One Timer

Introduction

Although we refer to it as such, the one timer is not officially a shot, it is an ice-hockey play. This is because it takes two people to execute it. Nevertheless, this technique is one of the most exciting and difficult shots in ice-hockey as it combines the power of a slapshot with a quick pass that will leave the goaltender wondering what just happened. Here we're going to take a look at how to execute a great ice hockey one timer.

What makes a one timer a one off?

The one timer must be executed by two people, a passer and a shooter. When the recipient of a pass decides not to stop the puck and instead fire it towards the goal, a one timer is made. The initial passer must shoot with accuracy and skill as the shooter will have less of a chance to adjust his accuracy due to the speed with which he must meet the pass.

The most common type of shot to be used by the shooter is the slapshot. This combines in a powerful play where the power of the player's shot is combined with the flex action of an ice-hockey stick and made even more powerful by the elasticity of the rubber puck and the speed it already has from the incoming pass.

This means that the puck will be coming in at considerable speed and the goaltender will have difficulty in re-positioning himself to compensate for the new direction of the shot. It is a difficult shot to pull off but a sure hit when it's done right. For this reason it is known as an ice-hockey 'shooters shot'.

Great ice-hockey players known for their skill with the one timer include Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky, Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya.

Training for the one timer

As the one timer is a shot requiring very exact timing it will take intensive, repetitive training to get it right. Practice should be carried out in motion and not as a static passing exercise. Otherwise the correct reaction between team-mates will never be achieved. Here is a good one timer drill for ice-hockey beginners.

1. Begin a simple passing exercise with a distance of around 3 feet to begin with. As the ice-hockey players get more confident gradually increase the distance to 15 feet.
2. Next, move on to attempting one-timers. The shooter should not try to hit all the passes as a one timer but wait for the ones where he feels the timing is right. Players should maintain eye contact and this way they can get to know each other's signals.
3. To add more pressure to the exercise increase the amount of people passing to the shooter.