Hockey Player Magazine

Tag: breakout

  • Five Breakout Plays Every Hockey Player Should Know

    As a hockey coach and a player I am always trying to become smarter, better, and faster. What some players don’t realize is that by knowing your position and knowing your plays you will become a “faster” player. A positionally sound hockey player could be physically slower than every player on the ice, but by…

  • 2-1-2 Spread: In Action

    How to Execute a Proper 2-1-2 Spread Forecheck In our last post, we talked about beating a 2-1-2 with a D to D pass. In the footage, we saw the NJ Devils using an aggressive 2-1-2 “Stack” against the Rangers. In this post, we’ll show you the LA Kings using another variation of the 2-1-2,…

  • How to Beat a 2-1-2 Forecheck

    How to Beat a 2-1-2 Forecheck During the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, I did a video dissection of Ryan Carter’s game-winning goal against the New York Rangers. The video got quite a few hits that night, and I had a number of requests to dissect the play from the defensive point of view. People wanted…

  • Penalty Kill Forecheck Angling Drill

    Penalty Kill Forecheck Angling Drill The Penalty Kill Forecheck Angling Drill works really well to teach proper angling technique for F1 & F2 on the PK forecheck. Here’s the diagram and explanation: Penalty Kill Forecheck Angling Drill 1. Breakout man skates in, and opens up to either side for a breakout pass from the coach…

  • MacDonald Forecheck Drill

    MacDonald Forecheck Drill The MacDonald Forecheck is a nice little drill to work on forechecking lanes and angles. Here’s the diagram and explanation: MacDonald Forecheck Drill 1. On whistle, forecheckers take a lap around the center circle 2. As the forecheckers finish their lap, coach dumps the puck in 3. Forecheckers attack, 5-man unit breaks…

  • Fukami Breakout Warm-up Drill

    Fukami Breakout Warm-up Drill The Fukami Breakout Warm-up Drill is a great drill to get everybody moving. It incorporates a little bit of everything, and even involves the goalies in the play. Here’s the diagram: Fukami Breakout Warm-up 1. On the whistle, forward dumps a puck on net 2. Goalie sets the the puck up…

  • Controlled Skating Breakout Drill

    Controlled Skating Breakout Drill Although this drill loosely mimics a breakout drill, the real purpose behind this one is to introduce Timing and Support concepts to youngsters. Players must time their skating to arrive at the designated receiving zones on time for a possible pass. Here’s the diagram: Controlled Skating Breakout Drill 1. 2 lines…

  • Burkhart 2 on 2 Deflection

    Burkhart 2 on 2 Deflection My good buddy, and assistant coach, Josh Burkhart showed this one to me a couple of years ago. It’s a solid drill that has a pretty quick rotation, so not much standing around once your players pick up the flow of it. Here’s the diagram: Burkhart 2 on 2 Deflection…

  • Bustin’ Out: Adding Options to Your Breakout

    Bustin’ Out: Adding Options to Your Breakout

    Bustin’ out: adding options to your breakout By Greg Siller Figure 1 Breakout plays are used by a team to move the puck out of their defensive zone and into an offensive attack. The ability to effectively move the puck out of your own end is important both defensively and offensively. Defensively, it means that…