#nhl #hockey #torontomapleleafs
The 'Slap Shot' is a dying art in NHL hockey. In this video, we break down why this is the case and how players like Connor Bedard, Auston Matthews, & others are evolving the game with their techniques.
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I kind of miss the slap shots being more frequent. Nothing like seeing someone just absolutely laser a puck with perfect accuracy in the net. Watching the Hawks back when they won the cups they had very good defensemen who would throw slap shots from the points all day.
Bobby hull was the ultimate example for the hawks
Watch the video all the Devils goals 2022-2023 Watch Doug Hamilton Jasper Brat Zetterland, holtz etc. not just slapshots but the more difficult one timer slapshots ... I didn't count but its over 20 percent I believ
As a Hawks fan I hate to admit this, but one of the best/most memorable slap shots for me was the one Stevie Y made in double OT against the Blues. He put an absolute laser high to the far side past John Casey from the blue line. Watch the replay at roughly the 3 45 minute mark of this video and you'll really appreciate what a snipe this shot was. kzhead.info/sun/l5yLlK6qsYB-e58/bejne.html
A few years ago I repented to God then begged for help, "I was until then an Atheist." I then had a dream of Jesus coming before God and he spoke of the Tabernacle in perfect context, "A word I didn't know existed.", and what I felt from Jesus when I held him was unlike anything I've ever felt before - A lifetime of Love every second - It brought me to sobbing and it changed my life, forever. I've had other experiences since, "Several witnessed", one was seeing a bright orb of light pass across my face in the dark, hours before a major surgery the second I gave up in my heart. Know that God and Jesus ARE real and that they Love us deeply. Let go of your hatred and Imagine yourself holding the people who've hurt you. Tell them you Love them. Always have hope, I believe that prayer, following God's laws & Love is the answer, and through that, Truly becoming humble, merciful, welcoming, giving, gentle, respectful and forgiving, To All.
This is a bit sad because it is so silly and so cool to watch like it is a visible violent spectacle a clean slapshot 😅 but the newer drag-shot style is soo efficient and fast 😳
We must mention Al MacInnis and Al Iafrate - two of the hardest shots in history (wooden sticks of course).
Yup first two that came to my mind
Funny I thought of this exact thing the other day and low & behold this vid lol... But oh yes, the two "AL's" will be in the Top 5 for sure!!!
@@franciscavallaro6356 Mine too.
kzhead.info/sun/icV9lLiqhZqphJs/bejne.html
Al MacInnis was my favorite.
Gretzky had a great and tricky slap shot. He constantly changed the timing of his shot, which made it unpredictable and basically unstoppable.
He'd also hover with space & time with a high windup, then sort of bring the stick down 30 degrees then hesitate again, then either deliver a slap pass or launch a bomb (his slapper had underrated velocity). In the 2-3 seconds he'd have glided 30-40 degrees of angle on the net that the goalie would be struggling to shuffle fast enough to keep up with him and still watch the pass option, so when he let a hard shot go they'd really struggle with it
Mike Vernon is still looking for one shot . . .
Gretzky didn’t have a great slap shot, he just used it a lot because he had an even worse wrist shot.
@@jmadratz why do you say that?…have you actually seen him play?…or is it the grainy old video footage from the 80’s and 90’s?
@@jmadratz Right...Imagine how many goals he could've scored if he was any good.
I'd be interested in seeing stats on the average Slapshot speed vs wrist shot speed over the last 20-30 years. I wouldn't be surprised that with improved technique and stick technology the speed of wrist shots has gotten closer to slapshots
That's an excellent point. I remember watching Joe Sakic's wrist shot in the 90s and early 2000s and how quickly he released it with accuracy and mustard on it. It seems like guys now all have that skill and the better sticks just amplify that. I also think goaltenders are too good if they commit to the shot. Without the element of potentially passing, they get aggressive and cut off the angles quickly. Plus, these goaltenders today seem to be much bigger guys.
@@seethe313Goalies have grown bigger statistically, it's not only an impression.
@@seethe313 the average height of goalies is around 6'2", with the shortest at 5'11", and the tallest at 6'6"
@@longlifetometal1995 But goalie gear has become a lot less bulky to compensate.
And perhaps the Bendy sticks that help increase the speed of a wrist shot or not as good for using on slapshots. So perhaps the wrist shot speed has gone up in the slapshot speed has gone down
As a Canucks fan, I remember when Daniel Sedin suddenly developed a slap shot over an off-season and it was pretty lethal.
Hopefully Boeser can do the same
April 26th 1994, One of the best slap shots I remember, Game 6 against Calgary in Overtime, Geoff Courtnall coming in all alone against Trevor Kidd & just buried it! Great squad, Great memories, Go Canucks Go!!
