Gain control and go on the attack. It'll be just that simple if you learn these six breakout options.

I am so excited to be back with this 2-part article. I had a lot of questions and requests in the last couple of weeks about breakouts, and I wanted to show you some videos that coaches can use with their teams and players.

We will see over 10 breakouts divided into two articles. Some that can be easy to do at a young age, and others that can be reproduced at a higher level.

Breakout Middle

I’ve broken it down with different options. Sometimes, wingers get low, maybe too low, and it’s hard to exit the zone. You always have the option to chip off the glass, but if you are too low, there’s no one to retrieve it. In this example, we can see two middle options. First, we can use the weak side forward and make a pass through the middle. The second option is making a pass to D2. A lot of NHL teams use the D2 pass on the breakout, allowing them to use the width of the ice.

Breakout Low Centre

Bigger ice = more space. By playing on a 28 metre or Olympic 30 metre ice sheet, the players have more room, and when they receive the puck in the middle, they have more room to escape. But having a quick C support down low is an excellent option, because many teams seal the wall. If the walls are closing, the middle is open. Timing is important, but communication is more important. Once you receive the puck, you should already know what you want to do, because you don’t want to create a turnover here.

Breakout Goalie

A lot of videos of Carey Price. He had over 100 touches of the puck in the last NHL playoffs. When your goalie can play the puck, and the right way, he can be a nightmare for the opponent because they can’t establish their forecheck. The communication between your goalie and your players is crucial. You can have both defencemen splitting on each side for options. You can have one far and one closer, or you can have your goalie breaking out the puck on the blueline.

Breakout Bypass

The bypass can beat the defenseman’s pressure on the blueline or at the top of the circle. The key for this one is if the puck is coming off a rim, to protect it first and make the play after. By giving back the puck to the centre, they will come up with speed and beat the defenceman who just pinched. You can always chip behind the defenceman if you ask your weak side forward to slash. I love this breakout.

Breakout Push Possession

The New York Islanders are one team that uses the push possession when you move the play from one side to the other behind the net. Instead of having your weak side forward opening on the wall and getting low, you ask them to go high on the defenceman. It’s your centre who’s going to the wall or getting low, giving an option like if they were the winger. Your other winger now must come through the middle and be an option there. By doing this, you stretch the forecheck, and you have more options at different layers in your exit.

Breakout Push Pace

Asking your weak side forward to slash is good, but you want him to demand the puck or have it. The push pace is based on having your puck carrier winger low and your weak side winger flying the zone, but that is the most important thing on the same side. You try to create different layers, making it harder to defend, and you want your forward to build speed. It can look like the bypass on some of them, but I want to emphasize the role of the weak side winger on this one. The Toronto video at the end is the perfect example.