<P> The slapshot is harder than other shots and, because of the violent motion involved, somewhat less accurate . It also takes longer to execute; a player usually cannot take a slapshot while under any significant pressure from an opposing player because the opponent could easily interfere during the windup . The slapshot is most commonly used by a defenceman at the point, especially during a power play, although a forward will sometimes find an opportunity to use it . </P> <P> The invention of the slapshot is credited to Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion (a nickname alluding to the thunderous clack of his slapshots) of the Montreal Canadiens . Black Canadian Eddie Martin, of the Coloured Hockey League's Halifax Eurekas, has also been credited with inventing the slapshot in the late 1800s . Dick Irvin, who was a star player in the WCHL and PCHA--and who later coached Geoffrion with the Habs--was also renowned for having a hard and accurate slap shot . Growing up in Winnipeg in the 1890s and 1900s, he would practice shooting against a doorknob in his attic during the winter months for accuracy . In the summertime, Irvin would draw a chalk outline of a net onto his family's sled garage, and practice one - timers off a piece of wooden board embedded into the ground . </P> <P> During a hockey game, a puck can reach the speeds of 100 miles per hour (160 km / h) or more when struck . The current NHL speed record belongs to Zdeno Chára of the Boston Bruins, whose slapshot clocked 108.8 miles per hour (175.1 km / h) in the 2012 NHL All Star Game SuperSkills competition, breaking his own earlier record . Alexander Riazantsev of KHL's Spartak Moscow slapped a puck at the 2012 KHL All Star Game skills competition in Latvia with a speed of 114.127 mph (183.67 km / h); however, the NHL does not recognize this as breaking Chára's record, as the puck travels a shorter distance to the goal net in KHL competitions than in those of the NHL . </P>

Who has the fastest slapshot in the nhl