From 2010-2012 the Sedins really peaked. It was beautiful to watch. I don't think we'll ever see twins lead a sports team with such insane chemistry like that in sports ever again. Such a rare thing.
micheal ryder my cuzin bruins that year :P dont hate me
@@coryryder9070 Mad love for Boston! Only time I was there people were great, terrific scenery, especially the Cheers bar, Norm Peterson was my favourite on the show! Yep! Let's definitely skip any Bruins talk though!!
The function of the slap is to bend the stick against the ice. With the old wooden sticks you simply had to do that to get the stick to flex, because they were so stiff. With modern sticks you don't need as much power to bend the stick so you can just do a snap shot instead.
Ever heard of Shea Weber?
No. I’m sure every hockey fan has never heard of Shea Weber.
Very true, with modern sticks there`s so much power ins snap, wrist and 2 point shots, that you simply don`t need to wind it up that much anymore.
The purpose of the Slap shot is to get your whole body into the shot arms shoulders chest core legs of course the stick will bend. Yes the stick will bend with a wrist or snap but you don't get all those muscle groups full strength together mainly arms and one leg for the snap / wrist
Yeah that may be the result of a slap shot but it isn't the function. Especially during the wooden stick era's. Those sticks didn't flex much at all. Those shots were pure power shots done by the shooter not the stick. A proper slapshot will have more velocity and speed then any snap or wrister ever will regardless of the stick.
Bobby Hull and Guy Lafleur were the best at scoring with the slapshot, combining power and accuracy.
That Kariya goal was iconic. Would’ve loved to have seen Stevie Ys clapper against the blues on here too
I’ll never forget Colton Parayko’s slapshot that hit Ben Bishop like a 12-gauge
Yeah!! And the following goal. Love your logo
@@ThePerpetualStudent RIP the fellas
That was so lovely to see!! I wish Parayko would practice that and use it more often. More often than not he misses the net by a county. At least he made it count that night.
@@trinawhitener7753 these days I’d like to see parayko do literally anything besides timid stick handling, avoiding all physical contact, and turning over the puck
@@TheOriginalTuhat FUCK YES!!! THANK YOU!! He’s the softest big guy in the league. Or throw the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. I hate to say he’s become my least favorite player on the Blues because he’s so soft and just not that great defensively. Frequently a minus. I think he only got that ridiculous deal for sentimental reasons.
What I find interesting in this whole "slapshots are extinct" talk is that in that chart showing the decline of the slapshot, the reduction from 2012 to 2020 is only about 30%. That is definitely a statistically significant change, but far from extinct. All your points about why the viable use case has reduced were spot on though. I think an underrated element of slap shots is using that huge telegraph of "i'm going to shoot" to your advantage with a slap pass. I've seen it done to great effect, where a defenseman winds up for the big shot and then hammers the puck onto the stick of a teammate waiting 2 feet off the side of the net for an easy tip-in goal. Any time there is an expectation, there is also an opportunity to subvert that expectation, and that may be one of my favorite things in sports, seeing players deliberately use expectations to their advantage.
Kuch makes slap passes perfectly
@@dronlaa there's a few players that do it well and do it often and I love to see it.
100% agree, but surely you know that what is truly going extinct are KZhead videos without clickbait titles. ;)
Great point. I scoured the Internet trying to find slapshot statistics specifically over the last 3 years also but couldn’t find any hard data like I did from 2012-2020. If anyone does have them, I’d love to see it. The inclination is to believe that decrease has continued but I don’t know for certain. Either way, I thought it was interesting to dive into why elite players in the game often opt for a snap/wrist… and so, that led us to this video lol
I LOVE the slap pass especially on the PP. use the "im going to shoot" to your advantage. but I think again with how fast the game is and how quickly guys are getting challenged on the rush, blue line, etc., im sure they've been taught to get the shots off quick. plus stick technology allowing a good wrist shot to be almost as fast as a clapper with better accuracy too.
Brett Hull was the Ben Hogan of slap shots. If you want to learn how to use proper form for a clapper, watch Brett Hull. I’d say Ovi is the top just because of how many goals he’s scored off a slapper. Nick Lidstrom had a very effective slap shot. Daniel Alfredsson, Stamkos, Yzerman, Mathew Schneider, all had awesome shots.
All the ones you mention were great, but the King of Slapshots has to still be Al MacInnis. No one was as fast, hard or accurate as Al when it came to blasting it from the point. Heck, that guy's slapper was deadly enough he could score them from centre ice and still have it be one the goalie had little chance on. Who else in NHL history can claim that?
Al Iafrate has entered the chat.
wrong. His Dad Bobby, better yet, his uncle Dennis Hull. Both played for the Blackhawks. Look it up. Brett would agree.
Yeah his shot was legendary.....and he used a wooden stick. I remember reading an article about him in like 1989. At that point of season he had put like five guys on to the injured list because they got hit by his slap shot. Most of them were opponents but there were a few of his own guys I guess who are standing in front of the net trying to screen the goalie. That's pretty brave. I also remember back in the day playing hockey video games and he had an absolute blast even on those. Him and Ray bourque.
