You have a leak in your game. Plug it!

[Dump and Chase]

After a 15 year of hiatus from hockey I have found myself with some drive to get back on the ice. This summer after scoring some gear and getting out for a half dozen times at open skates there is one main beef I have with 98% of the hockey players I have skated with this summer..


It isn’t how sturdy you are on your skates, or how well you turn, stop, cross over or skate backwards. It isn’t how hard you shoot, or the fact that your back hand is so weak it can’t bulge the back of the net. It is not the gear you wear or your $500 skates. It isn’t the $300 stick that you spend a half hour pontificating about flex, kick-points, and curves before you unleash your 35 mph slap shots.


It’s that you won’t or can’t pass the puck!!


This is the number one skill you can learn if you want to contribute on the ice. Hockey is a team game and opportunities are created when you use your line mates to open up the ice. So move the puck and learn to do it well!


Top 10 thoughts on passing the biscuit:

1. Move the puck quickly. The longer you wait the more difficulty you will have completing the pass. The fore checker is eating your angles, the back checkers are picking up your outlets. MOVE IT NOW!

2. Pass to where your target is going to be not where he is. Every pass does not need to be a bullet. Every pass does not need to be tape to tape. Lead the puck to someone who is moving. Let him skate into the puck, this is an easier pass to receive and he can take it everytime with speed. Speed creates space.

3. Most of your passes should be short. 15-20 feet is all you need. Short passes relieve immediate pressure from the fore check. They create time, space and opportunity.

4. Learn to pass with accuracy on your backhand. It opens up more ice and makes you less predictable.

5. Give and Go. You have moved the puck now do your job and get open. A couple of quick strides is usually all it takes to support your team mate and give him an outlet.

6. Get your priorities straight. 95% of the time when you get puck you should be thinking about WHO you can get the puck to cleanly so your team can control the play. NOT how YOU can skate 85 feet to get a weak ass shot on net with 2 guys draped all over you.

7. Practice your passing as much as you practice shooting.

8. Practice disguising where the puck is going. Don’t telegraph the **** out of your pass! Practice moving the puck from difficult positions. Practice no look passing.

9. Drop passes are ghey unless you are sure they are on the money. Never shoot it back wards inside the blue line. Stop the puck dead and skate past it.

10. Passing is fun. A team of skilled passers beats a team full of danglers every time and it is much less work.



Now get to work!

Click to read more...

 

[Devil Dancer]

1. Move the puck quickly. The longer you wait the more difficulty you will have completing the pass. The fore checker is eating your angles, the back checkers are picking up your outlets. MOVE IT NOW!

This is the only thing I have a problem with. Beginner and intermediate players often force poor passes because they try to move the puck too quickly. Many players would be much better passers if they realized they have more time, took a look, and then made a smart decision instead of giving the puck away.

 

[jacko23]

Good Read And Great Info. The Only Beef I Have With The Post Is That The Majority Of Beer Leaguers On These Boards Dont Necessarily Have The Chemistry Or Organization To Be A High Passing Team, But Still Good Gouge Nonetheless.

 

[HowToHockey]

Awesome post!

Passing is a great way to increase the speed of the game, look for the head man and feed him the puck!

This is #1 for sure

1. Move the puck quickly. The longer you wait the more difficulty you will have completing the pass. The fore checker is eating your angles, the back checkers are picking up your outlets. MOVE IT NOW!

I hate it when a guy sees me open, looks at me, looks around, stickhandles a bit, the there are 3 guys on me and THEN he decides to pass....so annoying

 

[Dump and Chase]

Awesome post!

Passing is a great way to increase the speed of the game, look for the head man and feed him the puck!

This is #1 for sure

1. Move the puck quickly. The longer you wait the more difficulty you will have completing the pass. The fore checker is eating your angles, the back checkers are picking up your outlets. MOVE IT NOW!

I hate it when a guy sees me open, looks at me, looks around, stickhandles a bit, the there are 3 guys on me and THEN he decides to pass....so annoying

Exactly.

I have been astounded by how many guys look to make the pass only when it is the last option they have remaining. When you wait until that point you are under a ton of pressure and will either make a bad pass or a bad decision.

 

[frito]

8. Practice disguising where the puck is going. Don’t telegraph the **** out of your pass! Practice moving the puck from difficult positions. Practice no look passing.

This is one I like to do often. I look like I'm going to pass it to my forwards and draw opposition onto me. Then using peripheal vision pass it over to my D partner who is open and can lead a rush.

