Go to projecthockey.com and use code KUCH for 50% off** the Project Hockey IQ app.

This is how elite players like Kucherov actually think the game…

Most players enter the zone and either:

• Dump it in 
• Try to beat the defender wide 
• Force a low-percentage play Kucherov does something completely different

Before he even touches the puck, he’s already scanning:

• Defender’s stick position 
• Body angle 
• Support options 
• Where the next play is opening 

Then he uses a *subtle head fake + inside lean* to freeze the defender, force him to open up, and create a passing lane that wasn’t there a second earlier.

That’s why he can slip it into the middle to a shooter like Gensel… and it’s in the back of the net.

Same thing on the next clip: He doesn’t rush. He **waits for the defender to reach**, recognizes the triangle opening, and slides it under the stick to Perry for an easy goal.

This is Hockey IQ:

➡️ Creating space (not just finding it)

➡️ Manipulating defenders

➡️ Reading the game before it happens