Ovi is the modern era slapshot king, but I loved Weber's blueline slappers and Pasta has a beautiful onetimer too.
Ova is still lethal at an age where even most Ironman retire. It is truly an art.
Chara
This breakdown was top notch dude. Ovi is #1 for me but Chara could literally kill a man
❤️
Macinnis is up there also, he had a brutal shot with his old wood stick.
I seem to recall at least one instance where Chara almost did kill a man with a shot...
Can’t forget about shea weber guys were scared to block his slap shot from the point
@@Kariakas kzhead.info/sun/icV9lLiqhZqphJs/bejne.html
The increasing rarity of the slapshot seems to have added a demoralizing factor to scoring with it. The way goalies slump down after getting beat clean with pure power is different than for other shots.
Paul Kariya's slapper vs the Devils was insane, especially considering he didn't even remember the game due to suffering the concussion right before.
One of my favorite moments of a hockey game as a kid was when bedlam broke out down in the slot and the puck jittered free slowly toward the blue line; those were the moments I was hoping some ambitious D-man would come out from off-screen to lay every ounce of weight in his body into the puck.
Al MacInnis has the best and most feared slapshot of all time.
Looking at him you'd never suspect he had a bullet like he did
Definitely wasn't the most feared that was shae Webbers and it had to do with the height. His shot was consistently just above the toes to just over the top of the skates where you have minimal padding. He was not allowed to use it in drills where there was a teammate between him and the net. Now if we are talking feared by goalies then ya the Al's take the cake no doubt about it. Wish they could have tried today's sticks they would no joke injure goalies on a regular basis.
@@joeshmow1583 Al MacInnis once clapped one through Jocelyn Thibault's glove, breaking his ring finger in the process.
@@10.11.9 Shae Webber literally blew a hole in the net in the Olympics. They went back to video review after iggy swore it went in. I would not have wanted to block either guys shot lol
@@joeshmow1583 Ditto. Big Shea was just so damn strong. Tough way to end a great career.
ahh the good ole days when walking into a slapshot from the point was the meta play
This is an awesomely edited video and great and easy to understand. You my good man, deserve a sub.
I think one of the best slap shots was Shea Weber's. Dude had the HARDEST shot in the world
what about zdeno chara
Cap... It's Martin Frk but Weber is likely more consistent
@@Filip-xu5vb True
@@WillTBDud I said ONE OF, not THE best
Souray fear a lot of player at his prime on power play with Markov
When I think of an NHL player taking a slapshot, I think of former Canuck Sami Salo.
The Finnish MacInnis!
Speaking of Canucks, Elias Pettersson is one of the best new school kids with a snapshot. He's got a great bomb off the rush.
balls of steel!
Great video! You always bring up topics that I noticed but never really thought about. Speed and spacing is the biggest difference now for lack of slappers. Plus, when you miss, you generally lose possession.
When you hit the goalie you also create rebounds and since slap shots bounce further, the goalie has less chance of recovering it, possibly allowing the shooter or his teammates to jump on the rebound..
I imagine the speed and power of wrist/snap shots has increased substantially as well, making them a higher value per time spent shooting than they used to be.
I remember Bobby Hull and maskless goalies. He said he’d send one in, around face high, early in the game just to get in the goalie’s head
Yeah and the next one he'd leave right on the ice
Chara, holder of the hardest-hitting slapshot.
Martin Frk would like a word
Al MacInnis laughs in your face with a wooden stick
But only one is almost 7ft tall BIG Z
Brett Hull made me want to learn how to take a slap shot when I was playing hockey as a kid. Guy had a rifle of a shot.
Best one-timer of all time
As a Habs fan, I already miss Weber's slapshot. This was deadly good!!
Yeah so many NHL guys have really hard slapshots especially the real big strong dudes like Weber. Didn't Sheldon Souray have a pretty hard slap shot too? Sorry if I misspelled their names
As a hockey fan in general, I loved seeing byfuglien, weber, and ovi rip some solid slappers
Al Macinnis, still the best clapper
Love your channel ! Alwayhs goes deep in game analysis instead of focusing exclusively on players stats! That's what makes it special.
I also appreciate the non-clickbait-y titles!
Best slapshot of all time... I probably would like to say someone else for their shear power or for whatever other niche quality, but not saying Ovi here would just not be honest. He is so persistent and effective from the circle that it's just bonkers. Every goalie _knows_ exactly what's coming, yet a blistering fast pass from Carlson, Oshie or Bäckström and Ovi just keeps hammering them in, year after year. You're free say what you want, but I can't get past that.
