Through our years of experience buying and selling hockey sticks, we have noticed some definite trends when it comes to handedness and which way hockey players shoot. 

Typically in the NHL, during any given year the league is about 2/3 lefties and 1/3 righties - explains why right handed defensemen are always in high demand!  We definitely see this reflected in the overstock pro stock sticks we purchase from these teams, and wanted to take a deeper dive into understanding this divide.

It has been pretty widely accepted that Canadians tend to shoot left, and Americans are more likely to shoot right - about a 60/40 divide on opposite sides of the border when we take a look at our sales data over the past 7 years.  There are obviously some inherentbiases in our data, but the overall split is very apparent.

There are a few popular theories on why this might be.  For one thing, it is clear that in more traditional hockey markets right hand dominant players tend to shoot lefty. The major European hockey nations have similar splits to Canada, and even in the US you can see places like Minnesota and New England are closer to 50/50.

For a younger athlete it seems more natural to control the top of your stick with your dominant hand. Young players are also more likely to start with a flat bladed stick or mini stick they hold with one hand, then keep with the way they hold it at that point throughout their career (or be influenced by an experienced parent who would assume their right handed child will shoot left).

If you play baseball or golf first, you are likely going to swing right as a right handed player, and by the time you pick up a hockey stick, shooting right will feel more natural. There’s definitely a higher proportion of Canadian lefty golfers and baseball batters as well, probably for the same reason!

In the end, is there any benefit to shooting one way or the other? Probably not by the time all is said and done, but it sure is interesting to discuss!