How Do I Improve My Point Play?
Question from a social media follower on improving his point play performance
A Junior hockey player and NCAA D1 commit recently slid into our DMs asking about his footwork while catching a pass on his strong side and then getting downhill (toward the net/into the zone). He followed it up with a few clips of catching passes from his defensive partner.
Diagnose before prescription
His question was specific but likely had a deeper root and we need to understand further where his mind is at and what he is thinking. From there, we will have a better idea and direction.
“Before I bias your answer… what’s your diagnosis”
He sent back a clip of Connor Bedard on the power play as to what he should do. That led to him discussing using backward crossovers to get speed yet finding himself outside toward the boards.
Answer
From the above, we’ve assumed 2 things
He’s worried about space and speed
He finds himself getting stuck in a poor spot
Of course, we can have a discussion, but really what’s more powerful is sending him an idea or concept and documents for him to dive into on his own before we regroup again.
A big piece is the concept of playing in the future. Notice the sexample you sent has the player already moving toward the net before receiving.
Next Layer
Those articles were so helpful. Wow!
My takeaways from that are
1) I should play as if I am definitely going to receive the puck
2) Maybe stay closer to the blue line if my partner has the puck so I can catch it with momentum to the net
3) If I am already skating in the right direction before I get the puck, I basically have a head start over the guy defending me
Thank you so much!
Two more that are helpful
Then one more once ready to shoot… don’t skate at the goalie!
He followed up with:
Man these are so good they are exactly what I was hoping for. I can definitely start working on applying these things.
That “point shots suck” article was so good, it was the first article of yours that I ever read, and has had a huge impact on how I play now.
I think for next game, my goals are going to be 1) Playing in the future, 2) Do something useful with my blueline touches, and 3) Scanning before I get the puck so that the first 2 are possible
Awesome! Now we wait and follow along with his progress.
Time Savings, Improved Performance, & More
Rather than needing to take the time and write back, we were able to save time while likely giving a much better answer that will lead to further self-discovery and self-coaching.
I highly suggest using the Hockey IQ Newsletter archive to save time, give more ownership to players, encourage deeper thinking, and get great results on the ice.
Two pieces of Hockey IQ Newsletter feedback:
“I share specific Hockey IQ Newsletter with my players for what they are struggling with and then they play better. This makes my coaching easier and makes me look like a genius.”
And
“Love the Hockey IQ Newsletter and frequently use it to answer questions from my players. Not only does it do excellent detailed breakdown, but also provides photos and videos for those who are visual learners. I usually send it then have discussions about their understanding of the concepts and how they can apply it in their games.”