Seams are weak links in the armour, or weaknesses in a line of defense. Find the seams, learn how to attack seams and you’ll create offense. Learning about seams and how to use them all over the ice, will allow you to add to your growing toolbox of hockey know-how.
Purpose of Video:
In this video we follow up on lanes by addressing seams.
Definition of Seam: A seam is the area between two areas of coverage.
[maxbutton id=”2″ ]How to Attack Seams
This is a thin line, and we can often confuse the defenders because they are not sure who is going to be covering you. In the offensive zone, the opposing teams defender is covering this area, and their winger is covering this area, in between those two areas of coverage is a seam.
That’s often a good area to try to attack the puck, because the two players get a bit confused as to who should be the one to cover you.
Another area of attack would be coming up in between the defensive area of the coverage and going behind the net. The D is not quite sure where the offense is going to go and sometimes you can find little seams between the net and the defenseman. The wingers on the defensive team have their sides to cover, and the offensive defenseman can walk the puck to the middle of the net. Oftentimes you can get away from this winger and get the puck through a seam in the slot. So, the secret is in finding the seams. Then to ATTACK THE SEAMS!
Seams are connected to terms call the strong side and the weak side.
Strong Side: The strong side is whichever side the puck is on the ice.
Weak Side: The weak side is the area opposite the puck side.
The puck side and strong side would be two terms that are virtually identical.
Moving the puck from the strong side to the weak side will give you an opportunity to find seams easier because it stretches out the defenders and opens up the seams. If we move the puck from one forward behind the net to another forward, and this forward has retrieved the puck and come up ice, often times we can get the defense from the other team chasing the forward. A seam to the offense net could also be connected with a shooting lane. There you’re going to find these openings where you have a path, a lane and a seam to the net. We can get the defense from the other team chasing and seams and opportunities will open up.
So a seam to the offensive net can also be connected with a shooting lane. You are going to find these openings where you have a path or lane or a seam to the net. There are a lot of terms that mean the same thing, and they are all connected. As your hockey IQ starts to come together and increase, these expressions and terms will make a lot more sense.
Looking for drills? We’ve got that covered too. Click here. Perfect for recreational level coaches.
