A Few Slapshot Questions

[mattw4466 0]

Hi,

First off I'm not a beginner I'm 25 and have been playing for 20 years, and for all 20 of those years my slapshot has been garbage haha.

I'm 5'8 200 pounds, I use a 77 flex Total One.6 that I cut down to 92 flex, so I use a short stick, with a pm9 blade.

I just have a couple questions:

Are you supposed to keep your bottom elbow locked on the back swing/foreswing? Because currently the best slapshot I can get is when I keep my elbow bent on the back swing and extend it into the ice right before I make contact with the ice.

When people say to snap your wrists forward on the follow through, is that right when you make contact with the puck or after?

I get a better slapper when I put my bottom had lower on the shaft, past the mid point, does that mean I'm putting my hand past the kick point of the shaft? Or do mid kicks flex at the bottom hand, regardless of placement?

Should most of the force be going through the puck, as in parallel with the ice, or forward and down, sort of split between the ice and the puck?

Lastly, given that I use a pm9 blade, where on the blade should I be striking the puck? It seems that the hardest shots I get are when I strike the puck between the mid point of the blade and the heel.

Thanks guys.

[Chadd 916]

I don't believe that there is only one acceptable way to take a slapshot. Any motion that works for you is ok. However, you can probably change some things to address any problems that you have.

Wrist snap should happen towards the end of the motion, as the puck is sliding down the blade. It should start shortly after contact and finish as/after the puck has left the blade.

Lower hand position can help control torque (twisting) of the shaft, there is nothing bad about a lower position if you need it with your stick. Supreme sticks are called mid kick but are actually more of a mid to low kick, calling it mid allowed for greater contrast between it and the Vapor. The Nexus series is more of a true mid kick from Bauer. As long as you aren't gripping the bottom 12-18", you're fine.

The down versus through force depends on what you feel comfortable with and the stick flex that you use. You need enough downward force to load the stick and that will vary based on what stick you use. If you aren't feeling the stick load, then you may want to try a lighter flex or using more down force.

I have always used heel or mid heel curves and I like to make contact at the start or deepest part of the curve, depending on the blade. I feel that that longer the puck is on your stick, the more force (and spin) you can put on the puck. If you are standing perpendicular to the net, say straddling the blue line, I like to take a slapper by shooting the puck just off the instep of my back foot. I make contact with the ice at or very near the puck and load the stick with the puck on my blade. Then, as I drive forward off my back leg, I am loading the stick. As the puck comes forward and I feel the puck nearly ready to leave the blade, I begin to turn my wrists over. The speed of the roll/snap of the wrists will be determined by how high or low I want the puck to be when it (hopefully) hits the net.

[JonoDigz 4]

Chadd makes a good... Def many acceptable ways to take a slap shot. Hand position, back swing, feet position are all going to change depending on situations in the game/practice. You are better off practicing different hand and feet positions as well as making contact with the puck from differrent spots (puck closer to feet, in front of your lead foot, behind your back foot, etc...)

One simple consistent thing not mentioned is to make sure you are rotating your hips with your forward swing and follow through. Rotating your hips will give your upper body that torque when making contact with the puck. Watch any upper lever player and you will notice that motion. You will generate most of your power from your core so making sure that rotation happens is critical.

[MN old and slow 92]

Played over 50 years cannot take the slapper. You can have a well rounded game without that tool. For some reason my body just cannot do the slap shot. Adapted just fine.

[sjs0433 15]

There is a lot to technique. I used to not be able to do it at all. I watched a lot of YouTube clips and it really did help. Reminds me of golf where if you have the swing all wrong your shot will suck. There is generally a right way to do it effectively.

[Chadd 916]

There is generally a right way to do it effectively.

There are a lot of different ways to take a slap shot. Saying that there is "a" right way, is not correct at all.

[chippa13 1844]

Just like the golf swing, there are some basic concepts but then you have to accept what your body can and can't do.

[Chadd 916]

Just like the golf swing, there are some basic concepts but then you have to accept what your body can and can't do.

