To water ski, or to forecheck in hockey

This evening I’m running a video session with a team, reviewing game tape from last week.  Our specific focus tonight will be on our foot speed on the forecheck.  It is often glaringly evident only on video, and not in the normal experience of a game, to see how often players set their feet, and essentially water ski, or glide, in on the forecheck.  When players face a tenacious and pounding forecheck, the effectiveness of this pressure is usually in the pursuing player’s ability to skate through checks, and to take away time and space of his or her opponent.  The concept of skating through a check, ie to still be skating (striding) when making contact is very challenging, even at elite levels of play.  When players get the opportunity to see themselves on video, a common reaction is, “Oh, I wasn’t going as fast as I thought I was while it was happening, was I?”  Encourage your players to watch their teammates during a game, while on the bench, and evaluate how often players skate through checks, compared to how often they power through the check by keeping their feet moving.  We learn more from our success than our mistakes, so be sure to reinforce positive feedback when you see it done well.  Coach Nate.