Matthew Barzal is a lower mainland kid who skated with Victor Kraatz long before his breakout on the international hockey scene with the New York Islanders. Even before he ripped up and down the ice with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League or the BCMML's Greater Vancouver Canadians.
Is it all because of Victor? Maybe not. But maybe yes.
In Victor's course Building the Foundation of Skating he focuses on the importance of the base beneath a hockey player. It's crucial to establish a solid posture, because from the pisture comes everything else. Balance, composure, agility, and eventually speed. Watch 13 in these clips and you can see how his edges always come back underneath him. It's not always about pure speed through the neutral zone. He creates offence because he stops and starts quickly, he turns, and he's always reloading his feet. Even when he's handling the puck you can see how his edges are always ready to propel him to new speeds. This is a great clip to show your players to help them understand that quickness and agility matter just as much as straightaway speed.
