Shooting left or right in the National Hockey League: Likely influence of batting in baseball and different success levels

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3739066/v1

This study addresses the question of the lateral preference of the National Hockey League players. The shooting preference, left or right, was analysed as a function of the origin of four groups of players that are from the USA, Canada, Europe, or Russia. The analysis reveals that the players from the USA are more likely to shoot right than players from other countries. This finding, which applies to both forward and defense players, is attributed to the potential higher participation to baseball during youth of American players. Compared to defense players from other groups, defense players from the USA have a higher number of shots per game and a higher goal-to-assist ratio, a finding argued to depend on the playing style coming with the placement of hands on the stick. The study also shows that for wingers shooting left, those playing on the right wing have more goals or points per game than those playing on the left wing; and that European forward players have a better differential (+/-) than American and Canadian forward players. The study reveals the cultural influence on the preference in a bimanual asymmetric task and the impact of this preference on ice hockey performances.

Biological sciences/Psychology

Biological sciences/Psychology/Human behaviour

This article addresses the issue of lateral preference in bimanual sports. Typically, the representation of a lateral preference is based on the use of one hand instead of another for a task such as writing, throwing a ball, or holding a spoon. Depending on the criteria adopted to define hand preference, around 10 to 18% of people prefer using their left hand^1–3, with males being more often ambidextrous or left-handers than females⁴. The overall picture is a little more blurred when eyedness, footedness, or bimanual tasks, instead of unimanual tasks, are considered to determine lateral preference^5–7.

The case of lateral preference in sports requiring the contribution of both hands is less straightforward. While there is clear preference for batting right in baseball^8,9, with about two Major League Baseball players out of three batting right during the 2016 season¹⁰, the case of ice hockey is a bit more intriguing. In a recent study conducted with (mainly) Canadian volunteers⁵, out of the 583 right-handers, 66.2% reported a preference for shooting left in ice hockey (i.e., placing the left hand in the middle of the stick), and 31.4% for shooting right (a few people reported no preference). Amongst the 131 left-handers of the study, 26.0% reported a preference for shooting left in ice hockey, and 70.2% for shooting right. These proportions for ice hockey went in the reverse proportion in a German study¹¹, but in both cases, the prediction of the lateral preference in ice hockey based on unilateral tasks remained poor.

These different proportions in Canadian vs. German lateral preferences for ice hockey indicate that there could be important cultural differences in the field. In the same vein, it has also been shown that right-handed Canadian-born players that reached the Major League Baseball (MLB) are more prone to bat left (i.e., standing on the right side of the home plate, from the catcher standpoint, with their right hand at the lower extremity of the bat) than players from other countries, namely, the USA, the Dominican Republic, and players from South Asia (Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea). Indeed, overall, the chances of batting left when you are throwing right is at least twice greater when you are Canadian than when you are from other regions¹⁰. This is a non negligible advantage considering that, in general, batting performances are better when batting left than batting right^8,12,13. This particularity Canadian baseball players is attributed to the fact that Canadian ice hockey players are much more likely, as indicated earlier, to shoot left than to shoot left¹⁰.

Studying laterality in ice hockey is even more relevant considering that the lateral preference has an incidence on the type of performances. For instance, amongst left wingers, those who shoot right tend to accumulate more points than those who shoot left; along the same line, amongst right wingers, those shooting left accumulating more points than those shooting right¹⁴. Other researchers have found that players shooting right is associated with scoring more goals, while shooting left is associated with obtaining more assists¹⁵. Additionally, during shootout, players shooting left have less success against goalkeepers catching right¹⁵.

