Let’s talk about how to win more puck battles and turning 50%/50% puck battles and races into 90%/10% where the odds are in your favor.
It’s a simple phrase we all can remember and use on a regular basis. Say it with me,
Position before possession
Position Before Possession
Like most high-level hockey, the idea boils down to how you set up the situation to bend it into your favor. In this case, we are working to create a wall or seal to have exclusive access to the puck.
Rather than the first step going towards the puck, the first step is going to be into the space of the opponent that we are engaging to fight for the puck. Owning the puck lane/puck line allows for greater control of the puck race and ensuing puck battle. Do it well enough and the puck battle isn’t even necessary!
Every battle is won before its fought - Sun Tzu, Art of War
This is a skill that transfers to any level of hockey, regardless of whether there is body checking or not.
Video is the most powerful way to illustrate how early position and contact can lead to massive competitive advantages. Let’s dive in.
On Loose Puck Races
To start, let’s get a good laugh in.
The blue player gets his stick pinned and flails his arms as he tries to protect and kick the puck. Meanwhile, the white player continues to bump him into the puck before finally hooking the player as the puck is finally rescued by the #3 in blue. See, we can have fun and learn a valuable transferable skill!
In this example, we can see white #72 continuing to move his feet with scoot skating in order to get into a position to seal the blue player’s access to the puck.
On The Forecheck
We see white #20 focus on sealing the puck’s access area. The orange player struggles to get around and make a play on the puck. This simple seal technique doesn’t require a player to land a big hit or remove the opponent’s head from their body. This is the type of contact we wrote about that we’d like to see from prospect Emil Andrae.
While focusing on our seals and gaining exclusive access to the puck, a great place to target on our angles is the opponents’ hips and hands.
Another detail that happens when we focus on position before possession, particularly along the boards, is that it often leads to a stick pin. Here is a close-up, watch #25 white’s stick. It’s effectively rendered useless.
Initiating contact early could be a rubout piece of contact like above, or could be more dramatic where it’s almost a body check to create a massive amount of exclusive space.
On Defensive Zone Retrievals
Here is an example of a 5’9” player retrieving a puck and gaining the advantage on a player that is 6’3”
Pure size was not the attributing factor in winning the puck race.
On the breakout
Position before possession often requires taking the extra step or two. In this example, we can see #37 black (Bergeron) sprint to the space where the puck is going to arrive. He seals off the space to the defender and creates a wall that the defender has to work around. The extra stride is the difference between a 50/50 and a 90/10.
I love this clip from the St. Louis Blues as it showcases the last two in one sequence. #72 blue makes contact and seals off the access to the puck before arriving and touching the puck. Then the winger #49 shields the puck like Bergeron to start the breakout.
On The Puck Offense - Reverse Hit
While all of the clips above showcase physically engaging before arriving at the puck, another great tactic is actually being the aggressor while on the puck. Instead of waiting for contact, you can be the one if dish it out. Here we see #40 blue (170lbs) knock down #12 white (200lbs).
The reverse hit/contact doesn’t have to knock the opponent over. A simple box out and initiation of contact is often enough to stun an opponent and create space to make the next play.
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