Building Better Passers and Playmakers

As hockey players grow in age and skill, the amount of time they have with the puck shrinks. Players who go on to higher levels will develop good passing fundamentals and be able to play with their heads up and find open teammates.

“The limited time and space gets less and less as players advance, so passing and receiving become that much more important,” said Matt Cunningham, manager of USA Hockey’s Coaching Education Program and former Minnesota State Mavericks defenseman. “You say passing and receiving and it seems like a pretty elementary skill, but there are so many different things that go into it.”

For younger players, it begins with a foundation of good passing technique – rolling the puck from the heel to toe of the blade and following through by aiming for your target. As they get older, passing creativity and understanding the flow of the game comes into play.

“As they advance even more, you get into the team concepts associated with it, such as creating time and space and the idea of delaying,” Cunningham said. “Getting kids to think about being deceptive, whether it’s getting into a seam or using head fakes or change of speed.”

Move Without the Puck

As important as passing is, it’s equally crucial for the players without the puck to get open so the puck carrier has someone to get it to.

“One way that’s an elementary concept is a give and go,” Cunningham said. “Say it’s a 2-on-1 or 3-on-2, of course we see it at the higher level, they don’t make a pass and then just watch it. It’s move it and move to get open so you can get it back.

The concept of hockey is to outman the opponent and create 2-on-1 or odd-man advantages all over the ice.

“Something as simple as a 2-on-1 in a confined area, you don’t have a lot of space to move to but if you’re standing still, you’re making yourself very easy to cover,” said Cunningham. “Getting players to get that idea and start thinking in terms of move the puck and move your feet so you’re getting it back.”

Finding Open Area

The concept of finding open ice works for both players without the puck and also the passer. A puck carrier might not have a direct line to his or her teammate, but advanced players can use open ice or an indirect pass off the boards to find a linemate.

“A lot of our young players think in terms of, ‘If I don’t put it directly on someone’s tape, I can’t move it,’” Cunningham said. “So, the idea of, ‘Where can I put it to give my teammate a better chance to retrieve it?’ to maintain possession and putting it into an open area. I’ve universally tried to replace the term ‘dump in’ with ‘area pass’ just to spur some thought.”

Johnny Gaudreau finds Jaromir Jagr on a two-on-one rush for his first goal in a Calgary Flames sweater.

Time, Space and Delay

Jaromir Jagr is one of the best at finding time and space on the ice rink. However, it’s his young teammate, Johnny Gaudreau, who uses patience and delay to allow for his elder statesman to join the rush.

“Instead of burying his head and going – Gaudreau takes the second and creates more width to give Jagr an extra second or two to join the play. If Gaudreau just buries his head and goes, he’s going to try and beat a guy 1-on-1, which doesn’t happen a lot,” Cunningham said. “I like how [Gaudreau] had his head up the whole time. He’s a left shot going down the right side of the ice so he’s facing the middle of the ice almost as he’s skating forward.”

“From younger ages, all the way up to our national camps with 17- and 18-year-olds, delay is a hard thing for players to understand and embrace,” Cunningham said. “Everyone can skate 100 miles an hour these days. I think the idea of slowing down a little is so counter intuitive sometimes, but to get players to buy an extra half-second and delay or slow down, it’s a way to create those 2-on-1s and odd-man rushes.

Grand Rapids native Alex Goligoski and his Arizona Coyotes teammates use lanes and layers to score in overtime.

Lanes and Layers

Moving into lanes and creating layers is a concept used all over the ice, but can be deadly on the attack.

“In youth hockey a lot of times, say it’s a 3-on-2 attack, all of them will be in a straight line,” Cunningham said. “Again, getting players to think, ‘How easy am I making it for defenders if I’m just in a straight line?’ Instead of getting in different lanes and filling different layers.”

In the clip, the Coyotes force the Flyers defenseman back with speed and hit the trailer filling in the high lane/layer.

“It’s a good example of how quick puck movement paralyzes players – they don’t know who to defend and they get stuck watching the puck,” Cunningham added. “When guys are that skilled they do such a good job of putting themselves in a position to receive it. Goligoski drives the net and as soon as he sees the puck is dropped back high, he immediately backs up a step or two which leaves him with an empty net.”

Small-Area Games

“It boils down to the fact that quick puck movement is so hard to defend,” Cunningham said, referring to the clips.

A great way to develop quick decision-making and passing is by playing small-area games.

“Small-area games make players use fundamental skills repeatedly in game-like scenarios,” Cunningham said.

Coaches can play small-area games to increase passing creativity and improve decision-making. There are plenty of games with a predetermined passing component involved. However, it’s important to make sure players are making good passes.

“A lot of our players know, this person will be here for you to move the puck to, so they have their head buried and blindly throw it to away,” Cunningham said. “If there’s a condition in a small game, where they have to move it, [coaches] hold them accountable and executing that component where they’re making a good pass.

“Small games are an opportunity to make hockey decisions repeatedly.”