Perfect example, way too many people get locked in to learning some mythical "perfect swing", when all that really matters is the combination of face angle and swing path through the impact zone. Build on your own "natural swing" and make that as good as you can. Not everyone can hit balls or shoot pucks for hours upon hours a day to train their body to learn a different motion.

[donkers 31]

i think when guys aren't able to execute a good slapper they start to overthink it and it slows down their downward motion

like my midget coach used to say, "just let her riiiiip"

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I just keep my arms too close to my body.

[jonwalker36 4]

Finding a good "swing" and motion is half the key. Do something that works for your body. Then make sure the blade makes contact at the right impact zone along with feet placement. All is good!

[Chadd 916]

i think when guys aren't able to execute a good slapper they start to overthink it and it slows down their downward motion

like my midget coach used to say, "just let her riiiiip"

The downward motion isn't really all that important, unless you are using a really stiff stick. Coming down at the ice faster is only going to break your stick faster. The keys to a slapper are loading the shaft, and timing the kick of the shaft to the release of your motion, all of that is done after the blade is on the ice. Swinging harder or faster just results in a greater impact when the blade hits the ice and doesn't do much of anything to load the stick. It's the downward pressure after the blade is on the ice that loads the shaft.

[ChunkyThunder 2]

Since most of the gurus seem to be in here anyway, might as well ask here.

How big of an impact can the stick you're using have on your slap shot?

Reason I ask is because with my 100 flex ax1 (top of the line midkick) I get really powerful slapshots, but with my 87 flex nexus 400 (lowest model, midkick) my slapshot is atrocious. Is it just the flex that's doing that, or could it be from the stick too?

Edit: my slapshot with a 90 flex rbz is about on par with the 100 flex ax1, so could it really be from just the stick?

[orion2284 7]

The stick has a lot to do with slapshot. Especially if the flex is too stiff.

That being said, if you have decent technique you'll probably be able to get a somewhat good shot with any stick. One thing to note, you've listed three different flexes, and sticks with slightly different kick points, and wildly different price points. I would assume it's pretty normal for there to be a noticeable difference between the lowest end stick and the highest end, and stiffness doesn't seem to be an issue for you.

[Chadd 916]

The stick has a lot to do with slapshot. Especially if the flex is too stiff.

That being said, if you have decent technique you'll probably be able to get a somewhat good shot with any stick. One thing to note, you've listed three different flexes, and sticks with slightly different kick points, and wildly different price points. I would assume it's pretty normal for there to be a noticeable difference between the lowest end stick and the highest end, and stiffness doesn't seem to be an issue for you.

That's a pretty good summation of everything.

[ChunkyThunder 2]

The stick has a lot to do with slapshot. Especially if the flex is too stiff.

That being said, if you have decent technique you'll probably be able to get a somewhat good shot with any stick. One thing to note, you've listed three different flexes, and sticks with slightly different kick points, and wildly different price points. I would assume it's pretty normal for there to be a noticeable difference between the lowest end stick and the highest end, and stiffness doesn't seem to be an issue for you.

The different sticks having different slap shots is what made me think it's just because of the stick that makes or breaks my slapshot. I had the same mentality as you that if I had good form with it, I would be able to do a decent slapshot with any stick. So guess I need to start picking up 100 flex sticks if I plan on doing slapshots?

[hrbekroenick 0]

I've always been an OK shooter, the rest of my game is garbage. Some of what I say will echo others' sentiments:

I keep my hand lower down the shaft than with a wrister. Helps load the stick better.

I keep the puck middle back of the stance, and make contact more toward the heel. Also helps me load/spin better.

From the people that I skate and play with that ask my opinion, the #1 mistake most people make is having the puck too far forward. To me, far too often that leads to:

1) Not having adequate ice/stick contact to load the shot

2) Knuckling/floating shots due to no spin

3) Less than optimal velocity/accuracy

To the poster that get better slappers with 100 flex sticks, stick with those. I heard a few years about guys switching to whippier sticks. Tried an 85 flex and hated it. My stick had loaded/recoiled before I was even through my shot . Could have been my technique but I never got used to it.

