Hockey is back!

We’re only half way through the pool play round of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and one thing is for certain. Watching the best hockey players in the world compete against each other in September is a rare treat.

Seriously, how often do you get three games between U.S.A. and Canada before the medal round even starts?  

For hockey fans, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey is like a dream come true.

And for hockey players, the tournament may be the best pre-season coaching session ever. Watching these amazing athletes and hearing how they approach this world class event can teach young players more than they realize. Here are a few lessons we’ve noticed already that could be helpful for youth players (as well as parents and coaches).

A Need for Speed

Team North America has been getting a lot of media attention through the pre-tournament games and early part of pool play. For those who’ve been able to watch them play, the reason is pretty obvious.

They are FAST. We’re talking dangerously fast. These players, all of whom are 23 or younger, are able to force veteran players into making unusual mistakes because of how quickly they apply pressure. It’s a style that is fun to watch and hard to play against.

In case you were wondering, these young guys didn’t miraculously wake up one day as the great skaters they are. They put in an extraordinary amount of detailed and focused practice to improve their skating. So when you line up for your next powerskating drill, remember you can choose to go through the motions or you can do your best to become FAST!

Small Areas are a Big Deal

There has been a huge push from USA Hockey to have youth coaches and players shrink the ice size in practices (and games) using small area games. It turns out Team USA head coach John Tortorella is a big believer as well as he used a heavy dose of small area games to prepare his team:

"We're trying to get more work underneath the hashmarks so there's pressure and there's some combativeness within it," explained Tortorella in an interview. "Small-ice games are a very important part of hockey, especially early on when you're with your guys."

And who can argue with him? The majority of hockey games are decided based on how teams play in tight spaces where players must make split-second decisions. Providing players with additional opportunities to experience those situations while increasing player engagement and enjoyment is an easy-made recipe for success.

Speak Up!

Any time NHL players, who are getting paid millions of dollars, compete outside NHL games injuries are a major discussion topic. The most high profile injury so far has been Canada’s loss of Tyler Seguin. There’s no doubt the injury was disappointing to Seguin, Team Canada and a little scary for the Dallas Stars.

That’s not the worst part though.

When the injury was first reported, coach Mike Babcock admitted to not even knowing about the injury. Seguin skated in several practices and pre-tournament games without reporting his injury. Why? He wanted to play and thought he could play through it.

Hockey players are viewed as some of the toughest athletes in sports. They take pride in that and do their best to uphold that perception, even at the youth level. The problem is there’s a difference between being hurt and injured, and players are often bad at telling the difference. They want to keep playing so they don’t want to tell anyone, which can potentially make the injury worse (and likely did in Seguin’s case).

Tell your coach. Safety first.

Risk and Reward

How many people do you think were screaming at their television for Patrick Kane to “Get it deep!” right before he turned the puck over and Europe cashed in to gain a 2-0 lead in their first preliminary round game?

For those who haven’t seen it, you can check out the highlights here, but basically, Kane tried to beat two opposing players on the offensive blue line when he had no help behind him.

No one should be surprised that Kane tried to make a play in that situation. That’s who he is. He’s a skill player who creates scoring chances out of nothing arguably better than any other hockey player in the world. He takes chances. Sometimes they back fire, but more often than not, they work out in his team’s favor, as evidenced by his three Stanley Cup victories.

At one point leading up to the tournament, coach Tortorella was asked by the media how he plans to coach Kane. His answer was simple. Stay out of his way.

That begs the question. How do we react when a youth player tries to make a play in a similar situation? Do we give them the freedom to be creative and make plays? Or are we stressing the safe play so that we can win game #22 in a youth hockey season?

Letting a young player go outside his or her comfort zone is more risky but will lead to a bigger reward. Regardless of the outcome, they will learn about themselves and the game. On the other hand, the safe play won’t be noticed by anyone.

 It Takes Two

Have you ever heard the saying, “It takes two to tango”? Well, it takes two teams to play a hockey game too.

Sadly, it’s easy for people to forget this in sports. Look at how the media responded to Team USA’s loss against Team Europe. Most of the headlines regarding Team USA focused on poor coaching and bad roster or lineup decisions.

Very few, if any in the U.S., credited Team Europe for doing exactly what they needed to do. Europe, who almost everyone viewed as an underdog, came out and capitalized on key mistakes, played solid defensively and got great goaltending. The fact is Europe has some really good players (21 NHLers including Kopitar, Gaborik, Chara, etc.) on their team as well, and they are just as capable of winning this short tournament as any other team.

This same type of situation is commonly found in youth sports. When teams lose, it’s easy to talk about the mistakes, but don’t forget to recognize that many times mistakes (and losses) are caused by great plays by the opposing team.

Instead of focusing on the outcome, keep the emphasis on effort and attitude. Did your team try their best? How did they respond to mistakes? Are the players having fun and improving? Those are the areas that really matter and will eventually lead to a successful season.