Puckhandling: Rolling Out The Back
The NHL Player’s Association recently came out with their 2021 player poll. A new question this year was “Who is the best stickhandler?” The results:
Patrick Kane - 49.48%
Connor McDavid - 25.79%
Nathan MacKinnon - 7.55%
Auston Matthews - 2.52%
Mat Barzal - 1.47%
Patrick Kane is clearly an elite puckhandler. This old Bauer Vapor commercial never gets old.
Today we want to talk about puckhandling/stickhandling/dribbling technique. Specifically… ‘rolling it out the back’.
This concept came to light in the hockey world with Darryl Belfry and his student Patrick Kane. Unsurprisingly at this point, 4 of the top 5 NHLPA rated stickhandlers are Belfry clients in some capacity.
The Widely Known Basics
The fundamentals of quality stickhandling have been known for a really long time.
Cupping/Cradling the puck - To keep the puck close and under control.
Tight grip top hand - This is the hand that drives the wrist roll to cradle the puck.
Soft grip bottom hand - This is the hand that slides and gives guidance. Without a soft bottom grip, a player’s range of motion is drastically reduced.
Rolling Out The Back
In 2014, Belfry outlined this technique for his development league.
Things to keep in mind when going through the journey below:
Maximize puck on stick time
Minimize stick in the air time
A snap of the top hand at both ends
Quick, short dribbles
Pavel Barber
In 2016, noted hockey personality and stickhandling expert ‘Pavel Barber’ attempted to pick up the technique. He and Darryl went back and forth on Twitter.
At first, Pavel tried his interpretation of the technique while tagging Darryl in the post. Here is what it looked liked… not great.
Barber was too choppy in his motion and Belfry shot back with a simple comment, “make sure to focus on maximizing puck time.”
Attempt #2
Much better! The choppiness is gone and we can see how the technique is much smoother. The puck is on the blade for almost the entire time, but there is still an element missing!
Attempt #3
Barber finally gets the puck to settle to the middle of the blade, but it isn’t quite a snap that quickly placed the puck on the middle of the blade.
Attempt #4
Then Barber takes to the ice for his last video.
It’s an easy-to-learn but difficult-to-master technique. Still, Pavel was well on his way to starting to master the technique.
Darryl went on to post in more detail and applaud Pavel:
There is a quick wrist motion on the top hand that creates the "snap" of the puck I am alluding to in what's missing in Pavel's attempts.
The stick face actually wraps around the front side of the puck as it rolls out the back. The stick stays on or very close to the ice - doesn't go over top of the puck
The puck snaps into the middle of the blade - not the heel. If the puck lands in the middle of the blade you have the motion down to allow you to move to the next skill
While never perfect like Belfry describes (very rare even for Kane), every elite puckhandler does some form of rolling it out the back. These slight touches keep the puck tight and under great control. Many like to rotate the puck around the stick.
For most youth players, having them cup the puck on their backhand while stickhandling is the gateway to better dribbling.
Summary
For me, the principle is better than the true execution itself. The idea of key elements for smooth hands are at play here:
Rolling wrists both ways
Gentle touch from one side of the stick to the other
Placing the puck into a great spot for the next play
Further Reading
Did you enjoy this newsletter?
Help us spread the ideas within and share it with the people you care about