Offense at the Puck - Great example of Tampa Bay Lightning Kucherov taking what's given. He receives puck and instantly attacks the net. In doing so, he freezes the D but more importantly forces the Toronto Maple Leafs G to get to the top of his crease which does not allow him to recover.

Defense Away from Puck - As many players are going to camps this summer, remember what you do away from the puck matters. You have the puck less than 4% of the time you are on the ice. Here x - Florida Panthers Duclair has poor stick positioning & then little effort to block the shot.

Two simple terms when teaching your players how to defend away from the puck. 1. Discourage with body positioning. (be in the way) 2. Disrupt with a good stick. (1 hand on stick on the ice) Dallas Stars Robertson get's caught with 2 hands on his stick & doesn't disrupt the pass.

Director of Player development for Winnipeg Jets on the importance of building relationships at Dev. camp. He talks about putting your phone down at dinner and talking to the guy across from you. We all want a "good culture", it starts with good people and strong relationships.

Rod Brind'Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes during Dev. camp sends one message to the young players, "You must be competitive". As players start attending camps this month, they need to understand that this is the foundation for all championship teams. Youth coaches, find ways to make your

Let me preface this tweet by saying this is related to players/coaches at the Jr. levels and higher. Don Granato of Buffalo Sabres stating the bottom line for a player when being evaluated is, "can they help us win". A harsh reality for some, but the truth. Players have to ask

A few weeks ago I posted several clips on "situational awareness". I wish I had found this clip then, better late than never. Don Granato of Buffalo Sabres talking about what veteran players bring to a team, most importantly, "situational awareness" which the Sabres have

Great job by #90 Johansson of the Minnesota Wild impacting the play without ever possessing the puck. First in coverage he shows great player awareness and adjusting his stick placement and disrupting the pass. He quickly then gets his toes up ice and stretches thus backing off

Patrice Bergeron of Boston Bruins in his press conference yesterday talked about what he wanted to remembered by most. He states that it would be his desire to connect with people and get to know them. I posted a few weeks back about Winnipeg Jets DOPD telling the dev camp players about

Mike Sullivan of Pittsburgh Penguins on D Marcus Pettersson. Pettersson who was a healthy scratch last year now being paired with current Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. When asked how he accomplished this, Sullivan said a couple of things; 1. He just cam to the rink with a great

From the Coach - Empowering Your Staff Stick taps to Toronto Maple Leafs HC Sheldon Keefe. Last night he gave credit to his staff who all played critical roles in the Leafs win. AC Dean Chynoweth who runs the PK, AC Guy Boucher who runs the 6 on 5 and Video Coach Jordan Bean who

From the Coach - I love the message Columbus Blue Jackets HC Pascal Vincent sends after game 1 loss. He speaks of how the game is about 1x1 battles and that where his team came up short last night had nothing to do with talent, just hard work and competing.

Offense at the Puck - Puck Management on Entry A couple of similar clips from last night. Players need to understand that when choose to carry the puck in on entry, it forces their teammates to have to slow down or stop to avoid offside. Thus, any turnover results in an odd man

From the coach -Ottawa Senators HC D.J. Smith when asked about Tarasenko. His repsonse is focused on his puck management and not forcing plays. D.J. called it "winning hockey". It is that simple, the team that manages the puck the best, may not win every night, but they won't be

Offense Away from Puck - Here is a great example of the Ottawa Senators #81 Kubalik changing with the puck deep in the Tampa Bay Lightning zone. The eventual goal scorer, Tkachuk comes on the ice and goes to soft spot that is difficult for all teams to cover. Very unslfish and smart of

My apologies for the Ottawa Senators love this morning. My brother who lives in Ottawa is coming to visit me in AZ this week so I've been watching lots of Sens clips. Lots of good things to love about this team. This is the epitome of finishing yours checks and wearing down

From the Coach - Such a great story for the Washington Capitals F, Matt Phillips. HC Spencer Carbery talks about how Phillips just kept working hard in practice even though the deck was stacked against him. Drafted 166th overall by Calgary Flames in 2016. He listed as the smallest player in

Defense at the Puck - 2 of the 3 goals the Toronto Maple Leafs gave up last night were a direct result of them not stopping on the puck battle. In both cases the player they did not finish their check on, makes an outlet pass to the eventual goal scorer.

Despite the challenges of not playing the remainder of the season, the NAHL still lived up to its mission to be the League of Opportunity. #NAHL50th | #50in50

Had to share this as it is so relevant to what we are teaching MAP HOCKEY. The 1st part of the clip is bad Defense Away From the Puck. The Calgary Flames D guesses and cheats the net cycle. We talk about "discouraging with your body" and "disrupting with your stick" when defending