The purpose of the present study is to look at the effect of potential cultural differences in the lateral preference in ice hockey. Instead of looking at the effect of playing ice hockey in childhood on the batting preference in baseball¹⁰, we reverse the question: Could playing baseball in childhood exert an influence on the way of holding a hockey stick? Baseball is one of the main sports in the USA and has long been considered the main pastime in the country. For instance, in 2021, among people over the age of six, more than 15 million have played baseball at least once (https://www.statista.com/statistics/191626/participants-in-baseball-in-the-us-since-2006/). It was hypothesized that learning to play baseball during childhood would have an incidence on the way of holding the ice hockey stick in adulthood. Because there are much more players batting right than batting left in baseball^8–10 and that baseball is very popular in the USA, ice hockey players from the USA should be more likely to shoot right in ice hockey than players born in Canada. The contrast with European or Russian ice hockey players should be even more important because baseball is not as popular in Europe and Russia as it is in North America. For instance, since 1933, only one MLB player is reported to be born in Russia and none from Sweden or Finland (https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php). The study was based on a large data set of players of the National Hockey League.

A second objective of this study is to determine whether shooting left or right has an incidence on different performance indicators. The performance analyses were applied to two groups, forward and defense players.

Participants. For the distribution of lateral preferences, there were two rounds of analyses. In the first, data cover the whole history of the NHL (i.e., since its inception in 1917). In the second round, data of players since the 1967–1968 season were analysed.

Both rounds of analyses included only regular season games until the end of the 2022–2023 season. Moreover, in both rounds, players were grouped according to their origin: the USA, Canada, Europe, and Russia. Because a large part of Russia is in Asia, it was not included in Europe; also, Russian ice hockey has a very long tradition of excellence. No goalkeeper was kept in the sample.

There are four reasons why the first 50 seasons of the NHL were cut for the hockey statistics analyses: (1) the data were less reliable, (2) there were important fluctuations in the number of goals per game during that period, as indicated, for instance, by the fact that during the 1928–1929 season, Boston led the league with 89 goals in 44 games, and Chicago scored only 33 goals that year, (3) there was a period where there was a maximum of one assist per goal (now it is two), and (4) it was mostly in the 1970s that players from Europe arrived in the NHL, and around the end of the 1980s that Russian players (then USSR) came in the NHL. Also note that for the 1967–1968 season, the NHL moved from a 6-team league to a 12-team league.

For the part covering the whole history of the NHL, data of 7478 players were collected. There were 1265 Americans, 4805 Canadians, 1145 Europeans, and 263 Russians. A total of 73 players were not included because their shooting side was unavailable. There were 5042 and 2436 forward and defense players, respectively, 803 and 462 from the USA, 3308 and 1497 from Canada, 757 and 388 from Europe, and 174 and 88 from Russia.

For the part covering the period since the 1967–1968 season, data of 6385 players were collected. There were 1210 Americans, 3807 Canadians, 1107 Europeans, and 261 Russians. A total of 73 players were not included because their shooting side was unavailable. Most European players were coming from Sweden (n = 364), Finland, (n = 215), Czechia (n = 230), and Slovakia (n = 89). There were 4205 and 2107 forward and defense players, respectively, 762 and 434 from the USA, 2543 and 1205 from Canada, 727 and 380 from Europe, and 173 and 88 from Russia.

Skaters’ performance analyses were carried out on American, Canadian, European, and Russian players between the 1967–1968 and 2022–2023 regular seasons. Players for whom lateral preference is not recognized by the NHL are excluded. In addition, were removed from the analyses skaters who failed to score at least one point and one goal, and skaters who played less than 82 games, i.e., the number of games in an NHL regular season since the 1995–1996 season. A total of 2667 players were excluded. Therefore, 672 Americans, 2237 Canadians, 629 Europeans and 141 Russians players were included in the analyses. There were 2456 and 1223 forward and defense players, respectively, 433 and 239 from the USA, 1520 and 717 from Canada, 408 and 221 from Europe, and 95 and 46 from Russia.

Material. The information about the players was drawn from the NHL official website (https://www.NHL.com/stats/skaters)¹⁶. Extracted data included lateral preference (left or right), origin, position (centre, left winger, right winger, defense player; there was no information about playing left or right on defense). In addition, performance data were extracted including goals per game, assists per game, points per game, goal-to-assist ratio, penalty minutes per game, shots on goal per game, and +/-differential. In the last case, when teams are even strengths, a player on the ice is + 1 when his team scores a goal, or -1 when the opponent scores a goal.

