Day 9 - Hockey plays NOT Hope plays

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Each day for the next month, there will be a new topic posted here. Players, parents and coaches should review these materials every day. They will become the foundation for everything we do this season. Some days there will also be a short assignment. These assignments are mandatory for all players.

Decisively Make the Best Available Play

In hockey, success often hinges on making smart, decisive plays rather than relying on hopeful, chance-driven moves. The mantra “Hockey plays, NOT Hope plays” the importance of strategic decision-making on the ice.

When you’re on the ice, every second counts. Instead of hoping for a lucky break, focus on making the best available play. This means scanning the ice, assessing your options quickly and choosing the one that maximizes your team’s advantage. Whether it’s a crisp pass, a well-timed shot, or a strategic dump-and-chase, the key is to act with purpose and precision.

3 Types of Plays

There are three types of plays you can make. In order of preference, they are:

HOCKEY plays
HEAVY plays
HOPE plays

HOCKEY Plays

A Hockey Play is a purposeful play to a teammate or a specific area of the ice.

It might be:

A short, controlled pass.
Skating into open ice.
Using your partner.
Reversing the puck when the strong side is taken away.
Attacking the net.
Chipping the puck safely into space.
Lobbing the puck off the glass out of danger.
Dumping the puck into a good area when possession is not available.

A Hockey Play does not have to be fancy. It simply needs to improve the condition of the puck.

Our job is to give our teammates opportunities, not problems.

HEAVY Plays

Sometimes there is no clean play available. That is when we get HEAVY.

Protect the puck. Get your body between the opponent and the puck. Move toward a safe area. Buy yourself time and wait for support.

Get heavy on your stick. Get heavy on the puck.

Being under pressure does not mean we have to give the puck away. It's not a hot potato.

No HOPE Plays!

A Hope Play is when we throw the puck somewhere without knowing why or who it is going to.

Examples:

Throwing the puck away blindly.
Passing without looking because we panic.
Rimming the puck around the boards without intention.
Throwing the puck into the middle.
Getting rid of the puck simply because someone is coming.

We do not want to give the puck away just because we are uncomfortable.

If there is no Hockey Play available, get Heavy instead of making a Hope Play.

If you have nothing or you don't know where anyone is, that is the time to get HEAVY. We want to protect the puck, move to safe areas of the ice and wait for help. Get heavy on your stick and heavy on the puck.

We don't want to make HOPE plays. We don't want to just rim it around the boards or in front of the net and hope someone is there. Particularly, if we're doing it to avoid getting heavy (that’s wimpy).

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Think of examples of different hockey plays, heavy plays and hope plays.

Today’s Assignment:

Think of 3 examples of different hockey plays, heavy plays and hope plays.
Complete today’s workout on the TeamBuildr app. Be sure to mark each exercise complete as you finish it. Depending on your schedule (other sports, work, etc.) it is okay to complete the exercises on another day or even substitute an alternate workout provided that the difficultly level is similar. Please make note of any substitutions or switches as part of the daily check in item in the TeamBuildr app.