On weekends we would get our father out of bed early so he could take us down to the arena as much as two hours before his practice started. We made him leave so early so that all the Hull kids (Blake, Brett, Bart and me) and another five or six of our friends could play pickup until practice started. As we got to be pretty good players we were allowed to stay on the ice as the professionals warmed up before practice started, we also got to help the players that stayed out after practice to work on weak parts of their game. We all had fallen into helping specific players execute drills to improve their game; I worked with Ulf Nillson (former New York Ranger) on face-offs, Blake helped Anders Hedberg (another New York Ranger) by passing the puck into the slot so that he could practice his shot. Brett had always loved to shoot the puck and he stood on the blue line doing just that with a player named Larry Hillman. Larry was a very solid defenseman but he had one weak point attached to his game . . . he had a poor slapshot. Don’t get me wrong, he could shoot the puck very well if compared to an amateur but he was playing professional hockey and that was a problem. The coach would ride him pretty hard about improving his shot and he took a pretty good ribbing from his teammates too. As I said, Brett would stand with Larry and they would take slapshots from the blue line, Larry in an effort to improve his offensive effectiveness, Brett, just for fun.

It wasn’t long until Brett was shooting the puck as hard, sometimes harder, than his practice mate. My Dad was the first to notice. One day he came to the edge of the rink to give us kids the “10 minute warning” (we had 10 minutes to get off the ice and get to the car or we found our own way home) he noticed Brett and Larry standing together, as usual, taking slapshots. Something different had caught Dad’s eye on this day and he called a few of his teammates out to rink’s edge to confirm what he was seeing. I noticed the commotion at the sideboards and skated over to see what was so interesting. As I reached the side of the rink everyone pointed to Brett and Larry at the opposite end of the rink taking slapshots. My little brother Brett was shooting the puck consistently harder and more accurately than his professional practice partner 15 years his senior! The spectacle got even more bizarre when we noticed Larry Hillman analyzing Brett’s shooting technique in an effort to improve his own shot. In retrospect I guess Larry was pretty smart to take lessons from Brett even at 11 years old!!

The slapshot is a very flashy shot that all players love to execute but there are certain times and places that the slapshot is most effective. Since the slapshot takes more time to complete it is important that players recognize when they actually have enough time to get the shot off without it being blocked or poke checked away. As a rule, there is never enough time to take a slapshot when inside the opposition team’s zone, between the top of the face-off circles and the goal line. The slapshot is most effective from long range used as a shot intended to create a rebound for teammates breaking to the net. The idea is to take a shot that is hard/fast enough so that it penetrates the defensive layer set up in front of the shooter and consequently the goaltender cannot control the rebound. If effective, the slapshot allows the offensive team to advance past the opposing teams first line of defense and register an effective shot on goal at the same time.

As well as being an effective offensive weapon, the slapshot is also a practical method of clearing the puck from your team’s defensive zone when killing penalties or just to relieve pressure after a long shift. Because of the velocity of the slapshot, offensive players trying to contain the puck in the defensive zone, cannot reach the clearing shot in time or, if the slapshot is hard enough, have no desire to get too close to the shot for fear of being injured.

The secret to the slapshot, and all other shots, is weight transfer and balance. Watch any good shooter execute a slapshot and you will notice that weight is transferred from the back leg through to the front leg as the stick moves down to make contact with the puck. The strongest shooters in the game are rendered useless when forced to shoot the puck only with the arms or upper body. For you physicists, the stick is used as a lever. Energy or force is applied to the lever (stick) then directed to the puck and then released on contact. The energy is transferred to the puck and if all goes well the result is a red-hot slapshot. In order to execute a good slapshot one must have good balance. Good balance is acquired through good fundamental skating skills so don’t expect to have a good shot unless you are a good skater.

Let’s get down to the exact steps to a booming slapper. Firmly grip the top of the stick at the knob with your top hand (right handed players use your left hand, lefties use your right hand). The bottom hand should be positioned just past half way down the shaft of the stick, also, with a firm grip. The wrist of the bottom hand should be locked in the neutral position until contact is made with the puck. The wrist of the top hand must be flexible until it is locked into place just after downward motion of the stick begins.

Your body should be in a closed position in relation to the target, that means right handed shooters should have their left side facing the target and left-handed shooters should have their right side facing the target. The puck should be positioned about 2”-3” inside the front skate (the skate closest to the target) and about 18”-24” out from the front skate (this depends how long the shooters stick is). You are now ready for the windup.

Draw the stick back and above the shoulders until the stick reaches a 170-degree angle in relation to the starting point. Body weight should be distributed evenly on both skates as the windup starts then transferred to the back skate as the stick moves to the top of the windup. Without stopping the stick, retrace the path of the windup with as much speed and force as possible. As the stick moves back down through toward the puck the weight should transfer to the front skate at the same rate as the downward motion of the stick.

The blade of the stick should be square to the target and should contact the ice 2” behind the puck. The blade should meet the puck slightly behind center for maximum energy transfer. Meet the puck too close to the tip of the blade and energy is lost as the blade bends back because the shooter wrists weaken and bend back. When the stick makes contact to the court, behind the puck, energy created in the windup is transferred down through the stick to the puck. As the blade of the stick contacts the puck snap both wrists closed (palm toward the inside forearm) to maximize energy transfer from stick to puck.

The follow through is very important because it is how the shot is directed at the target. When the wrists are snapped closed the blade of the stick closes and the tip of the blade should point to the intended target. If the shot is meant to go high the follow through should also be high. If the shot was intended to be low so should the follow through. The follow through also allows the shooter to avoid falling flat on their face as a result of the momentum of the rapid weight transfer from back to front. As the windup begins, the toe of the front foot should be angled slightly toward the target. As the down swing begins, and the shooters weight transfers toward the front skate, that front skate should be turned in the general direction of the target so that the energy of the weight transfer will result in forward motion. If the skate is not turned the momentum of the weight change/shot will topple the shooter over on to the court! If executed correctly the shooter should look somewhat like a figure skater. Arms and stick fully extended toward the target perched on the front leg with the back leg extended out away from the shot as a counter balance. Beautiful isn’t it?! Do not try to roll directly at the target, it won’t work. Right shots will naturally swing to the right and lefties will swing to the left. Don’t worry it’s physics at work and if you have followed all the steps correctly the puck will be in the net and you will be celebrating a goal with your team mates.

Practice drills are very simple get yourself a net or wall (draw a 4’ x 6’ net with six inch square boxes in all four corners) and practice directing the puck to all four corners using the follow through technique. You can order my indestructible Shooting Targets at www.shotandagoal.com