Keep those passing lanes open

Passing lanes are not something for the freeway; they are an integral part of hockey. Simply put, a passing lane is any area on the ice that provides an opportunity to advance the puck by successfully completing a pass.

Passing, like most other skills in hockey, is an art. The best passers in the game—players like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Brian Leetch and Paul Kariya—all have developed soft hands and a delicate touch. Each pass they make is “laser guided” with authority and is easy to control when it reaches their teammate’s stick. They take pride in passing, and they use this effective asset to beat their opponents. After all, the puck can travel much faster than we can skate.

Give me the puck!

Every player wants the puck; after all, it is the source of every player’s happiness. When we do not have the puck on our stick, we chase it all over the ice like crazed lunatics, sacrifice our body as we battle for it in the corners. We even pound our stick on the ice while screaming in hopes that the puck will hear our plea and find its way to our stick. If only pucks had eyes and ears.

Pucks, by themselves, do not acknowledge us, so we hope our teammates will see us as we streak up the ice. How often have we heard or thought, “I was wide open, what’s wrong with you, all you had to do was pass me the puck. Why didn’t you pass me the puck? We would have won the game.”

My philosophy is, “If you want the puck, make it easy for someone to give you the puck.” Put yourself in position to not only receive the pass, but to accelerate and make a good play once you have received it.

There are several things we can do that will make our stick blade a more attractive target for the puck. On the other hand, doing the opposite will not only decrease the likelihood of being passed to, but will make you an attractive target for the other team…ouch!

Passing lane components

Practice creating passing lanes and implement this flow into your game. A passing lane consists of a few key components.

Never skate directly away from the passer looking back over your shoulder. A passer may see that you are wide open, but will “look you off,” or ignore you since passing to you will most likely result in the puck flying by you to the opposing team, or in you getting blind-sided. This extremely dangerous position is called a “Suicide Pass.” Undoubtedly, the defensive player is “licking his chops” just waiting for the puck to come to you. You know what happens next, and it’s a dangerous scenario best avoided. Lastly, the angle of your stick blade in this situation makes it almost impossible to control even a perfect pass.

Develop the habit of skating toward the passer, then turn sharply 90° across the ice. While doing this, make sure your stick blade is flat on the ice and give the passer a BIG target by angling the stick blade so that it is parallel to the blade of the passer. Make the passer want to pass to you by showing him your entire stick blade and making it as inviting as possible. Remember to scan the ice ahead of you and preplan your next move once you receive the puck. To top this all off, tap your stick blade on the ice, give a quick holler, and look the passer in the eye to signal you are hungry for the puck and prepared to receive it.

When executed properly, your teammates will read the play and will proceed to fill the vacant lanes or open ice in weaving patterns.

Without the puck

Good players play well with the puck, but great players play great without the puck. Always be aware of possible passing lanes and look to skate through passing lanes in position to receive a pass. Now more than ever, hockey players must cover the ice with powerful lateral mobility and controlled agility. Plays such as weaving, drop passes, cycling, filling open ice, and creating passing lanes have replaced yesterday’s “old-time straight up and down the ice, stay in your lane” style of hockey.

Keep your head up, read the ice, look for passing lanes, and enjoy! It’s not likely that we’ll someday find that pucks do have eyes and ears after all.

Shawn Killian is the Director of Skills, Development & Training for Planet Hockey.

Coaching with Jim Roberts

Jim Roberts. ©BBS

On July 17, 1996, Jim Roberts took the position of assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues, joining Roger Neilson in helping head coach Mike Keenan. Roberts brought plenty of coaching experience with him. Starting his 14-year coaching career as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres (1979-84), he took over as the Sabres head coach for a period in 1981-82. He was an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins (1984-87) and then went to the American Hockey League as head coach of the Springfield Indians, where he took Springfield to the Calder Cup Championships two consecutive years (1988-89). Roberts returned to the NHL in 1991-92 as head coach of the Hartford Whalers. He spent 1993-1995 as the GM and head coach of the St. Louis Blues minor league affiliate, the Worcester Ice Cats. Now, he’s back in the NHL.

Perhaps it’s Robert’s history as a player that has helped him the most as a hockey coach. He played in the NHL from 1963-78, primarily with the Montreal Canadiens and the Blues, earning 320 points and five Stanley Cup Championship rings. Roberts claims these years gave him an understanding of how to deal with today’s players.

“Being a player myself, I respect the players and I hope they respect me.” Respect, Robert says, is vital when coaching any level of hockey: respect and honesty. Players look to their coaches for advice in all kinds of situations. Coaches need to level with their players.

