Teaching Puck Management

If we want players to manage the puck we must teach them how to manage the puck. There are key principles that make puck management decision-making simple for players.

Key Principles of Puck Management - Check off the Boxes

✅ Play as a collective and connected group

✅ Come back to puck level so you have numbers to support the possession

✅ Be 1st to a loose puck, do your shoulder checks to read pressure and puck support options

✅ Manage your ice time and be fresh so that fatigue doesn’t affect your ability to support the puck possession, arriving on time is key to supporting the puck as a collective group

✅ Choose the best play (pass) option based on the situation

✅ Outnumber on the puck as a group at puck level

✅ Structure: get into a structure that best supports the puck as a group, as a group set quality passing angles & lanes to facilitate efficient, quick, timely puck movement

✅ Short quick passes are better than long passes that are easier to intercept

✅ Exit tight space as a group, go up the ice as a group with numbers, set the right spacing & passing angles and lanes as you advance the puck up ice, the player with the puck under check pressure should have more than one passing option at all times, as a minimum one quality passing option

✅ Isolate on defenders to create a player advantage 2v1, 3v2, 4v3

✅ Don’t over handle the puck, quick movement of the puck is preferred, when you skate the puck you’re giving the opponent time to get into position to defend against you as a group, you want to catch the opponent disconnected as a group

✅ The puck belongs to your teammates, pass the puck and immediately make yourself available for a return pass

✅ Every player without the puck on a possession has a responsibility to get open to become a passing option or you’re playing shorthanded

✅ You don’t always have to go forward, you can move the puck strong side to weak side, sideways or backwards as needed, key is maintaining possession, play a game of keep away from the opponent as a group

✅ Constant player movement to separate from defenders and the defensive structure to become a passing options, use cycles (low, high,reverse, give and goes) to support the puck

These key principles need to be adhered to exiting your DZ, regrouping in the neutral zone, on the attack rush or in the offensive zone to retain possession to find the right moment to attack the inside of the ice surface.

The better you support the puck as a FIVE the easier puck management becomes. You want to be able to make tape to tape passes as much as possible to advance the puck or an indirect pass to a teammate off the wall if passing lanes are blocked off.

The teams that struggle with puck management don’t follow the key principles of puck support. Puck management should be easy when there are multiple passing options and clean lanes and quality passing angles. Keep the game simple, it’s hard enough to play when you stick to the key principles and concepts of the game.

Teams that struggle with puck management often times aren’t adhering to these key principles, you must support the puck as a collective and connected group, there are no short cuts, you can’t cheat the game, it takes what it takes.

Video of the Oilers exiting their DZ with four players below the dots deep in the zone to support the management of the puck with clean lanes, good passing angles, quick and efficient puck movement out of the DZ and down the ice surface to score. Puck management made easy by puck support as a collective connected unit.

Remember, it’s hard work defending and much more fun to play with the puck than without the puck, so play together as a collective and connected unit and let the opponent chase your group around to try and gain back puck possession.

Treat the puck like it’s gold, you don’t give gold away!