How Hockey ChangedBodies
The Lefty Defence Corps Is Vanishing
For most of NHL history a blue line was mostly left shots, with a right-handed defenceman a luxury. That changed fast after 2008. We charted the handedness of every defenceman game since 1917-18, then split it by birthplace and by pairing.
By Edgehalla ResearchPublished 6 min read
More takeaways below
- Coaches pair opposites. In 2025-26, 76.2% of five-on-five pair minutes went to a left-right pair, against about 49% if pairs were drawn at random.
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Canadian lefties, American righties? Not any more
It is often said that Canadian kids are taught to shoot left and Americans to shoot right. Among NHL defencemen the data never showed a big gap, and now shows none. From 1980 to 2000, American defencemen were slightly more left-handed than Canadians. Since 2015-16 both groups are at about 54%.
Since 2015, every group is more right-handed
Left-shot share of defenceman games, by birth country
Canadian-born defencemen went from 66.6% to 54.4% left-shot, Americans from 69.8% to 54.0%, and the five main European countries are at 68.0%.
- Canada
- United States
- Europe (5 countries)
Two things stand out. Every group is more right-handed in 2015-26 than in 2000-15: Canadians by 7.5 points, Americans by 9.6 and Europeans by 12.1. (Europeans had moved the other way, toward left shots, from the 1980s to the 2000s.) And Europeans stayed the most left-handed of the three. A shift inside every group means one country’s coaching cannot explain it. It fits a change in what NHL teams select for, though these totals cannot rule out a change in the youth pipeline everywhere, and the mix of countries changed too.
Coaches want a left and a right on every pair
The reason teams want right shots shows up in how pairs are built. A defenceman on his forehand side can take passes along the boards and shoot without turning. If coaches paired at random from a blue line that is 56.5% left, about 49% of pairs would be left-right, 32% left-left and 19% right-right.
Three quarters of pair minutes go to a left-right pair
Share of five-on-five defence-pair minutes by the pair’s shot sides, regular season
Show data
| Season | Left-right | Left-left | Right-right |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 73.9% | 22.7% | 3.4% |
| 2018-19 | 74.5% | 21.6% | 3.9% |
| 2019-20 | 74.4% | 19.4% | 6.2% |
| 2020-21 | 74.7% | 21.5% | 3.7% |
| 2021-22 | 77.2% | 18.5% | 4.4% |
| 2022-23 | 76.2% | 18.5% | 5.4% |
| 2023-24 | 75.0% | 20.3% | 4.7% |
| 2024-25 | 75.4% | 20.7% | 3.9% |
| 2025-26 | 76.2% | 18.9% | 4.8% |
- Reference: Random pairing (49.0%)
Left-right pairs took between 73.9% and 77.2% of pair minutes in every season we have. Right-right pairs are rare: about 1 minute in 20. Because left shots outnumber right shots, most pairs that are not left-right are left-left, with a left shot playing his backhand side.
What to keep in mind
- This is a selection story, but the selector is unclear. Players do not change hands, so the shift is in who reaches and stays in the NHL. Right-shot defencemen got more NHL games while the forwards’ split stayed put, which fits teams wanting right shots on defence; these totals cannot separate that from more right-shot defencemen coming up through junior.
- The timing has no single rule behind it. The slide begins around 2009-10. Season totals cannot say why it started then.
- Birth country is not development country. A player born in one country can grow up playing in another.
Show the work
- Tests written down
- Not in advance (exploratory)
- Results computed
Every NHL regular season 1917-18 to 2025-26 from NHL skater bios, weighted by games. Birth-country splits pool three eras so each group has thousands of games. Pairs use our five-on-five shift data, 2017-18 to 2025-26.
| Test | Result | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Left-shot share of defenceman games fell | 81.8% (1960-61) to 56.5% (2025-26) | Holds |
| Europeans are the most left-handed of the main groups | 68% vs about 54% for Canada and the US (2015-26) | Holds |
| Canadians shoot left more than Americans | 54.4% vs 54.0% (2015-26) | No gap |
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of NHL defencemen shoot left?
About 56% by games played in 2025-26. It was above 80% in most late-1950s seasons and about 70% from 1970 until 2008.
Why are right-handed defencemen valuable?
Coaches build pairs with one left and one right shot so each player is on his forehand side. In 2025-26 three quarters of five-on-five pair minutes went to left-right pairs, far more than random pairing would give, so right shots are in demand.
Do Canadian hockey players shoot left more than Americans?
Not among NHL defencemen. From 1980 to 2000 Americans were slightly more left-handed; since 2015-16 both groups are at about 54% left. Defencemen born in Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia and Russia are more left-handed, at 68%.
Did forwards also become more right-handed?
No. Left shots have played 59% to 66% of forward games in every season since 1970, including now, so the change is specific to defence.
More in Bodies
Sources and method
- NHL stats (NHL.com), every season since 1917-18
- NHL stats API: skater bios (shoots, position, birthplace), every season since 1917-18
- Hockey-Graphs: quantifying the importance of handedness (2016)
Research and analysis, not betting advice. Past results do not guarantee future returns; bet only what you can afford to lose.