If you are a beginner hockey player but you know how to skate and can hit the puck, and you are looking for ways to shoot the puck, these are the three shots you need to know. There is the wrist shot which mainly relies on core and wrist strength as could be inferred from the name of the shot. Then there’s the slap shot where you essentially slap the puck with your stick, producing more power than any other shot. Lastly, there is a snapshot which is quick and unexpected where you just skate and use your wrist to get the puck away from you quickly.
First, to execute a wrist you grab the top of your stick with your nondominant hand and the middle of the stick with the other hand. Put the puck behind you then push the puck as hard as you can towards the target. This shot is the easiest to learn and is effective throughout the entirety of the ice. Say you are in a clear but you don’t have too much time and need to get a strong and accurate shot this will be the shot you need.
Second, is the slap shot to execute the slap shot you must also hold the top of the stick with your non-dominant hand and the lower half of your stick with the other hand, you will place the puck in front of you then skate up to it and raise the stick to chest height then swing it as hard as you can at the ice just in front of the puck which should make the stick flex making it a really hard shot. Considering that this shot takes much longer than the other and its power it is the most effective in open ice further away from the net. If you are on the blue line and get the pass from your teammate and you are wide open, in that case, you would use a slap shot.
Last, there is the snapshot, to execute the snapshot you must hold the stick the same way you would have it for a wrist shot then put the puck slightly in front of you then snap the puck away from you toward the target using your wrist keep in mind this shot is supposed to be unexpected so it would probably be more effective closer to the net. Imagine you are on the ice close to the net and are stickhandling threw the ice you see an opening, that is when you would use a snapshot.
Remember, these are the three most important shots in hockey and are effective no matter what level you play at, once you are more advanced you could also add one-timers and many more different types of shots, but to do any other shot you need to have these three down considering every advance shot is just these three shots changed slightly. I hope everyone is there best in their future hockey endeavors.
Gabriel Molledi – Lake Forest Academy – DMSF Class of 2027