THE PASSING RULE

Last summer marked the annual World Cup of soccer, for many hockey fans this event might have gone completely unnoticed. But for many players and many coaches soccer serves as a great sport which compliments our great game strategies. Almost every European NHL player will tell you that at one time or another they have all played futbal or soccer as a kid. The main emphasis in soccer is ball possession, and passing. It's a game that is played by highly skilled athletes who all have patience and great vision with and without the ball on their feet.

Now with the new NHL the same principles can easily be transferred over to the ice. I believe that the skilled teams that can posses the puck the longest and create the most will be the most successful. This new NHL game is won by teams that combine a hard working, disciplined and yet still highly skilled team first concept.

Passing the puck and creating time and space while you don't have the puck is two highly advanced skills young players may find the hardest time to develop. Wayne Gretzky has been quoted saying "I get more enjoyment out of seeing one of my teammates scoring a goal than when I score." He was a player that mastered reading the ice and threading perfect passes to his teammates. The first thing I do with players is get them to understand that an assist counts the same as a goal. I actually award 2 points for an assist and only 1 point for a goal on all the youth teams that I coach.

Passing a puck is just like having a baseball catch with someone. The first thing they need to do is make solid eye contact with their partner, then they have to make eye to stick contact and then pass the puck right to their partner's tape on their stick. This is just like throwing a baseball to another player's mitt. You don't just throw the ball and hope it hits the other player's mitt? The same is true when you are making passes in hockey you want your team to posses the puck as long as you can., and you want to make sure that when you pass your passing accurately and to another player on your team. You also want to be able to get to the open ice and create some space for your teammates so they will be able to pass the puck back to you. This is where the soccer comparison also comes into play, in soccer the players who don't have the ball run in all kinds of directions to support their teammates who have the ball at their feet. In hockey our space is limited to maybe only 60 feet in one zone so players have to sprint and constantly move their feet to find openings to support their teammates so they too can create some good scoring opportunities.

In the old NHL players relied upon their brut strength to gain leverage and space to help them get gritty goals. Now with the new rules these same players have to learn to rely upon their overall skill and their ability to read off their teammates to get the same scoring chances. When you're watching this season's Panthers games watch the down low game and look for little passing combinations amongst the players and see the skill at work. Remember all you players if you want to make it to the NHL, always work your hardest and have a great time.