Shot Handedness in the NHL

[Bounces R Way]

Thought this was an interesting dive into the differences between left and right shooting players.

The video makes several assertions, some that are fairly commonly accepted beliefs such as RHS fwds generally make the best snipers, as well as some that I hadn't really considered in that most of the best defensive defenseman shoot left as they are better able to use their dominant hand to make one handed plays with their stick. Didn't realize just how pronounced the righty defenseman domination of the offensive categories was either. Also wasn't aware just how much lefties prevail at the top of the draft, since 1990 there have been 25 RHS players selected with a top 3 pick while there have been 77 LHS.

 

[BluesyShoes]

To add to the defenseman bit, Chris Tanev was on after hours last night talking about how RD have to matchup to the RH shooters who set up on the left wing, and he referenced that as to why he has stood out for all his shot blocking over his career.

 

[ello]

The Sedins are a great example for this. I’m prettty sure Daniels left handed but Henriks right and look who the goal scorer was. Daniel who had his dominant hand at the bottom of his stick

 

[ijuka]

Rather talk about non-dominant vs dominant hand on top.

A left-handed player playing with the stick on the right is going to be quite different from a right-handed player playing with the stick on the right. These statistics are mostly meaningless if you don't look at handedness as well.

 

[SEALBound]

Dominant-hand-on-bottom-4-lyfe

 

[krutovsdonut]

surprised this is not generating more interest. that is an excellent video on an underappreciated subject. i came to canada at 9 and started hockey late. i am right handed and shot right due to other sports i had played first including baseball. once i realized most right handed people shot left i tried to switch and could not. imo being a righty-righty definitely hurts your stick handling and makes wrist shots harder to load. i remember aluminum sticks when they came out were huge for me on wrist shots. shooting low hand strong hand gives you an ability to push aim your slap and snap shots which can result in harder more accurate shots with less windup when you get the mechanics right but the mechanics i think are harder than a lefty-righty slapper.

 

[MessierII]

The Sedins are a great example for this. I’m prettty sure Daniels left handed but Henriks right and look who the goal scorer was. Daniel who had his dominant hand at the bottom of his stick

Both Sedins shot left

 

[DearDiary]

I think the flex level, kick point and the shooting style make a bigger impact. The difference between both your arms doesn't come close to the variance of your stick and technique. A good example I can think of is between Tarasenko and Kessels sticks and technique for snap shots.

 

[Machinehead]

Handedness really just kind of depends on the activity you're doing.

I write with my right hand so I'm "right-handed." I feel like we just go with that.

Meanwhile, I play hockey left-handed, and I batted left-handed in baseball even though I throw right-handed. People say "oh, well, the baseball thing is normal and shooting LH in hockey means you're actually right-handed."

Ok, but here's the thing: I also golf left-handed. There are fewer left-handed golfers than left-handed people by percentage. Why is that? Is it not the same motion as hockey? I don't know, that's weird.

You wanna hear something even weirder? I speed-solve Rubik's cubes competitively (I know, what a nerd, but that's not the weird part); the weird part is I'm violently right-handed when solving with two hands (yes, two hands, stay with me). I will make extra moves to put the layer I'm working on in my right hand. It's terribly inefficient and it's one of the weakest parts of my game.

When I do one-handed solves (yes, that's a thing), I do them exclusively in my left hand. I can't one-hand solve a cube in my right hand. Can't do it. It's like a turtle trying to drive a car.

And who's to say holding a hockey stick left on the bottom and right on top is "left-handed" anyway? Why isn't that the other way around? It feels arbitrary.

TL;DR: it's all bullshit and we just base everything on what hand you hold a pencil with.

 

[Regal]

Both Sedins shot left

The poster is saying Daniel‘s left hand dominant, so it would make sense he was the better shooter since his dominant hand would be down on the stick

 

[MessierII]

The poster is saying Daniel‘s left hand dominant, so it would make sense he was the better shooter since his dominant hand would be down on the stick

Thanks I get it now. I remember reading that they are mirror twins where they are the same but opposite. Freaky stuff.

 

[Neutrinos]

I never understood how right-handed dominant folk could play hockey with a left-handed stick...

You have more control over the stick with your dominant hand in the middle of the shaft, and you can also generate more power on shots

A good friend of mine growing up was right-handed... he threw with his right arm, he batted right, he swung a golf club right-handed... but when it came to hockey, he played lefty... and he was really good! It just never made sense to me...

