Pushing the pace to create time and space on offence

Tyler Kuntz

Spent the past 15 years coaching in USports Men's Hockey, WHL, pro hockey, BCHL, and now in the CSSHL.
Hockey Canada Certified HPI and HPII coach.

View all posts

In this article, I will analyze pushing the pace with your forwards to create time and space with the puck. I will share some basic fundamentals with the assistance of video and on-ice drills that can aid in the process of player and team development.

• See also:
  • The link between Royal Road opportunities and time on ice
  • 4 subtleties of Victor Hedman’s MVP defensive game
  • Why angling is the most underrated skill in hockey

Ultimately we can then transfer these strategies from the classroom, to practice, and into your games.

Defensive zone face-off

It starts with face-off fundamentals:

• #17 blue gets inside body position and bumps #85 white to allow his D retrieving the puck time to make a play
• #17 has now shoulder checked to scan possession of his defenceman
• #17 blue can push the pace into the neutral zone and retrieve the area pass by #90
• #90 blue shows tape and faces the puck for his defenceman
• Staying off the boards allows #90 to protect the puck from the pinching defenceman and chip the puck to an area for his winger (#17)

The centreman (#10) makes a read: all three Jets forwards forecheck below the hashmarks leaving no F3 to cover for a pinching D. This results in the C supporting the wide ice for #17 blue.