Confirmed with Link: NYR sign free agent forward Ville Meskanen

Tawnos

A guy with a bass
Sep 10, 2004
28,820
10,397
Charlotte, NC
Yeah me too, instantly held the stick that way from the first time I picked it up and have always played that way since. Holding it to shoot left feels so strange. I'm not a great or even really good player by any means if I'm being honest but I can shoot well at least shooting right.

As with guitar, all that matters is what’s comfortable and it doesn’t matter at all what it’s called.
 

Charlie Conway

Oxford Comma
Nov 2, 2013
5,007
2,614
As with guitar, all that matters is what’s comfortable and it doesn’t matter at all what it’s called.

I started playing right because I didn't even know lefty guitars were a thing. If anything, I think it's a benefit that my fretting hand is my dominant hand.

I shot right. I bat right. Most other things are left, but living in a righty world, most lefties gain ambidexterity to some degree.

I remember reading somethng that there are benefits to both sides for shooting. By having your dominant on the bottom, you're supposed to get more power, but having it lower gives you more control and coordination. Don't know if it's true, but the dominant practice seems to be based on comfort.

In any case, I like this signing, and I'm glad we're going in a different direction and getting some new blood.
 

will1066

Fonz Drury
Oct 12, 2008
43,216
58,833
Because righties can score on one timers easier than lefties can and goals are scored by going thru the “royal road” more than ever these days.

A righty gets his shot off the left side which 99% of the time is to the goalies blocker side (im the opposite by the way). Much harder for goalies to make that save moving to their blocker side.

We never have righties. Now we’ve got Zibanejad Fast Shattenkirk pionk Deangelo Lettier Ronning and these two euros in the system. Still don’t have many.

Wouldn’t surprise me to see us go after kupari if he falls and or nordgren 2nd round in the draft if either fall at all.

And why Wahlstrom would be such s Big get

Vally reference!
 

UnSandvich

Registered User
Sep 7, 2017
5,103
7,058
With regards to the lefty-righty thing, I could be completely wrong, but I believe I read somewhere that different programs teach different-stick grip styles. I believe in Canada they teach you to have your dominant hand at the butt of the stick (better for using the stick one-handed), while other nations teach the opposite (more control over your shot?)
 

Levitate

Registered User
Jul 29, 2004
30,948
7,655
I thought dominant hand on the top of the stick was supposed to aid in stick handling but I'm not good at hockey
 

Gresch04

Registered User
Feb 12, 2009
2,127
1,939
Most lefty shots are actually right handed. I think it’s the righty shots who are more likely to be left handed.

Exactly, I'm LH and shoot RH. Most people I know are RH and shoot LH. The top/dominant hand holds the stick 100% of the time (you let go with your bottom hand at times to sprint, etc). And you need fine motor control with your top hand to poke check, dig the puck out of a tight spot, and sweep your stick with control. The bottom hand just helps.
 

EpicDing

which is why I included the question mark earlier
Oct 2, 2011
5,609
4,489
Hartford
Exactly, I'm LH and shoot RH. Most people I know are RH and shoot LH. The top/dominant hand holds the stick 100% of the time (you let go with your bottom hand at times to sprint, etc). And you need fine motor control with your top hand to poke check, dig the puck out of a tight spot, and sweep your stick with control. The bottom hand just helps.

Huh, weird. I'm a righty and shoot righty. Maybe that's why I'm garbage :laugh:
 

Larrybiv

We're CLEAN, we PROMISE!
May 14, 2013
9,309
4,570
South Florida
Gorton is making his mark at AHL level as well. There will be a big turn over in Hartford for next season.
Yes,lots of also rans gonna lose their jobs with Hartford. Guys that have been there years and never making the big club.....for good reason. Now most of these players will have a REAL SHOT at making NHL.
 

nyr2k2

Can't Beat Him
Jul 30, 2005
45,660
32,732
Maryland
Exactly, I'm LH and shoot RH. Most people I know are RH and shoot LH. The top/dominant hand holds the stick 100% of the time (you let go with your bottom hand at times to sprint, etc). And you need fine motor control with your top hand to poke check, dig the puck out of a tight spot, and sweep your stick with control. The bottom hand just helps.
As I mentioned earlier my hand usage is all over the place--I'm not really a righty or a lefty. In hockey, and in tennis (never played tennis legitimately, just goofing around) and ping pong, sometimes I'd actually switch hands for a moment. Like I'd take a forehand tennis shot with my right, then switch off and use my left. Or when I'd go to poke or sweep with a hockey stick I'd hand off to my right--my left has better motor control, probably from using it to write, but my right had a lot more strength. Again, it's all weird.

