The term “puck luck” is used when a player gets a fortunate bounce. To an untrained eye, some players seem like they’re skating around with a rabbit’s foot tied around their neck.

More often than not, these players are actually creating their own luck, not carrying around a four-leaf clover in their breezers.  

“That’s when a puck all of a sudden is on somebody’s stick – whether it’s in front of the net or somewhere they can make a key play in the game,” St. Cloud State University Assistant Coach Mike Gibbons said. “The puck just seems to come to certain players at a key time.”

Gibbons said there are three things that create fortuitous bounces and luck has nothing to do with it: hard work, instincts (aka hockey sense) and courage. 

Hard Work

In hockey, there is one part of the game each and every player can control: how hard they work. Coincidentally, hard work seems to be the one trait that also brings the most puck luck.

“If a guy is working his tail off, where his feet and hands are moving and his stick is active,” Gibbons said, “He’s going to have a better chance to get the puck or be in a position to have it come to him.”

Smaller parts of the game, like battles along the wall or faceoff wins, that aren’t necessarily linked to goal scoring, actually add up to puck luck.

“Coaches, we only know one way to break out of a slump: simplify your game. If someone develops a flaw in his golf swing, he goes back to basics – looking at his stance and grip – and tries to correct it. In hockey, coaches do the same thing. 

“Settle down and focus on playing hard.”

Instincts

“They always talked about Wayne Gretzky thinking a move or two ahead of everyone else,” Gibbons said. “Guys with instincts, who have hockey sense, they can anticipate what’s going to happen before it happens.”

Arriving where the puck is going, before it gets there, is not luck. 

While hockey sense is a talent that appears inherent, it is actually developed over time with years of hard work (see previous section).

“I think that hockey sense can be developed with a lot of time at the rink,” Gibbons said. “Outdoor hockey and shinny games, those are the guys who gain anticipation because it’s grown into their DNA.

“There’s no easy way to develop hockey sense.”

Hours at the rink, learning situations through repetition is the best way to get a feel for the game, where things are instinctual rather than thought out. It’s common knowledge that goals are scored in front of the net, but some players have a better understanding of the best position to put the puck in the goal.

“Some guys just go to the front of the net and that’s their only thought process,” Gibbons said. “Where guys with hockey sense are going to the front of the net with purpose and an idea of where the puck might go. They know a rebound is going to come out a certain way and position themselves for it.”

Courage

In sports, sometimes big moments come down to will versus skill. Puck luck often comes when a player is willing to do things others can’t in order to score. 

“You have to have courage to go to the front of the net where you’re going to find that puck luck,” Gibbons said. “It might go in off your chin, ankle or elbow.”

It’s not necessarily the biggest, toughest or meanest player who owns the area in front of the net. Some players are unwilling to pay the price or fight through defenders to score goals.

“Then you have guys like Ryan Lasch, who’s 5-foot-8, and guys are all over him,” said Gibbons, who coached the former All-American and SCSU’s all-time leading scorer. “But he’s still able to fight through any kind of check.”

Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise might be the State of Hockey’s best example of a player who possesses all three pillars to puck luck. After all, you can’t score (nearly) 300 goals and 600 points in the National Hockey League with a horseshoe. 

“Every hockey player has a certain amount of each,” Gibbons said. “The guys who have the instincts, are willing to pay the price and work hard, they’re the ones who are going to find a whole lot of puck luck.”