Data analyses. All analyses were performed using R Project version 4.3.1¹⁷ (ɑ = .05). For the distribution of lateral preferences, a chi-square (χ²) analysis was conducted. The distribution of each group (origin) was contrasted with the distribution of the overall population. This analysis was conducted with the data covering the history of the NHL and the data beginning with the 1967–1968 season. In addition, a chi-square analysis was conducted on the distribution of players adopting a “cross-lateral position”, i.e., players shooting left playing on the right wing vs. players shooting right playing on the left wing. Finally, a chi-square analysis was conducted on cross-lateral positions between American and Canadian players together compared to European and Russian players together.

The analyses of hockey performances were based on the data beginning with the 1967–1968 season. For forward players, a 2 (Lateral preference) × 3 (Position) × 4 (Origin) ANOVA was conducted on each of the seven dependent variables reported earlier. For defense players, a 2 (Lateral preference) × 4 (Origin) ANOVA was conducted on each dependent variable. Post hoc analyses were conducted using the Bonferroni multiple comparison method.

Out of the 7478 players in the history of NHL, 63.28% were shooting left and 36.72% were shooting right. As indicated in Table 1, the proportion of players shooting right is higher for players from the USA than those from Canada, Europe, or Russia. Table 1 also shows the proportion of players shooting left or right in the four groups of the study since the 1967–1968 season, and the proportions are about the same.

A chi-square analysis on the data covering the NHL history reveals that the frequency of players shooting left or right in the USA is different from that in the overall population, with the number of players shooting right being significantly higher in the USA, χ²(1) = 57.964, p < .001. As well, a chi-square analysis reveals that the frequency of European players shooting left or right is different from that in the overall sample, with the number of players shooting left being higher, χ²(1) = 69.296, p < .001; the same results was found for Russian players, χ²(1) = 14.338, p < .001. Finally, the chi-square analysis applied to the Canadian data shows no significant effect.

Table 1

Number of players (% in parentheses) shooting left or right as a function of their origin in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and in the NHL since the 1967–1968 season. L, Shoot Left; R, Shoot Right.
	USA	Canada	Europe	Russia
NHL History
L	681 (53.8)	3005 (62.5)	850 (74.2)	196 (74.5)
R	584 (46.2)	1800 (37.5)	295 (25.8)	67 (25.5)
Since 1967
L	638 (53.3)	2346 (62.6)	827 (74.7)	194 (74.3)
R	558 (46.7)	1402 (37.4)	280 (25.3)	67 (25. 7)

Chi-square analyses on the data covering the period beginning with the 1967–1968 season show the same results as those obtained for the history of the NHL. Firstly, the frequency of players shooting right is significantly greater in the USA than in the overall sample, χ²(1) = 64.449, p < .001. In addition, the frequency of players shooting left is significantly greater among Europeans, χ²(1) = 72.751, p < .001 and Russians, χ²(1) = 13.409, p < .001 than in the overall sample. Finally, no difference was observed between Canadians and the overall sample.

Table 2 shows the number of forward players shooting left or right, since the 1967-1968 season, at each position: centre, left wing, and right wing. This distribution is presented as a function of the origin of players. Amongst players adopting a “cross-lateral position”, there are much more players shooting left playing on the right wing than players shooting right playing on the left wing, χ²(1) = 103.14, p < .001. Also, players from Europe or from Russia are more likely to adopt a “cross-lateral position” than Canadian or American players, χ²(1) = 95.019, p< .001.

Table 2

Number (and percentage) of centres, left wingers, and right wingers shooting left or right as a function of their origin (data since the 1967–1968 NHL season). L, Shoot Left; R, Shoot Right.
	USA	Canada	Europe	Russia
Centre
L	184 (57.50)	659 (67.87)	214 (78.10)	40 (81.63)
R	136 (42.50)	312 (32.12)	60 (21.90)	9 (18.37)
Left Wing
L	180 (93.75)	781 (93.87)	212 (88.70)	38 (60.32)
R	12 (6.25)	51 (6.13)	27 (11.30)	25 (39.68)
Right Wing
L	32 (12.80)	138 (18.65)	111 (51.87)	48 (78.69)
R	218 (87.20)	602 (81.35)	103 (48.13)	13 (21.31)

Performances – Forward players. Table 3 shows the mean performances of each lateral preference and origin group as a function of position of forward players: left and right wingers and centres.

