How to 'slow down' a game.

[Ethan_zak 0]

I really prefer playing forward but during faster games I have trouble seeing the game and finding the open man. What could I do to help me slow down the game in my mind and see the plays? I do have trouble making sure my head is up when I'm Stickhandling, could that be a part of it and how could I help Stickhandling without staring at the puck? Thans for all help.

[chippa13 1844]

One of the best tips I can give is make sure you take a look BEFORE you get control of the puck. Other things you can do are make sure you aren't standing still when you get control and be moving toward open ice to give yourself a little more time once you get the puck.

[Chadd 916]

Use the open space on the ice. Don't just skate straight up the ice, pick your way up the ice by skating to places without defenders.

[Souldriver 64]

One of the best tips I can give is make sure you take a look BEFORE you get control of the puck. Other things you can do are make sure you aren't standing still when you get control and be moving toward open ice to give yourself a little more time once you get the puck.

Use the open space on the ice. Don't just skate straight up the ice, pick your way up the ice by skating to places without defenders.

These^

I have the same problem where i have to really concentrate on keeping my head up but i ALWAYS look at whats around as im skating towards the puck. even when im in a race for the puck against a couple of people, most of the time (if you get the puck in your own zone or even in the neutral zone, offensive zone is different) if you know where people are you can take the puck, or even just knock the puck into some open ice and then you have some free time to really think about things as the opponent will usually start looking to get into a defensive position.

One of my favorite tricks was i was getting the puck on the offensive blue line and instead of charging forward and up i just stopped. the defender saw this and started to pinch forward at me and was gaining speed. i decided to do nothing!,.... legitimately did nothing at all and it dumbfounded the D man and he skated past me thinking i was about toe knock it against the boards or try a move on him. i then skated it in and had an easy shot for a goal. but really what helped me be so calm was keeping my head up and seeing i had tons of time.

[wrangler 157]

On top of what's been mentioned about registering what's going on, and where players are, before you get the puck, here are a couple things that helped me:

Practice stickhandling with your head up, using peripheral vision to see the puck. Look down occasionally, but force yourself to make it a quick glance, then get your head back up.

[flip12 714]

Have you tried different blade lies? I couldn't stickhandle with my head up, but it ended up that any stick with a 5.5 or higher lie was impossible for me. 4.5 and I was golden. It really was like the game was suddenly slowed down.

Use the open space on the ice. Don't just skate straight up the ice, pick your way up the ice by skating to places without defenders.

Along with this, get a feel for where to go once you get the puck. Watch wingers who can really control the game's flow. I learned a lot by watching Slava Kozlov and imagining what he was seeing. Daniel Alfredsson also comes to mind.

[romdj 26]

Having your head up is also a state of mind, you need to want to create in order to make a play.

Positioning is a key aspect too if you guys manage to be well placed and make consistent passes between all your teammates, the game will eventually slow down.

If you go straight up and run all over the ice, you'll be more tired and less able to make a collective play

[chk hrd 164]

When I use to coach one thing I always told the kids or novice players was to relax a little and go on autopilot; basically stop trying to overthink and over analyze everything! When you are not relaxed you grip the stick hard causing tension which slows your body down and creates frustration. And last but not least, stop trying to rush everything, you usually have a little more time than you think. Rushing causes bad decisions. I would rather have a player who makes smarter decisions with the puck and holds onto it or gets it cleanly out of the d zone than someone who rushes everything and turns it over in a bad spot.

[romdj 26]

When I use to coach one thing I always told the kids or novice players was to relax a little and go on autopilot; basically stop trying to overthink and over analyze everything! When you are not relaxed you grip the stick hard causing tension which slows your body down and creates frustration. And last but not least, stop trying to rush everything, you usually have a little more time than you think. Rushing causes bad decisions. I would rather have a player who makes smarter decisions with the puck and holds onto it or gets it cleanly out of the d zone than someone who rushes everything and turns it over in a bad spot.

great advise

[t6lock 24]

It helps a lot to "See the plays" when you play with the same linemates too. Been playing with a buddy on a line for about 3-4 years now and some plays just come natural to knowing where each other are going to be, or where they are going to go.

