2017-2018 NHL Thread

[herman]

https://twitter.com/peter_russo9/status/996010379443654656

This technique (one-handed stickhandling, while on breaks) is the primary reason why kids are taught to pick up the top of the stick with their dominant hands, leading to more players being left-shots, and thus players like Roman Polak and Luke Schenn still having NHL contracts.

 

[Coco-puffs]

https://twitter.com/peter_russo9/status/996010379443654656

This technique (one-handed stickhandling, while on breaks) is the primary reason why kids are taught to pick up the top of the stick with their dominant hands, leading to more players being left-shots, and thus players like Roman Polak and Luke Schenn still having NHL contracts.

Is that really true?  I'd like evidence that kids are being taught to put their dominant hand at the top of the stick.  I was a kid long enough ago that maybe things have changed, but never did I see a coach try and convert which way someone shoots to be able to do things one-handed. 

I'm right handed and never had a problem with one-handed stick handling even when I was 100 lbs soaking wet and had to use a wood-stick.  And the highest level of hockey I played was AA- so I'm no superstar.  To this day I generally accept passes with one hand on my stick so I can GO with the puck immediately. 

 

[Kin]

Just saw an interesting point made on Twitter about how today's US supreme court ruling legalizing Sports Betting could ultimately lead to the NHL having to be more forthright with injury status.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/peter_russo9/status/996010379443654656

This technique (one-handed stickhandling, while on breaks) is the primary reason why kids are taught to pick up the top of the stick with their dominant hands, leading to more players being left-shots, and thus players like Roman Polak and Luke Schenn still having NHL contracts.

Is that really true?  I'd like evidence that kids are being taught to put their dominant hand at the top of the stick.  I was a kid long enough ago that maybe things have changed, but never did I see a coach try and convert which way someone shoots to be able to do things one-handed. 

I'm right handed and never had a problem with one-handed stick handling even when I was 100 lbs soaking wet and had to use a wood-stick.  And the highest level of hockey I played was AA- so I'm no superstar.  To this day I generally accept passes with one hand on my stick so I can GO with the puck immediately.

Depends on the hockey school of thought but I think it?s pretty prevalent. Unless I was misinterpreting your contention with my statement (which as I'm looking back on this, is not 100% correct)

https://www.hockeygiant.com/support/should-i-shoot-left-handed-or-right-handed/pg_id/20058

My first stick was a flat blade so I just went with the direction my genes preferred. Righty with a right shot (and right swing).

 

[OldTimeHockey]

https://twitter.com/peter_russo9/status/996010379443654656

This technique (one-handed stickhandling, while on breaks) is the primary reason why kids are taught to pick up the top of the stick with their dominant hands, leading to more players being left-shots, and thus players like Roman Polak and Luke Schenn still having NHL contracts.

It also allows a player to continue in their natural skating stride while carrying the puck therefore not losing speed. I wouldn't call it stickhandling persay...more a way of controlling a puck at full speed. As soon as the player places the second hand on the stick, their skating technique has to be altered and their speed drops.

 

[herman]

It also allows a player to continue in their natural skating stride while carrying the puck therefore not losing speed. I wouldn't call it stickhandling persay...more a way of controlling a puck at full speed. As soon as the player places the second hand on the stick, their skating technique has to be altered and their speed drops.

Yeah, it has a lot of benefits when speed is the priority. I think most players are taught the one-handed 'shovel' up the ice where the blade stays behind the puck as you pump your arms and legs.

So where I was not 100% right, per Coco's question was whether this was the primary reason why players are taught to take the top of the stick by the dominant hand, and this shovel method is probably not the primary reason, and more the beneficiary of that school of thought. The primary reason should be control vs strength.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

It also allows a player to continue in their natural skating stride while carrying the puck therefore not losing speed. I wouldn't call it stickhandling persay...more a way of controlling a puck at full speed. As soon as the player places the second hand on the stick, their skating technique has to be altered and their speed drops.

