(Transcribed from How to Play Hockey: Our Minor Hockey Coaching Course.)
This video sparks debate! Whether you use your feet or your stick to pick up a puck coming around the boards is up to you, but this trick will really help, I promise. Every year I see more and more top players in the world use their stick. It requires spatial awareness and a good read of incoming pressure. Once you go stick, you’ll never go back.
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This is how I like to take a rim pass:
You want to get your body around the puck and almost come from underneath. This allows you to get your feet up ice while receiving the pass, getting that stick along the wall ready for the puck. If you have any forechecking pressure coming down on you, you are able to eat the puck along with wall by turning your body and protecting the puck, until support comes. As well if the option is available you can make a back pass to your D1 who then has the opportunity to get the puck over to the weak side of the ice for a cleaner breakout.
Another way that has been taught for quite some time is taking the rim off of your feet. The issue with doing this is the potential for the puck to deflect off your foot and into the slot and is usually harder to control. With that being said if you are great at taking it off your feet and comfortable doing so then no harm done.
The way that I show you in the video is very popular in leagues overseas all over Europe, as well it has become popular practice among NHL players.
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