Why Do Most Canadians Shoot Lefty?

[GAGLine]

I'm American. When I was a kid, my brother told me that if you're right handed, you're supposed to use a left-handed stick. So I did. I do everything else righty, but I couldn't imagine playing hockey with a right-handed stick.

 

[Phil Parent]

Lefty here, and I'm right-handed, so Canadian-typical I guess.

I barely ever shot the puck, anyway. But as far as defending goes, I definitively favored the left side of my body. So if I had to pokecheck or go down to block, I did it towards the left. Checking, however, I did with my right side, hip or shoulder.

 

[Frelimo]

Some people are trying to make this WAY more complicated than it is.

There is no "right way" or "wrong way". It's what you feel most comfortable doing at the start, then you keep doing it and get good at doing it that way.

If you want to see complicated, check out how CuJo caught and handled the puck.

 

[Paris in Flames]

I'm right handed, shoot left, bat right and golf right.

Looking at world and sport statistics, I'm perfectly average!

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I'm American, never learned to play baseball when I was kid, hockey first and i still went right handed shot (im right handed) I couldnt imagine shooting left.

 

[MaKi]

Interesting article discussing Canadians and baseball handedness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...nings-linked-to-national-game/article9490807/

For me, I'm;
-Right handed
-Hockey, shoot left, trapper on left hand in net.
-Baseball, swing left, catch left.
-Golf, swing left

 

[ForumNamePending]

I might be pulling this out of thin air but I recall once reading/hearing that Canada also has a exceptionally high ratio of left handed golfers. Maybe we're just messed up.

 

[JetsHomer]

I might be pulling this out of thin air but I recall once reading/hearing that Canada also has a exceptionally high ratio of left handed golfers. Maybe we're just messed up.

I'd bet money on this being related to having a lot of left shooting hockey players.

 

[TheTwelfth]

So recently I was noticing that a ridiculous number of players in the NHL shoot lefty and I started thinking that there is no way there are that many lefties in the NHL. I did some research and found an article stating that the majority of Canadians shoot left and the majority of Americans shoot right. Is there a reason for this? As a righty myself, I could never imagine shooting lefty, yet this seems to be the norm in Canada.

It is the opposite: using your dominant hand down is only done in the U.S, because that is how players are taught to do in baseball and golf. Sweden can rarely find a RHD for the olympics even, whereas the U.S. have a harder time finding LHD. Overall, more players shoot left than right in the NHL.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Silly Americans.

Dominant hand must always be on top.

 

[57special]

I'm a RH Canadian. Shoot LH, and bat left in baseball. My brother is a lefty who shoots RH and bats RH. My sons, who have grown up in the States, are both righties and shoOT/bat RH.


Completely normal.

 

[Rick Nash 61]

Right handed and shoot righty. Baseball was my first sport and she I started playing hockey I couldn't think of holding the stick any other way. Tried to shoot on my left side using a lefty stick and couldn't lift the puck off the ice. I think this is why most of the US olympic team you watch shoots righty. It's a natural motion because of baseball I guess.

 

[GrantLemons]

Right-handed, left shooting (hockey, golf, baseball), Canadian checking in. Hockey was my first sport, so I fit the scenario being discussed to a T.

I have a friend who golfs right and shoots left playing hockey. There must be some kind of ambidexterity going on there. The swings are so similar I just don't understand how doing them separate ways could feel comfortable.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Hockey was my first sport. I'm a righty who shoots righty. My little brother is a lefty who shoots righty. My older brother and dad are both righty and shoot lefty.

So 3 of the 4 of us are "Canadian" shooters except for me.

 

[end]

I was so right hand dominant as a child I wrote right, I batted right, I shot right and I played goal with a right hand mitt, like Tom Barrasso. Then I played more baseball and I couldn't throw with my left arm, so I learned to catch with my left hand and then I never had any right hand mitts and so I stopped playing goal.

 

[PALE PWNR]

Write Right, Play Tennis Right, Swing a Baseball Bat Left, Throw Right, Catch left, Golf Left, Hockey Left, Computer Mouse Right, Shoot Basketball Right, Right Foot Dominant, Shoot a gun Right

I learned Hockey first.

 

[Terry Yake]

If you want to see complicated, check out how CuJo caught and handled the puck.

how did he do both those things differently than any other goalie?

 

[aloonda*]

The top hand is the control hand and the bottom hand is the power hand. That's why hockey players should have their dominant hand on top and baseball players should have the dominant hand on the bottom.

Most Canadians play hockey first and most Americans play baseball first.

I am right handed. I am much more powerful on with my dominant hand. I also play guitar. I am much more deft with my left hand.

Having my left hand as the power hand on a hockey stick just feels absolutely dumb to me. To me

Having my right hand as the control feels like such a waste.

 

[DopeyFish]

Right handed, shoot left as forward, right as defense

Finesse on left, power on right

 

[aloonda*]

instead of the broom trick

they ought to try the


hey here comes someone to hurt you---punch them right now trick

what hand do you use?


I use my right

 

[DopeyFish]

how did he do both those things differently than any other goalie?

Iirc he would put the tip of his stick in the glove and use his blocker hand as the power... so he reversed hands when controlling the puck

 

[Playmaker09]

I am right handed. I am much more powerful on with my dominant hand. I also play guitar. I am much more deft with my left hand.

Having my left hand as the power hand on a hockey stick just feels absolutely dumb to me. To me

Having my right hand as the control feels like such a waste.

It's the coordination.

I couldn't imagine being able to do half the things I can do with one hand if I were to have my left hand on top.

The bottom hand is pretty brainless. All it does is give your top hand support, while the top hand is what influences puck control. But at the same time, it's probably hard to get the same power generation out of your weaker hand, no matter how much you practice compared to someone who puts in the same effort with their dominant hand.

I guess that's why we see so many RH elite shooters and LH elite playmakers/danglers .

 

[Rizzy13]

its just what comes natural, no science behind the decision. a 5 year old isnt going to think it through when they are handed a stick.

I think this is the answer. I have a friend who could always do both ways (he played only as an adult for a bit). But especially for children, they just pick a way and that's that.

 

[kilowatt]

I can only speak for what I have witnessed in Southern California, but the majority of players shoot right handed with their non-dominant hand at the top of the stick. That's just how it is taught here.

 

[didimentionlarseller]

That's a good point about shifting your weight. Dominant hand on the bottom means the weight shift is the same as when throwing a ball, which I assume most of us did before picking up a hockey stick. I could definitely see dominant hand on bottom being the more immediately natural choice when picking up a stick for the first time and trying to shoot. As mentioned previously though, if you're learning to skate and they give you a stick (without a puck to shoot), you'd probably end up holding it in your dominant hold only (at the top).

The other way you could look at it is you want your power hand as close to the puck as possible to reduce wasted motion and increase power on the puck