Wrist shot relevance in today's beer league

[jazzykat]

I know that the snap shot is better and why it is better.

However, I am not sure if there is a place anymore for the classic big wind-up wrist shot even in beer league. It is my favorite shot and I really enjoy taking them so I'm definitely not trashing it but I'm not sure if I should still be taking them in a game or when I should be taking them as opposed to a snap shot or a slap shot. Also, my wrist shot is hard relative to my other shots and not that much slower than my slap shot.

Any guidance is appreciated.

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[wils5150]

i dont think it really matters. what matters is getting it on target with some zip. If your wrist shot does that use it

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I know that the snap shot is better and why it is better.

However, I am not sure if there is a place anymore for the classic big wind-up wrist shot even in beer league. It is my favorite shot and I really enjoy taking them so I'm definitely not trashing it but I'm not sure if I should still be taking them in a game or when I should be taking them as opposed to a snap shot or a slap shot. Also, my wrist shot is hard relative to my other shots and not that much slower than my slap shot.

Any guidance is appreciated.

For me, snap shot= close range (under 25 feet), wrist shot = medium to long range (25 feet to blue line), slap shot= long range (40 feet to neutral zone red line).
I find myself using mostly my wrist shots because the defenders don't let me get too close to the net, and it's far more accurate and powerful than my snapshot (60-65 mph vs 50-55 mph). Also, I like to use it at the blue line because it takes less time to wind up than a slapshot.

A lot of players in the NHL scored a ton of goals using their wrist shot : Sakic, Kovalev, Semin, Cammalleri.

Even some defenders like Karlsson rely heavily on their wristers.

18 year old Mac Kinnon sure knows how to let 'em rip

 

[Wilch]

I never found the need to shoot slapshots.

For me, I snap everything on goal from the hashmark and in.

I either do a quarter slapper or a wind up wrist shot from the blueline.

Slappers take too long to connect and my accuracy isn't great with it.

I find that at the low-mid beer league levels (even some upper divs) you really don't need a booming slapshot to beat the goalie. You just need to have a deceptive, quick release with an accurate shot.

 

[JaeTM]

Everyone on my team is in love with their slap shot and I very rarely see anyone score with it. I have a nice and accurate slap shot too but I never use it. Almost all my goals are scored using wrist or snappers.

 

[Psuedo Omega]

That MacKinnon goal is just absolutely sick. It's amazing how quick NHLers can load their sticks and let 'em rip.

As far as the OP, I'm old school and 75% of the time I use a wrist shot. I don't have a quick release but I find as long as you can get some speed on your shot and place it where you want to you'll have a lot of success using it. I like to shoot low so if the goalie makes the save it gives a teammate an opportunity for a rebound. Go out and have a blast!

Agree with the slapshots as well. I got a decent one but there is no need to use it when you're all just trying to have a good time.

 

[Ozz]

My wrister is my #1 shot. Like the guy above, I'm just old school that way. I've come to use my snap more and more, and perhaps eventually it could become my #1. I have a good slapshot but accuracy isn't as good as the other shots, and I so rarely ever find myself ready to use one in a game. If I do, I'm holding up the blue line and sending it deep for a screen/rebound/deflection. If anything I'll be more inclined to perform a waist-high slapshot, with which I am more accurate.

 

[sanityplease]

I wouldn't agree that the snap shot is better. It is probably better than a big slow wind-up wrister. It is not better than an in-stride loaded wrister (like MacKinnon's). The load time/wind-up looks like you're just stickhandling. You have to be able to handle the puck pretty well to pull it off though.

 

[Frank Drebin]

As a goalie who plays at a decent level beer league I've been beaten many times by the long wind up wrister. A well placed shot can beat a lot of goalies that have lapses in their focus, or that just don't give enough respect to the shot.

 

[AD1066]

I find that at the low-mid beer league levels (even some upper divs) you really don't need a booming slapshot to beat the goalie. You just need to have a deceptive, quick release with an accurate shot.

AKA "The Rafalski". And I agree, I almost never wind up for a slapshot on the blue line.

Not only is it unnecessary but also I sometimes send them too high, and I'd hate to catch someone in the wrong spot in a meaningless beer league game. The exception would be if I had a clear lane to the net, maybe sneaking down to the circle on a PP for the one timer.

 

[jazzykat]

Well cool!

Actually, I take fully loaded wristers from the point sometimes but it looks like I am pulling the puck back/walking the line and looking for a lane.

 

[Jarick]

Full wristers from the point definitely have a place.

