What is the Box Penalty Kill in hockey?
The Box Penalty Kill is one of hockey’s tried and true penalty kill formations, particularly among younger age groups, though it’s effective with older players and in the professional ranks when used at the right times. As its name indicates, the Box Penalty Kill sets up the penalty killers in a square formation, with each player responsible for coverage and puck clearing in their respective quadrant.
What are the benefits of using the Box Penalty Kill in hockey?
The benefits of the Box Penalty Kill in hockey are primarily in its ease of use. Players can easily understand where to go once the penalty kill begins, and it’s natural for them to perform their respective duties as long as they don’t stand perfectly still like a traffic pylon. The Box is especially effective in containing a Spread powerplay . If a powerplay is particularly stagnant and lacks creativity, then the Box formation only needs a little bit of patience and anticipation skills to be effective.
What are the disadvantages of using the Box Penalty Kill in hockey?
The primary disadvantage of The Box Penalty Kill in hockey is its lack of versatility. A powerplay structure only needs to shift slightly from a spread into an overload or a 1-3-1 to render The Box mostly useless. If the penalty killers remain in their assigned quadrants as the powerplay changes shape, then one, or more likely two powerplay players will be open, and in dangerous spots as well.
What are the forward responsibilities for the Box Penalty Kill in hockey?
The two forwards in The Box Penalty Kill are responsible for covering the top two quadrants of the defensive zone and preventing the powerplay players from carrying or passing the puck into the middle of the ice. They’re also responsible for blocking shots and intercepting passes in the hopes of icing the puck.
What are the defenseman responsibilities for the Box Penalty Kill in hockey?
The defensemen are responsible for preventing the puck from being carried into the low slot, the most dangerous scoring chances area, either by intercepting passes or by using their body to box out the opposition.
Which coaches use the Box Penalty Kill in hockey well?
Coaches who use The Box penalty kill either have a good understanding of their opponent’s powerplay formation (usually the spread), or they want to deploy a simple, easy to understand penalty kill formation to the benefit of younger players or players with a specific skill-set.
What skills or strengths does a team or player need to run the Box Penalty Kill in hockey?
The primary skill a player needs for a Box Penalty Kill is anticipation skills and the hand eye coordination necessary to intercept passes that might be in the air.
Which teams are the best examples that use the Box Penalty Kill in hockey?
Since the Box is not a widely used penalty kill formation in the National Hockey League, we’ll simply use three teams that had the lowest shots against per 60 minutes on the penalty kill in the 2022/23 season.
Note: the per 60 metric is a ratio used to compare penalty kill effectiveness between teams who may not have spent the exact same amount of time on the penalty kill in a given season
Rankings from Natural Stat Trick