I'd also add that while passing to look for your defense. It seems that during the heat of a game the prevailing thought it that the puck must always be moved forward. Often times a pass backwards is the best option as the D may be wide open and have a clear view of the entire situation. Of course the D needs to use that vision to anticipate what they are going to do with the puck once they get it.

 

[StaalForOne]

Good Read And Great Info. The Only Beef I Have With The Post Is That The Majority Of Beer Leaguers On These Boards Dont Necessarily Have The Chemistry Or Organization To Be A High Passing Team, But Still Good Gouge Nonetheless.

All the best mens league teams move the puck well. Ive seen older, smarter players, beat younger, more talented players that just play as individuals, fairly often in my experiences.

 

[blueberrydanish]

6. Get your priorities straight. 95% of the time when you get puck you should be thinking about WHO you can get the puck to cleanly so your team can control the play. NOT how YOU can skate 85 feet to get a weak ass shot on net with 2 guys draped all over you.

Man that one annoys me

 

[Gunnar Stahl 30]

i cant say i agree with all of this

1. Move the puck quickly. The longer you wait the more difficulty you will have completing the pass. The fore checker is eating your angles, the back checkers are picking up your outlets. MOVE IT NOW!

this is not necessarily true and can get you into some bad habits and forcing passes or turning the puck over.

from the description it sounds like you are standing still when moving the puck. if you are a moving forechecker can be on you quickly which may cause you to turn the puck over to him or force a pass to someone and turn the puck over or just dump it and have your team lose possession of it

2. Pass to where your target is going to be not where he is. Every pass does not need to be a bullet. Every pass does not need to be tape to tape. Lead the puck to someone who is moving. Let him skate into the puck, this is an easier pass to receive and he can take it everytime with speed. Speed creates space.

obviously i agree with this but from a different perspective, receiving the pass, make sure you keep moving and dont let up right before someone passes it to you. the passer is judging how fast you are going so if you let up the pass may be too far ahaed of you

6. Get your priorities straight. 95% of the time when you get puck you should be thinking about WHO you can get the puck to cleanly so your team can control the play. NOT how YOU can skate 85 feet to get a weak ass shot on net with 2 guys draped all over you.

cant say i agree with this, especially in the attacking zone. you dont want to make too many passes and pass up an opportunity to shoot, even if that shooting opportunity is a bad angle. if noone is open and guys are going to the net, shoot it low off the goalie and see what happens.

like i said before, it gets people into bad habbits. they start thinking that as soon as they get the puck they need to move it so they start looking around to see who's open but there isnt anyone, THEY were the open guy that was suppose to be skating it into the zone, but at that point the other team is on top if them and they turn it over or have to just dump it

9. Drop passes are ghey unless you are sure they are on the money. Never shoot it back wards inside the blue line. Stop the puck dead and skate past it.

drop passes can be very useful to open up space and drive defenders back while you drive the net.

heres a perfect example

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hlp=8469454

 

[blueberrydanish]

cant say i agree with this, especially in the attacking zone. you dont want to make too many passes and pass up an opportunity to shoot, even if that shooting opportunity is a bad angle. if noone is open and guys are going to the net, shoot it low off the goalie and see what happens.

like i said before, it gets people into bad habbits. they start thinking that as soon as they get the puck they need to move it so they start looking around to see who's open but there isnt anyone, THEY were the open guy that was suppose to be skating it into the zone, but at that point the other team is on top if them and they turn it over or have to just dump it

He said THINKING of passing...hell everyone should be thinking about passing even before the puck. He is making points about passing, not breaking down every situation in the book =p

 

[Gunnar Stahl 30]

He said THINKING of passing...hell everyone should be thinking about passing even before the puck. He is making points about passing, not breaking down every situation in the book =p

i still dont think its right. if you are THINKING pass when you get the puck and hesitate for a second to see if you can make a pass when you really should be skating it that slight hesitation may give the defender a chance to get on you

im not trying to say skate it end to end but you cant always make 3 passes in the neutral zone very easily

 

[Dump and Chase]

i still dont think its right. if you are THINKING pass when you get the puck and hesitate for a second to see if you can make a pass when you really should be skating it that slight hesitation may give the defender a chance to get on you

im not trying to say skate it end to end but you cant always make 3 passes in the neutral zone very easily

My feet are always moving. I don't need to stand still and stop chewing my gum to be able to think about what I am going to do with the puck. If you do you should likely work on that.