I wouldn't say the snap shot is better by any stretch. Wristers tend to be more accurate as there is more contact time between the blade and puck.

Years ago, I made my windup more compact to quicken my release. I don't really differentiate between snap shot and wrister anymore; it's just how long do I hold the puck before shooting. If I'm one-timing a shot, that's going to be a snapper (I don't wind up because I don't have the coordination). If I'm carrying the puck before shooting, that's a wrister.

 

[JDinkalage Morgoone]

I rarely see anyone hit the freakin net with their slapper in my league!

 

[kamosko]

Most of my shots from outside the circles are wrist shots, easier and more accurate to get down low for rebounds or beat the goalie high.

I don't really take slap shots from that far out in beer league unless the lane is clear or I'm playing competitive games like in tournaments.

 

[Bolt32]

I rarely see anyone hit the freakin net with their slapper in my league!

I have no problem with the puck being on net, just my problem it always hits the freaking goalie in the Logo. It has been a couple of years since I scored on a slap shot....and I'm a defenseman.

 

[rh71]

For me, snap shot= close range (under 25 feet), wrist shot = medium to long range (25 feet to blue line), slap shot= long range (40 feet to neutral zone red line).
I find myself using mostly my wrist shots because the defenders don't let me get too close to the net, and it's far more accurate and powerful than my snapshot (60-65 mph vs 50-55 mph). Also, I like to use it at the blue line because it takes less time to wind up than a slapshot.

Agree with all of this except I have a non-existent slap shot and never shoot from the blue-line as a forward. Most of my goals are loaded wristers coming down the RW as a righty shooting blocker side. I use a snapshot when I don't have a lot of speed and closer in but it isn't nearly as accurate nor successful. But I did also want to mention since most were commenting on slap shots. There was a defenseman on the opposing team who beat our very good goalie multiple times in multiple games with his booming slap shot, mostly off the rush. It was on net every single time too and he was able to put it high and low. Nobody else with any other shot would beat him. Maybe our goalie is just terrible at hard accurate slap shots?

What I wouldn't do to have at least a hard, even if inaccurate, slapshot.

It is not better than an in-stride loaded wrister (like MacKinnon's). The load time/wind-up looks like you're just stickhandling. You have to be able to handle the puck pretty well to pull it off though.

You can definitely load your wrister while pulling it back which makes it a more deceptive and quick shot. The time it takes for you to put weight down and for the puck to reach your blade again is about the same.

I think where the snapshot has the advantage is surprising the goalie and also being able to shoot off the wrong foot hard (let the stick flex do the work).

 

[rh71]

One more wrist/snapshot hybrid that Semin and Ovechkin have mastered is the one where they pull it in and shoot all in one motion, changing the shot angle for the goalie. Not only that but the defender cannot block it. Watch this replay at the 6 second mark. The release is in the middle of the blade. Sick stuff.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Full windup wrist shots aren't that common at any level of hockey.

 

[buddhaknows]

Had a goal from the top of the slot on a low hard wrister off a defenders skate and into the net last night. Second goal ripped a wrister off the goalie's pads from the top of the blue line, teammate tapped it in for his first goal of the evening. Wrist shots are just one of many different tools in any hockey players tool box. Still a very relevant shot when all the elements come together. Time, speed, deception. Deception being the key element - changing the shots direction at the last second to deceive the tender.

 

[tarheelhockey]

One example of when a wrist shot might give you a better chance than a snap shot -- when you're on the PP and open on the weak side. If someone manages to get the puck to you, chances are a beer league goalie is going to slide hard and out of control across the crease in desperation. Taking the time to set the puck on your blade and follow through with a wrister will not only make your shot more accurate, but also open up a lot of net as the goalie overplays the near side.

 

[MattGTI]

As a defenseman, I think I take wristers 90% of the time. More often than not just keeping them low and hard, and hoping they find some traffic in front and deflect off someone.

 

[Tacks92]

Big fan of the in stride wrist shot ... I personally get more on it than I do on my snapper.

 

[Terry Yake]

i never take slapshots in games

i prefer the accuracy of a good wrister/snapshot over the power of a slapper

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Full windup wrist shots aren't that common at any level of hockey.

I see a lot of wrist shots in the NHL, even more in my league.

 

[mikitas donut]

I see a lot of wrist shots in the NHL, even more in my league.

Same here. There's a guy on my team that has an incredibly long wind up for his wrist shot and he beats the goalie many times. He never really uses snap shots, but probably because he uses an old wooden stick and can't flex it much.