I was fortunate to spend some time with Peter Bohunicky at TCS Live 2024 in Ann Arbour, Michigan. Part of my role here is to work with on-ice presenters while they're organizing and eventually executing their ideas. The truth is that I basically sit back and learn, but no presentation was more surprising to me than Peter's. Stickhandle the puck faster by pushing it away from you? Possession without ... possession? What are we doing here. 

But it smacked me across the mush like an errant stick when I saw Peter in action. It's such a simple and straightforward skill when you think about it, but no way would I have been able to demonstrate it without Peter's experience and approach. 

The technical aspects of propelling the puck ahead of your body are one thing. As Peter explains here, the skating, movement of the arms and legs, and overall motion of the body to create momentum is obviously important, but what i really enjoyed was the psychological aspect of the technique. 

"When you push the puck into space, you're not a target for the payer trying to check you any more. You're making your own decision, and you're making the (opponent) think about your decision."

I spent a lot of time in the spring and summer of 2024 thinking about the difference between what you say to players and what they hear. They rarely hear what you think they hear, right? 

Peter does a fantastic job of explaining to his players the why as well as the how. And this is with a language barrier - North American english is not Peter's first language, but it doesn't matter. He speaks the language of a coach. And that was the foundation of our meetings in the months leading up to the event. We worked on finding the right video to support his presentation, and I'm very proud of the final result. Watch Miles Wood around the 5:46 mark - it's one thing for Connor McDavid amd Nathan MacKinnon to use this skill, but Miles Wood?

Heck yeah Miles Wood. 

And the most important part? Peter is a great guy. Culture rules once again!

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