Hockey Puck Protection

By coincidence, I guess, I'd watched a YouTube.com video recently having to do with the subject of puck protection. Then, a couple of nights later, I had the chance to see a local youth practice where that skill really could have used some addressing.

To be honest, this is a skill that is absolutely necessary to high level play, but it's one that is sorely lacking among youth level players.

-- Dennis Chighisola

Hockey Puck Protection I've actually mentioned this skill in other offensive game posts, but only in a cursory way. As a refresher, though, let me suggest the following options a puckcarrier has (usually on his way up-ice on the attack)...

1) For sure, the fastest way to advance the puck is to headman it, or pass it to a teammate closer to the net (it should make sense that a puck will travel further faster if it's passed instead of carried).

2) Just as surely, there are times when no teammate is clearly open. That's when I suggest he carry the puck further until mates get the chance to break free from cover.

3) If all fails while heading up-ice on the way to the offensive blue line, and if his opponents are blocking entry with superior numbers, the only likely option is to dump the puck. (I'll go along with a good puckhandler trying to beat a single defender, but I'll call it foolhardy if he tries to wade through two or three opponents.)

4) I'll give the really good puckhandler a fourth option, this to skate far from any defenders, get into the offensive zone with the puck still in control, and then continue to move and protect the puck as teammates enter and try to get open.

I'm going to suggest that puck protection might have been perfected on a personal level by Bobby Orr -- man, he could sometimes kill-off an entire penalty by himself, by ragging the puck all over the ice. Yet, it might have been the old Soviets who first incorporated this into their game on a strategic level. I mean, the architects of their game didn't like giving the puck away on dump-ins, and they also didn't like rushing their scoring attempts with low percentage shots. (The North American game of that time put a premium on shot totals, maybe figuring more shots eventually equaled more goals.) No matter how this ploy crept into hockey's basic attack options, the art of protecting the puck is used all over the ice nowadays, for buying time in any of the three zones. With that, I found the following video that includes a brief sample of puck protection in the offensive zone...

Before getting deeper into this, those who might climb all over a kid who is seen as a so-called "puck hog", should know that we higher level coaches are looking for players who have great confidence in their puckhandling abilities. The idea IS to make plays, you know, and we're certainly not looking for guys who panic with the puck every time they touch it. Anyway, the commentator, Mike Milbury, says as much at the end of that video. One more thing... What I see too often among younger players is their swinging the stick and the puck out where it's easily reached by an enemy defender. Now, whenever possible, the attacker should skate away from the nearest checker. Still, that checker is going to follow our puckcarrier, just as the guy in white pursued Datsyuk in that video (or as is shown in the photo to the right). Oftentimes it's necessary to keep your back to the checker, although one can also move side by side with that man. The main idea is to continuously keep your body between the defender and the puck, so he can't easily reach in for it. At the same time, the attacker has to extend the stick-blade out as far as possible away from the checker, so that's it's virtually impossible for him to reach the puck. The guys I've worked with who were the best at this skill often handled the puck and stick in one hand while holding the checker off with the other. And, since the checker will likely try to approach from either side, we'll find the best puckhandlers are able to switch the stick as needed to keep it furthest from that checker. Oh, and returning to the first point -- about skating away from the defender... The best at puck protection are also able to feel the pressure of the checker. So, while switching the stick from hand to hand can be used here, so should the puckcarrier slide to the left as he feels the man climbing in from the right, and move away to the right as the checker attempts to reach in from the left. So do the best puckhandlers almost have eyes in the backs of their heads. In reality, however, they are constantly glancing over one shoulder and the other, and trying to locate an open teammate. (A popular catchphrase nowadays is "puck support", which means that teammates shouldn't just stand and watch their puck toting mate, but they should continuously move to get themselves open for a pass.) As for drills...

I'd first make absolutely sure all players understand the entire concept of puck protection. Trust me, that a lot of kids may be hearing these things for the very first time.

Games of keepaway played in relatively large areas might be a good way to start, since the open spaces give puckhandlers plenty of room to skate away from their checker. Actually, several pairs of players could compete in these 10-second long contests at the same time within one zone.

In yet another drill, I'd match a pair of kids -- one the designated puck protector, and the other the designated checker, and I'd ask the checker to just apply moderate pressure "to help his partner learn". This I do in a relatively limited amount of space, so it's easier to inspect for the subtleties of protecting the puck. Always holding the puck far away from the checker, the coach can encourage the puckcarrier to move away when he feels pressure from one side, and the coach might also encourage the better players to switch hands on the stick as needed. (By the way, this is a drill that a parent and player could actually try at home. There really isn't a need for ice when learning all the necessary principles of puck protection.)

In yet another drill, I'll set two checkers (or coaches) on the opposite sides of a face-off circle, and ask them to stay just inside the circle and pokecheck as puckhandlers go by. With that, the puckcarriers, one at a time, skate around the circle and do what's needed to resist the pokes of those checkers. Having a player skate around the circle twice works for me, with the next puckcarrier ready to jump in as the previous guy leaves. Of course, the drill should be run in both directions around the circle. This is an awesome drill for players to practice pushing the checker's stick away with one hand while extending the stick and puck far outward with the other.

Lastly, since this skill is a relatively advanced one, it should make sense that it relies heavily on a player having mastered many basics beforehand (and work on such basics should remain ongoing). As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason why every player on a roster can't eventually be good at handling the stick in one hand to either side. If you noticed, Milbury also commented on smaller players being strong when protecting the puck, and that's because even the slightest player can be strong on his skates if he learns how to spread the feet and sit low in contact situations.