July 9, 2010, Newsletter Issue #163: Quick puck movement
Tip of the Week
I think the game in the defensive zone and the neutral zone is turning into a game of moving the puck and not slowing the attack by carrying it.
In the offensive zone quick stickhandling moves that enable you to win a 1 on 1 for half a second are what create space for a good pass or a shot from the slot.
I think the players have to be able to handle the puck very well.
As Juhani Wahlsten will say "When we are very young we only think about our family and ourselves, so instruction should centre around developing individual skills. When we get around 12 our friends are the most important thing to us and now is the ideal time to learn to play together."
Like Juuso, I think the individual and team skill development have to follow the natural way a person grows. It is very difficult to handle passes and find an open team mate until you have good puck control skills.
You are absolutely right about the way the game is developing and puck movement getting more and more important but Sundin, Forsberg, Koivu, Heatley, Lemieux are all great stick handlers and because of their skill can take the extra second to create open lanes to make great passes for the one timer shots.
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