For the number of goals per game, the ANOVA revealed a significant effect of origin, F(3, 2432) = 4.334, p = .005, ƞ² = .005; and note a trend for the position effect, F(2, 2432) = 2.6678, p = .069, ƞ² = .002. European and Russian players score more goals per game than American players (Fig. 1A). The laterality × position interaction is significant, F(2, 2432) = 3.156, p = .043, ƞ² = .003. All other effects were nonsignificant (ps ≥ .134). Post hoc analyses revealed that amongst players shooting left, right wingers have a higher number of goals per game than left wingers and centers (Fig. 2A).

For the number of assists per game, the ANOVA revealed a significant effect of origin, F(3, 2432) = 5.916, p = .016, ƞ² = .007, with European, Russian, and Canadian players having more assists per game than American players (Fig. 1B). The laterality × position interaction is significant, F(2, 2432) = 3.641, p = .026, ƞ² = .003. All other effects were nonsignificant (p > .192). Post hoc analyses revealed that amongst players shooting left, centers have a higher number of assists per game than left wingers (Fig. 2B); and note that right wingers also tend (p = .061) to have more assists that left wingers.

For the number of points per game, the ANOVA revealed a significant effect of origin, F(3, 2432) = 5.501, p < .001, ƞ² = .007, with European, Russian, and Canadian (p = .055) players having more points per game than American players (Fig. 1C). The laterality × position interaction is significant, F(2, 2432) = 3.728, p = .024, ƞ² = .003. All other effects were nonsignificant (p > .163). Post hoc analyses revealed that amongst players shooting left, right wingers have a higher number of points per game than left wingers (Fig. 2C).

For the goal-to-assist ratio, the ANOVA revealed a significant effect of position, F(2, 2432) = 6.998, p < .001, ƞ² = .006. All other effects were nonsignificant (p > .181). Post hoc analyses revealed that right wingers have a higher goal-to-assist ratio than left wingers and centers.

For the number of penalty minutes per game, the ANOVA revealed only a significant effect of origin, F(3, 2432) = 22.939, p < .001, ƞ² = .027. Post hoc analyses revealed that Canadian players have more penalty minutes per game than players from the other three groups, and American players have more penalty minutes per game than European players. Note the position effect (p = .057) and the position × origin interaction (p = .096). Centers tend to have less penalty minutes per game than wingers.

Table 3

Mean performances of each laterality and origin group as a function of position of forward players (data since the 1967–1968 season). g, per game; G, Goal; A, Assists; P, Points; R, Ratio; PIM, Penalty in minutes; S, Shots on goal; L, Shoot Left; R, Shoot Right.
		G/g	A/g	P/g	G/A R	PIM/g	S/g	+/-
USA	Centre
	L	0.169	0.244	0.413	0.762	0.527	1.550	-16.700
	R	0.185	0.255	0.440	0.74	0.455	1.650	-5.750
	Left Wing
	L	0.184	0.223	0.407	0.864	0.889	1.660	-12.500
	R	0.153	0.208	0.361	0.733	0.475	1.460	-12.300
	Right Wing
	L	0.224	0.284	0.508	0.871	0.573	2,000	-12.900
	R	0.172	0.209	0.381	0.852	0.793	1.620	-12.400
Canada	Centre
	L	0.189	0.288	0.477	0.706	0.618	1.580	-8.820
	R	0.198	0.300	0.498	0.686	0.641	1.690	-8.740
	Left Wing
	L	0.179	0.223	0.402	0.826	1.110	1.510	-7.020
	R	0.241	0.315	0.556	0.773	0.839	1.960	16.500
	Right Wing
	L	0.207	0.263	0.470	0.808	0.792	1.730	-14.500
	R	0.198	0.242	0.440	0.856	1.050	1.620	-6.320
Europe	Centre
	L	0.188	0.308	0.496	0.643	0.378	1.660	-1.090
	R	0.194	0.299	0.493	0.718	0.391	1.620	15.300
	Left Wing
	L	0.184	0.254	0.438	0.785	0.500	1.640	-3.180
	R	0.229	0.294	0.523	0.811	0.412	1.850	6.830
	Right Wing
	L	0.238	0.318	0.556	0.757	0.450	1.970	24.400
	R	0.233	0.290	0.523	0.819	0.429	2.030	17.400
Russia	Centre
	L	0.194	0.314	0.508	0.688	0.518	1.630	26.500
	R	0.234	0.311	0.545	0.881	0.494	2.080	-14.200
	Left Wing
	L	0.221	0.286	0.507	0.891	0.445	1.720	17.100
	R	0.282	0.357	0.639	0.823	0.525	2.330	1.170
	Right Wing
	L	0.241	0.304	0.545	0.841	0.478	2,000	2.780
	R	0.229	0.284	0.513	0.816	0.586	2.060	-6.330

