Ridiculous Snipe

The man scoring the goal in the photo to the left is Arizona Coyotes forward Richard Panik. Richard has been known to put the puck in the net a few times as he has scored 75 career goals in 410 NHL contests with four teams with 22 of those goals coming with his current squad in the sandy confines of Glendale. On the international front, he hasn't made a lot of noise outside of the three World Junior Championships he's played in for Slovakia where he was a solid performer, but it seems his inclusion on the Slovakian National Team at this year's IIHF World Championship may have been a good one as Panik is already catching the attention of many after his pre-tournament shootout goal against Norway today.

We've seen some dangles and snipes in shootouts that one wouldn't likely see in games from the likes of Linus Omark, Rob Schremp, Jocelyne Lamoureux, and Pavel Datsyuk over the years, and you can now add Richard Panik's name to the list of simply incredible goals in the skills competition. Here's Panik's submission.

Panik just took a shot with the BACKHAND TOE and snipped five hole..... Put it on repeat have a good night #RareDanglesPB Alert! pic.twitter.com/QfKLOKUm0G

— Pavel Barber (@HeyBarber) May 7, 2019

Panik flipped his stick over to the backhand and used the toe of his stick to zip that shot five-hole on Norwegian goalie Henrik Haukeland! That's ridiculous, insane, and amazing all at the same time! To make matters worse for Haukeland and Norway, Panik's tricky snipe also wound up being the shootout- and game-winning goal! I have no idea how he generates so much torque with his stick positioned like that, but it's clearly something he's been working on and he showed how highly effective it can be! Wow!

Adding to the fun of this move, the tweet above was sent out by Pavel Barber. If you don't know who Barber is, he's a world-renowned stick-handling guru who has trained teams and players all over the world on the finer points of stick-handling, and even he's impressed by Panik's goal. Take a look at his moves on this dangle he calls "The Tornado".

When one of the best stick-handlers on the planet is impressed by your work, you know you did right.

Richard Panik may want to bring that move to the NHL for next season! It's another trick in the vast library of amazing shots we've seen in shootouts from all over the planet!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!