The very smallest subatomic particle of qualification of a professional hockey player, is their deep love of hockey. Almost obsessive love.

Do you need anything else? There are a couple of other things. Desire, skill, coordination, conditioning, tons of practice, perseverance, some business sense, and on and on. Did I say a couple? There are tons of other things, but the burning love of hockey is what drives very few hockey players to go pro, or even to make it to NCAA or Major Junior hockey. Think about it. So many kids play, yet there are so few positions on a hockey team and so few high level hockey teams. Currently there are roughly 900 players in the NHL, but how many people play the game around the world? The funnel that minimizes so many down to so few that make it to the NHL is very restrictive. Who filters through that funnel? Those that love it the most and are compelled to do what it takes to get there.

Asking for advice is good, and a good place to begin, but don’t expect a handout. You have to want it. If you want to play in the NHL, go get it. Do the work. There’s no room in professional hockey for “I want it right now. I deserve it to be handed to me.” Anyone who won’t exert themselves in every aspect of life that is required to make it to the NHL, simply won’t even make it to a minor league that leads to the NHL. Hockey is not a game for complacent people. If one loves the game, they’ll do the work, and love doing it.

Players will write about the high level of hockey they played and how they made it to such a high level hockey with articles on

• Junior A Hockey
• NCAA Division One Hockey
• National Hockey Teams
• Olympic Hockey Team
• How I Made It To Major Junior Hockey (Canadian Hockey League)
• How I Made It To Professional Hockey (This will be any pro hockey league other than CHL or NHL, in any country, whether that league still exists or not.)
• and of course How I Made It To the NHL

Players may also write about several levels of play where they played competitive hockey if they want to contribute more than one piece.

Articles may be brief or long, even a multi-part series, and will cover any parts of the hockey player’s life that contributed to their hockey success including other sports/activities/hockey idols and every bit of hockey league/clinic/camp/school/training regimen/personal trainers/etc. experience.

Also of interest is whether certain choices were made by oneself or were made for them by a parent/guardian/teacher/idol/coach/trainer/manager, or a combination.

Pro hockey players, junior hockey players, college hockey players, and national hockey team players, both female and male, please register in the bottom of the right column of http://nhlhockeyice.com?action=register&instance=1 and also please invite any other players you know of who played at the above levels to register.

In hockey, wrist shot is the accurate snipe in your arsenal, and in the 2012 Allstar Skills Competition, wristshot accuracy won the target shooting challenge.

Wrist Shot Sniper

The four corner target shooting, something youngsters out there should be practicing like mad, brought an interesting performance from young Jamie Benn (Dallas Stars). Benn’s wristshot hit 4 out of 5 styrofoam plates in 10.2 seconds for the win, shaving over 3.3 seconds off his 13.58 second performance in the first round where his wrist shot hit 4 out of 6 times.

While one cannot always be that accurate under pressure of a real game of hockey, wrist shot sniping is essential, and when perfected, the wristshot is something to be proud of and it will give goalies fits.

Take a wristshot tip from Jamie, “Shooting all the time growing up and practicing in the garage really paid off.”

How to take a Wrist Shot

Yes, yes, the hockey wrist shot is the first shot a new player should learn. It takes lots of practice to perfect the wrist shot, in the beginning the tendency is to try to raise the puck by “shovelling” under it. A true wrist shot sniper can do all of this:
Wristshot wind up — Stick not in the air, but the stick does pull the puck from a bit behind the body and whip it forward.
Wristshot body position — Almost sideways to the target; slightly bent at the hips, leaning toward the puck.
Wrist shot hand position — Not as close together as stickhandling; not as far apart as a slapper.
Wrist shot motion of the puck — Leaving the blade on a wristshot, the puck rolls heel to toe, unlike the snap-shot that is more of a quick release from the toe of the stick blade only.
Wrist shot arm motion — Begin your wristshot cupping the puck slightly under the blade while slightly bent at the hips, and as you drag the wrist shot forward, begin to stand up and roll the forearms almost as if you are going to slice under the puck, but quickly roll the forearms the other way flipping the blade over the puck as it’s in front of you and as you unleash that wicked wrist shot of yours.

What Makes the Wrist Shot Hard and Fast?

Stick flex and wrist strength and flexibility. Practice the wrist roll because you have to twist, or roll the stick from behind you to the front where you release the puck, rolling the blade over on its face and pointing at the target after the wrist shot is released.

In the skills challenge relay, Benn had the hardest angle one-timer, and still hit all 3 of his shots in a row 3 for 3. He’s a sniper, and you have to be too.

All in all, the real winners were the fans in Ottawa yesterday, but the 2012 All-Star Skills Competition winners were:

• Faster skater: Carl Hagelin, NY Rangers
• Breakaway challenge: Patrick Kane, Chicago
• Accuracy shooting: Jamie Benn, Dallas with the wristshot
• Hardest shot: Zdeno Chara, Boston
• Elimination shootout: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay

Are you doing your wrist exercises to improve your wristshot? The highest scrorer in NY Ranger history, Rod Gilbert, invented the right tool to improve your wrist shot among other things. If you want to make it to the NHL, you need strong forearms.