The Benefits of Great Puckhandling Ability

April 12, 2007
Sidney Crosby, as seen in USA Hockey Magazine, demonstrates excellent puck control and protection. Note the hands away from the body.

by Cliff Graziano Jr.
We've all seen NHL players like Jaromir Jagr or Alexei Kovalev make stickhandling moves that just blow us away, whether it be on a defensemen they are attacking or a goalie they're making a move on. It's an exciting part of the game that puts us on the edge of our seats. Better puck control leads to a lot of advantages for each individual player as well as helping his or her team create better scoring opportunities. The next time you get a chance watch a player like Scott Gomez of the NJ Devils race up the ice on the power play. The Devils have him carry the puck through the neutral zone and almost always he avoids the first opposing player opening up passing and skating lanes for himself as well as his teammates.

Just like in basketball where the better players usually control the play with the ball, the better players that control the puck in hockey are usually the players that put up a lot of points. Whether they be through positioning themselves to pass off to teammates or putting themselves in a better position to shoot the puck. They find areas of the ice by creating the two most crucial things in most team sports, especially hockey, and that is more "time & space". If all players had more "time & space" think how much more effective they could be. In a game like hockey where speed is a major factor, having more time allows you to put yourself in a better position to make plays or gives you more time to think about your next move, pass, or shot. Moving to open space or creating open space decreases the chance of the puck being poked away or being body checked off of the puck by a defender's check.

Some of the benefits of better puck control are:

1. Winning the 1 on 1 battles. When a player is beaten on a one on one it creates an odd-man situation and either it opens up a teammate for a pass or puts the player with the puck in a better position to create more offensive opportunities.
2. Working on certain moves, such as basic front fakes, a side fake or a toe drag gives players more options offensively to break away from an opponent.
3. It makes you a better passer, pass receiver and puts your hands and body in a better position to do both of these as well as shooting the puck.
4. Puck Protection is one of the most overlooked areas of stickhandling. It puts the formula of the attacking player putting their body between the puck and the opposing player. This is done when driving around a player or in a tight situation where being attacked by an opposing player.

When it comes to controlling the stick most players learn to control with the bottom hand on the stick and the top hand is to high on the hip. The puck is in tight to their body and this prohibits them from properly handling the puck. A good way to practice the proper way is to hold the stick with only the top hand on and roll your top hand using a puck or a ball, this is called "dribbling the puck". The top hand should be in front of your stomach, not along the hip. This will give you full range of motion when you need to bring the puck across your body and even pulling it back below the line that you are stickhandling.

With the stick more out in front of the player, he or she may have to cut the stick a little shorter or find the proper lie so that most or all of the blade lays flat on the ice.

Most players can control the puck a few feet in front of them, but what they really need to work on is controlling the puck all around their body. First, stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders with your knees very bent. This is in a position we can dribble the puck and be prepared to move in any direction. I like to use a mental image of standing inside a clock. In your deep knee bend reach as far as you can towards the 10 and then place an object like a puck or small cone just a few inches short of it, then do the same towards the 2. Take the puck from being in front of you, then below and around the 10 and back to front center position and over to the 2 and go below up and around the 2 back to center position. You just made a sideways "figure 8". Continue doing that with speed and reverse your directional path to go the opposite way. This will teach you and make you more comfortable to bring your hands into and away from your body which will give you a wider area to learn to control the puck.

Most players that get their puck poked away actually skate into the poke check of a defender, when in reality they are stopping themselves, not the defender stopping them. Most players come too close to the opposing player and into their half-circle area in front of them where their stick lies and players with the puck make it easy for the opposing player to poke the puck away. Expanding your reach is another way from avoiding your puck being poked away. Take the puck from the dribble position all the way to your left and slightly back and away from the opposing player and repeat it to your right. This should be a lot easier now that your top hand is in front of you vs. being on your hip. This will give you a bigger area to control the puck and will be more difficult to poke away especially when you learn to bring the puck across your body wide and step into the lane that the poke check is coming. This is part of "puck protection", just remember to keep your body in the middle of the puck and the defender.

Look for Part II of "The Benefits of Puck Control" as I will discuss more ways to control the puck, as well as giving a detailed set of instructions on how to make certain moves, how to incorporate using your skates and create the proper balance before and after your moves to get off a quality shot or give a good pass.

Cliff Graziano Jr. was the Head Instructor of the Turcotte Stickhandling Hockey School for over 10 years. He owns and operates the New Jersey Renegades Travel Hockey Club and played youth hockey for the NJ Rockets, Junior Devils and went on to play collegiate hockey at Penn State followed by a minor league professional tryout in the Detroit Red Wing organization.

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