I'm sure I inherited it to some degree from my father. We do pretty much everything the same except, of course, shoot in hockey, where he's left.
 
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TGWL

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Jul 28, 2011
14,964
9,693
Huh, weird. I'm a righty and shoot righty. Maybe that's why I'm garbage :laugh:
I'm the same. Well, the first part. I like to believe I'm not total garbage. I don't know how different it would have been if I grew up playing with a lefty stick, I'd imagine the shot power would have been a little less but maybe slightly more control of the puck in tight situations.
 

Boruto

.
Jun 27, 2011
15,627
436
Lindqvist and Meskanen are ready to replace Kovacs and..... who was the other one associated with Kovacs again?
 

EpicDing

which is why I included the question mark earlier
Oct 2, 2011
5,609
4,489
Hartford
I'm the same. Well, the first part. I like to believe I'm not total garbage. I don't know how different it would have been if I grew up playing with a lefty stick, I'd imagine the shot power would have been a little less but maybe slightly more control of the puck in tight situations.

Yeah, I can get a nice wrister off but I can't stickhandle to save my life. Lefty has just always felt wrong though.
 

Levitate

Registered User
Jul 29, 2004
30,948
7,655
Though theoretically Lindqvist and Meskanen have produced better than Kovac's and Stomwall did

But yeah not exactly penciling these guys in as NHL contributors yet
 

Harbour Dog

Registered User
Jul 16, 2015
10,241
12,828
St. John's
I'm a righty, but shoot left.

In my experience, and at low levels of play, guys who play with their dominant hand on bottom (e.g. a righty shooting right-handed) are more likely to shoot harder and more accurate, while if you play with your dominant hand on top, then you're more likely to stickhandle quicker and more precisely.

Very generalized of course, but it definitely seems skewed in each direction.
 

nyrage

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
2,082
1,894
Houston, TX
Exactly, I'm LH and shoot RH. Most people I know are RH and shoot LH. The top/dominant hand holds the stick 100% of the time (you let go with your bottom hand at times to sprint, etc). And you need fine motor control with your top hand to poke check, dig the puck out of a tight spot, and sweep your stick with control. The bottom hand just helps.

I don't know. I think it's up to the individual. I'm RH and shoot RH. I used to poke-check with either hand depending on my position versus the puck-carrier, whatever allowed me a longer reach. In about 35 years of playing, I split my time pretty evenly between C, D, and LW. I rather play the off-wing.

As far as being taught which way to shoot depending on the country as someone mentioned, I picked up a righty stick when I was like 5. It was natural. No coach or person ever tried to persuade me to shoot right or left. Even when I coached 8-9 year olds, it never entered my head.
 

Miamipuck

Al Swearengen
Dec 29, 2009
7,411
2,693
Take a Wild Guess
As I mentioned earlier my hand usage is all over the place--I'm not really a righty or a lefty. In hockey, and in tennis (never played tennis legitimately, just goofing around) and ping pong, sometimes I'd actually switch hands for a moment. Like I'd take a forehand tennis shot with my right, then switch off and use my left. Or when I'd go to poke or sweep with a hockey stick I'd hand off to my right--my left has better motor control, probably from using it to write, but my right had a lot more strength. Again, it's all weird.

I'm sure I inherited it to some degree from my father. We do pretty much everything the same except, of course, shoot in hockey, where he's left.

This is exactly me. I write lefty and shoot righty. I think this has really helped me, as the one thing in hockey that's really good are my hands, my feet lol that's another story. I was a big believer that writing lefty and shooting righty was part of it. Generally however, I can use either hand. Throwing lefty is about the only thing I can't really do. My left hand is more coordinated for things and my right hand is stronger. I can switch up and back in tennis and such......I suck at it though. lol

No one told me how to hold a stick, I just naturally was a righty. I can also play any side it doesn't really matter although my preference is the off side/wing.
 

Synergy27

F-A-C-G-C-E
Apr 27, 2004
13,217
11,537
Washington, D.C.
Can we just ponder for a moment the fact that we, humans, have (mostly) symmetrical bodies but asymmetrical control over it? What glitch in the evolutionary matrix is responsible for that?
 

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