Sidney Crosby’s backhand, Shea Weber’s slap shot, and Phil Kessel’s wrist shot: the holy trinity of the contemporary NHL’s most dangerous offensive weapons.
It was Kessel’s mighty wrister that stole the spotlight Wednesday night and, studies show, is the most effective shot to perfect.
Kessel’s wrists chased the reigning Vezina champion, Boston’s Tuukka Rask, from the net; caused some poor kid to lose all hope; gave the winger the league lead in multi-point games with eight; and made “Kessel” a trending Twitter topic all day Thursday.
Sure, technique, practice and natural ability have all contributed to Kessel’s shot, but so does his stick technology — fresh for 2014-15.
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Notoriously picky with his sticks, Kessel and Easton stick supplier Brad Janson encouraged the company to develop a new weapon, the Stealth CX, customized to his shot, according to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News. Due to the quickness of Kessel’s release, he wanted extra strength at the stick’s hosel, the point where the blade meets the shaft. This is the weakest point in what you think is a “one-piece” stick but is actually two pieces fused together.
To meet Kessel’s needs, this past summer Easton crafted a true one-piece model that does not have a hosel, thus eliminating the weakest point in the stick and giving his shot more snap than a list of yo-mama jokes.
Even linemate James van Riemsdyk doesn’t think he could use it, but it works just fine for Kessel.
“He’s got that smaller blade and whippy stick and he’s able to just use it like a slingshot,” van Riemsdyk told THN. “It’s the stick, but if you gave that stick to me, I wouldn’t be shooting it like that.”
Bonus Beats: Watch Kessel’s shot in super slow motion (circa 2009)
Learn how to shoot like Kessel yourself
