Learn the shot fake: show a shot, wait for the reaction, then go past or pass. With milestones, typical mistakes and honest limits against goalies.
A shot fake is a stick fake: you show a shot, wait until the opponent reacts, then skate past him or pass. Hockey Canada lists it among the stick fakes, together with the pass fake [1].
The honest answer to "Does anyone really fall for it?": yes, if the fake looks real. The federation says it clearly: a fake has to have the appearance of reality and give the opponent enough time to react before you make your actual move [1]. Half-hearted twitches are not taken seriously.
The honest limit: against goalies the shot fake is less reliable than it looks in videos. Goalies are taught not to move first, to be patient and to line up with the puck, not with the shooter's body. In Hockey Canada material "the goalie makes the first move and opens the other side" counts among the typical mistakes [2]. Your best target for the shot fake is therefore usually the defender.
How long does it take? The movement sits in a few sessions. The part that makes it effective, the timing, grows over many duels. There is no fixed promise.
Prerequisites you can check yourself (practical standard, not a study):
Start the fake far enough from the defender so he cannot stop you with a stick check before it works [1]. As a rule of thumb for the beginning: about two to three stick lengths of distance. Milestone: your partner cannot touch you in the drill before the fake is finished.
Show the shot the way you would really shoot it: shoulder, hands, blade, eyes [1]. Hockey Canada stresses that a fake must have the appearance of reality [1]. Milestone: your partner reacts in 5 of 10 tries with a defensive movement (stick up, legs closed).
Give the opponent time to fall for the fake before you make your actual move [1]. The timing is the core. The fake only counts once the other person believes it. Milestone: in every repetition you see how the opponent reacts before you turn.
Then skate past him or pass to the free teammate. Changes of speed and direction are decisive for the success of any fake, and accelerating after the fake is often important [1]. Keep teammates and opponents in view [1]. Milestone: you get past a passive defender in 6 of 10 tries.
Hockey Canada builds puck control in this progression: if you cannot do it standing still, you cannot do it moving; if you cannot do it moving, you cannot do it against an opponent [3]. Use the order. Milestone: only when the fake works in motion do you train it against an active defender.
The shot fake has no contact, but you shoot with a puck: never practice toward people. In shooting drills keep at least 10 meters of distance to the net, as Hockey Canada requires for shooting drills [4]. Goalies need full equipment. Wear a helmet with cage or visor. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Build the fake on the opponent's weakness. Hockey Canada advises basing fakes on the opponent's weaknesses where possible [1]. As a practical rule of thumb (not a study): a defender who likes to poke early falls for a quick shot fake from mid distance, a calm defender is more likely to fall for a short delay. So watch in the first shift what your opponent does before you choose the fake.
A shot fake is a stick fake: you show a shot, wait until the opponent reacts, then skate past him or pass [1].
Start it with enough distance, execute it as real as a shot, give the opponent time to react and then change speed and direction. Accelerate after the fake [1].
Less reliably than against defenders. Goalies are trained not to move first and to stay patient [2]. A fake that is supposed to force a goalie movement therefore rarely works for sure.
With cones or an imaginary opponent: standing first, then moving. Hockey Canada builds puck control exactly like this before an opponent is added [3].
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