Communication is key too whether you're on the ice or the bench, talk about positioning and tendencies, even set some plays up beforehand.

[gxc999 7]

Use the open space on the ice. Don't just skate straight up the ice, pick your way up the ice by skating to places without defenders.

Very good advice, big guy. This is why agility often times matters more than speed. By doing this, you'll make defenders shift laterally and gain extra time and space for yourself.

[MN old and slow 92]

I play in a couple 50+ leagues. Any slower we would be playing bridge. To slow down a game simply get old and gain weight.

On a serious note you generally have more time than you think to decide to pass/skate/dump. The need to rush is perceived and not usually real.

[mcne0101 16]

passing is as much the responsibility of those without the puck as it is those with the puck. If you're playing rec hockey, it can be really hard to create plays if people aren't working into good passing lanes and being good receivers. That said, building chemistry with teammates so you can pass to areas also helps.

It really is an experience thing though. Look at rookies coming into the NHL, they just need to experience it to adjust.

[wrangler 157]

I've seen that too many times. In basketball, too. You start moving the puck forward, and guys leave it all to you, without moving up for a pass. So the defense collapses on you, a perfect situation for a pass, and your teammates are taking the play off.

[Souldriver 64]

Same can be said of the opposite. If been on too many teams, and I'm currently on a team where everyone runs straight up the boards with the puck. I'm in the passing lane and they're too busy streaking up the board trying to beat the d guy and ending up in the corner with no where to go. Meanwhile if you slowed down you had me on a straight bead between the two circles.

Or worse the guy that sees your open in a shooting position to only try to dangle through 2 D and get off a crappy backhander.

Bottom line you have a team, use it.

[Chadd 916]

Same can be said of the opposite. If been on too many teams, and I'm currently on a team where everyone runs straight up the boards with the puck. I'm in the passing lane and they're too busy streaking up the board trying to beat the d guy and ending up in the corner with no where to go. Meanwhile if you slowed down you had me on a straight bead between the two circles.

Or worse the guy that sees your open in a shooting position to only try to dangle through 2 D and get off a crappy backhander.

Bottom line you have a team, use it.

Some guys can't see past the next defender. You can have a bunch of guys open, but all they see is the guy that have to beat. More often than not, the problem stems from guys having better wheels or hands than most other players when they start playing. If they can beat people by themself, they never need to learn to see the ice. Guys that don't skate as well when they start, tend to be better at seeing the ice, as skating through people isn't as much of an option.

[tareatingrat 4]

On the flip side, a lot of times guys think they're open, but they most definitely are not. You can be wide open for a pass, but if I send one right at you, and you miss, it's out of the zone or the guy sneaking behind you will pick your pocket. Sometimes it's not a guy trying to be flashy, but he seriously doesn't have many options because everyone is just standing around.

Anyway, realistically, the only way to slow down the game is to get better at the game. There's no trick. Either you have an innate hockey sense, or you work at it.

As soon as your skating improves and you can move better, the game slows down. When you can stickhandle, the game slows down. When you combine the two and keep your head up, the game slows down.

That said, as mentioned above, you usually have more time than you think. That's a mental thing you need to work on. I'd rather have a guy settle down with the puck and try to make a pass or a play and have it broken up, than the guy who thinks the puck is a grenade and just gets rid of it when he touches it.

[Souldriver 64]

On the flip side, a lot of times guys think they're open, but they most definitely are not. You can be wide open for a pass, but if I send one right at you, and you miss, it's out of the zone or the guy sneaking behind you will pick your pocket. Sometimes it's not a guy trying to be flashy, but he seriously doesn't have many options because everyone is just standing around.

