When you've spent a few years with a team or organization, it can be easy to rest on what you've done in the past. Especially if you've enjoyed success. But the game is always expanding and contracting in key areas. If you're not adapting to your league's trends or how the game is played at the level to which your players aspire, then you run the risk of being left in the dust by another team that is. 

Brandon Naurato has won a lot of games in his first seasons at the University of Michigan, but he's still committed to innovating and improving his team and how they play in all three zones and all game states. 

Which brings us to the neutral zone. Nowhere in the game represents more diversity when it comes to systems with and without the puck. D-zone coverage only has a few preferred schemes these days, forechecks might look different but they always finish the same, but it's in the neutral zone where teams can really get creative. The quicker you move the puck through the neutral zone, the more time you'll spend in the offensive zone. 

"Why are they so elite at it? It's not because of the structure, it's because of the habits and concepts inside."

Brandon shows a couple examples in the video of how players get into the structure he wants in the offensive zone and the neutral zone, and the key for me is the weak-side defenceman moving up to create a 1-3-1. It's a common structure on the powerplay, so why not use it 5on5?

The key in these clips, like Brandon says, is finding that structure consistently with habits and concepts. It will always look a little different, but if the players understand the reasoning behind the system, they won't need to think as much and it will become automatic. 

Check out this snippet from Naurato's presentation and view the full video here with a premium membership to The Coaches Site.