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jryan44 · 04-11-2017, 12:57 AM

This is my first ever article Smile

Hello everybody, welcome to the first installment of "Hockey 101 with Jay Beagle Jr."

We are going to be diving into a few of the ins and outs of shooting. More precisely, Deception/How to create deception on your shot, as well as, the release/ quickness of how to get your shot off. I will also be including NHL video clips for a visualization of what I 'm describing.

Everyone and their grandma has been taught the old fashioned way to shoot. Parallel to the puck, weight back, pull the puck back and on the heel of your blade, then explode forward transferring your weight and making sure to roll your wrists over on the follow through.

Now saying that, a lot of that is good and still used today, but now thanks to the evolution of not only the stick but the way the game has changed as well as goaltenders and their modern equipment. Sticks are so light and whippy nowadays that shooting, especially shot selection and velocity combined with the quickness in the pros has completely evolved over the last 15 or so years. Now your seeing a lot more shots in stride, cross body catch and releases as well as soft catch, step and shots. Also, nowadays the game has become a lot more based around speed and skill, that it's tough to find open space for a long time. Everybody is so much faster, equipment like skates etc. are so much more advanced nowadays and even just video review for positional play especially has come a long way. Now that doesn't mean open space isn't available, it just means there are smaller windows of finding the space and even smaller windows of time receiving a pass, handling and making a play/shooting. So throughout my 101 series there will be a lot of lessons about manipulating space, how to find it and what to do when your in a certain spot. Lastly, the goalies, the equipment is so much lighter, sturdier and built for the newer butterfly style that has had a gigantic effect on the quality and statistics of goaltenders. Scoring in this era when compared to the 80's and 90's has basically been cut completely in half.

To get started, we're going to take a look at an discuss the basic shot in stride. The shot in stride is one of the skills that has become a regular for NHL'ers and a much more potent way to score off the rush compared to the old style. Here's an example of an off wing shot in stride.

Can't figure out how to embed the videos, so please just click the links with the video name.

O'reilly Shot in Stride

As you can see O'reilly breaks into the zone and is able to beat Freddy Andersen with a quick shot low blocker. But it's alot more than just "a quick shot". He had decided to make that play when he hit the top of the circle. He pulled it to his backhand in order to load up his right leg so he could burst into his shot right away by pulling it to his fore hand and exploding onto his left leg which keeps his momentum going forward because it's the same movement as striding forward onto that leg. Also, by exploding onto that leg, it allows him to get enough torque on his stick to really flex/whip it through the shot, which is something you couldn't quite do as much in the old days, more of a new school thing to really weigh down on your blade in order to flex your stick and let it do the rest of the work. Lastly, he also did a good job of following through to the net(will get into more later) and rolling his wrist over(helps add power) while still pointing at his target which was low-mid far side on the goaltender.

Next, is an example of Steven Stamkos's quick release. He's able to pick up a loose puck in the neutral zone, uses two crossovers to gain speed and space while entering the zone and letting one go top ched. But there's more to it Wink

Stamkos Shot in stride and Release

As you can see in the video stammer releases his shot from the top of the circle with no traffic in front, meaning there's no screen and it's a clean view of the shot for the goalie. You must be wondering why the goalie looked so confused after it went in right, i'm assuming most of your are thinking, eh, his defencemen was just screening him or tipped it...well, you're wrong. Really pay attention to the zoomed in replay of the goal, you can see that as stamkos decides to start shooting the puck, the dman is not in the way of the puck and there is a clear line of sight for the goalie, yet, after he shoots, the defensemen (barely) misses his poke and the goalie is just dumbfounded. The reason stamkos was able to not only evade the poke check, but get a quick, hard and accurate shot on net was because of the deception in his release. Unlike in the old school way of shooting where your always taught heel to toe, stamkos begins his release from his toe, he creates that small U or C movement from using the toe of his stick to pull it into his feet and really lean hard on his stick as he explodes onto his strong leg creating that flex and whip through the stick to rifle the puck. He was also able to keep make it a very accurate shot by staying controlled through his shot, and following through pointing at his target. Another good thing stammer did was finish towards the net so if there had been a rebound he would've been in a good position to scoop it up.

The next concept to shooting release which i mentioned earlier is finishing to the net. It basically means that you keep your toes forward pointing at the net as you follow through so after you release the puck you head towards the net giving yourself an opportunity to get a rebound.

