Techniques
1. forehand wrist-shot
This is the most important shot. It's the shot that so many young Canadians/Americans learn in their living room at a very young age. The most important thing is the weight transfer. The weight transfer is like a lot of other sports such as baseball and golf. Your weight will transfer from your back to your front leg. Stand perpendicular to your target with your stick cupped on the puck and the puck behind your back foot. Transfer your weight as you move the puck forward, and follow through. As you are sliding the puck forward on the ice, quickly reverse your wrists to make the puck rise more. A low or a high follow through will determine how high the puck goes. When you finish your follow through, your stick should be pointing towards your target. I find that I get more power on my shot when I start with the puck closer to the heel of my stick (than to the toe).
2. backhand wrist-shot
The technique is exactly the same as the forehand wrist-shot. However, the most common problem is that people usually put the puck too far in front of them when they start. When you do this, you don't get any power in your shot. Like the forehand wrist-shot, you must cup the puck on your backhand, and bring it back behind you. Lean into the shot and bend your knees to help raise it off the ground. Again, as in the forehand wrist-shot, weight transfer is very important.
3. back-hand off a deke
Having a good backhand shot can be very useful in deking. If you only have a good forehand shot, you are very easy for the defense to stop. They don't have to worry about you deking so that you are ready to take a shot on your backhand. They know that you are only interested in going to your forehand, so it makes you easy to stop.
As a left-handed shooter on the left wing, I would skate down the left side of the ice, and then deke to my backhand. When I make the deke, I must bring the puck in close to my body so that I shield it from the defender. Then I dig my skates in and let a backhand wrist-shot go at the net.
4. snap-shot
This is an effective quick-release shot. It can be used in the high slot area. When the puck comes from the corner, if you can use the snap-shot to get a quick shot to the far side of the net (since the goalie will be hugging the opposite post), then you'll have a very good chance of scoring.
The technique is just a quick reverse of the wrists. There is no wind-up at all. Follow through in the direction of the target.