The goalie gets a piece of them a lot of the time too. His shot is remarkable because its so powerful, that combined with the curve on his stick, just creates this knuckling puck that goalies have a hard time reading in the air due the unique and unpredictable trajectory at the speed its traveling. So even the pucks the goalies get a piece of, it often trickles past them. I really don't know if we are ever going to see a player like Ovi again.
Youre talking about a guy who just ended a 17 game goalless streak lol
You do a great job explaining all of your videos. Very Nice!
Buddy I love your videos, keep it up!
Hardest slap shot of all time - Dennis Hull. Best slap shot of all time - Bobby Hull.
Hands down correct. I lived down the street from bobby hull when he played for the Hawks.
Awesome video buddy! Very well done!
I have loved watching Stammer's one timers through the years, but Ovi is probably king of the Slapper.
Watching Blackhawks hockey in the 70's as a kid, the defenseman slapshot was big stuff.
Awesome break down! Ovi is all time best, hands down. Brett Hull had the best slap shot prior to Ovi. Iggy was amazing considering his era and adding to the fact that his first 525 goals happened without a single future Hall of Famer on his team.
Al MacInnis was the OG
Brett Hull doesn't need a power play unlike Ovi to score...
@@bradr539 Hull is 3rd over all with PPGs. Only 45 less than Ovi.
@@bradr539 All-time even strength goals: Alex Ovechkin - 518 and counting. Brett Hull - 456.
@@davidreynolds6718 And that gap widens even further when you consider era adjusted statistics.
Bobby Hull ( Black Hawks ) and Bill Goldsworthy ( MN. N. Stars ) Very Hard Shots. I Really enjoy your outlook on the game it's refreshing and with your allotted time straight to the point, Really Good Channel keep up the Great work.
Not many of us still around that remember Goldsworthy 👍🏼😎
@@dourmoose Bobby Hull or Goldsworthy are the obvious picks for me, too. One of my most cherished memories from my youth is Dan Kelly calling "a cannonading drive by Goldsworthy" on a CBS Sunday afternoon broadcast. If I see or hear the word slapshot, though, the first thought that pops into my head is "Bobby Hull".
I was sitting a few rows behind the glass in Florida when Brett Hull wound up a ripped a one timer over Luongo's shoulder in OT, 2003. That was a sight to behold.
MacInnis, Iafrate or Ovechkin. Depends on the era and what kind (slap vs 1T), PP or on the rush? I’m a sucker for an on the rush slapper but Ovy is staring at Gretzky’s record with that usual, predictable 1T that teams have a hard time defending against for a multitude of years. It’s only a matter of time till we recognize that not only there’s a Gretzky’s office but there’s also an Ovy’s office that deserves that level of respect
people forget though that ovi only started doing that half way thru his career. he was originally known for being a guy to skate down the whole ice and find some way to score through sheer force of will. but then teams learned how to play against that and he had two down years and struggled before discovering this new way which people all know him as doing. he wasn't really known for his slap shot in the early days
Fear the skullet!
With goalies better than ever today (with bigger pads as well) , I think accuracy and quick release are much more important than power. Also, on average there is not really a ton of additional velocity provided by a slap shot vs a wrist shot IMO, at least with modern sticks.
Was Orr the only player to use the half-slapper effectively? I remember seeing him wind up for a slap shot, wait for the defender to flinch, move by him and only bring his stick back parallel to the ice, then let 'er rip, often into the net.
That's one Bobby or story I've never heard. I was born in 73 so he was a little bit before my time. I heard a lot of great stories about him, but never that he had that snapshot. Mostly hear about his skating
Honestly if modern hockey just means its more expensive while missing parts of the game that have been there since the beginning, then I don't think we need it. I've recently watched games from 10-20 years ago, so 2013-2003 and I can honestly say it's just a better version of hockey without a doubt
i love seeing them, ekholm had a really nice one for his first as an oiler this season
Gretzky actually talked about this as far as back as in the 80's. He mentioned having a quick release being more important than pure power slapshots, because what good is power when it takes an eternity to load up?
Well unless you're Ovi apparently... Gretzy was such a smart player smh. GOAT of any player in the history of any sports league ever, no doubt.
I totally agree with that statement. As hard of a slap shot as I had, I hardly ever scored goals on it because once you wind up the goalie comes out, cuts down the angle and people try to stand in front of it or get a stick in the lane. When I used to play goalie, which wasn't very often it was just a fill in but I would always come out and cut down the angle whenever I saw somebody winding up
As someone just getting into hockey, could you explain the method you’re talking about re: coming out (of the crease maybe ???) cut down the angle(putting yourself where the puck is likely to go?) @@tommywallbanger
ovi has the best slapshot of all time and it's not even close. Every goalie and player know it's coming from the exact position but somehow the Rocket Richard Trophy, should be called the OVI, is always won by Ovi due to his lethal slapper.
