Slapshot: Difference between revisions

The invention of the slapshot is credited to [[Bernie Geoffrion|Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion]] (a nickname alluding to the thunderous clack of his slapshots) of the [[Montreal Canadiens]].<ref>{{cite news| url=httphttps://www.cbc.ca/sports/storyhockey/2006/03/11/cancer_geoffrion060711bernie-geoffrion-dead-at-75-1.html605615 | work=CBC News | title=Bernie Geoffrion dead at 75 | date=March 11, 2006}}</ref> [[Black_Canadians|Black Canadian]] [[Eddie Martin (ice hockey)|Eddie Martin]], of the [[Coloured Hockey League]]'s Halifax Eurekas, has also been credited with inventing the slapshot in the late 1800s.<ref>{{cite book

|title = Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-19251895–1925

|access-date = 2017-03-March 21, 2017

}}</ref> [[Dick Irvin]], who was a star player in the [[Western Canada Hockey League|WCHL]] and [[PCHA]] – and who later coached Geoffrion with the [[Montreal Canadiens|Habs]] – was also renowned for having a hard and accurate slap shot. Growing up in Winnipeg in the 1890s and 1900s, he would practice shooting against a doorknob in his attic during the winter months for accuracy. In the summertime, Irvin would draw a chalk outline of a net onto his family's sled garage, and practice [[one timer|one timers]]s off a piece of wooden board embedded into the ground.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DTMjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WJkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7222,3691356&hl=en| work=The Montreal Gazette| title=Dick Irvin Was a Dedicated Player: Practiced Profusely, Loved Hockey | date=May 17, 1957}}</ref>

Starting in the [[2010s]], usage of the slap shot at the highest levels of professional play (such as the NHL) has declined, with the exception of the [[one-timer|one-timer shot]]. This is due to a number of reasons. Defensively, players are much faster and more adept at blocking shooting lanes, punishing the comparatively slow setup time of a slap shot. Better equipment has made players less fearful about blocking screamingly fast shots with their bodies. Even if a defenceman doesn't close on the puck in time, goalies are better prepared and know that a slapshot is likely a direct shot to compensate for accuracy issues, and can quickly square up to block a slap shot with their body. Offensively, modern [[Ice hockey stick|composite ice hockey sticks]] are lighter and more flexible than classic 20th century wooden sticks, which has enabled accurate [[wrist shot]]s from farther out than was feasible before. With the accuracy flaw fixed, players have preferred the faster setup to take a wrist shot to better surprise defences. Additionally, wrist shots allow more trickery and deception to confuse the goalie, with players able to set up surprising angles with how they pull the shot; slap shots tend to be straighter and have to get in via pure power and speed, which are better prepared for in modern hockey. The one-timer still sees use by letting the person taking the slap shot set up before they even have the puck, thus avoiding the slow wind-up time that gives the defence a chance to react.<ref name="wsj-2017" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Shinzawa |first=Fluto |date=November 17, 2022 |title=The death of NHL slap shots: Why players are abandoning hockey's signature offensive weapon |url=https://theathletic.com/3904708/2022/11/17/nhl-slap-shot-death/ |work=The Athletic |location= |access-date=November 21, 2022}}</ref>

The [[Kontinental Hockey League|KHL]] record for fastest shot is held by [[Alex Riazantsev|Alexander Riazantsev]], who slapped a puck at the KHL All-Star Game's Skill competition in Riga, Latvia, with a speed of 114.127 mph (183.67 &nbsp;km/h) on 21 January 21, 2012.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wyshynski |first=Greg |date=2012-01-January 21, 2012 |title=KHL's Alexander Ryazantsev sets new 'world record' for hardest shot at 114 mph |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/khl-alexander-ryazantsev-sets-world-record-hardest-shot-174131642.html |access-date=2012-08-07 |publisher=Yahoo}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVIA_P8Tirk KHL All-Stars Hardest Shot Competition]</ref>

The [[National Hockey League|NHL]] record for fastest shot is held by [[Zdeno Chara]], whose shot was measured at 108.8 mph (175.5 &nbsp;km/h) during the NHL All-Star Game's Skills Competition in Ottawa, Canada, on 29 January 29, 2012.<ref>{{Citation |title=Chara's 108.8 mph shot -– NHL All-Star Skills |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQHTJt7o_vU |language=en |access-date=2023-01-21}}</ref>

The [[American Hockey League|AHL]] record for fastest slapshot is held by [[Martin Frk]], with a shot clocked at 109.2 mph (175.7 &nbsp;km/h) during the AHL All-Star Game's Skills Competition in Ontario, California, USA, on 26 January 26, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |date=2019-01-January 27, 2019 |title=Ontario Reign's Martin Frk breaks Zdeno Chara's hardest shot record in AHL skills competition |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nhl/news/ontario-reign-martin-frk-breaks-zdeno-charas-hardest-shot-record-in-ahl-skills-competition/8hg9jjl9jykt1t5ryr1mwmh5j |access-date=2019-01-27 |publisher=Sportingnews.com}}</ref>