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A slap shot in ice hockey is the hardest shot. It has four stages which are executed in one fluid motion:

1. The player winds up his hockey stick by raising it behind his body, sometimes raising the blade to shoulder height or higher.
2. Next the player violently "slaps" the ice slightly behind the puck and uses his or her weight to bend the stick, storing energy in it like a spring. It is this bending of the stick that gives the slapshot its amazing speed. Just like a bow and arrow, the stick's desire to return to being straight is transferred to the puck, giving it much more speed than just hitting it alone could do.
3. When the face of the stick blade strikes the puck, the player rolls his or her wrists and shifts his or her weight so that the energy stored in the stick is released through the puck.
4. Finally, the player follows through, ending up with the stick pointed towards the desired target.

The slap shot is harder than other shots, and because of the violent motion involved, somewhat less accurate. It also takes longer to execute; a player usually cannot take a slap shot while under any significant pressure from an opposing player because the opponent could easily interfere during the windup. The slap shot is most commonly used by a defenceman at the point, especially during a power play, although a forward will sometimes find an opportunity to use it.

At the yearly NHL all-star "hardest shot" skill competition, the winning slapshot typically propels the puck at around 100 miles per hour (160 kilometres per hour). Al Iafrate holds the record during an NHL All-Star skills competition at 105.2 mph. The hardest slap shot on record is 106.6 mph set by Chad Kilger on December 3rd, 2006 during the Toronto Maple Leafs skills competition. Kilger broke the record of 106.0 mph, held by Shawn Heins, set in AHL All-Stars game.

The invention of the slapshot is credited to Bernard Boom Boom Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens, hence the nickname. However, recent evidence has come to light that suggests that the first player to utilize the slapshot was a member of the Coloured Hockey League, decades before Geoffrion was credited for the innovation.

See also: Backhand slapshot

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