Ovi's shot for sure is lethal, but I'd define his as more of a one-timer, rather than a traditional slap shot. A slap shot is when you have possession of the puck already, wind up, and let it go. Ovi's shot gets fed to him, he never has actual possession of it before he winds up.
they should make a new award called the ovi that's awarded to the player with the most disregard to others safety
@@wormsonline9507 Ovi shoots hard and hits hard!
Has Ovechkin ever sent a puck through a glove, broken a finger and scored a goal with a slap shot? No? That would be Al MacInnis. The true king of the slap shot. Ovechkin has nothing on him as far as slappers are concerned.
@@trinawhitener7753 And MacInnis used a wood stick! Imagine his shot if he had a composite ….
Gosh so many amazing rifleman over my 40 years of watching the game! My personal favorite has been big John Leclair, especially during his Philly years. That massive back swing and his strength and accuracy was legendary and just so fun to watch!! 226lbs entering the left zone and full stride and just cranking it +100mph was always exciting! Honorable mention to Al M, Freddy Modin and about 50 others!
Good example with LeClair! Also good example was when he faced Lidstrom and Murphy in the Finals with how it can be neutralized. They would get sticks out and poke the puck away quickly when they'd wind up.
Man, I'm a flyers fan and totally forgot about John LeClair's slapshot but he didn't use a slap shot much. He was usually in front of the net (with defenseman that couldn't move him cross-checking him in the back) or cycling down deep. But yeah he really had a Canon. Didn't use it much. I used to play, I forget what video game. It was back in the day and even he had a cannon on that thing. Probably NHL '99. There's a lot of guys like that that have a really hard slap shot but don't use it much, especially the guys that are grinders and do all the hard work in front of the net like John leclair. But I mean as big and strong as he was, he should have a hard slap shot. That guy was an ox
I remember watching the all star game as a kid and during the skills competition they’d have a slap shot contest. Watching iafrate and macinnis hit shots over 100mph was a hoot back in the day. I used to look forward to it.
I've been tell my youth players for at least two or 3 years now to quit trying to take clappers for all the reasons that you laid out. I also learned that every tenth of a second you can get the shot off can be like adding 5-7 mph on that snap or wrister. I've spent a lot of time researching this and been coaching hockey for the past 8 years and as a full time job for the last 5. Good video, thanks
I think that's a shortsighted "win now, develop later" mindset
This type of maximization of perfection is killing hockey. Its a shame that many youth coaches seek to remove all individuality and personality from young players
The slapshot took over in the early 60s with Boom-Boom Geffrion, Bobby Hull and Frank Mahovalich leading the way with the most booming shots using solid sticks, no flex. You had to connect squarely with the puck. Jamming your stick into the ice and hoping it wouldn't break didn't work. The most amazing slapshot ever taken was by Maple Leaf's Frank Mahovalich. Against Boston in the mid-60s, crossing the blue line facing goalie Eddie Johnston. Frank a tall guy, wound up as only Frank could, and let fly. Eddie knew what was coming, had time to get set and he caught the puck easily. But the shot was so hard, it knocked him on his ass and into the net. This was before there were face-masks. All slapshots were fearsome. It took real courage in those days to face a slapshot. no one knew whether the goalie would live if he stopped the puck with his face. They did too. when they did, there they'd be, out cold on the ice. they'd be hauled off the ice on a gurney. Everyone waited to hear whether he made it. Then we'd be told he was okay. Minutes later, he'd skate back out and keep playing like nothing happened. Johnny Bower was the most famous for that, but all NHL goalies in that era went through it. That aspect of life threatening danger made those slapshots an order of magnitude more exciting than any since masks came into play. By the end of Bower's career, his face looked like a road map from all the stitches.
Great video man!
When talking about the most feared slapshot of all time, it has to be Al MacInnis. He could unload his epic cannon from the point with wrist shot accuracy and even do it with a quick 1 timer. Even as the NHL entered The Dead Puck Era in the mid to late 90s, he could still get those bombs through and goalies still had a hard time stopping them clean, leaving a lot of clean Al MacInnis point shot goals and juicy rebounds for those slot crashers to bang in there.
Imagine him with one of these new synthetic sticks... lol MacInnis also had a really long stick... which is good for defending but it might make it trickier for shooting.
I wish you had included video of "The Greatest Slap Shot (that didn't count)" - Patrick Kane's OT "Winner" against the Vegas Knights (Feb. 21, 2023) : kzhead.info/sun/ds5uaZiFo32ip4E/bejne.html It's because of shots like Kaner's that fans love the game.
Best of all-time is obviously Ovechkin.
