As voted by NHL goalies: Top five one-timers in the league today

Mike McKenna
Mike McKenna(MikeMcKenna56)
As voted by NHL goalies: Top five one-timers in the league today

Think you know sports? PointsBet Canada is live in Ontario!

_____

Call me crazy, but I loved the challenge of facing one-timers in the NHL. Stopping a rocket from one of the league’s top snipers was always a thrill. It may not have happened often during my career, but I remember a lot of those saves.

Alex Ovechkin. Shea Weber. Evgeni Malkin. I’ll always remember how the puck came off their blade. The accuracy of some. The velocity of others. All permanently etched in my mind.

I’ve been retired since 2019. And even though I watch more hockey than any normal human being would like to admit, I wondered if the same players I faced are still regarded as the top one-timer threats in the NHL.

So I asked a group of current NHL goaltenders – with combined experience of more than 2,400 games – to come up with a top-five list of the league’s top one-timers.

I can’t say that the results were surprising. The usual suspects made the list, which actually justifies the results seen on the ice. But I did find several responses interesting. And it made me think: where will this list be in five years? Ten? Impossible to predict. But fun to think about.

Let’s take a look at the top-five one-timers in the NHL – in random order – according to the goaltenders who face them on a nightly basis.

DAVID PASTRNAK

Pastrnak made every ballot but one. Which shouldn’t be surprising considering since the start of the 2019-20 season, ‘Pasta’ has scored the fifth-most goals (127) in the NHL.

Remember what I said about accuracy earlier? To me, that’s Pastrnak. The Bruins forward consistently picks corners. A precision that he’s developed from hours of repetition before and after practice.

I also think Pastrnak is one of the best at adjusting for the pass. For some players, the puck needs to be directly in their wheelhouse in order to bomb it. That’s not Pastrnak. He can rip a shot even when the pass is in his feet or behind him.

STEVEN STAMKOS

The six-time 40-plus goal scorer topped the list of several NHL goaltenders. Stamkos has been one of the most prolific snipers of his generation, much of it owed to his one-timer.

The Lightning captain’s shot is so dangerous because it’s a double whammy: Stamkos can crush it with accuracy. I think of that big pendulum backswing, and how quickly Stamkos can elevate the puck.

Few players can put a shot under the crossbar from in tight like Stamkos. He’s most comfortable from the left circle, close to the faceoff dot. He has no problem roofing the puck from that position. And his shot has plenty of heat. Scary.

PATRIK LAINE

For me, Laine was probably the biggest surprise considering he hasn’t scored 30 goals since the 2018-19 season. But almost every NHL goalie voter had him on their list. And I think it shows that the Blue Jackets winger is still a premier threat. Especially his one-timer.

I think back to early in Laine’s career, when I would have considered him a pure bomber. And he’s still capable of blasting the puck through goalies. But I do appreciate that he’s been increasingly dangerous on the rush, as shown in the clip above.

Laine is willing to shoot from distance, which can catch some netminders off guard and out of position. There’s also a dynamic element to Laine’s shooting: he can one-time the puck in stride. And his release is so quick. Simply put: he makes goalies nervous.

ALEX OVECHKIN

I’ve always held the belief that Ovechkin is a volume shooter that can overpower goalies. He might not pick corners regularly, but the puck comes off his blade so fast that it finds a way through the goaltender.

Most of the NHL goaltenders that I polled agreed with me. Although I was surprised that one veteran netminder left Ovechkin out of his top five entirely.

Ovi is another example – like most of the shooters on this list – of a player who is able to adapt to the puck. He can shoot it from anywhere. What I think really separates the Capitals captain is his swing speed. I don’t know if it’s ever been measured. But ‘The Great Eight’ swings for the fences every time the puck is near him.

Combine Ovechkin’s stick speed with a wicked toe curve and the result is an unpredictable flight path for the puck. It’s hard for goaltenders to read his one-timer.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Ovechkin has scored more goals with a fluttering puck than any other player in NHL history.  He currently sits at an even 800 goals, creeping toward Wayne Gretzky’s all-time mark of 894. It’s only a matter of time before Ovechkin becomes the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history. If he isn’t already.

TAGE THOMPSON

The new kid on the block caught the attention of several NHL goaltenders that I spoke to. And for good reason. Thompson has an absolute missile.

Just watch the clip above. The torque Thompson puts on his stick is almost surreal. He’s 6-foot-6 inches tall, weighs 220 pounds, and every ounce of his existence is leaning into that one-timer.

The Sabres center already has 23 goals during the 2022-23 campaign. Thompson potted 38 last year. Can he score 60 goals in a season? How about 70? With a one-timer like that, and hands to match, I think it’s possible.

One thing’s for certain: Thompson is no longer flying under the radar. Goalies know he’s the trigger man on the Sabres power play. Yet they haven’t found a way to stop him.

BEST OF THE REST

Both Nikita Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl received several votes. And interestingly, the Lightning and Oilers forwards were the only left-handed shooters, along with Wild sniper Kirill Kaprizov, to be mentioned. I found it surprising that Rangers center Mika Zibanejad didn’t get more love. And Ryan Pulock of the New York Islanders was the only defenseman to be mentioned.

Recently by Mike McKenna

Keep scrolling for more content!
19+ | Please play responsibly! | Terms and Conditions apply