Here's a good example of following up your shot by Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Kuznetsov Follows up Shot

As Kuznetsov creeps into that open space, Skinner realizes it and goes to defend him quickly, kuznetsov does a very good job of just making a quick handle and releasing a quality shot on net. He then follows it up to the net (see where his toes point) and he's able to win a stick battle then score. Had he just stopped playing or followed through away from the net he would not have been able to score that goal.

Next, you can also do the same thing while shooting in stride. Though a bit tougher than gliding into the zone like kuznetsov did, you can still do it while at top speed. But, you have to be able to align your body and feet at the correct angle so when you follow through onto your strong foot it's pointed at the net still and your then able to crash right away with no fading out. Here's an example of Charles Hudon shooting in stride at top speed then finishing towards the net.

Charles Hudon Finishes own Rebound

As you see Hudon is able to catch a cross ice pass with speed through the neutral zone, backing the dman off and allowing him to release a hard and quick shot. The dman had no time to react to the shot because off how quick hudon released it and it also caught the goalie a little off guard, squeaking it through his arm and torso. Hudon does a really good job of angling his body towards the net and exploding onto his strong side leg creating that extra torque in his stick to really get some power on the shot, as well as keeping his toes pointed towards the net so he's able to not only get a shot on net, he's able to beat everyone to the rebound behind the goalie and tap it in for the easy goal. Had he turned and loaded up an "old school" wrist shot, he wouldn't have been able to follow it up and score that goal, nor would he have been guaranteed to even get it off quick enough without it being poked by the defenseman or back checking forward.

We have discussed some of the strategies taken into creating deception on your shots, for example, shot in stride, pulling into and releasing from your feet drawing that U or C shape in the ice, before the puck is released. As well as concepts for a quick and quality release, for example, follow through with blade aimed at target, exploding onto that strong leg, using your downward force to create that extra flex/ torque in your stick to whip the puck and keeping your toes pointed at the net to follow up on any rebound opportunities.

Now, we're going to get a little more into the beginning/catching the pass before you take your shot. It's important because how you receive that pass can be the deciding factor in whether or not you'll have enough time and space to get a shot off. First, we are going to discuss the "Catch and Shoot". The catch and shoot is similar to the shot in stride because it's quick, unexpected and tough to defend. It's basically receiving the pass already in the loaded and shot position so you can release it right away. It' sounds easy but it's a very tough skill to execute. It means that you aren't spending any time handling the puck and as you receive it,your already starting your shot as to release it as quick as possible. It's tough to explain, so hear is a video of Vladimir Tarasenko to give you a better idea of what i mean.

Vladimir Tarasenko Catch and Release

See how as he's receiving that pass, he's adjusting his body and stick blade so that as he receives it on his stick, he's already loaded on that left leg and is able to transfer his weight to his right leg as well as adjusting his feet so everything is going forward allowing him to apply a lot of downward force on his stick to use the flex of his stick to release the puck. He also does a decent job of following through, toes forward and to the net, which is very impressive considering he was perpendicular to the goal line as he was receiving the pass.

Here's another example of a catch and shoot by Jonathan Drouin. He's able to receive the pass, kinda give it a little tap so it stays in his release zone and he uses his momentum going forward to snap a quick shot on net, had he placed it better he most likely scores but it was a good save by the goalie on an extremely quick bang-bang cross ice pass then shot.

Jonathan Drouin Cross Body Catch & Release

It's one of those little overlooked things at first, but watch as drouin makes that soft little touch on the puck as he receives the pass, so he puts the puck into a position for him to get a quick snap shot in net with his next stride. That's an elite play you don't see alot of people make and yet it seems so minor and he makes it look so easy, believe me, when you are at top speed, that is not an easy play make.

The last concept we are going to cover is the "Soft catch & shoot". When executing a soft catch and shoot, you essentially want to cushion the pass you receive by putting your blade in front of the toe of your strong side foot and lightly receiving the pass into your weakside leg. Basically, you want to use this tactic when you want to greatly change the angle and release point of your shot as well as using it to get wide and create more space between yourself and the defender. Here's a video of Brendan perlini making a soft catch on his forehand and because of that, he's able to create enough space from the defenseman to release a shot and score.

Brendan Perlini Soft Catch & Shoot

See how perlini has his blade pointed in front of his right foot toe and he's shifted most of his weight onto his left leg, but as he receives the puck, his stick is in front of his left foot and his weight has transered from his right to his left leg (note toes stay pointing forward) and he's able to create enough space by going right to left he's able to walk into the shot and release a high quality shot and ultimately bag mesh.

Thanks for reading guys! Looking forward to putting together Shooting Part 2. next week!

Let me know what you guys think!