We all have a tendency to want to aim top corner with this shot as that looks cool, but a low, hard snap shot is absolutely the most effective shot at the rec league level. Work a goalie's 5 hole and the lower corners: your chances of hitting the target are better, and the goalies hate getting beaten by shots that look more like passes.
  
  
• Play around with the puck starting position. Specifically, as you get used to it (and your balance improves), gradaully move the puck forward on your inside foot, and shift your weight further forward, sort of like Phil Kessel does here. This allows the stick to bend more, and gives you better velocity on the shot.
  
  Personal anecdote time: I rarely miss breakaway/penalty shots in beer league games, and 90% of them I score just by coming in fast, releasing my shot quickly and shooting low, usually 5 hole. Lower level goalies have a hell of a time dealing with shots of this nature. I really don't have to be very accurate, and I'm guaranteed to at least get the shot on net (which both deking and shooting high do not guarantee).
  
  
  Backhand shot
  
  There was a time when the backhand was used a LOT, and some players had better backhands than forehands. Nowadays, curved blades make it a lot less effective, sometimes you heard old coots whining about this.
  
  
  When to use it:
  When you want to shoot off your backhand stupid
  
  
  How it is done:
  Most of us find this technique fairly easy, believe it or not. Position the puck on your backhand, just behind your outside foot. Bottom hand is low, about the same spot it should be for a slap shot. Dip your front shoulder, push off your back foot, and drive the stick forward and up, pushing the puck along with it. Follow through high and at the target.
  
  The key to getting power on this shot is the leg drive; it is difficult to generate a lot of power with your arms alone, so legs have to get involved. This is the purpose of the shoulder dip: it draws your weight in the direction of the shot.
  
  
  Other techniques and tips
  
• This is an easy shot to get too high, so work hard on keeping it down a bit. If you are getting your blade under the puck too much, just flatten it out (cup the front of the blade towards the ice).
  
  
• It is possible to use a snapshot technique on the backhand, it just takes a lot of practice. I have not mastered this one bit.
  
  
  Chip/flip shot
  
  When to use it:
  When you need to get the puck up in a hurry. This can be flipping it out of your own zone, flipping it into the other team's zone, or getting it over a sprawling goalie.
  
  How it is done:
  On the forehand, there are two ways to do this. One is to cradle the puck on the toe of the blade, get it on its edge, and then just lift it up. This is a gentler flip, and it useful for dumping and whatnot. The other way is as a mini snap shot: drive the stick down into the ice, make contact on the toe of the blade, and follow through high and fast. This creates a lot of velocity, and is most useful for those tight in roof shots.
  
  On the backhand, you're using essentially the same motion as the backhand shot, but you're using more stick and less body. This costs you velocity, but it allows you to elevate the puck in a big drat hurry: the key is moving your stick quickly to get under the puck. This is particularly lethal as a breakaway move: the deke-to-backhand-roof has been a hockey tradition forever and it very effective if you can master it.
  
  
  
  What about one timers?
  
  One timers are tough; those guys in the NHL make it look very, very easy. Until you are very comfortable shooting, I would recommend not trying it.
  
  However, once you're ready, there are two things to remember: first, KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PUCK, otherwise you're going to swing and miss like I often do. Second, don't swing that hard. You've got a moving puck to add energy to the shot, so you don't need to swing nearly as hard to make 'er go. Swinging easy will increase your chances of making good contact. I tend to think of it as just redirecting the puck with my stick rather than a shot.
  
  
  Awesome! Are there some general tips to follow when performing shots of any type!?
  
  Yes, of course there are.
  
  
• Weight transfer is your friend. Wrists and arms can only do so much; just like in every other sport technique, you'll get more power if you get your whole body involved. Every time you practice shooting, think about where your weight is as you shoot: you want it essentially following the puck. Get comfortable with your weight on both legs, or on the stick as appropriate, and really throw it around (even if you fall sometimes).
  
  
• Rotation is your friend too. Putting spin on the puck makes it more aerodynamically efficient, and it also helps you increase power by keeping it on your blade longer. With wrist shots specifically, always try and roll the puck all way from heel to toe on every shot to maximize rotation.
  
  
  How should I practice shooting?
  
  Here are some tips to keep in mind when you're practicing:
  
  1. Aim at something. Don't just let fly at an empty net, give yourself targets to look at and aim at. My trick is to take two sticks and lay them across the top of the net with the blades hanging down just over the top corners. I then try and hit the blades.
  
  2. Skate while shooting. If you only practice while stationary, you are going to have trouble transitioning to shooting while on the move. Start moving from the very beginning, even if you're going slowly.
  
  3. Catch passes and shoot. This is another skill that often goes kind of undeveloped. Work with a friend to pass to one another and then quickly get a shot off. Not so much one timers, but work on cradling the puck, quickly getting it into shooting position, and let it go as fast as you can.
  
  4. Concentrate on your release speed. It may feel cool to ring poo poo in off the post while you're practicing, but if you're taking forever to fire while you carefully aim, you're going to get let down in the game. A quick release is always better than being accurate.
  
  5. Practice off the ice! I have an outdoor inline rink here where I can practice, some of you might be lucky enough to have some driveway or something where you can set up a shooting pad and a net. Shooting is the easiest skill to practice off-ice, so take advantage of it.
  
  

D C fucked around with this message at 00:18 on Mar 17, 2011

waffle enthusiast fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Mar 18, 2011

waffle enthusiast fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Mar 18, 2011