For the number of shots on goals per game, the picture is more complex. There are significant main effects for laterality, F(2, 2432) = 3.93, p = .048, ƞ² = .002; position, F(2, 2432) = 4.73, p = .009, ƞ² = .004; and origin, F(2, 2432) = 5.36, p = .001, ƞ² = .006. Three interaction effects are significant: laterality × position, F(2, 2432) = 3.67, p = .026, ƞ² = .003; laterality × origin, F(3, 2432) = 3.22, p = .022, ƞ² = .004, and position × origin, F(6, 2432) = 2.22, p = .039, ƞ² = .005. In addition to the fact that, overall, players shooting right shoot on goal more often than players shooting left, the post hoc analyses indicate that right wingers shoot more often than centers, and Russian players shoot more often than Canadian and American players. Also, amongst players shooting left, right wingers shoot more often than left wingers and than centers. Moreover, Russians shooting right shoot more often than Americans shooting right or than Canadians shooting left; and Europeans shooting left shoot more often than Canadians shooting left. Finally, European right wingers shoot more often than Canadian right wingers, and more often than Canadian and American centers.

For the differential statistic, the ANOVA revealed only a significant effect of origin, F(3, 2432) = 22.939, p < .001, ƞ² = .005. Post hoc analyses revealed that European players have a better differential than American and Canadian players (Fig. 1D). All other effects were nonsignificant (p > .257).

Performances – Defense players. Table 4 shows the mean performances of each laterality and origin group for defense players.

Table 4

Mean performances of each laterality and origin group defense players. g, per game; G, Goal; A, Assists; P, Points; R, Ratio; PIM, Penalty in minutes; S, Shots on goal; L, Shoot Left; R, Shoot Right.
	G/g	A/g	P/g	G/A R	PIM/g	S/g	+/-
USA
L	0.0609	0.230	0.291	0.258	0.834	1.210	6.230
R	0.0678	0.221	0.289	0.322	0.712	1.360	3.940
Canada
L	0.0612	0.218	0.279	0.283	1.010	1.230	12.300
R	0.0686	0.230	0.299	0.289	1.070	1.370	-6.750
Europe
L	0.0649	0.235	0.300	0.282	0.653	1.240	14.700
R	0.0719	0.259	0.332	0.286	0.595	1.410	0.603
Russia
L	0.0703	0.237	0.308	0.301	0.763	1.300	9.580
R	0.0763	0.278	0.354	0.268	0.746	1.390	24.800

For the number goals per game, points per game, and differential, the ANOVAs revealed no significant effects (ps ≥ .132). For the number of assists per game, note the origin effect, F(3, 1215) = 2.297, p = .076, ƞ² = .006, with Russians tending to have more assists per game than Canadians. For the penalty minutes per game, there is a significant origin effect, F(3, 1215) = 26.555, p < .001, ƞ² = .061. Canadians have more penalty minutes than Europeans (p < .001).