“I show honesty to players,” Roberts continues. “There are some pretty important questions that players ask you that need some honest answers. Over the years, I’ve found that honesty is the way to get the respect of the players and not cause any problems down the road.”

Quickness key

Having coached in the minor league as well as the NHL, Roberts has had a chance to compare athletes at different levels of play. Roberts offered his estimation as to where many younger hockey players need a bit of improvement or focus.

“They need to adjust to the quickness of the game. They have to adjust to the speed at which things happen on the ice. Every level you move up, things happen a little quicker. As a fan sitting there watching it, you wouldn’t notice it much. However, there’s an elevation in the speed and intensity of the game.

“Coaches need to practice their team hard. Concentrate on speed,” Roberts advises. Just because an athlete skates quickly doesn’t mean he can play the game quickly. You still have to handle the puck, and the defense with the same speed.

When it comes to practice drills, Roberts likes to stick to the basics. “Practices and drills are similar to real games,” he says. “That way intensity carries over to the real games. Make the players practice with quicker players so they have to adjust. They will find the quickness in themselves to keep up with them.

“My theory is that I use the whole ice so that people who are playing a good offense can switch and try to play a good defense. Using the whole ice gets them to use their speed more effectively.

Coach Roberts considers his most important job to be that of motivation. “The big thing that I find missing is consistent intensity. It’s all mental. You have to learn how to handle the ups and downs. It’s about being able to use your God-given skills on the ice, but then carry your emotions off the ice.”

No master plan

Unfortunately, Roberts doesn’t have the master plan to bring players to the appropriate level. “Every player is different. You have to be honest with them about their strengths and weaknesses. You have to motivate each one differently. Knowing your players is important. Know what they can do. Know how to handle them. It’s a tough game. Players have to be at a mental peak. If they’re not, your team won’t be as good. If it’s happening, correct it any way you can. Some players you can sit down and read the riot act. Others you have to baby along. It can depend on how young the player is, of course.”

Roberts believes that motivation can also elevate players who are not as talented to get to another level. To help these players along Roberts suggests: “Simplify their game. If their capabilities don’t let them do certain things, concentrate on what they do better. If a guy is only going to get three or four goals a year, you don’t want him rushing the net. You might try to put him in a position where he can be a safety valve on the rush and check defensively. You have to know who your players are and where they contribute the most.” Roberts says these role-players can concentrate on the things they do well and work on weaknesses. Even if the other skills don’t come around, they can still do their jobs.

Coach Roberts summed things up by hitting on the importance of motivation again. “My general philosophy is you have to practice hard to play hard. You also have to stick to your team strategy. Other than that, you have to have your players ready to play. Getting the fever is a big deal for some players and not others. For those who have trouble, it’s my job to help them find it.”

— Mike Neuman

Best Drills for Power Skating

Best Drills for Power Skating
One of the best power skating drills to practice is called sculling. This drill helps you increase the power of your stride.

Start this drill by getting low into a hockey stance, dig in with your heels, and push all the way out for a full leg extension, then bring your feet back together directly under your body. Extend your leg without lifting your skate off the

Best Drills for Power Skating

Best Drills for Power Skating
One of the best power skating drills to practice is called sculling. This drill helps you increase the power of your stride.

Start this drill by getting low into a hockey stance, dig in with your heels, and push all the way out for a full leg extension, then bring your feet back together directly under your body. Extend your leg without lifting your skate off the

Best Drills for Power Skating

Best Drills for Power Skating
One of the best power skating drills to practice is called sculling. This drill helps you increase the power of your stride.

Start this drill by getting low into a hockey stance, dig in with your heels, and push all the way out for a full leg extension, then bring your feet back together directly under your body. Extend your leg without lifting your skate off the

Defense zone face-offs

Figures A & B

Your goalie may have just come up with a big save, but now you’ve got a big face-off coming up in your own zone—right in front of your net. The way your team sets up before the puck is dropped in no small way determines what happens after that biscuit hits the ice.

From a recent game between the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Boston Bruins, I’ve mapped out several face-off set-ups the Ducks utilized when they were in their own zone. Hopefully, you can spot something your team is doing wrong, or visualize some better positioning for your team.

Figure A shows the formation most used often by the Ducks which is the traditional 5-on-5 set-up. The right wing and defensemen are huddled close together in a triangle formation. Note that the goalie has a clear view of the face-off. While the wing initially takes out the opposing wing, the two defensemen are prepared for the puck going to the slot, either directly or as a rebound.

