Almost any display of skill in hockey is hugely impressive: the sport involves skates and sticks and other implements that require a lot of expertise and talent to use. So when we see a player at either the amateur or pro level manipulate the puck and his body in such a way that the puck sails into the net against all odds, we are all the more awed and amazed.

Here are five awesome hockey trick shots.

Spin and Shoot (Player)

Watching kids play hockey is kind of a surreal experience. Because they’re smaller and more compact, they almost look like little sedans gliding around the ice. That is, until they demonstrate some unbelievably skillful display of stick work or skating and you’re reminded that hey, this kid would actually destroy me if we were on the ice together. The guy in the video above is in a one on one situation with a goalie, and out of nowhere he unleashes a shot of ballet-like, almost choreographed grace, whirling around and somehow taking the puck with him. The shot is so confusing – and surprising – that the goalie hilariously doesn’t react at all; he just stands there, because what else can you do in the face of a shot like that? You’re certainly not going to be able to stop a puck you can’t even see.

Spin and Shoot (Goalie)

Here’s a pretty similar display to what the kid in the first video pulled off, except, in this case, it’s done by a goalie during practice. Somehow, the goaltender manages to control his huge stick – designed to stop pucks, not control them – and spin the puck around his body as he turns. As impressive as that is, what might be the most dazzling aspect of what he’s doing is how he manages to keep the shot on goal when he finishes his maneuver. It would be incredibly easy for the puck to slip just before or just after he wanted it to, and considering the way his body is moving, that would mean the puck flying off in the direction of the boards.

Slide And Shoot

This player may only be 11 years old, but that doesn’t stop him from scoring a goal while he is lying on the ground. As he makes his way to the net, the defender manages to trip him up, legally, and he ends up still in possession of the puck as he careens toward the goal. While sliding on the ground, he is just able to push the puck away from him, and it slides slowly – you might think harmlessly – in the direction of the goal. But because the goaltender is so distracted by the player’s body sliding the other way, he misses the puck, and the kid manages to score.

Lacrosse-Style

It’s a good thing they slow this video down at the end, because without that closer look, you’d probably have no idea what was happening. The announcer describes it as, “between the legs, 360, lacrosse-style, top-corner.” To translate, that means the player takes the puck between his legs with his stick after reaching around himself; then spins in a full circle while still moving toward the goal; then picks the puck up off the ice like a lacrosse player cradling the ball in his net; then tosses it into the upper right corner of the goal, where it’s almost impossible for the goaltender to get to. Lacrosse-style is particularly impressive: hockey sticks aren’t exactly designed for that type of movement. Yet, this player makes it look incredibly easy.

Overhand Toss

Part of the charm of hockey is the fact that, in every game played in a proper ice rink, you see echoes of the way the sport started: on frozen ponds in the backyards and backwoods of little towns, where kids get together and create their own impromptu arenas. Here, one kid manages to successfully interpret and recreate a goal accomplished by one of his heroes, and its a doozy: lacrosse-style as well, except in this case, he basically turns the stick upright and twirls it around his head, then tosses the puck overhand into the net. This shot defies both gravity and common sense, and yet, it happened in a real hockey scenario and could then be replicated by a kid in his backyard. That’s pretty much the perfect representation of hockey.

Cover Photo Credit: Eric Kilby – Flickr.com