Explain something to me

[Injektilo]

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?

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[frito]

I think part of it is the speed factor. In those videos, the players have all the time in the world. In the skills competition I think they have to release all their shots within a short period of time.

 

[Injektilo]

I don't think there's that much of a difference. In the skills competition they have time to settle the puck and get their heads up to pick their spot. How much more time do you need? What else are you gonna do with it?

At game speed I can understand it, but the skills competition isn't game speed.

 

[CoupeStanley]

Thats a good question.. There's no such thing as aiming for a definite target in hockey.. You usually pick far left or far right, high or low and use your instinct to shoot it as hard as you can where it belongs.

Their instinct is usually pretty good to pick the inner post or top shelves but those target are tricky, they're not exactly in the inner post nor top shelves.

You need to think and aim and thats not natural puck shooting. + It's harder when you're not moving your feet.

 

[Nbr-17]

From http://www.nhl.com/allstar/2007/superskills.html#accuracy

The shooter has a maximum of eighteen seconds to shoot up to eight pucks in an attempt to hit each of the four targets.

So there's definitely a time factor.

 

[Whiplash27]

So if you go 4 for 4 you have 4 seconds per puck with 2 seconds to spare. 4 seconds is a long time.

 

[ryanghg]

It's cause you don't have the best players competing in the skills competition

 

[FLYLine27*]

Lets not forget in those "videos" of Kovy shooting the post every time in the same spot that it was probably done in a few takes to get it perfect.

 

[EmptyNetter]

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.

It's one thing to hit the same spot repeatedly -- muscle memory is your ally there, and once you get into a groove you just have to keep repeating what you just did. Four different targets means four different stances and follow throughs. Indecision or lack of focus may play a part -- if the shooter switches targets just before shooting or bobbles a pass it will throw off his shot. Plus there's the quicksand factor -- each missed shot means less chances to get it right. It can eat at your confidence and make you grip the stick tighter.

 

[lotus]

it is alot about focus. Also, Kovy is just a g.

But you got to have good passers too.

you don't have 4 seconds for each shot w/ 2 to spare. It starts and then you got to get the passes and take the shot. It takes time to get the passes. Of course it's not like you need to freak out about beating the clock, but you certainly need to catch the puck, and settle it if its a bad pass, drag it back into position, then shoot.

but again, not everyones Kovy =p

 

[Injektilo]

It's one thing to hit the same spot repeatedly -- muscle memory is your ally there, and once you get into a groove you just have to keep repeating what you just did. Four different targets means four different stances and follow throughs. Indecision or lack of focus may play a part -- if the shooter switches targets just before shooting or bobbles a pass it will throw off his shot. Plus there's the quicksand factor -- each missed shot means less chances to get it right. It can eat at your confidence and make you grip the stick tighter.

Alright, this answer probably makes the most sense to me.
It just seems like there's this huge discrepancy. I'm not even just talking about the Kovalev video, I've read countless stories about the insane accuracy of NHL players when they screw around with the puck, but maybe some are more myth than fact.

Still, those targets look awfully big, and these guys aren't taking slapshots from the blueline, it's a wrist shot from just above the hash marks. I'm just really suprised that they can't even hit 50%, those are some pretty big targets.

 

[ModSquad]

Not to mention that these guys are in front of 18000 fans and tons more on TV. Got some pressure there...

 

[arcticwinter]

it's not easy to take a hard pass and smoke a target within a couple seconds with another pass coming.at nhl practices you'll see alot better than that,heck i personally seen brashear put every puck in the trainer's pile crossbar and in from twenty feet and he's a scrapper.

 

[TBLfan]

Plus Kovalev is one of the most talented players in the league. If only he played like it.