Sidney Crosby would be the first to tell you that even though he is at the top of the food chart in the NHL, he is always trying to diversify. Continually improving and learning from others is a large part of what makes him the best at what he does. Having over a year off, he has had a lot of time to watch others and add to his repertoire.
Before Crosby won the Stanley Cup back in 2009 he mentioned that he was going to work on improving his shot over the summer. What no one had noticed while watching him dazzle his way around opposing players for years was that he did not have a very hard shot. With all the hoopla from winning the Cup, Crosby didn’t have much time to perfect it.
During the summer of 2010, Crosby had plenty of time to work on his shot. Come training camp, Crosby had a new found blistering slap shot and at the beginning of the 2010/2011 season Crosby started firing away. That year Crosby had the worst point total to start off a season in his career.
Now, once again, Crosby over the last year and a half had a chance to look at his game and find a way to improve upon what he considers his weaknesses. Once again everyone is watching him dazzle the opponents while not actually noticing something different about his game. No, I’m not talking about the “Zidlicky Twist“. The “Zidlicky Twist” is what dazzled everyone into not noticing his new addition. He first introduced his new weapon about a week ago and not only did it meet with little fanfare, it met with Marty Brodeur’s glove.
The new weapon in Sidney Crosby’s arsenal is a skating full speed slap shot. The slap shot that he added a year and a half ago was pretty much a stand still, feet were not moving slap shot. This new slap shot has only been tested twice, both times on Brodeur who is probably the best goaltender in the league at covering his angles, and both times it met with failure.
Even though through 15 games Crosby is averaging more points per game than any other player in the NHL, he is only on a pace that would net him 22 goals if he were able to complete the full season. In the 2010/2011 season I mentioned earlier when Crosby had the worst start of his career, he stuck with it and kept working on perfecting his slap shot. That season through 41 games he had 32 goals before he was concussed. He was on pace for 64 goals, the most of his career. That being said, there is little doubt that Crosby will perfect his new found weapon and be back up among the league leaders in goals.
Additional Reading:
Crosby Can’t Shoot (September 2009)
Sidney Crosby is off to the worst start in his NHL career (October 2010)
.