Figure B shows a formation the Ducks used several times as well. The only difference I could see was that the opposing left wing had set up several feet up on the face-off circle away from the Ducks right wing. This allows the Bruins center to draw back to the left winger who may have time for a quick release on net. Additionally, it blocks the path of the Ducks right winger if they are planning to cover the Bruins left point.

Figure C shows how the Ducks set up when they were a man down in their own end. It is virtually the same set-up as Figure B, except they are missing the second defenseman. From an offensive standpoint, note how the Bruins left defenseman is right on the face-off circle while the right defenseman covers the boards. The Ducks right wing and lone defenseman must be prepared for either a draw back to the Bruins right defenseman or, if the face-off isn’t clean, for the puck to be loose in the slot with three Bruins (center, left wing, left defenseman) in close. It is essential with this set-up that the Ducks center either win the draw or effectively tie up the Bruins center.

Figure D shows a defensive zone face-off in a 4-on-4 skating situation. The Duck’s defenseman is neither directly behind or to the side of his fellow left winger. He is ready, however, to block a shot if the Bruins right defenseman gets the draw and slides to the center. Notice how the Bruins left wing is set up further up along the circle away from the defending right wing.

Figure E shows the set-up the Ducks used when they were short handed and the face-off took place just outside their zone. The lone defenseman was set-up to the right of the centerman towards the boards. This protects against the Bruins using the boards to penetrate the zone. When the face-off took place at center ice a few minutes later, the defenseman was set-up directly behind the center.

Figures C & D

Figure E

Keys to successful practice

By Shawn Killian

As developing players and coaches, we all have an obligation to maximize each and every ice session. If we expect our players to improve, to perform at their highest level, and to grow in their love for the game, we as educators must be well–equipped to meet the challenge. Consider the following terms: Involvement, organization, flow, conditioning, game-like drills, creativity, energy and skills training. Following are some thoughts to help you incorporate these crucial elements into every practice.

Organization

Having realistic “year-end” goals, continually assessing individual and team skills levels and organizing fun, logical practices will provide the ground-work necessary to run winning practices. What are each players’ individual strengths and weaknesses? What are the team strengths and weaknesses? From here you can begin to bridge the gap between where you are and where you need to go. Here are ideas on how to get there.

Flow

Flow can mean everything from a well-planned practice that logically progresses to a specific drill that combines skilled skating with puck control. Think of flow as covering a lot of ice. Track stars refer to training by “putting miles under their shoes”; flow involves “miles under your skates.” Players should remain spread out with frequent “weaving,” crossing and exchanging lanes. Flow requires you to keep your head up and to read the ice. Consequently, flow encourages teamwork and great on-ice vision and awareness.

Involvement

Every player must be involved and challenged each moment they are on the ice. Develop drills that utilize the entire ice surface and that keep all players moving (see drill diagram for example). Each player must know their role and must feel they are contributing to the team.

Conditioning

Conditioning shouldn’t contrive illusions of boring, militant, vomit-filled, hard–skating sessions without pucks, and should rarely be used as punishment. The last thing we want is for players to develop a dislike for skating. Rather, make conditioning fun and creative, and always reward a hard skate in some way. Encourage players to condition themselves through your creative training ideas. You won’t be with your group of players a year or two from now, so it should be your goal to make conditioning and its results a positive experience that your players will continue even without hearing your whistle. The work ethic that will result is crucial to every player and their development both on and off the ice.

Game-like Drills

Drills should be “game-like” or “game-realistic.” Try to simulate game situations whenever possible to familiarize your players with situations to come. Emphasize skills development, then incorporate them into game-like drills and controlled scrimmages. Be sure to explain every drill and why they are doing them. Let your players know where they can expect to see them in a game and the importance of practicing the way they play—with complete focus.

Creativity

Possibly the most important skill any coach can have is to encourage growth through creativity. Take drills and make them fun, yet challenging. Add additional pylons, or add passes to enhance the current drills you use. Always be on the lookout for new drills and know that every drill can be altered to yield several different drills. Inject your own personal flavor into drills to create a vast arsenal of teaching tools. Players need to be challenged both physically and mentally. It is up to you to organize practices that foster individual and team growth.

Energy

Your energy, mood, and attitude as a coach has a direct effect on that of your team. Consider yourself an actor or actress, and when you are on the ice, you are on stage. It’s show time! Again, encourage both physical and mental alertness and reinforce the fact that when the skates are on, it is time to perform.

