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Post by folatre on Jun 23, 2020 19:42:19 GMT -5
All right guys, a solid observation in the draft thread by GNick the other day made me start thinking about the relevance of handedness in hockey, particularly how to make sense of it and whether it merits any prioritization in the draft.
I guess that before trying to answer those questions, I'll just throw out a simple poll that anyone can answer with respect to his own experience in ice hockey or street hockey.
Right/left dominance refers to your general handedness in life (writing, throwing a ball, changing a tire, etc.). Righty/Leftie in hockey refers to whether you play right-handed or left-handed.
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Post by folatre on Jun 23, 2020 19:59:06 GMT -5
Being transferred to Canada for work, my father did not know much of anything about hockey (he grew up playing rugby and futbol), so when I was little a coach or someone told me hey kid hold your stick like this (right hand on top) so that is what I did.
Now I can attest to the fact that here south of the border in the Eastern Great Lakes Region, nearly 2/3 of the kids are righties in ice hockey. When my son started playing hockey around age 5, I had him using a classic wood stick with a straight blade. Interestingly, and I attribute this to him noticing how the majority of the other kids were holding theirs, he quickly gravitated toward being a right shot, despite the fact that he had always seen me holding the stick the other way and playing around both ways himself.
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Post by jkr on Jun 23, 2020 20:08:10 GMT -5
Right handed but a left hand shot. My 2 sons are right handed & shoot right.
I had a buddy growing up who was left handed but in sports ( hockey, baseball, golf) he was a rightly.
As an aside I didn't know you lived in the U.S. Funny, the conclusions one makes online. I assumed that because you can watch Habs games that you lived in Canada.
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Post by folatre on Jun 23, 2020 21:45:36 GMT -5
Jeje, I cross the border frequently (well, until three months ago) because my wife and I have family in Ontario and Quebec. Though for about five year now, I generally have to watch the Habs via Center Ice.
So jrk, your sons are right-dominant and also righties in hockey? Did they just feel more comfortable that way? I think most of my son's cousins up north follow the old Canadian standard of putting little kids' "weak" hand lower.
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Post by Tankdriver on Jun 24, 2020 0:10:24 GMT -5
Writing: right
Hockey: shoot left
Golf: right
Baseball: right, but can hit left with less power.
Throw: Right.
No idea why left in hockey. But I do have a bomb of a shot.
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Post by jkr on Jun 24, 2020 6:29:11 GMT -5
Jeje, I cross the border frequently (well, until three months ago) because my wife and I have family in Ontario and Quebec. Though for about five year now, I generally have to watch the Habs via Center Ice. So jrk, your sons are right-dominant and also righties in hockey? Did they just feel more comfortable that way? I think most of my son's cousins up north follow the old Canadian standard of putting little kids' "weak" hand lower. Not sure how it happened. I never suggested one way or the other. They just picked up the stick that way. |
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Post by folatre on Jun 25, 2020 16:47:04 GMT -5
I hear you, jkr. Philosophically it strikes me as sensible to just let kids figure it out what feels natural on their own.
Right wings do seem to be, on balance, the most prodigious goal scorers in the NHL. Why is that true? I am not sure I recall all or even most of the explanations that I have heard over the years.
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Post by folatre on Jun 26, 2020 9:45:49 GMT -5
Well, here goes:
• There are historically considerably fewer right-handed shots so I guess goalies may have had less practice against righties.
• Right dominant little kids in Canada, Russia, and Europe typically learn to carry the twig in their right hand and keep that right hand on top for better control as it relates to stickhandling and passing.
• With an overabundance of left-handed shots on rosters, for decades coaches have often placed the most highly skilled lefties on their off wing because they can control the puck on the outside of their blade and to facilitate getting them good looks at the net.
• There are a lot of prolific goal scoring left shot centres, so if some of those kids had not been put at centre they could have been high scoring left wings.
• The best playmakers in the game are generally lefties and since most of those guys play centre, the top line right wings become the beneficiaries of those playmakers’ forehand passes.
• The importation from Europe in the ‘90s of the “left-wing lock” system added a layer of defensive nuance to the role of the left wing, which gave left wings fewer opportunities to transition fast to offense compared to right wings
• Power plays have become increasingly defined by the umbrella structure with only one man on the point and the best snipers are typically located on one or both half walls, most frequently a right shot on the left half wall wiring one timers past the goalie’s blocker.
Is there one or two explanations that stand out for why right wings score more than left wings? Or does it just seem as though a bunch of factors each have a small role in explaining this phenomenon?
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 5, 2020 20:07:04 GMT -5
Right handed but a left hand shot. Ditto ... hockey, broomball, baseball, I always shot/batted left ... yet, the baseball glove always went on my left hand too ... Cheers. |
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Post by CentreHice on Jul 6, 2020 10:32:22 GMT -5
Left-handed.
Hockey--shoot right. Punch left.
Baseball--bat right. Throw left.
Golf--right. Horribly.
Drums--right. Right foot on kick drum, left foot on hi-hat. Toms in clockwise increasing size. Ian Paice (Deep Purple) and Phil Collins are examples of left-hand setups.
Guitar--left. e.g. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath).
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Post by folatre on Jul 14, 2020 20:02:44 GMT -5
"Punch left," classic CH, i love it.
Gnick mentioned in the draft thread that perhaps it should be tempting for teams to prioritize kids who shoot right since right-handed shots are, on balance, the more prolific goal scorers in the NHL.
Is it plausible that Timmins and Bergevin when evaluating two more or less equal prospects could allow the issue of handedness to tip the scale in favour of a kid who shoots right?
If the Habs are picking ninth and Raymond and Quinn are both sitting there, could management value right handedness enough to say okay let’s take Quinn (assuming they have them rated as near equals)?
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Post by Skilly on Jul 16, 2020 12:23:20 GMT -5
Writing: right Hockey: shoot left Golf: right Baseball: right, but can hit left with less power. Throw: Right. No idea why left in hockey. But I do have a bomb of a shot. Writing - right Golf - right - although I have tried left, and I think I could golf left Baseball - right is most power , I can bat left in pick up games Throw - right hockey - LEFT … and I can not take a shot right handed for the life of me!!! When I started golf, many moons ago, I was told that I should golf the way I play hockey. I tried, but found out pretty quick that most power came from swinging right. |
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Post by franko on Jul 16, 2020 13:44:12 GMT -5
Writing: right Hockey: shoot left Golf: right Baseball: right, but can hit left with less power. Throw: Right. No idea why left in hockey. But I do have a bomb of a shot. Writing - right Golf - right - although I have tried left, and I think I could golf left Baseball - right is most power , I can bat left in pick up games Throw - right hockey - LEFT … and I can not take a shot right handed for the life of me!!! When I started golf, many moons ago, I was told that I should golf the way I play hockey. I tried, but found out pretty quick that most power came from swinging right. everything Skilly said. and I have a dud of a shot. |
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