In the NHL skills competition, the shooting accuracy results seem to be about 50%, the guys hit the targets 50% of the time. When a guy goes 4/4, it's pretty remarkable. Hell, some years the winner goes 4/7.
http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/hockey/nhlallstar/allsuperskills.htm
But I'm wondering why they're so bad. at www.warriorhockey.com you can watch footage of Kovalev screwing around with the puck, hitting the post from an angle four or five times in a row in the exact same spot, among other fairly amazing feats. George Plimpton's book Open Net talks about watching the Bruins of the 70's playing around at practice and taking bets on how many times a player could hit the crossbar with a slapshot from the blueline. I've heard stories of guys flipping the puck through the hole in the glass where photographers stick their lenses, Alexi Semenov and another older Oiler I believe it was.
These guys are the best in the world, and apparently some of them are capable of some extremely precise shooting. So why, when it comes to the skills competition, are they unable to hit a six inch in diameter (or so, that's what it looks like) target four times in a row from the slot, with plenty of time to settle the puck and get their heads up. To me, it seems like guys should be going four for four on three inch targets.
I've only seriously been playing hockey for about five years now, but I've tried shooting from the same place they do on an empty net, and I'd put my own success rate at about 33%. Obviously I don't have any pressure on my or anything, but I'm not a professional who's put up with thousands of people watching him play ever since he was sixteen or seventeen.
So seriously, what the hell's going on there?
http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/hockey/nhlallstar/allsuperskills.htm
But I'm wondering why they're so bad. at www.warriorhockey.com you can watch footage of Kovalev screwing around with the puck, hitting the post from an angle four or five times in a row in the exact same spot, among other fairly amazing feats. George Plimpton's book Open Net talks about watching the Bruins of the 70's playing around at practice and taking bets on how many times a player could hit the crossbar with a slapshot from the blueline. I've heard stories of guys flipping the puck through the hole in the glass where photographers stick their lenses, Alexi Semenov and another older Oiler I believe it was.
These guys are the best in the world, and apparently some of them are capable of some extremely precise shooting. So why, when it comes to the skills competition, are they unable to hit a six inch in diameter (or so, that's what it looks like) target four times in a row from the slot, with plenty of time to settle the puck and get their heads up. To me, it seems like guys should be going four for four on three inch targets.
I've only seriously been playing hockey for about five years now, but I've tried shooting from the same place they do on an empty net, and I'd put my own success rate at about 33%. Obviously I don't have any pressure on my or anything, but I'm not a professional who's put up with thousands of people watching him play ever since he was sixteen or seventeen.
So seriously, what the hell's going on there?