The Slap Shot in Ice Hockey

Abstract

An ice hockey player can strike a puck at speeds up to about 45 m/s (100 mph) using a technique known as the slap shot. There is nothing unusual about the speed, since golf balls, tennis balls, and baseballs can also be projected at that speed or even higher. The unusual part is that the player strikes the ice before striking the puck, causing the stick to slow down and to bend. If a tennis player or a golfer did something like that, by hitting the ground before hitting the ball, it would be classed as a miss-hit and the ball would probably dribble away at low speed. Nevertheless, there appears to be a significant advantage in hitting the ice before hitting the puck, otherwise hockey players would have learned from experience not to do that.