Mental Aspects of Ice Hockey: Courtesy of Bruce Boudreau - Dump It!

I couldn't find the link. Coach Boudreau was interviewed between periods, at the Winter Classic, and asked how he thought the Capitals were doing. This isn't his exact quote but it was something like this:

"Well if they would quit screwing around on the blue line and dump the puck in deep they would be doing a lot better."

This quote had me thinking and at my son's practice the next day, I noticed issues with players goofing around the blue line with the puck and I saw what it did. The question is why is that a problem? What deeper issue does it cause for a team when players try and stick handle into the offense zone once they cross the red line verses passing it or dumping  it?

The answer is a mental aspect of the game. At the Peewee level the team begins to truly form. If things are going pretty well the forward with the puck is supported by the other two forwards and the defense. The team is pushing up the ice following the player with the puck. Sounds good. Good - until the player with the puck fails to pass or dump it. What happens?

This is a good question to discuss with you son because it isn't just about him losing the puck. It affects the whole team. I have seen it happening a lot but never really understood what I was seeing until Coach Boudreau's interview.

The team stops. That is the short answer. The speed and movement the team ends when the player with the puck fails to dump it in deep. You end up with one player goofing around with the puck at the blue line, the other two forwards have to stop and wait. The defense is pushing up and typically ends up near the center red line. The whole team is stopped and in one small space. They are waiting for the puck to cross the blue line. They can't move essentially.

Now... the other team has two defensemen moving forward with speed attacking the player with the puck. The puck gets taken by the other team and they NOW have speed and the puck. What happens? The team gets a two on none breakaway and typically scores.

Why did this happen? Ask you son or daughter to think. This is the mental piece.  The game of hockey is about speed and advancing the puck forward. In this case the team's speed is stopped or greatly slowed by the player with the puck failing to advance the puck. The player fails because they try to go east west and stick handling through several players. It takes to long. The rest of the team ends up flat footed and bunched up in the the neutral zone waiting for the puck to cross the blue line. The other team pokes the puck away and has speed. The flat footed team can't respond to get them and thus a breakaway occurs.

The right play is always to advance the puck quickly and maintain the skating speed of the team. That means dump the puck in deep or pass it up to the advancing player that has a clear opening. Trying to stick handle through several players in the neutral zone does nothing but make the rest of your team - standing spectators. It is a bad hockey play and it puts the player with the puck at risk of get checked hard. It also puts fellow teammates at risk, that are standing, if the puck gets to them. Flat footed players with the puck become targets.

Once a player enters the neutral zone they should be thinking about the pass or the dump. Once the open space closes the puck needs to leave their stick. This is a mental aspect of the game.