WHEN you are fast is much more important than HOW fast you are.
Every coach, general manager, and scout, craves fast players for their program.
If we dive in and shed some light on what that really means though, we have to ensure that a fast player is indeed effective, and properly utilizes that tool.
As a skills coach, my job is to offer players an opportunity to improve and expand their skill-set, but furthermore, channel all of that work so it transfers into their game. The goal isn’t to fill an ice session with cool-looking sequences or patterns, but rather, to repair skill deficiencies, perhaps with the use of specialized drills, and instil them in scenarios the athlete will encounter come game time.
A common discussion I have with players, parents, coaches, and scouts, is in fact, how fast a player can play the game. I eventually felt enough of an urge to add some clarity to that topic in article-form.
With off-ice training programs putting an emphasis on speed and power, the game of hockey is faster than ever.
A misconception about speed that I am finding as I work with numerous minor hockey teams across Alberta though, is how a team or player, can be, and is classified, as fast. Many get drawn to foot speed, or skating speed, when they hear the term ‘fast’ in hockey. In today’s game, that is only a fraction of the necessary speed required to be an elite player.
You’ve done the proper hockey-specific training all off-season, pounded out your plyometrics, sprint work, Olympic lifts; and it is clear you have elevated your explosiveness and quickness on the ice. The golden question: can you translate that to make it an advantage for yourself?
The most important thing I want to get across, is that when you are fast is much more important than how fast you are. Especially with older players, hockey sense needs to go hand in hand when discussing speed.
Skating quickness ultimately is a pre-requisite to being a fast player. Are you utilizing a change of speed on a defenceman? Are you gaining speed underneath the puck? Are you getting to high quality ice before your opponent?
A fantastic example is a weak-side defenceman going back for a puck retrieval at full speed, so they can position themselves to get the puck on their forehand to be able to make a high quality play. These are just a few examples of when speed has a true purpose. Believe it or not, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and other speedsters in the NHL do not skate full speed the whole time they are on the ice. Being fast can also get you over top of the puck at the wrong times, run you out of real estate, or clog up a puck possession sequence, if you let it.
One of the biggest differences I see between a U18 minor hockey player, and a Jr ‘A’ or CHL player, is their processing speed. They play on instinct. Their awareness is so good that they often know what they are doing with the puck before it even arrives on their stick. If you have to read and react at the Jr A level, Major Junior, or college, there’s a chance your hockey path may be at a halt. Sometimes players with average skating ability can elevate their team’s speed, if they have elite puck-moving ability and can evade congestion with that skill.
Master your teams’ structure in your mind, scan the ice, communicate, and always continue to work on the fundamental skills. At the end of the day, junior hockey players also execute the fundamentals faster, and with more polish, than U18 minor hockey players as well. They do shoot the puck harder, pass it quicker, and handle it faster as well. Working on toe drags and flipping the puck over obstacles can be an effective tool, but it is not the full answer.
Excel at the fundamentals first. Picking up passes in skates, on your backhand, pulling pucks laterally, separating your hands from your body, proper weight transfer, are examples of skills that often get neglected.
Being a fast player is more than having quick boots. Slowing up sometimes to create space, to adjust an angle, or balance an attack, is a must. Just like using your speed to separate at the right times, or get to a pocket of ice when needed, is a must.
Can you plan ahead in a split second, not only what play you are going to make, but also your positioning and timing of it to give you or your teammates, as much time and space as possible? Educate yourself on the game!
Watch NCAA Division 1 games online, and challenge yourself to watch what a player in your position does to create a high positive play percentage. Can you retrieve a puck off the boards or on your backhand, and make a clean play without having to handle the puck five times? If your feet are quick, but your brain or hands cannot keep up, that foot speed will get you around the rink fast, but what will you accomplish in the grand scheme of things?
Just like skating speed, remember to also train your mind and master your skills so your fast feet don’t get you in trouble!
