# Ice Hockey: Right Wing vs Left Wing
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [February 22, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997 "2019-02-22T02:52:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997/21 "2019-02-25T20:05:25Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> Speaking of which, where possible, isn’t it also advantageous to have a left-handed first baseman for that tiny little stretch advantage?
Traditionally, first basemen were more likely to be left-handed, though [apparently that has seen a marked decline in recent decades.](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/sports/baseball/29score.html)
Conversely, the vast majority of players at the other three infield positions are right-handed, due (as I understand it) to it being more awkward for a lefthander to field a ball and then get into position to throw in the direction of first base (which is to their left).
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997/22 "2019-02-26T00:21:35Z")
I’m thinking I held a hockey stick because I did it wrong. (Duh.) Nobody ever taught me how to really play.
But I see what you’re supposed to do and why. I would use both hand to move the stick around like you would a bat or golf club, or maybe a sword (I have some martial arts training). That’s totally wrong. The same way someone untrained in soccer will kick with their toe.
What I should have done was thought of the lower hand as the fulcrum of a lever. In that case the upper hand has all of the power and control. If I visualize it that way I naturally want my right hand high and left hand low.
Again, I’ve only played field hockey either in grade school or goofing around. Zero training, and no idea what I was doing.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997/23 "2019-02-28T20:04:50Z")
I’ve never played hockey, but if I did, I couldn’t imagine doing it with my left–non-dominant–hand low. On the other hand, my son–also right handed–played hockey for several years before he ever picked up a baseball bat. He was a left defenseman and when he picked up a baseball bat, it felt natural to him to bat left handed, which he did and still does. I don’t know that he has ever golfed, but if he did, he would probably do that left-handed too.
It never occurred to me before reading this thread the probable explanation of his wrong-handed batting.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997/24 "2019-02-28T20:29:06Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> I would think that since most batters bat right-handed that having a right-handed catcher would be a major advantage for throwing to second base.
It is. Having your glove on the third base side also helps in tagging runners coming home, since you don’t have to pivot as much to reach them. But mostly it’s because pitchers are just used to seeing righty catchers.
> [@](#):
>
> Speaking of which, where possible, isn’t it also advantageous to have a left-handed first baseman for that tiny little stretch advantage?
Righty 1B’s can stretch too. It’s more about a lefty being better able to see where the other runners are when stretching for a throw. But the advantage is pretty small, and you’ll pick your 1B based on his hitting ability rather than his handedness.
If most players were lefties, runners would circle the bases clockwise and righties couldn’t play the infield or catch. But the game, as does much of life, favors righties, who can play any position in a counterclockwise game.
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### Author:  [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997/25 "2019-03-08T14:45:48Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> There is no advantage to shooting left versus right; it’s just imitation, habit and custom, the way baseball catchers are all right handed for no real reason.
I thought the reason was that in Little League, you want your kid with the best arm to pitch, and the kid with the second best arm to play catcher. But if you have a kid with a great arm who happens to be a lefty… well, you’re never going to stick him _behind_ the plate, are you?
Also something something throwing around the batter to pick off a guy at second base, but that’s always sounded a bit suspect to me.
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### Author:  [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997/26 "2019-03-19T21:12:21Z")
I was talking to a golf pro. He said you would be amazed at the number of pro golfer who swing opposite of their dominant hand. (Lefties swing right, righties swing left.) He said that swinging that way gives you more control and helps to avoid slicing the ball. It also gives you more power for longer distance.
It’s similar for hockey. Canadians like to teach their kids at an early age to shoot off-handed. Americans took longer to realize that off-handedness can be an advantage. It’s counter-intuitive.
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### Author:  [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-hockey-right-wing-vs-left-wing/829997/27 "2019-03-31T18:23:20Z")
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> I’ve only played field hockey but that’s the same with me. It never occurred to me to hold it in any other way. Right hand further down just like a baseball bat. The other way seems so odd to me.
Why no lefty field hockey sticks? That was always a poser (no, not _poseur_) for me.
> [@Sparky812](#):
>
> I always advise new parents at the initiation level to buy sticks with no curve and let the player decide which is their “natural” shot. you’d be surprised how many can play holding their stick either way without even thinking about it. They will eventually settle on the one that best works for them once they have run through all the necessary skills.
>
> There are a couple of tests you can try.
>
> - Have them close their eyes, and think about something else, then hand them a hockey stick and see which way they instinctually reach out to grab it.
>
> - Hand them a broom and have them start sweeping for 5 minutes or so. They should settle on a comfortable position with their hands in opposite grips and usually their dominant hand at the top.
Interesting. Makes sense.
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#):
>
> It’s similar for hockey. Canadians like to teach their kids at an early age to shoot off-handed. Americans took longer to realize that off-handedness can be an advantage. It’s counter-intuitive.
Growing up, most of the left-handed hockey shooters I knew golfed right-handed.
Not this camper.
😛 Playing the wing according to the way you shoot is also good for sticking infractions like slashing or chops to the general head area, which are more comfortably executed with a forward swinging motion than backhand. Cross-checking and spearing don’t quite apply as much in this equation.😛
Also it was generally (originally) considered more ideal to play the wing that you shoot to receive a pass on your forehand, not backhand.
Definitely wasn’t the first to do this, but righty Brett Hull made a thing out of going to the opposite wing for a shot on net, which offered more open angles for him than shooting from his right wing.
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