Learn the backhand shot: sweep shot, backhand wrist shot and flip. Puck on the heel, snap the wrists, follow through low. With milestones and safety tips.
The backhand shot is a shot with the back of the blade that you need when the angle for the forehand is missing or you evade a defender. Hockey Canada counts three variants: the sweep shot, the backhand wrist shot and the flip shot [1].
The honest answer to "Isn't that just a wrist shot on the other side?": no, the mechanics are different. On the backhand the puck sits on the heel of the blade, not in the middle, and you have less weight transfer [1]. When your forehand works, the backhand is the tool that makes you unpredictable.
The federation sets the priorities clearly: accuracy is most important, because hard, quick shots that miss the net are not a threat. Quick release and the element of surprise come on top [1].
How long does it take? Until the shot comes flat and accurate you need many repetitions on the backhand. There is no fixed promise; it depends on your ice time.
Prerequisites you can check yourself (practical standard, not a study):
The grip is the same as for the pass. Bring the puck beyond the body plane, weight on the back leg, head up looking for the gap [1]. Milestone: you hold the position for 3 seconds without losing the puck.
Hockey Canada calls the sweep shot perhaps the most commonly used backhand shot: it is fast and accurate. You draw the puck through in a sweep and your weight moves to the front foot. Top hand pushes, bottom hand pulls, then the wrists snap and roll and you follow through low [1]. Milestone: 6 of 10 sweep shots go flat at the net target from 5 meters.
It is often used after a fake toward the forehand, to shoot quickly at the goalie's backhand side. You are skating forward. The hands are placed slightly farther apart than in stickhandling. The puck sits on the heel of the blade, to the side and slightly in front of you. With strong shoulder rotation and a dynamic arm and wrist action you whip it away; weight transfer is limited [1]. Milestone: from full speed you hit the net target 5 of 10 times.
For upper corners from close range or to lift the puck over a sprawling goalie: on the backhand the puck sits a little closer to the heel. You tilt the blade so only the bottom edge touches the puck and lift it with a short wrist snap and a high follow-through [1]. Milestone: 3 of 10 flips from 3 meters clear an obstacle lying on the ice (for example a stick).
Skate with the puck on the forehand, show a move to that side and pull to the backhand for the quick shot [1]. How the fake works is a skill of its own (shot fake). Milestone: after the pull to the backhand you finish at full speed in under 2 seconds.
A hard rubber puck flies at high speed when you shoot. Shoot only at the net or a shooting wall, never toward people, and watch for teammates behind you. In shooting drills keep at least 10 meters of distance to the net [3]. Goalies need full equipment. Wear a helmet with cage or visor: in an analysis of the 2001/02 NHL season visors reduced eye and other head injuries but did not change the number of concussions [2]. Warm up shoulders, wrists and trunk. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Think edge, not force, for the flip shot. Hockey Canada describes the flip shot as a technique in which only the bottom edge of the blade touches the puck and the wrists lift it with a snap [1]. If you use too much force, the puck flies up uncontrolled. Practice first onto a mat 2 meters away and increase the distance only once it starts flat and then rises cleanly.
Bring the puck beyond the body plane, move your weight from back to front, let the wrists snap and follow through low to the target. On backhand shots the puck sits closer to the heel of the blade [1].
The sweep shot is a sweeping shot with weight transfer and counts as the most commonly used backhand shot, fast and accurate. The backhand wrist shot is a shot out of forward skating with shoulder rotation and limited weight transfer [1].
When the angle for the forehand is missing, after a fake toward the forehand or when the defender takes away the forehand. Important: you saw the gap beforehand [1].
Tilt the blade so only the bottom edge touches the puck, place the puck closer to the heel and lift it with a short wrist snap and a high follow-through [1].
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