Hockey Scoring Tips From the Greatest NHL Legends of All-Time

Serious hockey fans will recognize these names in an instant: Howie Morenz, Maurice “Rocket Richard”, Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, Bobby Hull, Phil Esposito, Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, Pavel Bure, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and now Steven Stamkos. The commonality between all the above-noted players is that they all worked very hard to improve their game, and especially their shooting.

I am sure we have all heard players tell stories about how they were always outside or downstairs in their parents’ house shooting puck after puck to improve their shooting skills. Everyone remembers the Sidney Crosby commercial where he is shown shooting pucks into his mother’s old clothes dryer with one of his teammates to show fans how he practiced as a young kid. This type of practice is not uncommon and does in fact do a lot to improve both the accuracy and velocity of your hockey shot.

Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots that you never take.” True words spoken by a true hockey legend. He is, of course, 100% correct, but we all know that merely taking the shot is half the battle. One has to work diligently on improving your hockey shooting skills, both during the season and in the off-season in order to achieve a high level of accuracy and speed.

Take for example Steven Stamkos, one of the league’s greatest shooters, who noted that while he was a fast skater as a youth, it took a lot of work to become a great shooter. Stamkos toldNHL.com, "You just keep on it, shooting pucks in the summer, and before and after practices to this day I'm still practicing my one-timer…" The Tampa Bay Lightning sniper also said, "The more torque you can get into the stick the better. You just try to get it as accurate as possible."

In order to become the next Steven Stamkos, it is very important to keep shooting pucks. If you don’t have access to ice time year round, the next best thing is to invest in a variety of ice hockey training aids.  Instead of using your mom’s washing machine or shooting tennis balls against a garage door, why not try a hockey shooting tarp?

Shooting tarps are a reliable and sturdy way for a player to work on his or her shot in almost any setting. Made of a durable nylon with reinforced stitching, the shooting tarps feature a regulation-size outline of a net as well as an outline of a goaltender, making the tarp as close as possible to a realistic shooting situation.

There are 5 shooting targets (4 corners and the 5-hole) and each target is equipped to catch any puck that you shoot through it, saving you (or your little brother/sister) time spent chasing pucks. The shooting tarps can be used in a pair with a small synthetic ice surface or on a shooting mat or shooting pad.

The hockey shooting tarp can be mounted almost anywhere (indoors or outdoors), as it requires only 8” of space between the tarp and the wall/garage door. Available in both 7’x16’ and 8’x16’ sizes (as well as in custom sizes), the tarps are large enough to eliminate unnecessary dints and dings in walls and doors, and their aforementioned strength and durability allows you to not only shoot real pucks, but also to use 100% effort when shooting, which helps to build strength and adds torque to your shot. Each shooting tarp comes with a full set of detailed instructions, so you will be able to have it installed and start working on your full repertoire of shots in no time.

The hockey shooting tarps will require a small investment of around $200 (about the price of a good composite stick) as well as a short amount of time to properly install. However, the dividends available will far exceed the money spent and you will notice an increase in both the speed and accuracy of your shot in no time.