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

[Tondas]

Shooting side is based on natural lean tendencies.  If you slide (in baseball) on your right hip, you'll shoot right.  In skating, everybody has a preferred way to crossover and stop.  If that is to the right, you'll shoot right.  Someone told me 40 years ago, whichever one of your nuts hangs lower, that's the side you'll favor and shoot.  Must be genetics :P .

[MattPie]

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

 

Maybe's it's because the curve on the hockey stick forces you one way once you're chosen. I suppose you could mess people up by having different sticks, but I'm not sure anyone would notice on the ice.

 

Shooting side is based on natural lean tendencies.  If you slide (in baseball) on your right hip, you'll shoot right.  In skating, everybody has a preferred way to crossover and stop.  If that is to the right, you'll shoot right.  Someone told me 40 years ago, whichever one of your nuts hangs lower, that's the side you'll favor and shoot.  Must be genetics :P .

 

How do girls figure it out?

[woods-racer]

Maybe's it's because the curve on the hockey stick forces you one way once you're chosen. I suppose you could mess people up by having different sticks, but I'm not sure anyone would notice on the ice.

 

 

How do girls figure it out?

 

Boobs.

 

Haven't you ever noticed that one hangs lower. :nana:

[kas23]

I got a question. It seems like offensive defenseman are all the rage these days. Why can't you just take a defensively-minded forward with a scoring touch and call him a defenseman? Poof, there's your offensive defenseman! What is it that players like Karlsson can do that a decent defensively responsible forward couldn't do?

[WildCard]

I still don't understand the actual physics behind skating backwards, especially the backwards crossover.

[ubkev]

I still don't understand the actual physics behind skating backwards, especially the backwards crossover.

If ya do, ya do. If ya don't, ya don't... :p

[3putt]

I still don't understand the actual physics behind skating backwards, especially the backwards crossover.

Edge pressure and blade angulation. Forward your blade is slightly  toed out and you drive pressure against the blade in the opposite direction to that in which you want to go.  Backwards your toe is slightly pointing inward and you drive your leg forward to push back against the edge.  Crossovers are merely direction changes using your edges to maintain momentum and control.

Edited May 5, 2017 by 3putt

[Taro T]

I got a question. It seems like offensive defenseman are all the rage these days. Why can't you just take a defensively-minded forward with a scoring touch and call him a defenseman? Poof, there's your offensive defenseman! What is it that players like Karlsson can do that a decent defensively responsible forward couldn't do?

Cover forwards down low in the defensive zone & maintain a tight gap on a transition through the neutral zone w/out allowing a 2on 2 to become an odd man rush. All while also being able to join the rush & make passes most defensive-minded forwards can't make.

 

There are a handful of guys that can pull it off - Fedorov being the most famous.

 

There's a reason the game has evolved to where the defensive configuration in zone is 2D low, a C providing puck support & the W's covering the points (and collaping low in certain systems ;)). The Jets experimented w/ playing 3 D & 2 F's in the early 90's after they got Housley & their D was stacked but never seriously considered it as the experiment didn't work well.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Taro T

[MattPie]

I got a question. It seems like offensive defenseman are all the rage these days. Why can't you just take a defensively-minded forward with a scoring touch and call him a defenseman? Poof, there's your offensive defenseman! What is it that players like Karlsson can do that a decent defensively responsible forward couldn't do?

 

 

Cover forwards down low in the defensive zone & maintain a tight gap on a transition through the neutral zone w/out allowing a 2on 2 to become an odd man rush. All while also being able to join the rush & make passes most defensive-minded forwards can't make.

 

There are a handful of guys that can pull it off - Fedorov being the most famous.

 

There's a reason the game has evolved to where the defensive configuration in zone is 2D low, a C providing puck support & the W's covering the points (and collaping low in certain systems ;)). The Jets experimented w/ playing 3 D & 2 F's in the early 90's after they got Housley & their D was stacked but never seriously considered it as the experiment didn't work well.

 

There are a couple videos in the Memorable Goals threads that show what can happen when a forward plays D (hint: Alfredsson). When people talk about young D, they often talk about having to learn the angles as a way to protect against the opposing rush. I take that to mean there's a lot of subtle positioning that happens when you're skating backwards to keep the opposing player away from the net.

[Weave]

There are a couple videos in the Memorable Goals threads that show what can happen when a forward plays D (hint: Alfredsson). When people talk about young D, they often talk about having to learn the angles as a way to protect against the opposing rush. I take that to mean there's a lot of subtle positioning that happens when you're skating backwards to keep the opposing player away from the net.

 

It is not unlike the angles a DB works in football.  And it is a skill.

[IKnowPhysics]

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.

 

Almost.   One person watches each team with a laptop running custom software, and they probably just track individual player changes, and they probably do it pretty quickly with decent software and lots of practice.  Line changes at the whistle would be easy, real time player changes are probably a little trickier.

 

 

 

There are 15 off-ice officials working behind the scenes at every NHL game, in every city, in every arena. The crew consists of 2 goal judges, a game time-keeper, a penalty time-keeper, 2 penalty box attendants, a commercial coordinator, the official scorer, 5 scoring staffers, a video replay judge and a spotter. 

 

The scoring staff uses 5 laptop computers in the press box to track everything from goals, assists and shots, to giveaways, takeaways, plus-minus rating and even the amount of time taken between faceoffs.  ...Two of the laptops are used to update "stats entry," which are shots, blocked shots, missed shots, faceoffs, takeaways, giveaways, hits, penalties, plus-minus and time between faceoffs. Two of the laptops are designated to track individual player ice time, one for each team. The fifth computer is a backup. All the laptops operate the same functions and can be interchanged.

Edited May 6, 2017 by IKnowPhysics

[Eleven]

I got a question. It seems like offensive defenseman are all the rage these days. Why can't you just take a defensively-minded forward with a scoring touch and call him a defenseman? Poof, there's your offensive defenseman! What is it that players like Karlsson can do that a decent defensively responsible forward couldn't do?

 

As Jim Lorentz noted on May 13, 2006, you always pick on the forward playing defense.

[darksabre]

If ya do, ya do. If ya don't, ya don't... :p

This could not be more true. Skating backwards/backward crossovers aren't something that I could comprehend until I could just suddenly do it.