Forehand

Forehand is the way a player positions his hockey stick to correspond to his handedness, or to his natural side. For a right-handed player, the forehand is the right side, and for a left-handed player, the forehand is the left side.

When a player carries the puck on his forehand, the puck is in front of him, on the interior of his stick blade. All shots taken by a player (wrist shot, slap shot, snap shot, etc.), except for a backhand shot, are taken using his forehand.

The opposite of the forehand is the backhand, when the puck is on the exterior of a player’s stick blade. For a right-handed player, the backhand is the left side, and for a left-handed player, the backhand is the right side. A backhand shot is usually less powerful than a forehand shot, but it is more difficult for a goaltender to stop because it is harder to know in which direction the puck is going after it has been shot with the backhand.