Absurd Hockey Questions you've always been afraid to ask.

[darksabre]

Why don't more right handed players shoot "left handed"? The first time I picked up a hockey stick, that's what felt natural to me, and so I have always shot "lefty". People used to ask if I was left handed because of it all the time. I told them no I'm right handed and they'd ask me why I was shooting the wrong way.

 

I tried doing it the other way but it just feels weird. Ended up being known for a wicked wrist shot that was both hard and accurate back in the day. Was it because I was shooting lefty? I dunno, but I've always wondered why more right handed players don't do it....

 

 

Also...how do more players not end up with serious injuries from blocking pucks?? Frozen rubber is pretty damn hard and I'm sure it hurts like hell if it hits you in an unprotected area...

I had friends who were left handed who were forced to shoot right. My buddy Woody for example. Good hockey player, shoots off hand.

 

Worth noting, he's a good baseball player and golfer as well, and he does both of those left handed. I have no idea how someone can golf lefty and play hockey righty.  :wacko:

The "proper" way to hold the stick is with your dexterity hand at the top. When stick handling, the top hand does all the work, rolling the wrist, while the bottom hand very lightly grips the stick. Shooting is similar, such that your top hand initially pushes away and then pulls in while the bottom hand pushes. I'd say 80-90% of rec league players shoot incorrectly, using mostly the bottom hand only. Shooting the puck hard is 90% technique. Watch how Eichel presses hus top hand towards the target and then yanks it back to flex the stick. Also, the buttend should just about be in your palm which allows slightly more leverage.

 

Equipment nowadays is so much better that everybody on the team is expected to block shots. Back when I played competitively, we didn't have things like shot blockers (the plastic skate covers), so there was alot of technique that webt into, eg puttibg your stck blade over your laces, squaring up to the shot,etc or making custom padding to cover the tops of your feet and ankles. remember Chris Prongers skate flaps? You don't see that stuff anymore, in fact some junior and college teams require all their players to wear shot blockers.

I'm a righty and I've messed around with playing lefty before and ultimately found it much less comfortable, although I bet if I did it long term I could fix that. 

[pi2000]

I had friends who were left handed who were forced to shoot right. My buddy Woody for example. Good hockey player, shoots off hand.

 

Worth noting, he's a good baseball player and golfer as well, and he does both of those left handed. I have no idea how someone can golf lefty and play hockey righty. :wacko:

 

I'm a righty and I've messed around with playing lefty before and ultimately found it much less comfortable, although I bet if I did it long term I could fix that.

Yeah, I put proper in quotes because thats how they teach it at a young age, but it's ultimately your own preference of what feels most comfortable.

 

In my case I did most things with my left hand as a baby, then my parents put a sock on my left hand to force me to be right handed, weird right? Anyway my Dad tried to make me hold the stick lefty but I kept going back to righty which is where I ended up even tho my dexterity hand is my right.

 

That said, both my boys are right handed but one shoots left (and bats/golfs left), and the other shoots/bats righty.

 

The dexterity hand tends to be the stronger hand, and if you're shooting with the correct technique, the top hand is where you create the leverage to flex the stick.

[darksabre]

Yeah, I put proper in quotes because thats how they teach it at a young age, but it's ultimately your own preference of what feels most comfortable.

 

In my case I did most things with my left hand as a baby, then my parents put a sock on my left hand to force me to be right handed, weird right? Anyway my Dad tried to make me hold the stick lefty but I kept going back to righty which is where I ended up even tho my dexterity hand is my right.

 

That said, both my boys are right handed but one shoots left (and bats/golfs left), and the other shoots/bats righty.

 

The dexterity hand tends to be the stronger hand, and if you're shooting with the correct technique, the top hand is where you create the leverage to flex the stick.

It makes sense. Probably why they pushed my buddy to shoot righty. I'm not sure I could unlearn the habit at 30, so I guess my dexterity hand is staying down low.  :blush:

[Claude Balls]

Why don't more right handed players shoot "left handed"? The first time I picked up a hockey stick, that's what felt natural to me, and so I have always shot "lefty". People used to ask if I was left handed because of it all the time. I told them no I'm right handed and they'd ask me why I was shooting the wrong way.

I tried doing it the other way but it just feels weird. Ended up being known for a wicked wrist shot that was both hard and accurate back in the day. Was it because I was shooting lefty? I dunno, but I've always wondered why more right handed players don't do it....

Also...how do more players not end up with serious injuries from blocking pucks?? Frozen rubber is pretty damn hard and I'm sure it hurts like hell if it hits you in an unprotected area...

I'm the same. Right handed but use a left handed stick in hockey. I play golf right handed. I always had real strong wrist and slap shots, but in high school when I played for Pittsford-Sutherland, our rivals (Pittsford-Mendon) goalie told me I had one of the nastiest backhand shots he had seen. Which is kinda strange since a backhand shot is generated by your lower hand on the stick, being my left, non-dominate hand. I was also a switch-hitter in baseball as well. I can say that I can't throw or write worth a with my left arm though.

[Taro T]

If a puck is kicked and then deflected by a stick, it is a goal.