Yeah but that's when you talk on the bench and say "hey you werein a good spot but you had a man on you, keep an eye out for that."But I can't tell you how many times I've been parked in front of the net to screen and the man with the puck just needs to get around that last guy. Instead take the shot and if it rebounds I'm there and then you will be there too following up on your own shot. It seems I'm the line with the guy trying to dance around and now instead of getting in front like a center should I'm trailing them so when they lose the puck I'm there. But then either a guy is right on me or I shoot and there is no one in front as the "dancer" was too busy peeling off bc his move didn't work.

Sorry if this is going off topic but it's a little bit of a venting. I've been on below average teams for a while and im tired of a blatant lack of teamwork. Especially when the top guys talk about passing and distributing the puck but always are the last to do so.

[tareatingrat 4]

Generally, it's because the top guys recognize a bad play. Forcing the puck to a player because he thinks he's open is never good. If a guy doesn't have an option, he doesn't have an option, but rarely, when you think you're open, will you see that you're not the best play. Everybody wants the puck.

I'm with you on people not shooting enough. I take a lot of punishment in front of the net for nothing because guys were trying to pass too much instead of getting it at the net. Which kind of relates to what I'm saying above.

The problem with rec league is that a lot of guys can't catch a pass if it isn't perfect (or if it's too hard). I'd actually rather my team shoot more than try to make a dumb pass and force a play.

Nobody likes the guy who tries to beat three guys when a simple play would do. I understand that fully. The trick at that point is just to find a team with more players at your level. I played with guys who were weak for the longest time. I and some of my teammates got better, many of them didn't, quit, and we replaced them with better players. It's a lot more enjoyable now.

Playing with three guys of the same ability really helps slow down the game, too. Great at opening up the ice.

[Law Goalie 147]

One of the major ways to 'slow' the game is to know how much time you actually have: whether it's two or three strides for the defender to close on you, how quickly could the winger get a stick on you, etc. I always teach goalies (when they're of the right age/stage) to deliberately screw with shooters' time and space to force and hurry decisions. The classics are to delay the initial challenge a little more than usual, then rush out; to take a very conservative depth, then do the same; or to take a very aggressive depth and then quickly give it up. Respectively, those will tend to A/B) invite rushed shots, or C) rushed passes, while placing the goalie ideally to deal with the result.

The two major screw-ups I see constantly (from the blue-painted armchair with the red frame) are guys over- or under-estimating how much time they have. Even if they aren't supremely skilled, they could usually have made a better player by either listening to their teammates (auditory awareness) or taking a moment to look around (temporal/visual awareness). The latter you can develop on your own, but the former is all about team communication and trust.

[Chadd 916]

One other thing is that the more skilled you are, the easier everything else becomes. When you don't have to think about skating, stick handling becomes easier. When you don't have to think about stick handling, your awareness becomes much better. Practicing your stick handling until you don't need to watch the puck as closely will make it easier to see where the holes are in the defense. The better you know the guys you are skating with, the easier it gets as well.

[mcne0101 16]

practice moving the puck quickly. Make the safe/easy pass, too many people get infatuated with the home run pass or the sexy pass. Nicky Lidstrom made a career on the simple, easy, obvious pass (assuming your teammates support).

As you progress in the skill level you're playing against, time and space will decrease quickly. Practice as if you don't have time nor a lot of space. The person who scores is very very rarely the person who enters the zone with the puck.

[flip12 714]

The better you know the guys you are skating with, the easier it gets as well.

It helps if you can remember who's a lefty and a righty. The moment you recognize who you're trying to pass to, you know where the puck will be better for them, even if you see them through a crowd and can't actually see their stick. I see people make this mistake a lot.

[Chadd 916]

It helps if you can remember who's a lefty and a righty. The moment you recognize who you're trying to pass to, you know where the puck will be better for them, even if you see them through a crowd and can't actually see their stick. I see people make this mistake a lot.

I usually tell guys that it doesn't matter that they're wide open if there is no lane to get them the puck. I will put the puck in the lane that's available and it's up to them to get to it. That has some guys figure out how to recognize where the lanes are.

[chippa13 1844]

Similar is to tell guys that you're going to move the puck forward to open ice. Either they learn to go to open ice or they do a lot of puck chasing all night.