I watched that vid you linked. You either linked the wrong video or you don't understand what a drop pass is. Passing it along the wall to your D from the corner is not a drop pass.

 

[Finnish your Czech]

This is my main problem I went to the Jason Blake school of puck-handling/hogging

My offensive game is almost exactly the same as his.

 

[blueberrydanish]

My feet are always moving. I don't need to stand still and stop chewing my gum to be able to think about what I am going to do with the puck. If you do you should likely work on that.

^^^^

 

[StaalForOne]

My feet are always moving. I don't need to stand still and stop chewing my gum to be able to think about what I am going to do with the puck. If you do you should likely work on that.


I watched that vid you linked. You either linked the wrong video or you don't understand what a drop pass is. Passing it along the wall to your D from the corner is not a drop pass.

I thought that at first too, but the video was portraying passing it backwards in the offensive zone (Parise to Kovalchuk), which your #9 stated not to do ever. I has nothing to do with drop passes, just passing toward the blue line in general.

Drop passes can be very effective on the rush, especially if you do it a couple of times, the D may think your going to do it again, then next time you can fake it and blow by him when he steps up trying to cheat on the play.

Point men are rarely used in Mens league by a lot of teams. I think much of that is not trusting your pointmen to make a shot that will stay below neck level though.

 

[Gunnar Stahl 30]

My feet are always moving. I don't need to stand still and stop chewing my gum to be able to think about what I am going to do with the puck. If you do you should likely work on that.


I watched that vid you linked. You either linked the wrong video or you don't understand what a drop pass is. Passing it along the wall to your D from the corner is not a drop pass.

i wasnt trying to attack you at all but go watch a c league mens league game. they all receive a pass when they are moving then slow down and look who to pass to. someone has to skate the puck across the blue line

 

[Gunnar Stahl 30]

I thought that at first too, but the video was portraying passing it backwards in the offensive zone (Parise to Kovalchuk), which your #9 stated not to do ever. I has nothing to do with drop passes, just passing toward the blue line in general.

Drop passes can be very effective on the rush, especially if you do it a couple of times, the D may think your going to do it again, then next time you can fake it and blow by him when he steps up trying to cheat on the play.

Point men are rarely used in Mens league by a lot of teams. I think much of that is not trusting your pointmen to make a shot that will stay below neck level though.

go to the video fo NJD vs NYI thats the one i meant to show but they only let you link the whole video console not one video

 

[Dump and Chase]

I thought that at first too, but the video was portraying passing it backwards in the offensive zone (Parise to Kovalchuk), which your #9 stated not to do ever. I has nothing to do with drop passes, just passing toward the blue line in general.

Drop passes can be very effective on the rush, especially if you do it a couple of times, the D may think your going to do it again, then next time you can fake it and blow by him when he steps up trying to cheat on the play.

Point men are rarely used in Mens league by a lot of teams. I think much of that is not trusting your pointmen to make a shot that will stay below neck level though.

Yeah my wording is a bit suspect in the OP on that one. To clarify I was talking about Drop passes only and that when you drop a pass you should just stop the puck and let your line mate skate on to it. If you pass it backward on a drop pass after you cross the blue line and your line mate misses it can go over the blue line and you lose the zone. This turns into a 3-2 almost always. If you are not moving it toward the net inside the line you should be moving toward the corner. Get it deep!


Obviously once you control the zone you should pass the puck to your D when he is open and into the slot from the corners.


Did I really just have to clarify that?


More to the point there are spots to use a drop pass but I find that it is too often overused by people who don't know how to use it. Also it is one of those plays where the risk is high while the reward is low.

 

[leafs in five]

1.Move the puck quickly. The longer you wait the more difficulty you will have completing the pass. The fore checker is eating your angles, the back checkers are picking up your outlets. MOVE IT NOW!

love this, and i object to the interpretation that it means that one should always immediately look to pass. i take this more as a response to the fact that a lot of talented hockey players have never learned to make a simple pass when it's there. this isn't just with respect to a breakout or whatever. a lot of younger guys i play with won't make a pass if they're carrying the puck on a 2- or 3-on 1 until they're right at the net, ignoring the possibilities that could be opened up by a quick pass in favour of an opportunity to thread some needle through and over and under sticks and skates onto a teammate's stick for a tap-in.

this is what's interesting to me: even the guys that fancy themselves as "playmakers" are often becoming poor passers, just based on their decision making. instead of a guy looking to dangle through the whole team to get a shot on goal, you get guys who try to make every pass saucer over three sticks and through two sets of skates, instead of making crisp short passes when they're there and using the space created by those passes to attack the defence. i think it's especially interesting in relation to the rest of your post, because i think you could argue that it's a symptom of the OP # 7.

