Pass the Puck

Passing: The key to team play

BY GREG SILLER

Figure 1: Flip pass.

During a recent pro hockey game that I attended in California, I was reminded just how important passing is to the overall success of any team. Why is passing so important? Because it sets up almost every scoring opportunity. Passing is the quickest and most effective way to move the puck around the playing surface because puck movement is faster than player movement.

There are many reasons for passing the puck during a hockey game: to quickly bring the puck out of your defensive zone, to defeat a defender and create a numerical advantage (an essential on a power play), or to set up that great scoring opportunity. Each type of pass serves a unique purpose in terms of catching your opponents off guard and gaining positional advantage. The speed and change in flow provided when making a pass allows your offense to open up many exciting opportunities to put the puck into a scoring situation.

Accuracy, Timing, Deception

Three factors to consider when executing an effective pass are accuracy, knowing when to pass and deception. Following a good pass, don’t stand around congratulating yourself, get back into the play!

1. Accuracy is essential when passing the puck. If you don’t put the puck on your teammate’s stick, you may have just given possession to the other team. To be accurate, you must be able to lead a moving receiver with the puck; that is, you must pass the puck far enough ahead of the moving receiver to give him time to catch the pass.

2. Knowing when to pass. Deciding when to pass the puck should always be based on improving your TEAM’s offensive situation (remember there is a direct relationship between passing and team play!). If a teammate is in a better position than you are, don’t keep the puck—pass it.

3. Deception. Many players spoil their passing attempt because they telegraph their intention. Telegraphing a pass occurs when the passer is looking at the potential receiver and lining up the passing play without any deception. This gives a defender an easy opportunity to steal the puck. Passers can use their peripheral vision or a deceptive move to confuse a defender providing valuable time and space for the receiver.

Three passes you can use to catch defenders off guard include the flip pass, around-the-boards pass and give-and-go pass.

Flip PassThe flip (or saucer) pass is one technique that can be used when you cannot make a direct pass to your receiver due to a defender’s stick.The key to making an accurate flip pass is rotating the puck, which is created by rolling the puck from the heel of the stick blade to the toe as the pass is made. This will ensure that the puck lands flat and does not bounce or roll.The flip pass requires a short follow through to put the puck 6-18 inches off the playing surface and over a defender’s stick. No deception is needed with this type of pass as the puck going airborne takes care of it. Figure 1 shows an excellent neutral zone penetration (flip) pass allowing the play to quickly move from your defensive zone to the red line.

Figure 2: Around-the-boards pass.

Around-the-Boards Pass

Like the flip pass, the around-the-boards pass allows a passer to indirectly reach a receiver; and since you are using the boards as a guide, it is very accurate. It is particularly effective when used by a defenseman (D) to move the puck from behind the net to an open forward (F) positioned along the boards (as part of a breakout) or when moving the puck in your offensive zone to a teammate on the far side of the net (Figure 2). The pass should be low and not too hard so the receiver can handle it. Since this pass goes around a defender, deception is built right in.

Give-and-Go

The give-and-go pass (really a passing play) is designed to deceive and defeat an opponent and move the puck into a scoring opportunity.

The give-and-go pass can be used in any area on the playing surface. In the defensive zone, the pass can be used in conjunction with a breakout. In the offensive zone, it can be used as part of your offensive zone strategy. If the defender is expecting (reading) a give-and-go pass, you can still deceive him/her with a give-and-no-go (pass the puck and have the initial receiver fake the return pass).

Figure 3 can be used to work the give-and-go during a practice. Make sure that each player gets the opportunity to be both the moving player and the stationary player.

Perfect your passing technique (accuracy, knowing when to pass, and use of deception) and your team will improve its offensive effectiveness with the flick of a stick.

Figure 3: Give-and-go pass.

Greg Siller, author of Roller Hockey: Skills And Strategies For Winning On Wheels.

VIA:http://www.hockeyplayer.com/paid/publish/article_415.shtml

Bourne Blog: How to pass so your teammates won’t hate you

By Justin Bourne

There was a point during the fantasy camp I attended last week where Bryan Trottier literally stopped practice, made the guests partner up and had them work on passing like nine year olds.

(This should have happened far sooner — he was just being polite before finally deciding enough's enough).

