What Does “Playing Big” Mean in Ice Hockey?

A quick word on 'being' big vs 'playing' big

Just because a player is physically bigger than an opponent does not necessarily mean they have an advantage. Yet, you often hear commentators, coaches, management, etc. compliment players by talking about a player’s ability to “play big” or they “play bigger than their size.”

What is “playing big”?

Playing big is the ability to prioritize body positioning and control space.

Rather than fishing using their stick, players that play big take the extra step or shuffle push to establish or keep body positioning.

Greg Revak, CFP® @CoachRevak

Don’t just be big… play big Excellent play by Mattias Samuelsson to take the extra half push to maintain exclusive space While he’s a big man, many small players do the same and “play big”

Initiating Contact

A big (see what we did there) piece of “playing big” is initiating contact early. Here is a great example of a 5’9” player physically initiating contact against a 6’4” opponent to gain and maintain body positioning so he has exclusive access to the space that the puck is in. The physically smaller player is then able to easily make the next play.

Greg Revak, CFP® @CoachRevak

That forecheck 👀 Malgin 5’9” 180lbs Dumoulin 6’4” 205lbs Prime example of “playing big” = initiating contact

Related:

1. Play big and win more puck battles by establishing “Position before Possession”

2. Fishing is a tactic that makes a player “play small”

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Further Reading

• Increasing puck touch efficiency by understanding the difference between an Attack Puck vs Possession Puck

• Why a good hockey team looks like a lung

• What do tired legs and mind in hockey look like?

• Win more faceoffs by watching the refs hand

• How Do Players Receive the Puck Around the Rink?

• Playing hockey like chess, not checkers

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