 

[Badger36]

Good thread. Sadly though, a lot of people would rathar drive to the net and attempt to score even though they havent got the moves or shot accuracy to score on an empty net.

 

[nullterm]

This is the only thing I have a problem with. Beginner and intermediate players often force poor passes because they try to move the puck too quickly. Many players would be much better passers if they realized they have more time, took a look, and then made a smart decision instead of giving the puck away.

That's the biggest thing I'm fighting with. Slow it down, take a look. Don't treat it like a hot potatoe.

 

[Dump and Chase]

love this, and i object to the interpretation that it means that one should always immediately look to pass. i take this more as a response to the fact that a lot of talented hockey players have never learned to make a simple pass when it's there. this isn't just with respect to a breakout or whatever. a lot of younger guys i play with won't make a pass if they're carrying the puck on a 2- or 3-on 1 until they're right at the net, ignoring the possibilities that could be opened up by a quick pass in favour of an opportunity to thread some needle through and over and under sticks and skates onto a teammate's stick for a tap-in.

this is what's interesting to me: even the guys that fancy themselves as "playmakers" are often becoming poor passers, just based on their decision making. instead of a guy looking to dangle through the whole team to get a shot on goal, you get guys who try to make every pass saucer over three sticks and through two sets of skates, instead of making crisp short passes when they're there and using the space created by those passes to attack the defence. i think it's especially interesting in relation to the rest of your post, because i think you could argue that it's a symptom of the OP # 7.

I like how you think about the game and you do a great job of articulating it. I hope I can do justice in adding to it.


High risk passes are often the ones that make the highlight reels and because of that fact they are what a lot of developing players emulate.


The flip-side is that when you make solid puck controlling passes you can create situations where the defense is out of position and easily exploitable. These types of plays have a much more enviable risk-> reward.


I would rather take the play that bulges the twine 3 times out of 10 than the play that works 1 in 10 times.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

I'll get in on this....

Play your positions!

As a center is annoys me to no end to have all 3 forwards in the vicinity of the puck is rather than spreading out giving players (especially d-man) passing options coming out of the defensive zone, or scoring opportunities in the offensive zone.
I don't need two wingers to help me dig out a puck along the boards.

This happens all the time in pick-up games, and can be very frustrating at times

Defenseman that back-track

This happens alot in pick up games as well. I'm convinced it's just the group i've been playing with but i'll vent it out anyways...

When the forwards are breaking out of the zone and the d-man is carrying the puck and he doesn't immediately find an open man he makes a 180 and goes back into the defensive zone. That means that all the forwards have to regroup to attempt to break out again.

I don't mind it the first time or the second time it happens in a game, but when it happens once every two shifts I get annoyed having to double back every time.

Think about it, if both opposing defenseman are backing off and all 3 forwards are covering the attacking 3 forwards that means you're the open guy, skate with the puck!!!!!!!

In this situation, with a defenseman rushing you can easily reach the red line and dump it in or force the defense to stop you and that should open up a guy in the neutral zone....

Now I feel better...

 

[blueberrydanish]

Defenseman that back-track

This happens alot in pick up games as well. I'm convinced it's just the group i've been playing with but i'll vent it out anyways...

When the forwards are breaking out of the zone and the d-man is carrying the puck and he doesn't immediately find an open man he makes a 180 and goes back into the defensive zone. That means that all the forwards have to regroup to attempt to break out again.

I don't mind it the first time or the second time it happens in a game, but when it happens once every two shifts I get annoyed having to double back every time.

Think about it, if both opposing defenseman are backing off and all 3 forwards are covering the attacking 3 forwards that means you're the open guy, skate with the puck!!!!!!!

In this situation, with a defenseman rushing you can easily reach the red line and dump it in or force the defense to stop you and that should open up a guy in the neutral zone....

Now I feel better...

I get caught on this sometimes, but I wont do the circle back thing though, instead Ill just try to FORCE a pass hah. But ya, there are times where I am open and should just skate it but dont realize even though I got teammates yellin skate it. Could make alot more opportunities with it once I get that kink worked out.

 

[Lario Melieux*]

Also, when you have the puck on your stick in your own zone or the neutral zone, look for the guy breaking with speed. Likewise, when your stationary teammate gets the puck in the defensive zone or neutral zone, you should already be skating hard up ice to give him a good passing option.