Anaheim Ducks: Hockey 201 – Breaking Down Wing Side/Shot Side

Pucks of a Feather brings you a new series, Hockey 201. We want our Anaheim Ducks fans to know the ins and outs of the game on a more advanced level.

It may still be two months before the Anaheim Ducks begin the 2018-2019 season but its only about a month before school begins again. So we here at Pucks of a Feather want to take our valued readers back to school explaining some of the nuances of the game of hockey.

We won’t insult your intelligence with basics. Rather we want to give you an advanced class in the NHL game. So take out the notebooks and get back to your desk. Chris Bushell’s class is in session.

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• Making the case for the Anaheim Ducks to trade with the Edmonton Oilers
• Anaheim Ducks might benefit tremendously by trading John Gibson
• How close are the Anaheim Ducks to becoming contenders again?

Wing Side/Shot Side

I am now 26 and have been playing hockey since I was three years old. Although I played every position at a young age I was much more a fan of scoring goals than stopping them and settled as a winger at an early age. I was never the biggest guy on the ice, (to make a Ducks comparison my stature and style of play can be likened to Ondrej Kase or Kevin Roy) but moved well.

Speed is dangerous when you aren’t the tallest or heaviest you need speed, a good set of hands and a shot. Now in the case of Kase and Roy, they play the same position as their dominant hand. Kase is a right shot right wing while Roy is a left shot left wing.

Typically this is what you see in wings and defensemen as its often more comfortable to play the same side of the ice as your dominant hand but sometimes it’s better and more advantageous to play like me and do things opposite.

More Danger

When you play the same side as your shot it helps in the breakout for the forwards. The breakout pass from the defenseman or the center lands immediately on your forehand. That puts you in a better position to make the next play such as another pass or begin the attack up ice.

No matter how good a player is they’re better on their forehand as opposed to their backhand. The downside to this is that you’re stick blade is against the boards in the defensive zone and on the outside of the net coming into the attacking zone. It means unless you can cut to the middle, the opposing defenseman and goalie can play more aggressive as your point of attack is already outside the net.

Conversely, if you play like me, right-shooting wing playing left wing you have more to deal with in the defensive zone but are more dangerous on the attack. You end up receiving the breakout pass on your backhand which is a bit harder but your forehand is now in the middle of the ice.

This allows you to tuck back outside to come around a defenseman or attack straight on towards the net. Now a forward has more options for dekes and shots but is seldom seen at the pro level, for forwards.

It plays a role for defensemen as well. For example, finding a right shot defenseman that can play left defense. In this case, the defenseman’s stick is in the middle of the ice to cover the front of the net and makes life harder for attacking forwards.

In the offensive zone, the stick is in the middle of the ice allowing for point shots to come from a better location instead of the boards. Shots from the middle of the ice are much more dangerous and create more scoring opportunities.

With the right players flipping a player to their “off wing” isn’t a liability in the defensive zone and makes them that more dangerous in the offensive zone. The pros outweigh the cons and maybe if the Ducks can find the right players to do it it will add another element to their offensive game.

We will have more  Hockey 201 in the weeks to come.