The wrist shot is a big part of today’s NHL. It’s arguably the most used shot and the most powerful offensive weapon. It might not be as flashy as the slap shot but, when executed properly, a wrist shot can be both stylish and effective.
Meta players like Alex Ovechkin have mastered this shot and turned it into poetry of movement and skill. Depending on your Be a Pro player archetype, you might find similar levels of success with the wrist shot in NHL 22.
Doing the wrist shot in with hybrid controls seems easy but it takes some time to get the hang of it. Read on and learn when and how to do the wrist shot in NHL 22.
When to Do the Wrist Shot
Certain situations favor the wrist shot over any other type of shot. In these situations, going for the wrist shot will be your best chance to score, and it’s usually determined by the positioning of your player, the goalie, and the opposing defenders.
Here are some scenarios when you should do the wrist shot.
High Traffic Situations
Since the release on the wrist shot is much quicker than on the slap shot, you’ll want to use it when you’re surrounded by defenders.
If you were to go for the slap shot in these situations, you’d be giving up control of your puck for a brief moment while you load up the shot – long enough for the defender to take it. That’s why you should master the wrist shot and always go for a quick release in these situations.
Coming Down the Wings
One of the best and most effective scenarios that call for a wrist shot is when you’re coming down one of the wings on your forehand side.
When your left-handed player is skating towards the goal from the right-wing, you can aim your shot into the top-left corner and quickly send the puck into the net. Alternatively, you can skate across the goalie, wait for him to move left, and aim for the top-right corner. Either way, the wrist shot will provide you with the necessary precision and quickness you need in these situations.
The image below shows a typical scenario where you skate from left to right and put the puck in the back of the net before the goalie adjusts.
Coming Around the Goal
Similarly, you’ll want to use the wrist shot when you’re coming around the goalie and you’re set up on your forehand side.
Wait until your player has a good angle and fire off a shot into the far corner while it’s uncovered by the goalie. The trick here is not to wait too long before the defenders catch up with you or the goalie shifts his position to cover the angle better.
How to Do the Wrist Shot
When it comes to wrist shot controls, that’s where a lot of people get confused.
Although it seems straightforward enough, mastering the wrist shot needs some practice. You’ll find yourself wondering why the on-screen feedback isn’t telling you “Wrist Shot” when you clearly did everything right and executed the right controls. The thing is – you’re probably missing a step or two.
To set up for a wrist shot, you want to line up your player on his forehand side. While skating towards your shooting hand (for a left-handed player, this would be from right to left), hold the RS (Right Stick) to the left. Your player will enter a forehand glide to set himself up for the shot and improve accuracy. This isn’t a necessary step but I find it increases the success rate and improves the shot.
To shoot the shot, you need to pull the RS back and to the side a little bit – it should be in a 5 o’clock position, so not completely back nor completely to the side. Flick the RS up and your player will shoot a wrist shot.
Where a lot of players go wrong is they keep holding the RS in the same position as during the forehand glide and just flick it up. It’s a touchy move and it should be practiced in Free Skate.
Final Word
Doing the wrist shot in NHL 22 is an effective way to score but it’s not as easy as some other shot types. You need to master the movement, angles, and ideal scenarios to pull this shot off.
Finally, don’t attempt a wrist shot from your backhand side or from a distance. Both of these will just be wasted possessions as you don’t have the angle or power to make this shot count. In these cases, you’ll most likely want to do a slap shot.