 

If you hit the puck legally in the air and hit a guy in the face I am 99% certain it is considered no different than shooting the puck from the ice surface and hitting someone in the face. This actually happened in a Sabres game.. I want to say Brad May would up to take a slap shot and as he pulled his stick back it nailed Paul Kariya in the face. I believe he scored on the shot. No penalty as it was the normal playing of the puck. They mentioned at the time that even if it happens on the follow through it would not be a penalty.

 

 

It's not natural to everyone. When I was growing up I played a lot of street hockey and I didn't have a stick for some time. I learned to play both lefty and righty. However, at some point I just migrated to being a righty only player. Eichel is a righty and he has a hell of a wrist shot.

 

First answer to the blocking shots question is.. padding and practice. Players don't often get hit in unprotected areas. However, when it happens it hurts like hell. At that point I want to go with genetics. I have the luxury (to date) of having never broken a bone and it's not for lack of trying. I deflected a slap shot one time as it was leaving the D-man's stick and it went straight up and hit the end of my collarbone near my throat (thankfully it hit the bone). Hurt like hell... I skated off the ice bent over and was out next shift. I don't relay that story to demonstrate how tough I am but to say that I feel rather confident that others might have ended up with some kind of bone damage.

Correct on both counts. EDIT: Though (as you are very well aware) playing by USA Hockey rules, there would be a penalty on the play as a high sticking call isn't nullified simply because the infractor was shooting/passing. That's one of the bigger differences between the 2 rulebooks.

 

As to the q about lefties shooting right & righties shooting left typically, as Pi stated above the upper hand generates the power which is why Canadian players typically shoot opposite of how they throw.

 

It's more common for US born players to shoot the opposite way. You don't generate as much power, but the control/accuracy tends to be better as your more dextrous hand is controlling a greater range of motion.

 

I'd guess for Canadians it's at least 80-20 and for 'Mericans it's closer to 50-50.

 

Personally, I'm a righty that shoots right (was kind of forced to go that way as a kid). Have very good accuracy but not much power (modern sticks are a Godsend, my power is as good today or more likely better than when I was "in my prime"). I can shoot the puck much harder left handed but can't even muster Zhitnik levels of control that way.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Taro T

[MattPie]

No. A high stick is relative to the height of the crossbar... 4ft.

If you kick the puck towards the net annd a teammate deflects it in with his stick... is it a goal?

 

If you swat at a puck in the air and make contact with puck below the height of the crossbar and the puck goes in the net but you also clip a guy in the face with your follow through after the puck goes in, does the goal count and do you get a penalty for high sticking?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the crossbar is the standard for touching a puck on a goal, but playing the puck during play (not leading to a goal) is the player's shoulders.

 

Handedness: My Dad told me he tried to "make" me ambidextrous when I was little by making me play with various things with both hands. My Mom didn't want me to be left-handed; I guess that superstition (left being the DEVIL'S HAND) dies hard. I'm pretty right-handed, and in my brief hockey playing experience I shot right. My Dad was a somewhat serious beer/work league player, he taught himself to shoot left despite being righty.

Edited March 31, 2017 by MattPie

[pi2000]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the crossbar is the standard for touching a puck on a goal, but playing the puck during play (not leading to a goal) is the player's shoulders.

 

yep, you're right.    It's an interesting rule, because Gio can touch the puck well above his shoulders and score a goal, but if directs it to teammate above his shoulder, then the play is blown dead.

Edited March 31, 2017 by pi2000

[Stoner]

Why do hockey coaches throw in the towel? You watch basketball and coaches are calling timeouts down six points with 4.2 seconds left. You pull your goalie down 2-1 and get scored on with 25 seconds left, dollars to donuts, the goalie is back in the crease for the faceoff. Happens all the time.

[Drunkard]

Why do hockey coaches throw in the towel? You watch basketball and coaches are calling timeouts down six points with 4.2 seconds left. You pull your goalie down 2-1 and get scored on with 25 seconds left, dollars to donuts, the goalie is back in the crease for the faceoff. Happens all the time.

 

I think it's because they don't want Pi to ridicule them for their crappy +/- stats.

[Taro T]

Why do hockey coaches throw in the towel? You watch basketball and coaches are calling timeouts down six points with 4.2 seconds left. You pull your goalie down 2-1 and get scored on with 25 seconds left, dollars to donuts, the goalie is back in the crease for the faceoff. Happens all the time.

Why? A few reasons, but mainly because you are trying to give your team a chance to regroup psychologically. If your team gains control of the puck, the goalie very likely could be out again.

 

But it's not just hockey coaches that do that. You don't see a team down by 4 in the top of the ninth bringing in their acd reliever. You don't see a team down by 35 w/ 3 minutes to go still trying to hit the Hail Mary every play.

 

Sometimes by conceding defeat you show your team that you do have a grasp of reality & that you aren't going to intentionally put them in a situation they can't succeed. You also, by showing them that, set up for the ability to get them to make that valiant charge later on in the season when the team really needs it. Coaching, in large part, is psychology.