 

[PK Cronin]

The biggest difference for me being a lefty in the U.S. is that my teammates constantly pass it to me as if I'm a righty.

 

[bossram]

I never understood how right-handed dominant folk could play hockey with a left-handed stick...

You have more control over the stick with your dominant hand in the middle of the shaft, and you can also generate more power on shots

A good friend of mine growing up was right-handed... he threw with his right arm, he batted right, he swung a golf club right-handed... but when it came to hockey, he played lefty... and he was really good! It just never made sense to me...

Re bolded: You don't though. Your friend was taught correctly.

I thought this when I was a kid, but it's not the case and kinda screwed my stickhandling for a while. You want your dominant hand on top for stick control, because stick handling all comes from the wrist of your top hand. If you're trying to stickhandle from the shaft, it won't be fluid, it'll be choppy, and you'll have less range. For defending too, you want your stronger hand on top for poke/sweep checks and the like.

It also matters less for shooting now. The power comes from rotation and loading your body weight on the stick, not from physically flexing the shaft with your bottom hand. Honestly when you look at shooters like Matthews/Bedard, the top hand is applying more force on the shot by acting as the opposite end of a lever, and the bottom hand is just a fulcrum.

 

[snag]

I never understood how right-handed dominant folk could play hockey with a left-handed stick...

You have more control over the stick with your dominant hand in the middle of the shaft, and you can also generate more power on shots

A good friend of mine growing up was right-handed... he threw with his right arm, he batted right, he swung a golf club right-handed... but when it came to hockey, he played lefty... and he was really good! It just never made sense to me...

Yeah i write left and eat left. But everything else is right.

Speaking of not making sense....more than once at dinners someone has noticed too I don't "cut and switch"....the first time I was like "what? why would a person do that?" not realizing it was a thing. Then I realized, my entire immediate family and in-laws do it.

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

That's a great video that took a ton of research.

Crazy that he didn't find any NHL skaters that are left handed and also shoot left. That's actually what I am (clearly not an NHLer though, LOL). But I do feel like my wrist shot is the best part of my game which fits what he concluded about shooting with your dominant hand side.

 

[Neutrinos]

Re bolded: You don't though. Your friend was taught correctly.

I thought this when I was a kid, but it's not the case and kinda screwed by stickhandling for a while. You want your dominant hand on top for stick control, because stick handling all comes from the wrist of your top hand. If you're trying to stickhandle from the shaft, it won't be fluid, it'll be choppy, and you'll have less range. For defending too, you want your stronger hand on top for poke/sweep checks and the like.

It also matters less for shooting now. The power comes from rotation and loading your body weight on the stick, not from physically flexing the shaft with your bottom hand. Honestly when you look at shooters like Matthews/Bedard, the top hand is applying more force on the shot by acting as the opposite end of a lever, and the bottom hand is just a fulcrum.

You are going to have more control over any long object if your hand is in the middle vs holding it at the end, so it stands to reason having your dominant hand in the middle of the stick would result in greater control

And I also don't believe anyone is "taught" which way they shoot... they just pick up a stick, and one way feels natural, while the other does not

 

[MessierII]

One thing that’s never made sense to me is people who shoot left in hockey but golf right. It’s super common for some reason.

 

[bossram]

You are going to have more control over any long object if your hand is in the middle vs holding it at the end, so it stands to reason having your dominant hand in the middle of the stick would result in greater control

And I also don't believe anyone is "taught" which way they shoot... they just pick up a stick, and one way feels natural, while the other does not

Ask any high-level hockey coach. They'll tell you the same thing.

In hockey, it's not about strictly having precise control or maximum power from the bottom. You need range, fluidity, and being able blend movements together. I'm telling you why this is. (Why is it there are so many left-handed hockey players despite most people being right-handed!) If you don't want to accept, that's fine.

And yes, at high-level early hockey schools/camps, coaches do instruct this way. Again, it's why there are so many left-handed players. Yes, when kids are very young they're just going to grab a stick however, but the canonical way that is taught is dominant hand on top.

One thing that’s never made sense to me is people who shoot left in hockey but golf right. It’s super common for some reason.

I think it's because in golf, there isn't as much control/wrist manipulation coming from the top hand. You're also never going to hold the club one-handed, which is very frequent in hockey.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Handedness really just kind of depends on the activity you're doing.