Yeah, it has a lot of benefits when speed is the priority. I think most players are taught the one-handed 'shovel' up the ice where the blade stays behind the puck as you pump your arms and legs.

So where I was not 100% right, per Coco's question was whether this was the primary reason why players are taught to take the top of the stick by the dominant hand, and this shovel method is probably not the primary reason, and more the beneficiary of that school of thought. The primary reason should be control vs strength.

Well I think the shovel progresses to the stick handle. For instance the girls I'm coaching are 2nd year atom players at the top level in the province. I started with this group at the Novice age(7 years old). At that age, I worked strongly on skating technique(still do) and that progressed to the shovel and now I'm progressing them to a lateral movement using that same shovel basics.

 

[Bender]

I've heard about this throughout the years and I just don't understand how anyone could get.comfortable having their dominant hand on top. I bat right, throw right, am right handed and shoot right. I feel like I would never have as much control stickhandling with my left hand below my right.

 

[Coco-puffs]

It also allows a player to continue in their natural skating stride while carrying the puck therefore not losing speed. I wouldn't call it stickhandling persay...more a way of controlling a puck at full speed. As soon as the player places the second hand on the stick, their skating technique has to be altered and their speed drops.

Yeah, it has a lot of benefits when speed is the priority. I think most players are taught the one-handed 'shovel' up the ice where the blade stays behind the puck as you pump your arms and legs.

So where I was not 100% right, per Coco's question was whether this was the primary reason why players are taught to take the top of the stick by the dominant hand, and this shovel method is probably not the primary reason, and more the beneficiary of that school of thought. The primary reason should be control vs strength.

Yeah, I was pretty sure it wasn't the primary reason (one-handed stick handling).  Lots of right-hand dominant people shoot left, but I don't think that kids are necessarily taught to do so.  I think it all comes down to what the kid is comfortable doing.  If they say they don't mind either way, then sure, make them have their dominant hand on top for the reasons laid out in the link. 

IIRC my dad (who's right handed but shoots left) actually tried to put a left handed stick in my hands at a very young age and I immediately switched to holding it right-handed.  Not sure of his motivation (maybe just because he shoots left), but its not like he fought me on it.  Go out and play kid!

 

[herman]

IIRC my dad (who's right handed but shoots left) actually tried to put a left handed stick in my hands at a very young age and I immediately switched to holding it right-handed.  Not sure of his motivation (maybe just because he shoots left), but its not like he fought me on it.  Go out and play kid!

Pretty sure he did it so you could share sticks with him.

It's a genetic preference, but it can be overcome with training (and yelling and tears).

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I've heard about this throughout the years and I just don't understand how anyone could get.comfortable having their dominant hand on top. I bat right, throw right, am right handed and shoot right. I feel like I would never have as much control stickhandling with my left hand below my right.

The majority are now left handed now, so the opposite of what you feel comfortable with. In fact, out of the 4 girls on the team I coach that are right handed, three of them write with their left hand.

 

[bustaheims]

I've heard about this throughout the years and I just don't understand how anyone could get.comfortable having their dominant hand on top. I bat right, throw right, am right handed and shoot right. I feel like I would never have as much control stickhandling with my left hand below my right.

I see quite the opposite. I control my stick much more with my top hand than the bottom one - especially on the defensive side. I want the stick in my dominant hand all the time, and that means having it at the top.

 

[Bullfrog]

Same. I feel so awkward with my dominant hand on the bottom. My brain can't even figure how to shoot. I just end up pushing the puck.

 

[Coco-puffs]

I've heard about this throughout the years and I just don't understand how anyone could get.comfortable having their dominant hand on top. I bat right, throw right, am right handed and shoot right. I feel like I would never have as much control stickhandling with my left hand below my right.

I see quite the opposite. I control my stick much more with my top hand than the bottom one - especially on the defensive side. I want the stick in my dominant hand all the time, and that means having it at the top.