[Stoner]

Why? A few reasons, but mainly because you are trying to give your team a chance to regroup psychologically. If your team gains control of the puck, the goalie very likely could be out again.

 

But it's not just hockey coaches that do that. You don't see a team down by 4 in the top of the ninth bringing in their acd reliever. You don't see a team down by 35 w/ 3 minutes to go still trying to hit the Hail Mary every play.

 

Sometimes by conceding defeat you show your team that you do have a grasp of reality & that you aren't going to intentionally put them in a situation they can't succeed. You also, by showing them that, set up for the ability to get them to make that valiant charge later on in the season when the team really needs it. Coaching, in large part, is psychology.

Not buying much of this. If anything, you're telling your team you have no confidence they can come back. You can score two goals in 25 seconds. Easy. I don't even see the logic behind putting the goalie back in with the intention of pulling him again if you win the draw. You lose the draw, the game is over either way. If anything, my scenario is generous. There seems to be something in the hockey culture that if you go down by two in the final minute, the game is over. (1:27 in video; can't get the video to post starting at that moment)

 

 

Edited March 31, 2017 by PASabreFan

[Taro T]

Not buying much of this. If anything, you're telling your team you have no confidence they can come back. You can score two goals in 25 seconds. Easy. I don't even see the logic behind putting the goalie back in with the intention of pulling him again if you win the draw. You lose the draw, the game is over either way. If anything, my scenario is generous. There seems to be something in the hockey culture that if you go down by two in the final minute, the game is over. (1:27 in video; can't get the video to post starting at that moment)

 

 

No. And obviously you would keep the goalie out in Game 7 of the Finals. There is no tomorrow you are saving your bullets for.

[Stoner]

No. And obviously you would keep the goalie out in Game 7 of the Finals. There is no tomorrow you are saving your bullets for.

Crap. Now you're going to make me find the boxscore for that game to see what the Eulers (am I doing that right?) did after it was 3-1.

[kas23]

Why don't more right handed players shoot "left handed"? The first time I picked up a hockey stick, that's what felt natural to me, and so I have always shot "lefty". People used to ask if I was left handed because of it all the time. I told them no I'm right handed and they'd ask me why I was shooting the wrong way.

 

I tried doing it the other way but it just feels weird. Ended up being known for a wicked wrist shot that was both hard and accurate back in the day. Was it because I was shooting lefty? I dunno, but I've always wondered why more right handed players don't do it....

 

The another question could be, why aren't more players ambidextrous like in lacrosse?

[pastajoe]

My son and I are both right handed, and I've always shot right but he shoots left. It just feels natural to me.

 

How do they track ice time for every player in a game? It seems like they'd have to have multiple people with stopwatches watching each player.

[sodbuster]

I shoot left because when I was learning to play baseball, my father is right handed and he would stand across the plate from me showing me how to hold a bat and swing. Then it transferred to hockey and golf.

[ubkev]

I learned how to skate when I was 6ish. Didn't pick up a stick til I was about 10. By then I was playing baseball already and 100% right handed. It never even occurred to me to hold the stick or bat or golf club any other way.

 

Funny quirk, and I don't know if this is true or not. When I was learning to water ski my dad stood behind me on the dock and gave me a little push from behind. Whatever foot you step forward on is evidently your dominant side and that's the ski that you ski on when you go down to one ski slalom.

 

 

Anyway how long did it take you to figure out what icing was. I don't think I grasped it til I was about 13. Denis Lemieux didn't help at all!

I learned how to skate when I was 6ish. Didn't pick up a stick til I was about 10. By then I was playing baseball already and 100% right handed. It never even occurred to me to hold the stick or bat or golf club any other way.

 

Funny quirk, and I don't know if this is true or not. When I was learning to water ski my dad stood behind me on the dock and gave me a little push from behind. Whatever foot you step forward on is evidently your dominant side and that's the ski that you ski on when you go down to one ski slalom.

 

 

Anyway how long did it take you to figure out what icing was. I don't think I grasped it til I was about 13. Denis Lemieux didn't help at all!

[Stoner]

I dunno about icing, but it took me a while to figure out that when Rick said "right on!" it meant a save had been made, not merely a groovy play circa 1975.

[inkman]

I dunno about icing, but it took me a while to figure out that when Rick said "right on!" it meant a save had been made, not merely a groovy play circa 1975.

This sounds like a PA problem

[Stoner]

This sounds like a PA problem

I was just a little kid. Ted saying "shedule" also flummoxed me.

[stinky finger]

I spit when I'm physically exhausted

Why do we spit in the first period?

[bunomatic]

I'm right handed I shoot left in hockey but swing right in golf and baseball. Its just what felt natural so naturally I stuck with it.

[SwampD]

I'm right handed I shoot left in hockey but swing right in golf and baseball. Its just what felt natural so naturally I stuck with it.

Me too. I also snowboard goofy. Just feels right.

[bunomatic]

Me too. I also snowboard goofy. Just feels right.

Snowboarding is something I want to try but just haven't yet. Not sure why. My son does and loves it.

[drnkirishone]

Lefty shooting right. I always considered myself as having a defensemen build in that regard