Nah it’s Happy Gilmore
At the slapshot only
Best at blocking shots
Thank you, go caps
Bobby Hull
When I was younger I went to go see a Lightning game in person and during warm ups Vinny Lecavalier ripped a slap shot that ricocheted off the glass and left an earth rumbling feel throughout the arena.
this is giving me massive Thinking Basketball vibes. I was looking for a channel like that for hockey, so glad I found you
Marc-André Bergeron Despite a small size he could make shots rivaling some of the greats 103-105/mph if i recall correctly, it was very impressive to see, sadly that small size if compared to other defenseman, or power forwards he had to deal with, visibly limited his abilities defensively which limited his ice time, so he became a 3rd pairing/7th defenseman power play specialists. Still 82 goals in 490 games with limited ice time is nothing to sneeze at.
He could throw some pretty nasty hip checks too. Another lost art.
I remember trading for him in NHL video games back then and liking him a lot
Best all time with one-timers? Brett Hull, Ilya Kovalchuk, Steven Stamkos. Just lethal.
Peter Bondra
Ovie
Jari Kurri
It's not just the speed of the game it's also stick technology making wrist/snap shots almost as powerful as slap shots and combine that with the fact they're far more accurate it makes them a better tool.
I never tried one of those new carbon shafts. I always use wood. Even though aluminum and carbon fiber were available. I always liked wood. Maybe I was too cheap to spend the money on the more expensive shafts, but I wonder if the new carbon shaft since they've been so much aren't as accurate when you're taking a slap shot. I don't know this. I'm just thinking that might be the reason. I remember some face-offs that guy's lost because they're stick broke. Years ago. That was another talking point that maybe guy should have a different stick on key face offs, but that's a whole different conversation
You mentioned stick technology...I'm an '84 birthdate, and I remember all of our coaches played with stiff sticks and shafts and preached the slap shot, so that's what we did too. Sticks with more flex just weren't popular back in the late 90s and 00s, regardless of how much you weighed. One day, we received some pro return Brett Hull Z-Bubble shafts at the hockey store I worked at. These things were probably the equivalent of a 65 flex. Guys flocked to buy them, only to break them on the first use. That was when I realized Hull was one of the first guys to let the stick do the work for him, and now you see that everywhere in the show, especially with guys like McDavid and Bedard. Modern sticks provide the flex and kick point to fire the puck now, so there is no need for a big clapper to get the puck going like there used to be with mega-stiff wood, aluminum, and composite shafts.
I love the "time and space" hockeyism. That's all. That's my comment.
We do seem to use that a lot.... eh? lol
To be fair, I've heard this my whole sports career in lacrosse and basketball as well.
So ironic that the first goal you showed was Kariya scoring after he was knocked out by Stevens, and then asking "Do you remember?" because Kariya HIMSELF doesn't even remember that goal. He blacked out for days after the hit! I believe he also said he doesn't even remember Game 7!
As a casual hockey fan, watching the caps set up ovi for a slapshot off the power play is always exciting!
It's very important to add that due to the technology changes and improvements to technique and training, the quick release of the snapshot in the correct form can reach 85mph. I've even seen a few of the elite tier shooters get their snap or wrist shots to 90. Why project a 90-110mph shot that gives a goalie time to anticipate and get as big as possible, when you can just flex your stick the correct way and get something off immediately?
Yzerman's G7 OT slap shot to end the 96 series against the Blues might be one of the most lethal slappers I've ever witnessed.
Ouch from STL. It was an absolute bomb.
good video
I have felt like is was missing something watching hockey the last few seasons. I think the slap shots, particularly from the blue line, are it. Thanks for pointing it out.
New composite sticks with the low kick points let you get so much power in the (snap)shot, that you don`t need to tee it up to the horizon anymore. You can get so much energy in that it`s almost a slapshot, while the quick release makes it way harder for the goalie to read. You can still see the slap shots but mostly one timers during PP.
Do you think the new sticks might also be inclined to give less control over the slapshot? Like, maybe because they allow you to get so much power on a wrist or snapshot, perhaps it gets too out of control when you do the full windup?
It's not less control. It is just almost no difference in power unless if your a defensemen with a high flex stick. Hard to justify using a slapshot when you can have a quicker release wrist/snap shot with the same power. @@seethe313
Yeah I'm wondering the same thing. I've never used one of the new carbon shaft sticks. I mean when I played I used a wooden one piece stick. Maybe because I'm cheap and didn't want to spend the money on the carbon fiber or even back in the day aluminum shaft. My whole stick cost less than one of those replacement blades for either aluminum or carbon fiber. But I was wondering if the new shafts give less accuracy on the slapshot? I used to always bring like three sticks with me in case I broke one and this one guy was like man. You must have a million of those things at your house I was like. Yeah I do. I always like the Jagr model. I had a pretty hard slap shot and I just wondered if using the other sticks would give you more pop on your shot. I did try a carbon fiber once but I went with the real stiff one because I didn't want to break it and that thing had no flex whatsoever. It had less flex than the wooden stick. My carbon fiber stick days were just a phase
The STICKS a flexible stick not so good a slapshot a hard stick won't bend for snapshot chara used a 130-150 and it still would bend where some guys use 70
The flex of the stick is actually a significant factor in getting good power in a slapshot. The flex of the stick allows it to load up like a spring and then release that stored energy, flinging the puck faster than the player is able to swing the stick. To maximise that power you do need to match the stiffness of your stick with how much force you're going to be putting into your shot of course, so guys using a 70 flex are gonna have a harder time firing big clappers, but they chose that flex because it suits their playstyle, they didn't adapt their playstyle to suit their stick. I would wager the flexiness of composite sticks are what allow smaller and lighter guys like Elias Petterson can match shot velocity with much bigger and stronger players.