Skills training

A good portion of every practice should involve work on specific skills. Working on systems is the fun part of hockey. On the other hand, allocating sufficient time and energy to developing perfect skating strides and puck control skills is often difficult, boring and sometimes confusing. Maintaining the interest and energy levels of your team while working on specific hockey techniques may be the most challenging task of any coach. Incorporating the previous coaching ideas should help you to reach your team goals. l

Flow Drill

This is an example of a game-like flow drill that uses the entire ice surface and incorporates multiple players. The entire drill should be done at game tempo. It also has a conditioning benefit when done with speed, can be altered as you see fit and will be a hit with your team.

Phases 1 and 2

Phase I

Three forwards take off and stay together. All three skate behind net, one player picks up a puck (or a coach can pass one) to create a 3-on-0. Execute the offensive attack of choice. Take a shot on net.

Phase II

The player who shoots the puck peels back, immediately, up the ice (at full speed) along the same boards. The single player continues alone, behind the net, picks up a puck and turns up ice with speed. A defenseman will step out at the near blue line to play the shooter 1-on-1.

Phase III

Simultaneously, the other two forwards trail the first forward (the shooter) by about 50 feet and at the same speed. Follow the same path as the forward in front, continue around the net, together, and pick up one puck. Another defenseman steps out to play a 2-on-1. As the two forwards pick up their puck, the drill begins again with the next three forwards leaving for their 3-on-0.

Phase 3

Ice Hockey Gains Popularity in Kenya

Here we’ve got an article from VOANews.com.

You wouldn’t naturally associate ice hockey with Africa, but there are some avid players at the Solar Ice Rink in Nairobi, Kenya, the only ice rink in East Africa. The next closest rink is 2,000 miles from one in South Africa. Even with a small amount of opponents and even less ever seeing the sport played in person, hotel management seems motivated enough to keep spending thousands each month to cool the rink. Some Kenyans even hope to some day have a presence in the Winter Olympics.  Cool Runnings 2?

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Ice-Hockey-Gains-Popularity-in-Kenya-106577889.html

Passing: The key to team play

Figure 1: Flip pass.

During a recent pro hockey game that I attended in California, I was reminded just how important passing is to the overall success of any team. Why is passing so important? Because it sets up almost every scoring opportunity. Passing is the quickest and most effective way to move the puck around the playing surface because puck movement is faster than player movement.

There are many reasons for passing the puck during a hockey game: to quickly bring the puck out of your defensive zone, to defeat a defender and create a numerical advantage (an essential on a power play), or to set up that great scoring opportunity. Each type of pass serves a unique purpose in terms of catching your opponents off guard and gaining positional advantage. The speed and change in flow provided when making a pass allows your offense to open up many exciting opportunities to put the puck into a scoring situation.

Accuracy, Timing, Deception

Three factors to consider when executing an effective pass are accuracy, knowing when to pass and deception. Following a good pass, don’t stand around congratulating yourself, get back into the play!

1. Accuracy is essential when passing the puck. If you don’t put the puck on your teammate’s stick, you may have just given possession to the other team. To be accurate, you must be able to lead a moving receiver with the puck; that is, you must pass the puck far enough ahead of the moving receiver to give him time to catch the pass.

2. Knowing when to pass. Deciding when to pass the puck should always be based on improving your TEAM’s offensive situation (remember there is a direct relationship between passing and team play!). If a teammate is in a better position than you are, don’t keep the puck—pass it.

3. Deception. Many players spoil their passing attempt because they telegraph their intention. Telegraphing a pass occurs when the passer is looking at the potential receiver and lining up the passing play without any deception. This gives a defender an easy opportunity to steal the puck. Passers can use their peripheral vision or a deceptive move to confuse a defender providing valuable time and space for the receiver.

Three passes you can use to catch defenders off guard include the flip pass, around-the-boards pass and give-and-go pass.

Flip Pass

The flip (or saucer) pass is one technique that can be used when you cannot make a direct pass to your receiver due to a defender’s stick.

The key to making an accurate flip pass is rotating the puck, which is created by rolling the puck from the heel of the stick blade to the toe as the pass is made. This will ensure that the puck lands flat and does not bounce or roll.

The flip pass requires a short follow through to put the puck 6-18 inches off the playing surface and over a defender’s stick. No deception is needed with this type of pass as the puck going airborne takes care of it. Figure 1 shows an excellent neutral zone penetration (flip) pass allowing the play to quickly move from your defensive zone to the red line.

Figure 2: Around-the-boards pass.