When you watch professional hockey players pass the puck, you'll note that they move it just about as hard as amateurs can shoot the thing. When you mix passes like those in with the odd guy who's leaning so hard on his stick that he's basically a tripod, it's going to be an ugly affair.

The higher you go in hockey, the more you understand just how important passing the puck hard is.

For one, it's unfair to give your teammate a slow pass because it takes away his time (and in turn, his options) before he has to make a decision with the puck. In a game where big men are constantly looking for opportunities to plow a guy, you don't want to leave your buddy in that situation. If you snap it over there hard, he has time to pick his head up, step off the trolley tracks and continue forward with his limbs intact.

A professional hockey practice is littered with the phrase "handle it!" at pretty much every level. You're expected to learn how to handle a pass with some heat on it over time. Since having just one hand on your stick and holding it out is enough to deaden a pass (especially on the backhand), there's no excuse to not pick up a rocket launched your way.

The other frequently used expression is "you can't give a good player a bad pass," which is further incentive to hustle the puck over there. That phrase essentially means that if you put it anywhere in a guy's vicinity with some zip on it — in his skates, in his triangle, backhand, forehand, wherever — it's on him to corral the thing. Obviously you'd like to hit him square in the tape, but pros are good enough that they should be able to control a wayward puck and make a play.

And they are — you can basically fire a knuckleball at an NHLer's waist and he'll have it caught and flat on the ice in one second flat.

What they can't do is get the puck to come to them faster.

They may know that as soon as they get it, there's a linemate sneaking behind the opposing 'D' for a stretch pass. If they don't get it soon enough, that fleeting opportunity will be lost. You have to give the recipient credit enough that he can deal with whatever you send him.

(Before I carry on: Of course there's a time and place for spot passes and a little tender touch. But as a general rule, the sooner you can deliver your package the better.)

A number of NHL D-men have made a career off making that good, hard, flat first pass. It should be remarkably simple and easy, but like a 3-foot putt, people still struggle to do it consistently.

The guys who have it down can get rich. It's one of those things that's tough to demonstrate statistically, being that there's no "first passes completed with authoritaw" metric, but coaches and scouts know the people that can bring this quality to their back end, and they pay them accordingly.

The lazy pass is the most frustrating thing for pros when you mix them in with amateurs. The lesser rec league passer starts with the puck too far in front of his body and gives it a flick — if they're moving it to a pro (who can get across the neutral zone in about two seconds), that extra second it takes the puck to get there puts him directly in coverage before he has the chance to do anything.

So start the puck equal to your side or behind you, and snap it forward like you mean it.

Nobody's ever been yelled at for getting the puck to their teammate too soon, but I've seen teammates nearly come to blows on the bench over a slow rolling pass nearly getting one of them killed.

VIA: http://sports.yahoo.com

Tips for Laying the Sauce

• For a high saucer pass start with the blade like a wedge, and pull up a lot as you make the pass
• For a long saucer pass you can take more of a wrist shot motion
• Practice getting the puck landing flat on the ice, you don’t want any wobble!
• Make sure you get the puck to land a few feet before the players blade, you want the puck to settle down before the other player receives it
• Practice stickhandling a bit and then making the saucer pass, this will enable you to make a saucer pass in any situation

How to Flip Pass

The flip pass is a cheeky play but when you can pull it off it looks great and your team mates will love you. Usually a bank pass or saucer pass will do, but when there is no other option the flip pass is the perfect way to air mail somebody a perfect breakaway! Let’s take a look at Kopitar with a couple beauty flip passes

Tips for the Perfect Flip Pass

• You might think you need to put a lot of power in the flip pass but this is not true, in fact if you push too hard the puck will slide right off your blade. The trick is to do a nice smooth motion
• One method is to use the toe of the blade, pull the puck back a bit, then roll your hands over, open the blade and scoop it right under the puck. Once you feel the puck on the blade give it a nice flick motion while lifting both hands up.
• Another method is to start with the blade open and a few inches off the ice, you want to have the toe pointed slightly towards the ice. Think of this motion like scooping ice cream, you want to roll your wrists while moving the blade down, get under the puck, then lift it up. This is the motion Kopitar uses in the last video
• Check the video tutorial at the top and near the end I give you some tips on the flip pass.
• Remember that you want to land this pass in front of the player so they can pick it up and go, this requires some practice so try it out when you get some ice time.

VIA: http://howtohockey.com