Accelerating Into Puck Receptions: Raising The Pace Of Play with Nathan MacKinnon
Accelerating into puck receptions and making defense's uncomfortable
There is a certain kind of NHL superstar whose gift is the ability to slow the game down. It’s not that they’re slow, but rather that they are poised and skilled enough to dial back the tempo and play at their chosen pace. And then there’s Nathan MacKinnon (NM29):
MacKinnon’s superpower is his ability to ratchet up the pace/tempo to a level his peers simply can’t match, all while having the hands to keep up with his feet and finish the plays he creates with his speed.
Accelerating Into Puck Receptions
There are a few NHLers that have similar speed and acceleration, but what really separates NM29 is how he utilizes his athletic tools purposefully.
In this video, NM29 starts the play in the corner, dipping below the goal line. Because he starts so far behind the play he can time out the play and then accelerate into his puck reception to build a massive positive speed differential.
By the time he receives the puck, he is at full speed and extremely dangerous. The defense simply has no chance to respond to the pace MacKinnon is throwing at him.
This is a similar concept to Center Breakout Support.
Building Speed On The Puck
A common issue with speedy players is that they constantly skate into problems/defense/bad ice. NM29 builds his speed intelligently through the middle. He is a master of the linear crossover, accelerating by crossing his feet to build speed even when skating in a straight line.
In this clip, MacKinnon carves through the entire Blues defense for a true end-to-end goal. He does this without taking a single stride, instead using linear crossovers to blaze down the ice for a goal.
Uncomfortable Pace Of Play In Zone
What’s more impressive about MacKinnon’s use of acceleration is his ability to weaponize it in the offensive zone, not just a tool to create offense off the rush.
Too often, players get into the offensive zone and drop their pace of play as they probe the defense. This slow pace of in-zone offense plays into the defense’s hands! The defensive unit hasn’t been pressed into any kind of discomfort. As the saying goes… “Offense is movement. Defense is stopping movement.”
MacKinnon gets defenders chasing him as a way to control and dictate the situation.
Within the zone, NM29 is adept at turning up the pace to a speed that makes the defense uncomfortable and powerless to properly defend. In this goal, we see NM29 accelerating into and upon receiving a pass, arcs across the top of the zone “on the gallop,” and shooting the puck into the net.
Again and again, we see NM29 intelligently building speed and accelerating into his puck receptions. There are three Dallas Stars players who should be able to contain MacKinnon to the outside, but because of the speed he’s built (and a bit of legal interference from Gabriel Landeskog), MacKinnon is into the slot and firing a shot before anyone of those would-be defenders can react.
MacKinnon will not accept passivity. In this next clip, watch how he picks up the puck at the point where many players would slow-play this puck while waiting for a passing lane to emerge. MacKinnon instead slams on the accelerator and heads straight for the heart of the defense. He wants to use his speed to force defenders into discomfort.
MacKinnon is never actually going that fast here. But the suddenness and aggressiveness of his acceleration straight at the defense turns the Capitals into deer staring at headlights as he barrels forward.
Accelerating Into Puck Receptions
A great rule of thumb for offensive players is to think, position, and plan ahead to accelerate into puck touches/receptions.
By starting lower and in a more defensive position, MacKinnon is able to accelerate into his puck receptions, he can see the play better, and can best pick his timing. You rarely, if ever, see him slowing down for a puck or getting stuck at the offensive blueline. He is always able to create by positioning well & accelerating into pucks.
MacKinnon has many tricks to make that work—accelerating into his touches or using linear crossovers, and he can do it off the rush or in-zone. However he chooses to go about it, the outcome is the same: defenders frozen in place by his intelligent use of speed/pace.
Controlling and dictating pace is valuable. Times it’s best to slow things down. Other times it’s best to raise the tempo/pace.
Further Reading