On March 3rd’s practice, we worked on shooting, shooting, and shooting.

We spent the entire hour focused on a progression from snap shots, to slap shots, to wrist shots. This is a bit backwards from how kids are generally taught (beginning with wrist shots) but I like to start with snaps for adults because, while the puck spin from a wrister is necessary for young kids to get decent shot power, adults have enough strength to start with snaps (which has less technical components than a wrister and provides a sensical progression).

With something like shooting, a good video is worth a thousand words, so instead of trying to describe and/or animate everything like I would for drills, I thought I’d share some YouTube videos that I think you may find helpful, and then call out some specific tips for you to work on.

Shot #1: Snap Shot “Snaps”

In the above video, Coach Jeremy explains the basic “snap shot” mechanics including the top-hand pullback that we spent quite a bit of time working on. During the class, I mentioned a “violent top-hand pullback” to generate more power out of your snap shots.

This is the video that inspired me to work specifically on the top hand:

Many players lose out on snap shot effectiveness because of 2 things:

1. The puck is too far forward in their stance, preventing them from being able to “load” their stick with their bodyweight (leaning too far forward) and relying on “scooping” the puck instead of snapping it
2. Not enough focus on the top-hand pullback; maximum power from 2 hands is better than 1!

The reason newer players often try and shoot the puck from a too-far-forward position is because it’s easier to lift / raise the puck. However, you’re teaching yourself bad habits. Keep practicing with the puck further back in your stance and focus on power and technique first, and you’ll gradually learn to lift the puck through power as opposed to having to “scoop” underneath the puck.

Lastly, for snap shots, I’ll leave you with a couple photos of Connor Bedard, who is revolutionizing the snap shot about as much as Auston Matthews has been revolutionizing the pull-in-shot over the last few years:

Shot #2: Slap Shot

We didn’t spend a ton of time on the slap shot. There’s a few reasons to spend less time working on your slap shot:

• Many adult leagues don’t allow slap shots
• When playing pick-up or shinny, taking slap shots into crowds can be seen as poor sportsmanship
• Slap shots take the most time to perform and in today’s fast-paced game, you often don’t have enough time
• Slap shots can broadcast your intent to goalies and defense, making you easier to defend
• With modern stick technology, you can get a good firm shot on the net from the blueline with just a wrister or snap

Despite the reasons above, trying a few slap shots after snaps makes sense because they’re essentially the same shot, except with a wind-up. A couple tips if you’re practicing these on your own:

• Practice without a puck. Your stick should be scraping the ice for a good couple feet – if you notice your stick “striking” the ice only momentarily, focus on keeping your blade on the ice for longer.
• Make sure you’re making contact with the ice a few inches before the puck. You need to ensure you’re loading enough energy into your stick before it makes contact with the puck.
• Same as with the snap, once you’ve loaded your stick, don’t forget that top hand!

Shot #3: Wrist Shot

The wrist shot is the “in-between” shot in that it is in-between the slap shot and snap shot in both power and speed. Again, Coach Jeremy walks us through the basics in the above video.

I’d offer a few specific tips if you’re working on wrist shots on your own:

1. Practice shooting a puck along the ice (don’t worry about lifting it for now) into the boards, with a focus on putting as much spin on the puck as possible.
   • Spin keeps the puck flat and provides lift in the future, similar to the mechanics of a frisbee.
   • You’ll notice that turning your top wrist over helps close the blade of your stick to provide additional spin.
   • You’ll also notice that closing your blade too quickly actually reduces the amount of spin on the puck.
   • You need to allow enough time for the puck to travel from the heel to toe of your stick before closing in order to maximize spin.
   • I’d recommend getting the hang of this, first.
2. Once you’ve mastered putting spin on the puck, try closing your blade with greater intensity (note: you still need to wait for the puck to travel the length of your blade, so I don’t mean earlier, I simply mean more viciously when you do close).
   • You’ll notice that you can start lifting the puck simply by how intensely you close your blade and put spin on the puck. Build on this.
   • Try shooting with both hands together at the top of your stick. This allows you to isolate the skill of closing your wrists without being able to rely on brute strength or loading your stick.
3. Once you’re ready to put everything together, remember that you get your power by pushing down into the ice. Many new players try to lift the puck by scooping. You want downward force, not upward force. Lifting the puck will come with spin and follow-through.

Final Comment: Stick Flex

Lastly, I mentioned a comment regarding stick flex during the session and so I wanted to leave you with that here.

The flex of a stick (say, 75 flex) is the number of pounds of downward force required to flex the stick 1 inch (with the stick in a vice).

That is why, as a baseline, it is recommended that your stick flex is half your weight in pounds, or lower. Lower stick flex makes it easier to load potential energy into your stick which is important if you aren’t the strongest person in the world, or if you’d rather focus on quick release (ie. snap shots) instead of exerting maximum effort into your shot (ie. slap shots).

As a point of reference, Connor Bedard (photos above) weighs roughly 185 pounds. By conventional wisdom, many guides would suggest he should be using a 90-100 flex stick. However, he uses a 70-flex stick.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to this and you’ll need to figure out what works best for you. However, if you weigh 140 pounds and are using a 100-flex hand-me-down-stick and have been having problems working on your shot, you may be making things more difficult on yourself than you realize!