During the game, I learned that his coaches employ a relatively old-school approach focused on playing a simple, vertical game and dumping-and-changing late in shifts. The second part really caught my attention. On three occasions, my student dumped the puck into the OZ and immediately returned to the bench instead of holding onto the puck, delaying, and maintaining possession until teammates sprinted off the bench and into the play. All three times, the opposing team retrieved the puck successfully and was able to threaten off the counter-attack. Valuing possession and understanding the importance of control starts with the coaches. Beyond “letting players play,” the simple lesson here is “don’t waste pucks.”