I write with my right hand so I'm "right-handed." I feel like we just go with that.

Meanwhile, I play hockey left-handed, and I batted left-handed in baseball even though I throw right-handed. People say "oh, well, the baseball thing is normal and shooting LH in hockey means you're actually right-handed."

Ok, but here's the thing: I also golf left-handed. There are fewer left-handed golfers than left-handed people by percentage. Why is that? Is it not the same motion as hockey? I don't know, that's weird.

You wanna hear something even weirder? I speed-solve Rubik's cubes competitively (I know, what a nerd, but that's not the weird part); the weird part is I'm violently right-handed when solving with two hands (yes, two hands, stay with me). I will make extra moves to put the layer I'm working on in my right hand. It's terribly inefficient and it's one of the weakest parts of my game.

When I do one-handed solves (yes, that's a thing), I do them exclusively in my left hand. I can't one-hand solve a cube in my right hand. Can't do it. It's like a turtle trying to drive a car.

And who's to say holding a hockey stick left on the bottom and right on top is "left-handed" anyway? Why isn't that the other way around? It feels arbitrary.

TL;DR: it's all bullshit and we just base everything on what hand you hold a pencil with.

I'm ambidextrous and learning something new can be an absolute pain. A lot of the time it's easier just to pick a hand and stick with it. I eat with my left hand, write with right hand, shoot right handed etc. I've been dabbling in tennis recently and I want a racket for each hand.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Handedness really just kind of depends on the activity you're doing.

I write with my right hand so I'm "right-handed." I feel like we just go with that.

Meanwhile, I play hockey left-handed, and I batted left-handed in baseball even though I throw right-handed. People say "oh, well, the baseball thing is normal and shooting LH in hockey means you're actually right-handed."

Ok, but here's the thing: I also golf left-handed. There are fewer left-handed golfers than left-handed people by percentage. Why is that? Is it not the same motion as hockey? I don't know, that's weird.

I think a lot of it comes down to what ypu've picked up first. The stats are that right-shot hockey players are way more common in the US then they are in Canada. The thinking is that in Canada you're more likely to pick up a hockey stick first (which means right hand at the top, so left shot), whereas in the US you're more likely to pick up a baseball bat(right hand at the top, so right handed).

I know my kid feels weird to me. He's played since he was 5. He's right-handed, left shot. Same as me.

But he golfs left handed. Floors me.

My youngest kid - started out when he was also 5, but doesn't play any longer. Again like me he's right-handed, left shot (or was). He doesn't gold, but he plays ball. And he hits left-handed.

 

[GreeningOil]

The Sedins are a great example for this. I’m prettty sure Daniels left handed but Henriks right and look who the goal scorer was. Daniel who had his dominant hand at the bottom of his stick

They were both left shooters dawg

 

[Wierzbowski426]

Slap shot motion is sort of similar to a baseball swing or a golf swing and I play both of those righty so righty for hockey just seemed natural but thanks for the video, very interesting.

 

[HansonBro]

Ahhh the anuall lefty vs righty thread

 

[Squiffy]

I think a lot of it comes down to what ypu've picked up first. The stats are that right-shot hockey players are way more common in the US then they are in Canada. The thinking is that in Canada you're more likely to pick up a hockey stick first (which means right hand at the top, so left shot), whereas in the US you're more likely to pick up a baseball bat(right hand at the top, so right handed).

I know my kid feels weird to me. He's played since he was 5. He's right-handed, left shot. Same as me.

But he golfs left handed. Floors me.

My youngest kid - started out when he was also 5, but doesn't play any longer. Again like me he's right-handed, left shot (or was). He doesn't gold, but he plays ball. And he hits left-handed.

Left-handed, shoot right here. Would have been awfully young whenever the first stick was, wouldn't have been anyone telling me "this" was the right way to hold the stick for a left-handed person, just would have been how I held it.

But.. it fully translated in to other sports from there where you hold a "stick" of some kind. I'm as left handed as they come, not ambidextrous in the least, but whenever I picked up a baseball bat or a golf club for the first time, it was already baked in, so I bat right and golf right. For some reason I dribble a basket ball better with my right, but shoot left. Tennis however, left-handed, no way I could play that righty.. although on occasion I will switch hands to reach for what would otherwise be a long reaching backhand.

Good video, thanks for sharing OP.