Wednesday Drill of the Week: Yale 1v1

Coach Chris Hall

A good drill with two shooting elements (point shot w/screen and quick pop in mid slot) as well as a full ice 1v1 rush. It runs out of both ends at the same time. The play starts with a puck in the corner with the F’s. F passes to the D who walks the line and takes a shot. The F skates to the net front for a moving screen, then goes into the corner to pick up a second puck. The D who shot the puck then skates across the blue line and down the wall, executing a scissor drop pass with the F. The D then passes to the F for a quick shot in the mid slot.

After the second shot, the D then turns and quickly takes back ice to gain a gap on the attacking forward coming from the other end (green). The F who shot…

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Elite NHL Defensemen

Coach Chris Hall

Kevin Shattenkirk, former BU player and current defenseman for the St Louis Blues did a nice two part series on Elite Defensemen in the NHL and the premier skill that each player possesses that sets him apart. I highly recommend you take ten minutes and check it out

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/elite-defensemen-101-kevin-shattenkirk-nhl/

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/elite-defensemen-101-part-2/

I thought I’d summarize the high level skills that these players have – all parts of the whole that make up a complete defenseman.

Drew Doughty: Confidence, skating ability, anticipation to jump into the play

Shea Weber: Shot, o zone IQ/sense, positioning, physicality/little things

Ryan Suter: Overall IQ, stamina, on/off switch, first pass ability

Duncan Keith: Lateral skating, smarts, poise, defensive stick

P.K. Subban: Swagger/gets under opponents skin, edgework

Erik Karlsson: Shots through traffic, elusive

Kris Letang: Strong skater, poise with the puck, playing with head up, hand-eye on pucks

Alex Pietrangelo: Escapability (winning loose pucks), shot-blocking, jumping into…

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Playoff Hockey

Coach Chris Hall

For college hockey lovers, this is the best weekend of the year. Twelve games, all televised on the ESPN family and in High Definition. The only thing better than playing in it is having a comfortable couch and being able to watch every minute.

Watching the games Friday and Saturday, I noticed one major trend standing out – the teams that fail to advance want the game to be easy instead of playing strong, honest hockey.

What does it mean to “want the game to be easy”?

• Looking to score on skill plays and rushes – with an increased sense of urgency, teams backcheck better and play more responsibly in their own zone. Skill plays and rush goals are few and far between in the playoffs. Teams that look to generate all of their offense off the rush or by “out-skill-ing” teams are typically teams that go home early.
• Reaching…

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Wednesday Drill of the Week: 3 Pass Shooting

Coach Chris Hall

A simple shooting drill with multiple opportunities for passing and receiving. Both lines go at the same time. The first player in each line takes off across the blue line. Near the far dot, they receive a pass from the opposite line and quickly return the puck back to the line they got it from. The player then takes off on a stretch and support pattern through the neutral zone, receiving a pass from the line they started from before heading over the blue line and attacking the net. The same thing is happening on the far side. Across the blue, receive/give a pass, then come back across through the neutral zone to receive a stretch pass and attack the net.

Skills worked here include: passing and receiving with your feet moving, shooting with your feet moving, quick accelerations and change of direction, communication. A great drill to get hands…

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Quality of steel? How does it affect you…..

Skateconsultant's Blog

The quality of steel affects the way your sharpener sharpens your skates. It affects the way the skate feels on the ice.  It affects how you have to maintain your skates. It affects how much you have to pay for your skates.

It affects  your Sharpening. A hockey coach I once worked with said to me.” you cannot make chicken soup from chicken poop no matter how hard you try” . So if the quality of steel you are working on is poor it is difficult to get the best possible skate sharpening. So when purchasing your next pair of skates give just a little extra thought and ask the question is this good steel. A cheap quality steel is going to rust. Probably quickly as it is going to have a high carbon content. It will probably also have a nickle coating(used to prevent rusting).  Some companies use…

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Wednesday Drill of the Week: Q 3v3

Coach Chris Hall

A fun 3v3 hockey sense drill. Two nets in one end, both facing the same direction. Teams can shoot at any net. You have to pass to a coach to transition from defense to offense. Coaches can pass to each other as well as be used as an outlet at any time.

This game attempts to help players with their hockey sense and spacing – they need to move away from the puck and have multiple options to attack and defend. Being a man on man game, there is some deception and puck protection involved as well. A great game to use at any point in time during practice, beginning, middle or end.

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Special Teams Analytics

Coach Chris Hall

I’m fascinated by the use of high level statistics in the NHL. I think it’s a great way to look at the game from a different angle and challenge previously held beliefs that are common in the game.

One example is special teams. Everyone in the hockey world looks at PP and PK% as an indicator of their success. While it is a measure of past success, it is not an accurate indicator of future success. Fear the Fin, a blog about the Sharks did a great job breaking down special teams from an statistics point of view. A fascinating look at the different factors that affect a power play (other than tactics and personnel) or penalty kill and how a team’s success or failure in those situations affects their place in the standings over the course of a season. Check out the full article here. The biggest takeaways…

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Skate Alignment

Skateconsultant's Blog

A skate that is out of alignment affects the way the foot sits in the boot. It also affects the way the blade engages the ice. It is an important part of the 10 point skate inspection that we do for our customer.

The alignment of skate when proper will look like a straight line from the blade all the way through the back of the boot right up through the tendon guard. If you hold the skate with the tendon guard against your stomach with the bottom of the blade facing away from you, pointing towards the ground,  is the best way to check blade alignment. The blade should be facing right at the center of your body. If it is pointed towards your left or right shoulder the alignment is off. This is a good way to check it at home. We use the  Maximum Edge Alignment gauge…

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Wednesday Drill of the Week: 1/2 Ice 2v0 Progression

Coach Chris Hall

A simple but high paced warm up drill. X1 (green) and X2 (red) bump and exchange with F1. F1 then bumps the puck to F2 while X1 and X2 jump onside (always facing the puck – mohawk). X1 and X2 receive a pass from F2 and then attack the net 2v0 – look for a pass off the far pad with a hard net drive. F2 then jumps in line, F1 becomes F2 and whoever shot the puck becomes F1.

There are three progressions to the drill. First – after bumping the puck to the attacking 2v0, F2 can then backcheck the two forwards. Put pressure on them from behind and attempt to breakup the play (you can designate F2 to backcheck the puck or the man, based on your backchecking system).

The second progression is to have F1 gap up and play the two attackers in a 2v1 –…

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Power to the People — Leaders and the Ethical Use of Power

Purpose in Leadership

Vuisten (fists) – Power, by Bolwidt on Flickr

Power to the People

The public exercise of power is often disliked, mistrusted, or undermined in our society. Roots of this suspicion of power are deep, but this suspicion is often grounded in the exercise of positional power that is not founded upon personal power. It is distasteful to see people occupying positions of power without also embodying the personal credibility to support and enact this power effectively. In contrast to resistance that is often the result of excessive use of positional power, personal power helps to develop followers and their commitment to organizational goals.

Asking the Right Questions

In terms of when and how power can be used most effectively and more acceptably, I would point to the importance of the ethical use of power. On this point Richard Daft identifies key questions leaders need to ask. Some of these questions ask…

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