From a laterality viewpoint, the results with the next two dependent variables are more interesting. For the number of shots on goals per game, there is a significant effect of laterality, F(1, 1215) = 6.141, p = .013, ƞ² = .005. Defense players shooting right shoot more often than defense players shooting left. For the goal-to-assist ratio, there is a significant laterality × origin effect, F(3, 1215) = 3.590, p = .013, ƞ² = .009 (Fig. 3). Post hoc analyses reveal that Americans shooting right have a higher goal-to-assist ratio than Americans shooting left (p = .004).

In the present study, there are two main objectives related to laterality in ice hockey. One is revealed by the distribution of players according to their lateral preference and origins, and the other is linked to the impact of this preference on performances.

The main finding in this study is related to the distribution of players shooting left vs. players shooting right as a function of their origin. Clearly, there are much more players susceptible to shoot right when they are from the USA than when they are from anywhere else in the world. This observation applies to both analyses, the one involving the history of the NHL and the one limited to players since the 1967–1968 season.

Considering that, as far as we know, there is no reason to believe that the distribution of left- vs. right-handed people is different in the USA¹⁸ (around 10 to 13%) from that in the rest of the world² (around 10,6%), it is reasonable to posit that the difference found for ice hockey is based on cultural differences. One such cultural difference could be the participation to other sport activities requiring the contribution of both hands. One very popular sport in the USA is baseball. This sport requires to use both hands in either one role or another when batting. Despite the advantage of batting left, close to 2 out of 3 righthanded players in baseball are batting right^8,10. This cultural feature is a viable hypothesis to explain the lateral particularity of ice hockey players from the USA. Somewhat along the same line, assuming that baseball is not as popular in Russia and Europe (where football/soccer is popular) than in Canada, it is not surprising to see that the proportion of players shooting right is slightly higher in Canada than in Europe or Russia.

The key finding that should be emphasized to understand the impact on performances of the lateral preference of the NHL American players could be found in the sample of defense players where no indication is given about the fact of playing on the left or right side on the ice. Overall, defense players shooting right shoot on goal more often than defense players shooting left. Assuming that nearly 90% of players are righthanders for unimanual activities and given that American players are more likely to shoot right than other players, this means that more players are assigning their preferred hand in the middle of the hockey stick, which should favor a playing style based on force. Based on a study with young elite ice hockey players, players placing their preferred hand at the middle of the stick (righthanders shooting right or lefthanders shooting left) are more likely to play with force while players placing their preferred hand at the end of the stick (righthanders shooting left of lefthanders shooting right) are more likely to have a playing style based on finesse (stick handling)¹⁹. The fact that defense players shoot more often could be interpreted as an indication of a playing style based on force more than on finesse. A second significant dependent variable, this time involving specifically American defense players, is consistent with this interpretation. American defense players have a higher goal-to-assist ratio than players for other countries. It is reasonable to associate the fact of having more assists with a playing style based on finesse. The different distribution of defensemen shooting left or right in the USA, compared to defensemen from other countries, would then lead to a different playing style, based more on power than on finesse and, consequently to an increased likelihood to shoot on goal and to have a higher goal-to-assist ratio.

The statistics of shots on goal of forward players are more complex. Overall, players shooting right shoot on goal more often than players shooting left. Assuming that there are much more righthanders in the sample, it indicates that placing the nonpreferred hand at the middle of the stick seems to lead to a playing style closer to stickhandling (finesse) than shooting (exerting power). However, the global picture with forwards is complex because the specific position (centre, left wing, right wing) has an impact on the type of performances. For the goal-to-assist ratio dependent variable, there is a USA effect for defense players, but not for forwards. For forward players, the goal-to-assist ratio of centers is significantly lower that that of right wingers. This finding is not surprising given that centers are traditionally play makers in ice hockey, which results in a lower goal-to-assist ratio, a finding that is consistent with a playing style less based on finesse (play making). American forwards have a significantly lower number of assists per game than players from other countries; this finding also indicates that American players are less likely to adopt a playing style based on finesse.

So far, data from defense players were the most telling to analyse the impact of the lateral preference of American players. For the data of forward players, shooting side is important, but its effect is most often intertwined with the position on the ice, and the position adopted is susceptible to vary with the players’ origin.