Most of the technique is in the weight transfer. Once you get that right, the rest will fall into place. Try over-exaggerating the transfer by shooting off of your back leg 75%% just practicing, and then gradually work your way forward into the full motion. Once you load/flex off of the back foot it will come together.

My 2 cents, worth a little less than belly button lint.

[YesLanges 127]

Just a few of observations to add:

1. A lot of guys who complain about their shot transfer their weight to their front foot way too soon and get no power whatsoever from the weight transfer/hip rotation. Your weight needs to be on both feet throughout your entire backswing and only begin to shift on the downswing. Skating forward, that usually means keeping both skate blades parallel and facing the direction of your movement until the downswing. Defensemen shooting from the point, especially moving backwards won't have their skates facing the direction of the shot, but they're still on both feet until the downswing.

2. Doing anything to try to hit the puck harder will only make things worse if your mechanics aren't already sound, just like golf. If your weight transfer (or any other mechanical component) isn't good, swinging harder won't help; it will hurt. Try shooting while purposely not putting any upper-body muscle into it at all, kind of like a practice swing where you make contact but concentrate only on mechanics. A lot of times, if you've never had a shot, the first time you do that will be the best shot you ever took. You can only improve things with more muscle into the shot after your mechanics are already sound.

3. Same goes for the height of your backswing: if you're working on mechanics, start with a very low backswing, like barely above the knee. Once your mechanics are improving, gradually increase the backswing and conscious effort on swinging harder. You'll know when you're out-swinging and/or over-muscling things when you start flubbing the shot again after some solid contact swinging lower and less hard.

4. You have a choice between hitting the ice well before the puck or hitting the ice and puck simultaneously. If you do the latter, your stick will actually hit the puck twice: first time when you also hit the ice and second time when it flexes and snaps forward, hitting the puck again after it's already moving from the first contact. One of the hockey periodicals (Hockey Magazine, etc.) did a whole article on it with stop-action/high-speed stills back around 1978: I believe the title (or subtitle) was "Coefficient of Restitution" which pertains more to the stick flexing/un-flexing mechanics than striking the puck once or twice, but it detailed and illustrated both types of shots in the discussion. I also suspect that explains why some guys' shots (the two-timers) seem deceptively hard because they don't come off the stick as quickly in relation to the loud crack of hitting the ice since the second contact (only with the puck) is a lot quieter and somewhat delayed in terms of perceptual cues.

5. You can't shoot well if the puck is too far out in front of you. Exact placement varies considerably and is a personal choice, but that's another big issue that holds a lot of guys back.

6. Your top hand needs to stay away from your hip and out in front until your follow through. You can't generate any power or put enough pressure on your stick to flex it with your top hand fused to your hip swinging only your lower hand. That holds true for wrist and snapshots too.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

6. Your top hand needs to stay away from your hip and out in front until your follow through. You can't generate any power or put enough pressure on your stick to flex it with your top hand fused to your hip swinging only your lower hand. That holds true for wrist and snapshots too.

This is the one I have the most trouble with. I always end up keeping my hand almost locked to my hip, which is why I can't shoot.

[ktang 34]

This is the one I have the most trouble with. I always end up keeping my hand almost locked to my hip, which is why I can't shoot.

That is usually caused by the puck's being too far away from you. It should be quite close to the feet at impact.

[Chadd 916]

I used to get bruises on my abdomen from my top hand hitting it so hard on slappers. Not during games, only when I was working with goalies or shooting a ton of pucks.

[gxc999 7]

As always, Chadd's answers are very good. But something I often see players err on is keeping the puck too close to the feet and not extending their arms out enough. You need to have the puck about 2 blade lengths away from you (out to the side). You can go a few inches further out if you like. This requires you to keep your arms out through the entire motion but doing so, if you have not been, will add an easy few mph more to your shot.

As a lefty shooter taking a slapper when my feet are facing the boards, the areas I should feel the most twist in during the back-swing are my lower right back and upper left shoulder. Those two points form a vortex (not accurate term, I didn't major in geometry) that creates a lot of the trunk rotation/power in your shot.