Why so many lefties?

[RedFX 48]

Just something Ive noticed recently. Ive never seen such a disparity between the number of left-handed shooters vs. right-handed shooters as the Wings have. Only 4 players on the active roster (Maltby, Samuelsson, Rafalski, Chelios) are right-handed shots. Plus, the vast majority of our major prospects are left handed shots.

So the question is, why do we have so many left-handed shots as opposed to right-handed shots? Is it merely coincidence? Or is it a coaching/system thing we look for? Just curious.

[Reds4Life 51]

Vast majority of players (not just Wings) are lefties. It's that simple.

[TheUkrainian 49]

I thought more of them were righties...in terms of handwriting and such. I know a lot of people who are right handed and shoot left. My dad told me that it was normal when he played pond hockey in Ukraine. I'm right handed and shoot right. My friend is a lefty and shoots right. It's weird.

[xBrave_Heartx 0]

Vast majority of players (not just Wings) are lefties. It's that simple.

Everytime i play the majority is righty.

[Reds4Life 51]

Everytime i play the majority is righty.

Of the 852 players who skated in the 2007–08 NHL regular season, 554 of 852 (65%) were left-handed shooters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_(hockey)

[titanium2 867]

Isn't it true that Canadians who grow up playing center are taught to use their dominant hand at the top of the stick? So if they're really right-handed, then they would shoot left. Apparently if you grow up that way then you'll be better at stickhandling or something.

[Guest Shoreline]

I thought more of them were righties...in terms of handwriting and such. I know a lot of people who are right handed and shoot left. My dad told me that it was normal when he played pond hockey in Ukraine. I'm right handed and shoot right. My friend is a lefty and shoots right. It's weird.

I'm a left-handed writer and I shoot right. (but bat left, golf right)

I don't think there's much consistency there, it's just how one starts off or begins to feel most comfortable.

[Elshupacabra 0]

Alot of right handed players use a left curved stick. The thought being, that if you have your dominant, stronger hand on the top of the stick it will give you a quicker, harder shot because you'll be able to put a stronger "snap" into your shots and since the majority of people are right handed, the majority of people would use left handed sticks in that theory.

That being said, there are plenty of players who are right handed and use right curved sticks and vice versa, some think that this method improves puck control and accuracy having your stronger hand on the bottom, near the puck. It's probably just more of a comfort thing then anything else.

[jollymania 162]

Left handed means right handed in hockey, you use your dominant hand as the top hand

[uk_redwing 495]

Ive often wondered why this is the case as well. Im a righty and I shoot right.

Must just be the way kids are taught?

[Yzerfan1999 81]

Yeah, I am right handed and I shoot right as well. Maybe thats why I never made the show...

[Guest Shoreline]

Must just be the way kids are taught?

Pretty much, and as some iterated in certain areas people are taught which hand to use for specific reasons and thus get used to it. Once a person favors a certain hand it's rare they switch. The only one I could recall switching on was baseball, where I used to bat right growing up then started batting left because it was most comfortable. In my case, I'm a left-handed writer, but my right hand is dominant, and I use a right-handed stick.

[Guest Crymson]

I thought more of them were righties...in terms of handwriting and such. I know a lot of people who are right handed and shoot left. My dad told me that it was normal when he played pond hockey in Ukraine. I'm right handed and shoot right. My friend is a lefty and shoots right. It's weird.

In Soviet Russia, pond hockey plays YOU.

[McCartyFanForLife 17]

I'm right handed and I play goalie so my catching glove is on my left hand. Because I grew up playing baseball, my left hand was naturally my glove hand. It makes it difficult to shoot because I'm a terrible left handed shot

[Copenhagen848 58]

I've noticed that also.

I'm right handed and also shoot right handed.

[jollymania 162]

I am righty and can play either ways becuase i had originally started as a righty but realized being a 'lefty' having my top hand be my right gives me far more control when im stick handling/shooting/passing.

[RedFX 48]

I was always a right-right shooter, but I know people who were taught to shoot left. But if you look around the NHL, the majority of teams still have a good number of Right-handed shooters. Alot of teams have a 50-50 or a 60-40 ratio of their handedness. Im just wondering if there is a reason the Wings aren't like that.

[marcaractac 3,963]

I am right handed, and when I was a kid I shot right, but after a while I switched to shooting left because it just felt much more natural.

[Doggy 130]

It's strange how batting right in cricket feels correct, but shooting left in hockey also feels correct for me. I'm right-handed BTW.

[Guest mindfly]

I read somewhere that there are more right-handed shooters in north america and more lefties in Europe.

[Dabura 12,232]

My brother writes like a lefties but bats and holds his hockey stick like a righty. He says it feels perfectly natural.

I've never been able to get my mind around that.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Left handed means right handed in hockey, you use your dominant hand as the top hand

That can't be true. Maybe for some positions, but if that were true like you say it is, 90% of players would shoot left-handed.

[robat 13]

It's already been said, but just because one is right handed in most things, that's not the case in hockey. I work at a sporting goods store and parents always come in without their kids and want to buy them a stick, but have no idea if they're left or right handed. They usauallly will just say what ever hand they write with, which isn't always the case. I myself was taught to be left handed. It all really depends on how you were taught or how you picked up a stick for the first time.

Edited May 17, 2009 by robat

[Yzermania 156]

I read somewhere that there are more right-handed shooters in north america and more lefties in Europe.

this.

Most Euros are lefty whereas alot of North Americans are righty.

Our team is Euro heavy which guarantees alot of left handed players.

Sammy is just weird.

Edited May 17, 2009 by Yzermania

[jollymania 162]

I think its primarily US phenomena to be righty and shoot righty