This actually makes some sense.  As a defender, you'll be trying to do more with one hand on your stick than a forward.  Having the dominant hand at the top would help, especially when you are younger and haven't built up strength.

That said, I never feel like having my left-hand at the top has ever hurt me in terms of stick handling one-handed, or defensive play etc.  With adult strength, it certainly doesn't impact me

 

[Kin]

I think I wrote something like this last year but I will again. Following hockey media during the playoffs if the Leafs aren't in it is exhausting. I don't know when the last time was that I read something in my pursuit of mildly interesting off-season news that didn't feel like someone relentlessly trying to sell me on why I should be watching two out of market teams I have no personal connection to.

This is primarily done through trying to sell us on specific narratives but there's barely any critical examination of them. Take Washington for instance. The easy and constantly repeated narrative for why their cup run is compelling is because they haven't won before and wouldn't it be great to see Ovechkin win the cup?

But would it? I don't particularly like Ovechkin. I don't dislike him much, weird politics aside, but outside of being a great player I don't know how invested I am in his personal goals. His winning a cup doesn't mean more to me than any other veteran winning one would. Again and again people search for some iteration of the Ray Bourque thing without realizing that it's not really a bottomless well. Guy wins Cup after years of not winning cup doesn't remain interesting because Guy gets recast every year.

Likewise Vegas which, I grant, is a new thing. To be fair DGB has written about whether or not it's a good thing if they win the cup which was worth a read but I think that's a well that's run dry. I get it, expansion teams are usually bad and in this case most of us were very wrong about how good they'd be. But with a clear view of why we were wrong(the league is watered down, expansion rules were good to them, other GMs cared more about their cap then holding onto good players) what they're doing isn't really a surprise anymore. They're a good team. Good teams, in the playoffs, have a chance at a cup.

But none of this gets looked at critically because 99% of what gets written during this time is either A) from people employed by NHL rights-holders or B) by people who have a personal interest in people being invested in hockey.

I don't know, I'm probably just grumpy and bitter about it but I really feel like I remember a time when hockey media wasn't just relentless cheerleading for the league.

 

[Kin]

The Nashville Predators, the team not the players, have officially endorsed a candidate in Nashville's mayoral race.

https://sports.yahoo.com/predators-endorse-nashville-mayoral-candidate-raising-questions-212634670.html

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/JeffCoxSports/status/997864932296314881

I believe that was the last coaching vacancy. It's still possible someone else gets fired, but so far so good when it comes to keeping Keefe in the organization for a little while longer.

 

[L K]

Same. I feel so awkward with my dominant hand on the bottom. My brain can't even figure how to shoot. I just end up pushing the puck.

Yeah, I'm left handed but have always shot right when I play baseball, lacrosse, hockey etc.  Still throw with my left though.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Same. I feel so awkward with my dominant hand on the bottom. My brain can't even figure how to shoot. I just end up pushing the puck.

Yeah, I'm left handed but have always shot right when I play baseball, lacrosse, hockey etc.  Still throw with my left though.

Your bottom hand is only your guide in hockey. You actually shouldn't even grip the stick with that hand. Not tightly anyways until you're going to shoot or pass. It only makes sense that the top hand is your dominant hand. It does all the work. It's why i've always been confused that so many people golf right handed, or swing a baseball bat right handed when their dominant hand is the right.

 

[Kin]

Your bottom hand is only your guide in hockey. You actually shouldn't even grip the stick with that hand. Not tightly anyways until you're going to shoot or pass. It only makes sense that the top hand is your dominant hand. It does all the work. It's why i've always been confused that so many people golf right handed, or swing a baseball bat right handed when their dominant hand is the right.

I don't get that at all. On a slap shot it's your bottom hand(and the arm it attaches to) that winds up and follows through. All the power is coming from that motion. Same with a golf swing/baseball swing. The power is coming from the torque you can generate with the larger range of motion you have with the arm that corresponds to your back foot.