How to Take a Slapshot
Slap shots are very easy to learn yet hard to master. A lot of people feel that blasting a puck as hard as humanly possible qualifies as a great shot. Slap shots are just as much about accuracy as they are about power.
Slapshot Key points
When taking a slapshot their are some key points to remember:
- Weight transfer - Just like other shots in hockey weight transfer plays a huge roll in the slap shot. You must move all your weight from your back leg to your front leg in one fluent motion. The idea is to shift your weight in the direction of the shot. This puts more energy, and power into your slap shot.
- Accuracy over Power – It is better to be accurate then to shoot the puck at 100mph, you will never score a goal if you can not hit the net! I once played with a defensemen who had a bullet of a shot, the problem was that his shot would be all over the map. The perfect slap shot for a defensemen is 10 to 12 inches off the ice. Taking low shots makes it easier for your defensemen to screen, or tip the shot in. By keeping your shots low and accurate, your forwards will be more confident stand in front of the net, tip in your shots, or crank in the rebounds.
- Stay low and Load the Stick - Many players who are learning to take a slapshot try to hit the puck, this is not the proper way to take a slapshot. When taking a slap shot you should be contacting the ice first. You should hit the ice 3 to 5 inches behind the puck (or more depending on the stick, the shot, and how strong you are) this allows you to load or flex the stick first ( like in those fancy pictures you see of NHL players bending their sticks almost in half or the one in this article). Loading the stick like this is where a lot of the power in your slapshot comes from. When lining up the puck put it about two – three feet in front of you and about 2 inches behind your front skate (see picture). When taking the shot you want the blade of the stick to contact the ice a few feet out, and in the middle of your stance, this gives your stick time to flex, when the blade hits the puck it should flex even more . Also remember to stay low and trust your stick, you need to throw most of your weight (the more the better) onto your stick. This will allow you to increase the power on your shot without the huge windups.
- Location of Puck for Slapshot – For a slapshot you want the puck to hit the blade of your stick close to the middle, between the heel and middle of the blade is where you get the most power. With a slapshot the puck spends very little time on the blade of the stick. You want to hit the ice, load the stick, hit the puck, and then launch it (remeber follow through, and weight transfer)
- Follow through - A very simple rule and tip for slapshot accuracy is follow through low and your shot will stay low and if you follow through and aim your stick high your shot will go high.
The process of taking a Slapshot
Your bottom hand should be about half way down the stick or more. Line the puck a few feet in front of you and 2-3 inches behind your front foot. Keep your legs at shoulder width and bend your knees.
- See the postion of the puck and skates. Skates are shoulder width apart, and the puck is 3 inches behind my front foot and a few feet in front.
Now line your shot up, do not shoot hard off the start, practice connecting the ice first and getting a feel for your stick flexing. Start putting more and more weight onto your stick as you progress. When you feel comfortable, start increasing both the speed and strength of your shot. Another tip is to aim your skates where you want the puck to go, a great trick is once you have released the puck turn your front skate to the area you are aiming at.
- This is a perfect example of a loaded stick and shows how much extra power you can add to your shot by utilizing your stick
Remember to watch your follow through and always see where the puck goes. Everyone is different and dialing in your shot is always a personal preference.
- See the follow through, I was aiming top corner and thats where my stick and eyes ended up, at the end of your follow through it should look like you are looking down a rifle.
How To Take a Slapshot Video
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Now you feel comfortable taking a slap shot and it is time to work on accuracy and muscle memory (muscle memory is built through repetition). The key to a great slap shot is accuracy and the best way to build it is through trial and error. Set up as many pucks as you can find. Get a bucket or some sort of a target and set it up about 20 feet away. Now start taking shot after shot after shot, don’t rush your shots, set up and prepare on each one. Once you start hitting 5 or 6 pucks in a row at your target, stop. Now go for a skate/ do a lap or practice your wrist shot. Now go back and start hitting them again. Keep repeating this process. This will condition your body that no matter what you were doing when you wind up for a slapshot it will be ready to give you the perfect shot everytime.
Slapshot Tips
Thanks to the guys at hfboards.com and the OMHA forum for some tips on improving your slapshot. Many of these tips are from older rec players who are trying to improve their slapshots, coaches and even new players trying to learn how to take a slapshot. Here are some quick slapshot pointers to remember
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Rotate Your Hips and Trunk
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This is a good way to add power to your shot, As you wind up the slapshot, your hips and shoulders should be in a line to the target. As you come down, make contact, and follow through, your hips and shoulders should open up to the target (see picture above), adding a rotational force to the shot.
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Try different stick heights and weights
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Sometimes using a ligther stick, shorter or longer stick, or a stick with less, or more flex may make a difference in your shot. Try some different sticks out and try to find one that works the best for you.
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Lead With your Bottom Hand
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Here is a quote from the HFboards “One of the things i noticed that helped was getting low to the ice, dropping your lower hand down the shaft maybe a foot or so (note: Your hand should be halfway down the shaft or more), and really keeping that arm straight and pushing down and forward with it.”
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Try leading with your bottom hand, really leaning into your stick and pushing the puck forwards.
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Look at the Net when Shooting
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Even if your shot is not that great you will score more, How many times do you see a hockey player just shoot blindly and hit the goalie in the crest and then wonder why that happened? Look, aim, and shoot
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Slapshot Tips for Defense Video
How to Get More Power from Your Slapshot
I will be adding an article on how to improve slapshot power soon. I have bought a radar gun and will test every possible way to increase slapshot power. I am also working on workouts and training, I will post the article after extensive testing and research. To make sure you don’t miss this article be sure to subscribe to future posts in the box to the left.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a very good tutorial for the slap shot. Thanks.
great start up!
I just recently bought a very flexy stick and before i would have an amazing slapshot with a stiffer stick, my slapshot now is not half as good, should my stick hit the ice more further away from the puck or just get a stiffer stick?
are you a defencemen or forward josh?
fflexy sticks are terrible for defence because of what you just said. you will actually over-flex the stick and suck power away form the shot. A way to compensate is to actually hit closer to the puck. you will load you stick with just as much flex and since the stick has more flex it will whip back quicker. hope this help.
You definitely have to shoot differently with low flex sticks compared to high flex sticks. If you have a stiffer stick I find you will get harder shots (if you know how to use it), if you want to still have a decent shot with a whippy stick you need to hit the ice further back to allow the stick to flex more.
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