In general, wingers having a cross-lateral preference have better performances. Because there are more players shooting left, more of them are moved on the right wing than the reverse (players shooting right playing left wing). It is amongst players shooting left that a significant difference could be found: right wingers have a higher number of goals per game and of points per game than left winger and tend to have a higher number of assists. This finding is consistent with previous data¹⁴. A part of the success of right wingers could be related to the fact that there are more centres shooting left than right; being on the right side of centres, right wingers are more likely to receive passes from that side (left wingers are on the backhand side of centres shooting left).

The specific success of right wingers shooting left could be attributed to the possibility of having a better angle for shooting on net than right wingers shooting right, and to the possibility to have a better view on the overall action on ice when the puck is on the “natural” side (not on the backhand). Also, it is much more difficult for a player shooting right, when playing right wing, to move around a defenseman (and “cut inside”) than it is for a player shooting left.

From a differential viewpoint, European forward players are better than American and Canadian players. Moreover, European and Russian players score more goals and have more points per game than American players. It is difficult to sort out, with the present data, if the efficiency of right-wingers shooting left is due to the massive presence of non-North American players in this category, or if the success of European and Russian players is due to their inclination to adopt a cross-lateral preference. Note that a part of the success of European players may also rely partly on their discipline, as suggests the fact that their amount of penalty in minutes per game is lower, than that of Canadian and American players.

The major finding in the study is linked to the particular distribution of players shooting left vs. right amongst NHL players from the USA. This finding was attributed to the participation to baseball during youth, a sport requiring the contribution of both hands on the bat and exhibiting a lateral preference. This explanation, based on the fact that a majority of players throwing right in baseball will bat right, remains speculative: American righthanders, if they bat right, would then be more inclined to shoot right when time comes to grab a stick to play ice hockey. The interpretation of the effect of the shooting stance of American NHL players is based on the assumption that most of them are right-handers for unimanual tasks. Ideally in future studies, it would be most relevant to also assess the lateral preference for unimanual tasks of hockey players when studying their shooting preference and performances to determine more precisely who places the preferred hand in the middle of the stick and who does not. Moreover, it would probably be careful to test other aspects of lateral preferences, like eyedness or vestibular dominance, to understand who is the most apt to successfully adopt a cross-lateral preference when playing as a winger in ice hockey. Another limitation is related to the fact that forward positions in the study are those listed by the NHL, but forwards may change positions over the course of their career (e.g., switch sides or play center occasionally).

Finally, the number of players shooting right but playing left wing provides only a small sample, especially for American players. Extending this investigation to other elite ice hockey leagues would be a welcome addition to the literature on laterality in sports.

This study shows that the lateral preference of NHL ice hockey players differs according to their origin. This simple fact highlights the cultural influence in lateral preferences during activities where the two hands have different roles. Both forward and defense players from the USA are more likely to shoot right than players from other countries, a finding that could be explained by the participation to baseball of American players during childhood. This lateral preference has an impact on performances, an impact interpreted as reflecting a playing style favoring either a game based on finesse, or a game focused on force. Finally, wingers shooting left have more success when playing on the right wing than when playing on the left wing, a finding that should be kept in mind by ice hockey coaches responsible for the development of young ice hockey players.

Data availability

Dataset analysed during the study are available on the NHL website (https://www.NHL.com/stats/skaters).

Author contributions statement

S.G.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Writing–Original Draft, Project Administration, and Funding Acquisition; P.-A.R.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Writing–Reviewing & Editing. D.F.-G.: Formal Analysis and Reviewing.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Author Contribution

S.G.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Writing–Original Draft, Project Administration, and Funding Acquisition; P.-A.R.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Writing–Reviewing & Editing. D.F.-G.: Formal Analysis and Reviewing.

Acknowledgment

This study was supported by a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to SG. We would like to thank Charles-Anthony Dubeau for his help in the updating of the data set.

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No competing interests reported.

Shooting left or right in the National Hockey League: Likely influence of batting in baseball and different success levels

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