Slapshot

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For other uses, see Slapshot (disambiguation).
Shea Weber winding up for a slapshot.

A slapshot (also spelled as slap shot) in ice hockey is the hardest shot one can perform. It has four stages which are executed in one fluid motion to make the puck fly into the net:

  1. The player winds up his hockey stick to shoulder height or higher.
  2. Next the player violently "slaps" the ice slightly behind the puck and uses his weight to bend the stick, storing energy in it like a spring. This bending of the stick gives the slapshot its amazing speed. Just like a bow and arrow, the stick's tendency to return to being straight is transferred to the puck, giving it much more speed than just hitting it alone could.
  3. When the face of the stick blade strikes the puck, the player rolls his wrists and shifts his weight so that the energy stored in the stick is released through the puck.
  4. Finally, the player follows through, ending up with the stick pointed towards the desired target.

The slapshot is harder than other shots, and because of the violent motion involved, somewhat less accurate. It also takes longer to execute; a player usually cannot take a slapshot while under any significant pressure from an opposing player because the opponent could easily interfere during the windup. The slapshot is most commonly used by a defenceman at the point, especially during a power play, although a forward will sometimes find an opportunity to use it.

The invention of the slapshot is credited to Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion (a nickname alluding to the thunderous clack of his slapshots) of the Montreal Canadiens. However, some have credited Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eurekas with inventing the slapshot in the late 1800s.[1]

During a hockey game, a puck can reach the speeds of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) or more when struck. The current NHL speed record belongs to Zdeno Chára, of Boston Bruins, whose slapshot clocked 108.8 miles per hour (175.1 km/h) in the 2012 NHL All Star Game SuperSkills competition, breaking his own earlier record.[2] The current world record is held by Alexander Ryazantsev of KHL's Spartak Moscow, who slapped a puck at the 2012 KHL All Star Game skills competition in Latvia with a speed of 183.67 km/h (113.23 MPH).[3] [4]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Fosty, George; Fosty, Darril (2007). Black Ice 
  2. ↑ "2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills Competition". National Hockey League. 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2012-01-28. 
  3. ↑ "World record for fastest slap shot beaten at KHL All-Star game". RT. 2011-02-06. Retrieved 2011-03-04. 
  4. ↑ KHL All-Stars Hardest Shot Competition
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