Each year, we will recap all of our pieces from the prior year so you can easily find them:
This is a great piece to bookmark and come back to time and time again until you make it all the way through. At the bottom, we have the full list broken down by month. But first, let’s go through our favorites. Thanks for reading.
Greg’s Favorites
Probably my favorite of the year is The Curious Movement of Chandler Stevenson. Routes in hockey are so important at the highest levels and really illuminate a player’s hockey sense and their understanding of how their movement affects their teammates. This is some of the real genius of the game’s most elite players.
I’d been tracking Auston Matthews’ defensive woes and started collecting videos as the season went on. When Babcock was fired, I started to see a turnaround very quickly under Keefe. So what was going to be a newsletter about AM34’s defensive deficiencies was a post around his improvements and evolution in one of the top 5 complete players. Auston Matthews’ Defensive Improvement.
Putting together a hockey conference/seminar in a new city is challenging, but really fun and we got a lot out of Learning from the Columbus Hockey Coaches Summit 2021.
Being known as a player with good hands, I couldn’t wait to spill my secrets with Puckhandling: Rolling it out the back. It was fun to work with Pavel Barber and Darryl Belfry to get their take on the technique too.
With Hockey Passing Progressions, I was able to lay out my mental framework for passing. I kept it simple, but this flows into if you beat your opponent 1v1, what should your progression be from there.
I love breaking down the assumptions and changing how people view situations. One of the most obvious to me is when Your Goalie dropped their stick… now what?.
The people don’t really turn out for goalie-specific content, but I think The History of Post Play is of vital importance to goal scorers. I know I’ve scored plenty in adult league from knowing what the goalie is playing.
Dan’s Favorites
The higher the level, the lower the frequency of odd-man rushes. That makes them all the more important when they do arise, so learning about keys for a successful 2v1 is critical.
I love digging into a players’ ‘signature skill’, to understand what it is that makes him or her so unique. So I watched/clipped every single one-timer goal scored by Patrik Laine to understand what it is that makes his shot so lethal.
Greg masterfully weaved “The Prestige”, an all-time great movie, into this masterpiece on deception. As a fellow coach, I’ve really keyed on how to better teach deceptive practices to my players.
It’s not unusual for a coach to re-watch his/her team play a game, but how many do you know that re-watch a practice? We recommend it.
I don’t historically agree with everything that USA Hockey does or preaches, but one thing that they definitively got right is encouraging cross-ice hockey, particularly at younger ages. Co-sign.
I’ve been keeping a daily journal for years, now, and it’s changed my life. Daily reflections may be a big ask, but I’d be willing to bet that even weekly tracking would improve your life - or your hockey life.
January
The Artful Goal Scoring of Cole Caufield
Better thinking for hockey coaches and players
Your Goalie dropped their stick… now what?
February
Genius Level Movements From Erling Haaland
Creating Sustainable Confidence
The 3 parts of deception in hockey
Skills Analysis: Owen Power, Kent Johnson, & Matthew Beniers
Diving into Patrik Laine’s patented one-timer
March
Why A Hockey Team Is Like a Lung
Possession Puck vs Attack Puck
April
The Benefits of Watching Your Own Practice
Building Personal Development Plans
May
USA Hockey Has been preaching cross-ice hockey at younger ages… and they’re right
The Left-Handed Hockey Player’s Cheat Code
June
Faceoffs: Watching The Official's Hand To Get An Edge On Winning Draws
Old Time Rules, Modern Day Development
July
The Curious Movement of Chandler Stevenson
Puckhandling: Rolling it out the back
August
Skating: Why you should be an ankle bender
Learning from the Columbus Hockey Coaches Summit 2021
How do players receive the puck around the rink?
Using the Rulebook’s natural barriers
September
OZ Puck Support: Close or Far?
Auston Matthews’ Defensive Improvement
October
OZ Puck Support: Routes into Support
What do player’s need to know about playing at the next level?
How to Train Better with Elon Musk
OZ Puck Support: Strong vs Weak-side
November
How to Score more Breakaway and Shootout Goals
December
Defense: Understanding Rush Leverage
How to Score more Breakaway and Shootout Goals Part 2
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