Around-the-Boards Pass

Like the flip pass, the around-the-boards pass allows a passer to indirectly reach a receiver; and since you are using the boards as a guide, it is very accurate. It is particularly effective when used by a defenseman (D) to move the puck from behind the net to an open forward (F) positioned along the boards (as part of a breakout) or when moving the puck in your offensive zone to a teammate on the far side of the net (Figure 2). The pass should be low and not too hard so the receiver can handle it. Since this pass goes around a defender, deception is built right in.

Give-and-Go

The give-and-go pass (really a passing play) is designed to deceive and defeat an opponent and move the puck into a scoring opportunity.

The give-and-go pass can be used in any area on the playing surface. In the defensive zone, the pass can be used in conjunction with a breakout. In the offensive zone, it can be used as part of your offensive zone strategy. If the defender is expecting (reading) a give-and-go pass, you can still deceive him/her with a give-and-no-go (pass the puck and have the initial receiver fake the return pass).

Figure 3 can be used to work the give-and-go during a practice. Make sure that each player gets the opportunity to be both the moving player and the stationary player.

Perfect your passing technique (accuracy, knowing when to pass, and use of deception) and your team will improve its offensive effectiveness with the flick of a stick.

Figure 3: Give-and-go pass.

Greg Siller, author of Roller Hockey: Skills And Strategies For Winning On Wheels.

Building puck support

Figures 1 and 2

Let’s discuss one of the most important skills you can perform early in the season to quickly (and consistently) help put your team on top. It’s called puck support.

Puck support is your team’s ability to maintain control of the puck while moving it into a scoring opportunity. Puck support has both individual and team components. From a team perspective, it requires a collective effort to move the puck into your offensive zone and into a scoring position. From an individual perspective, it requires each non-puck-carrying player (supporting) to provide options for the puck carrier.

To be effective in this support role, players must anticipate the puck carrier’s intentions, read the defensive pressure being applied on the puck carrier, and adjust his or her position in relation to the puck carrier. Positioning of support players with respect to the puck carrier is important because movement by all players creates an attack that is always more difficult for the opposition to cover.

Three options that each supporting player needs to work on include getting open for a pass, clearing an area to allow space for the puck carrier to skate, and supporting a shot on net. These three options require supporting players to be able to read, react, and anticipate quickly, both individually and as a team.

For a Pass
When one of your teammates has the puck, it is generally the responsibility of at least one defenseman and one forward, as supporting players, to get open for a pass. Supporting players should maneuver themselves into an open position to create options for the puck carrier, and should base their movements on the puck carrier, the defenders, and the open playing surface available. An example of poor support by a puck carrier’s teammates is shown in Figure 1 while good puck support is shown in Figure 2.

Notice in Figure 1 that all offensive support players (circled) are covered, while in Figure 2, LD and RF have moved enough to become passing options for LF and can provide the offensive team time and space to maintain puck control until a scoring opportunity is created. In tight quarters, a give-and-go play works well, providing the puck carrier an opportunity to quickly get past a defender.

Figure 3

Clear the Way
The second way support players can help the puck carrier (and the team) is to maneuver so that the puck carrier has room to skate with the puck. This involves players spreading out and away from the puck carrier, creating space for that player. This is a particularly effective technique in roller hockey where offsides are generally not an issue.

If an opponent is close to the puck carrier, a supporting teammate can cross in the path of a defender (employing a legal screen or pick). This will give the puck carrier an added second or two to skate toward an open area and be able to set up a scoring opportunity. Figure 3 shows an example of a pick, set by LF on the opponent’s center (XC). This creates some open space for the offensive center (C) to skate with the puck to the outside of the defenseman and into the offensive zone.

Figure 4

Support the Shot
Supporting the puck carrier can turn into supporting a shot, if the puck carrier decides to shoot. When in the offensive zone, support players have to be prepared for a shot (and a rebound) at any time. Two important factors are positioning and quickness. Proper positioning for a shot means getting into a location near the slot for a screen, deflection or rebound.

If a defenseman is shooting (as shown in Figure 4), then the three forwards can position themselves to get a rebound, whether it comes out to the center or off to one of the forwards. Timing, quickness, and strength to move into position in the slot are essential factors in obtaining rebounds.

By providing the puck carrier with various levels of support (passing, skating, shooting) you can individually contribute for a successful team effort.

Greg Siller, author of the book Roller Hockey: Skills And Strategies For Winning On Wheels, can be contacted at siller@prolearning.com or via his web site at <www.prolearning.com>.