Shooting: accuracy first, and a quick release.

The core teaching on this page comes from Hockey Canada's Coach 1 manual (Version 1.1, 2022) and its 2020-21 shooting and scoring guide. The snap and slap shot sections draw on two 2014 coaching articles from the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA), and the research section on a 2009 review in The Sport Journal.

Shooting principles

Coach 1's shooting principles:

• Accuracy. The manual ranks it as the most important quality of a shot, since hard, quick shots that miss the net pose little threat.
• Quick release. The manual puts this on a par with puck speed, because surprise matters.
• Use what is around the net. Shoot through screens when they are there, and keep the stick down near the net to react to rebounds.
• Range. Players should have a full set of shots, not one or two.

The manual divides every shot into three phases. The preparatory phase is the set-up, such as a slap shot's backswing. The execution phase is where force goes toward the target: stick-to-puck contact, trunk rotation, weight transfer and the flex of the stick. The follow-through keeps the body from slowing down too early.

Sweep, wrist and flip shots

Forehand sweep shot

Weight starts on the back leg and moves to the front foot as the puck is swept through, with the wrists snapping and rolling and a low follow-through (Coach 1).

Wrist shot

Coach 1 calls it a surprise shot that depends on a quick release and is especially useful near the net. Hands go slightly wider than for stickhandling, the puck sits at the side and well behind the front skate, the trunk flexes forward and the weight moves back to front. The grip tightens and the wrists snap as the puck reaches the front leg.

Flip shot

For lifting the puck high from close range. Coach 1 plays it off the toe of the blade near the front foot, with the blade tilted so only its bottom edge meets the puck, a scooping wrist action and a high follow-through.

Backhand shots

Coach 1 says the backhand sweep shot is probably the most used backhand and is both fast and accurate. The backhand wrist shot usually follows a fake to the forehand: the puck sits on the heel of the blade, slightly in front, and the shot is driven by shoulder rotation and arm and wrist action, with only a limited weight shift.

The snap shot

The OMHA's article of 9 November 2014 describes the snap shot as a cross between the wrist shot and the slap shot: a short backswing and a quick release that leaves the goaltender little time. Its cues:

• Bottom hand a little lower than for a wrist shot, near the middle of the shaft, so the stick can flex.
• Chest facing the net, puck kept at the side in its stickhandling position.
• Weight onto the leg nearest the blade, then pull with the top hand and push with the bottom hand for a fast release.

The OMHA advises learning it slowly, below game speed, and adding speed as the timing comes.

The slap shot

The OMHA's slap-shot article of 7 December 2014 gives five points:

1. One smooth weight shift from the back leg to the front, toward the target.
2. Accuracy as much as power. For shots from the point, it suggests keeping the puck about 10 to 12 inches off the ice so teammates can tip it or chase the rebound.
3. Hit the ice 3 to 5 inches behind the puck, so the stick flexes.
4. Strike the puck between the heel and the middle of the blade.
5. Use the follow-through to set the height of the shot.

Coaching sources do not agree on that ice-contact distance. The OMHA gives 3 to 5 inches behind the puck. Other coaching sites, as summarised in search results, give different figures, around 5 or 6 inches or 1 to 3 inches, but those pages could not be read for this site, so those figures are unconfirmed.

The one-timer

HockeyShare's instructional post of 25 January 2012 says it is struck much like a slap shot: the puck is met between the middle of the feet and the back foot, the hands a little wider than the shoulders, the stance low, the weight moving onto the front foot and the hips and front foot opening toward the target. It also advises practising adjustments for passes that arrive slightly off target. Hockey Canada's seasonal plan (below) introduces one-timers alongside the slap shot.

What the research says about the slap shot

Laliberte's 2009 review in The Sport Journal pulls together several laboratory studies. As that review reports them:

• Researchers split the slap shot into six phases: backswing, downswing, preloading, loading, release and follow-through.
• Wu and colleagues (2003) found a lower bottom hand, even past the middle of the shaft, increased stick bend and stored energy, and so puck speed.
• Villasenor and colleagues (2006) found elite players began bending the stick at or before puck contact and kept the blade on the puck longer, about 38 milliseconds against 27, averaging about 120 km/h against about 80 km/h for non-elite players.
• Lomond and colleagues (2007) found expert shooters tilted, or cupped, the blade forward more than recreational players.

On stick flex the studies do not agree. Pearsall and colleagues (1999) found a medium flex gave the highest speeds of the four sticks tested, and that differences between players outweighed differences between sticks. Worobets and colleagues (2006) found flexible shafts stored the most energy in wrist shots, but concluded that slap-shot speed depends more on the player than the equipment. Laliberte's own conclusion is that technique and strength matter most, and that players, especially younger or weaker ones, should use the most flexible stick they can without breaking it often.

How Hockey Canada builds a shooter

Hockey Canada's 2020-21 shooting and scoring guide lists seven basic scoring shots: wrist shots, backhands, flip shots, snap shots, slap shots, tips and deflections, and dekes. It names four areas goals come from: in tight, the dot-wide alley, the slot and the point. It also breaks scoring into ten situations, each with its own key points: clear shots, entries, net drives, breakaways, rebounds, low-to-high plays, east-west plays, plays from below the goal line (walkouts and wraparounds), deflections and screens.

The guide's practice principles are that every practice should include shooting, that any drill ending in a shot is a scoring drill, and that shots come first, then moves, then interaction with other players. Its seasonal plan introduces wrist shots, backhands and breakaways in September, snap shots in November, and slap shots and one-timers in December, with the off-season (May to August) given to multisport activity. By the mid-teens it adds deception, shooting from every area of the ice and shooting off both the inside and outside foot.