There are certain skills great players perform that go unnoticed by the casual fan. At the professional level, the majority of the game is played along or close to the boards. Players who efficiently pick up pucks off the wall and/or know how to use the wall to spin/absorb contact create more time and space for themselves.
Top level players perform these skills along the wall
- have a great first touch of the puck off the wall both on the forehand & backhand while an opponent applies pressure
- understand how to position their body so they are able to protect the puck & themselves
- feel pressure and use the opponent’s momentum to create time
- use their eyes (by shoulder checking) to locate where their teammates are positioned & where the puck must go next
Examples of player’s ‘being effective’ along the wall
In the first video, the winger is playing defensive zone coverage while his defenseman fights for the puck. The Canucks forward doesn’t look up ice (for opportunities AKA his teammates or for threats AKA the opponents) but he senses that there is space once the puck arrives up the wall. A key detail to this play is after spinning his body towards the middle, he takes three hard strides to the middle of the ice. This allows for more options to make plays (versus skating right up the wall) and makes it much harder for the opponents to backcheck and steal the puck.
Key Points
- look up ice before puck arrives
- get yourself away from the wall quickly to have more attacking options
- keep your back to opponent if you are unsure of the next play so you can protect yourself and the puck (get your hips over the puck and 'own your space')
In the next video, the offensive player jumps to the strong side wall to stop the puck and begin an Offensive Zone Play phase. Upon gaining control of the puck, Kaprizov looks up and quickly recognizes that a defensive player is closing in on him & that contact will follow. Just before bracing himself for contact, he pulls the puck away from the defender & absorbs contact with his back and legs (this allows for the puck and the player to be protected). As the second defender comes to engage him, he braces once again for contact while protecting the puck down the wall. While he protects the puck, he is able to take in information (via his visual gaze) that his teammate has found a 'soft spot' in the slow. A perfect backhand pass on the tape allow a one timer that beats the goalie.
Key Points
- expect & brace for contact while exposing the puck only when you are ready
- attempt to keep moving along the wall when protecting a puck (do not accept getting pinned along the wall)
- keep taking in information (from your eyes, ears, and touch) about where there are opportunities for action
- in this case, Kaprizov saw and maybe heard his teammate in the slot
Receiving Pucks Along the Wall with "Meet" and "Roll"
For an offensive player, a scenario that happens dozens of times a game is when an attacking player picks a rimmed puck off the wall to keep the Offensive Zone Phase alive. This often takes place when the net front player releases behind the net to retrieve a puck that was ‘cycled’ by a teammate.
Some terms taken from Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach Pascal Vincent are ‘meet’ or ‘roll.’ For the player retrieving the puck, he/she ‘meets’ the puck and protects the puck moving towards where the puck just arrived up the strong side of the ice. The other option is to ‘roll’ which means the offensive player goes with the momentum of the puck and picks the puck off the wall as he/she skates away from where the puck just came which takes the play to the weak side of the ice. The ability to get a ‘clean’ first touch of the puck under pressure while either ‘meeting’ or ‘rolling’ creates time and space for great players to then make their next play. Lesser plays need 2-3 touches to settle the puck before getting their head up; which in making cases means the opportunity has already closed.
While this clip isn't a traditional 'meet & roll' play from a cycle, it is still about reading or feeling pressure and then using that momentum to spin & create space. In the following clip, the former Blue Jackets forward Gus Nyquist prepares to take a rimmed puck off the wall. He prepares to take a first touch of the puck while bracing for contact/pressure from the opponent. Nyquist feels the defender over-committing to his left side, so he ‘rolls’ with the puck and spins away from the defender. This allows him to get the puck towards the middle of the ice and find the ‘next best play’ which is passing to his teammate who looks to challenge the defender with speed.
Key Points
- protect yourself (and the puck) as you position yourself to retrieve a rimmed up
- use your senses (mostly via your eyes but in this clip mostly somatic or feel) to understand where the opponent is applying pressure
- perform a ‘meet’ or ‘roll’ based on that pressure to create time and space
Receiving Rimmed Pucks for Defensive Players
Rimmed pucks that defenseman have to pivot & retrieve may be the hardest pucks off the wall to handle. Often they are skating full speed and must ‘bump’ the puck back to their partner or to corral the puck to then execute the next play. If they fail to execute a clean first touch the puck can end up in the opponent’s possession with a dangerous scoring chance to follow. The ability for a strong side or weak side defensemen to retrieve these pucks on the wall often dictates how successfully they can break the opponent’s forecheck.
In this clip Seth Jones (as the weak side defenseman) begins to pivot while skating backwards as he recognizes the opponent is going to rim the puck to his side of the ice. He positions he blade so the toe of his blade is against the wall in an effort to scoop the puck off the wall. This ‘first touch’ is key to whether he can deaden the puck or it explodes off his stick into the middle of the ice. He has pressure, but not aggressive pressure of an opponent trying to check him as the puck arrives; this gives him time after he takes the puck off the wall to protect it & scan the ice for ‘the next correct play.’
Key Points
- use your legs to go back for pucks before positioning your stick to scoop the puck off the wall
- shoulder check to understand if you have to brace for contact or you can focus on quieting the puck without protecting yourself from the opponent
- as you shoulder check, scan the ice so you understand where your teammates are for support
Developing Better Wall Play
My challenge to players and coaches reading this is to watch an NHL, AHL or College Hockey Game and see how often the game is being played close to or on the walls. For players to advance in their careers, players must continuously work on:
- the ability to protect pucks along walls (and themselves!)
- pick pucks up off walls while moving
- execute plays along the wall while fending off an opponent
As you recognize the importance of these skills, create drills & scenarios in practice that re-create quality experiences that are representative of what players must face in the game. Offensively, our game is about creating time and space & by handling pucks off the walls and using the wall as an ally, we can create better players who make more plays.
Drills and Small Area Games to Develop Wall Play Skills
Here are a few drills and small area games that can help develop better wall play in your players: