How can we improve decision-making in our players? That’s the question Satoshi Takano wants to answer, and he brought us along for the conversation at the TCS Live at St. Andrews College in the fall of 2024.

For Takano, intelligence and hockey IQ rules above every other skill in the game, and it’s all because of timing.

“When - not how, not why, but when. We need to train our kids to learn where to be on the ice when they don’t have the puck.”

Takano’s talk fits well with Scott Jones’ on-ice presentation because it’s all about teamwork. Without teammates there’s no point in working on timing. Most young players - most old players truthfully - struggle with timing because they spend most of their skill development work on progressions with the puck. Obviously you need the puck to take shots, you need the puck in order to pass it, but that’s the key - getting the puck. Receiving the puck. Where and when you are on the ice matters a lot more than how you are on the ice, which is a weird way to say it’s crucial to teach your players how to time their routes so they are available. Can’t shoot the puck if you never have it on your stick!

Takano shared a video package from the Detroit Red Wings winger Alex Debrincat that really opened my mind up to the importance of timing. Debrincat isn’t the biggest or fastest player, but he always seems to be in position to create offence. For Takano, that’s not a mistake, it’s not luck, it’s no instinct, and it absolutely can be taught. Debrincat moves at the right times, he stops at the right times, and he uses his speed at the right times. Takano calls this the 3 second rule - count to three before you get into position and you’re a lot more likely to arrive on time.

One of the interesting aspects of timing is that it doesn’t require the best skills. Takano shared statistics on not only Debrincat but Auston Matthews as well. Whereas Connor McDavid and Artemi Panarin use speed and agility to create offence, Matthews and Debrincat use their timing and ability to get open. It’s an important concept to teach our players, particularly young ones. Everyone wants to be the biggest and fastest and strongest, and while those traits certainly don’t hurt, there are more ways to build effective hockey players!

Noteworthy Timestamps:

• 0:35 Intelligent hockey players
• 1:40 Timing
• 3:15 Case study - Alex DeBrincat
• 5:00 Finding the pattern
• 8:05 3 Second Rule
• 9:25 Case study - Auston Matthews
• 10:45 How do you train timing?
• 12:55 On ice drill examples