Create chaos and put your opponent in uncomfortable situations with the power play knowledge you gain from this presentation.
There’s a quote from author John C. Maxwell which states: “If something can be done 80% as well by someone else, delegate!”
Those words of wisdom apply to many things, but NHL coaching isn’t one of them.
Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach Bruce Cassidy isn’t a delegator when it comes to his power play; having the man advantage run at only 80% of its total potential efficiency might have the 56-year-old scowering LinkedIn looking for a new job.
Cassidy takes a lot of pride in the Golden Knights power play and has been striving for greatness on special teams since he was drafted 18th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1983. During his 14 year pro career, which included time in the AHL, IHL, NHL & Italy, Cassidy quarterbacked the power play. When he moved into coaching, he wasn’t willing to give up running it.
During a recent Virtual Hockey Summit presentation, Cassidy (then coach of the Boston Bruins) went into detail about his love for the power play, outlining principles that can lead to success.
“I’ve always had a keen interest in the power play,” explained Cassidy. “As a player, I had that particular set of skills to run a power play, so I’ve always taken control of it when I was a coach, whether an assistant or a head coach, because it’s something I gravitate towards, take a lot of pride in and feel I can communicate well with the players.”
When this presentation was recorded, Cassidy, the Jack Adams Award winner as the NHL’s Coach of the Year in 2019-20, was in his sixth season coaching the Bruins and over his first five years, Boston had been consistently impressive on the power play. The Bruins power play is second overall since 2016-17, with an average success rate of 24.8% and 0.76 PPGs a game.
Cassidy clearly knows his way around the power play, meaning this 36-minute presentation is a must-see.
“I try to break it down into three areas when dealing with the players: entries, set ups in the offensive zone and face-offs, learning via video and applying lessons in practice,” said Cassidy.
“There are some keys that every coach will talk about when dealing with the power play, and we always talk about possession before position – particularly on entries, establishing the shot – we want to establish ours from the middle of the ice, puck recovery support – how can we use our positioning and skill to get another good look before they get set up, and pace – pucks or people have to move to create chaos and make some uncomfortable situations.”