I believe Ovechkin uses a stiffer stick on powerplays for this purpose. I'm sure a lot of powerplay triggermen do this
Ridley Greig sends his regards.
Goaltender with 40 years between the pipes here. As you mentioned, the wind up for a slap shot is a flashing neon sign to the goalie that they need to take up as much space as possible hoping that the puck hits you. Elite goalies are also able to read the hand position, the angle of the stick blade, and the way the puck is coming off the blade to make a very good guess as to where the puck is going (unless it pinballs off bodies on the way to the net). In other words, slapshots are easiest for a goalie to read and react to, given time. The wrist shot is harder to read because it comes off the blade much later and the shooter's hands and wrists tend to move more than with a slapshot, so harder to predict where the puck is going. Add to that the insane flex available and modern wrist shots are as fast or faster than slapshots I faced when I first started playing goal. Even harder to read for a goalie is a backhand shot; they are frequently more fluttery and have a less predictable path to the net, not unlike a knuckle ball in baseball. The greater use of wrist shots over big wind-up bombs also allows the shooter to keep the goalie guessing to the very last microsecond which, when combined with defenders closing the gap on a shooter, means that the puck's actual release can be fully or partially masked by skates, legs, and bodies. Moving away from slap shots also gives the puck carrier more control in how deep the goalie is in the crease. Holding on to the puck enables the use of a wrist shot while also leaving an option to pass if a back door opportunity becomes available--so in addition to the immediate shooting threat, the goalie must be ready for a cross-crease movement.
Very good to get a goalie's perspective on this. I had mentioned how always come out and cut down the angle. Whenever they see you wind up for a slap shot. I won't call myself a goalie but whenever a goalie didn't show up, I was the one that usually went in net because I was decent at it. I said decent. No one confused me with an actual goalie but I actually liked playing goalie. Maybe two to three times a year. And I remember whenever somebody wound up for slap shot the first thing I did was come straight out to him and cut the angle down. And I've also mentioned that when someone winds up for a slap shot, people try to get in front of it or get a stick in the lane. I had a pretty hard slap shot but I didn't score a lot of goals on it for all of those reasons. I like how you mentioned that being able to take a risk shot with these new sticks. Keep the goalie back in his crease. I love all the comments on this. Very interesting topic. I only started playing hockey when I was like 17 but I was always a baseball player. This is of course a side note just for your entertainment. I used to play shortstop and when I started feeling in for the goalie I thought I was going to have this awesome glove hand being an infield or in baseball. Nope. Not at all. And I think the difference is in baseball. You're always catching the ball out in front of you. Your hands are out straight in front of you, but when you're a goalie and hockey you catch off to the side. Baseball players never catch a ball off to the side of their body like that. My best love saves for when the guys shot the puck right into my catching glove. I was decent at goalie but my expectations have having a good glove hand were never met
Ovechkin is almost certainly the best pure shooter hockey has ever seen up to this point, especially considering how much goaltending has improved since the 80s.
For d-men....Sheldon Souray when he could play was devastating, look at the video of that season where he scored 26 with Montreal or 23 with Edmonton. From when I was younger....Brett Hull's and Al MacInnis' were the most impossible to see slapshots that also happened to be hella accurate....and lastly, as Nords fan, Owen Nolan's was BRUTAL.
I just made a comment about Sheldon Souray. Somebody brought up Shea Weber and immediately thought about Sheldon. I loved Owen Nolan. I only saw the end of his career but I don't really remember him having that awesome slap shot but I was young.
@@tommywallbanger Cool! Look at old goals of his in the Nordiques/Sharks and you'll see what I mean.
Zdeno Chara had a bomb of slapahot
The gold standard for slapshot power
the name of your channel do not deceive. another great in depth analysis!
I ain’t watched shinny since ‘99. No clue how this got in my feed. *BUT* … what a TALENTED writer/speaker this kid is, and I’m no cheap date! Great work, buddy! 👏👏🤘
I I has the best of all time, but Thompson is the best today
That guy can absolutely wire one
The last one i remember seeing is Malkin on a penalty shot or shootout. Can't remember but that was a thing of beauty
Not that it's a major reason, but sticks as well... If you look at Bauer and CCM (and others), they specialized their with a flex and kick point favoring a certain type of shot. They do have "hybrid" sticks that fall somewhere in the middle, but they're a bit less common. It's a big heavy piece of lumber from the likes of Sherwood where they really were just meant to stand up to the punishment the players dished out. Now they really dial in the stick to match and enhance their strengths
When I was watching hockey all the time, my favorite player was sami salo. The huge slapshots from the point were so sick. Miss the days when the canucks were good and slapshot were also good.
One of the best slapshots of recent memory (at least for me) was Ilya Lybushkin vs Tampa in OT. Keep in mind this was short-handed and Booshers 4th ever goal to beat a team that dominated him every year
Good vid, I think the power new sticks can impart plays a big role. Why wind up for a slap shot when a solid wrister can but 80+% of your slapshot speed. And if you do take slapshot and miss, the puck can rim boards out of the attacking zone.
Biggest bomb from the point? Shea Weber. It used to terrify me watching my team play the Preds when Weber was winding up a clapper...he could legitimately hurt people.
mackinnon is also good on the left wing for the "ovie" one timer set up. Ovi has the best clapper though, the stats dont lie. i wish they would implement a one timer competition in the all star events would be interesting to see speeds and accuracy. Its just a staple in todays game.
I know next to nothing about Hockey but that was fascinating, very informative, abd obviously well researched. 😊
I watched Stan Smyl's whole career from his arrival to the New Westminster Bruins as a 15 year old to his retirement from the Canucks. Stan had a massive slap shot for a not very big man. I recall many, many times seeing him cross the blue-line and blast a shot past a goalie.
Only to be outdone in that department by Wendel Clark from the Leafs. ..just as an aside…my brother played with Stan for 5-6 years…way back when..
Do you think the art of deflections affects the lowering number of slap shots?
Tip drills via precise shots from the blue line now dominate D shots from what I see - for good reason (regardless of how much I miss a good slap shot).
Missed a potential toe in for the slap-pass. Torey Krug was pretty darn good at it while he was with the Bruins (so long as he wasn't deciding to blast a slapper into the nearest defender for a short handed breakaway - sorry, he had a habit in his last season with them). Pasta made it a frequent habit to Marchand just a few seasons ago as well. When the pass was on point it was almost always a goal cause as you said "It's a giant sign that says' I'm shooting"
I remember watching Shea Weber highlights and my dad was amazed how hard his slapshots were.
Great video; excellent analysis. There’s still opportunity for back-scratching slapshots in the NHL, but a lot of skaters (even All-Star caliber players) just aren’t accurate enough with the slapper. As mentioned in the video, precision has become more important than power. Deflections and rebounds are how a lot of goals are scored in today’s NHL. A big slapper might “put a dent in the end boards”, but as cool as that sounds, it’s a missed shot. If a wrister is instead on-target, there’s a decent chance for a stick-tip or a rebound, either of which is way more dangerous than a dent in the boards.
Very cool video breaking this down!
that first one was not only an awesome slap shot, but considering that earlier the same game he was knocked out with a jaw shot and concust, people there didnt expect him to continue playing the match or even the season, but he came out and did that
I personally am happy about this because I could never get a good slap shot off consistently. I always used a wrist shot even from the point because it was my best shot.
slapshot masters al machinnis was so dominant at that time in todays time machinnis would not have stayed at that level in the nhl in todays time cause he was mostly known for the hardest slap shot and physicality but skating he was not known for. In todays game Al would have been a griffin reinhardt situation. Great video and you make a really good point on why slap shots are used less and less and I agree the game is faster and snap shots and wristers are more of the better option now a days thanks to Matthews and the upcoming BEDARD
As a fan who was at the 2003 game 6 SCF, that slap shot by Paul Kariya had the loudest pop I ever heard at the Honda Center... even louder then when the Ducks won the Cup 4 years later.
Honestly- that season was peak for me. It was such a Cinderella story, JSG being a brick wall in the net- I don’t care that they didn’t win- it was such a great run. And while I was happy they did win a few years later, I still feel 03 was a “better run”
Did you forget how scoring has gone down over the years since the slapshot was used only rarely? Your video left out the amazing excitement of booming slapshots in hockey games. Look how often breakaways result in no goals since the slapshot has almost disappeared.
Claude Giroux breakaway slap shots come to find when I think of using slaps shots to score. Most recent being last season vs San Jose
I have watched 3 of your videos and have seen the Paul kariya clip in all of them, his dedicated video, Eric lindros, and now this one.
would love to see the comparison data for the last few yrs on average defensemen height. I believe this strongly correlates as the time and space are hindered when the dmen of the future are fast and tall, meaning their sticks can disrupt more plays at a greater efficiency.
Defensemen today are also better skaters. Shea Weber was such a unicorn because he was so big and physical and could skate. Now, you have a lot of big guys who skate well on the blue line.