Welcome to this week's episode of "The Ride To The Rink," where we dive deep into the essential skills that make a well-rounded hockey player. Today, we're shifting the spotlight to a skill that often doesn't get as much glory as goal-scoring but is equally critical to the game's success: passing.
Episode Highlights:
The Importance of Passing: We kick off the episode by highlighting how passing, playmaking, and assisting are vital components of hockey that players should practice diligently. Our host, Lee, alongside experts Mike Benelli and Christi Casciano Burns, discuss why being a great passer is a valuable asset on the ice.
Mike on Passing: Mike shares his insights on the impact of effective passing on the game's dynamics. He emphasizes that players looking to score more goals should focus on moving the puck more, as it creates open spaces and opportunities. Mike argues that passing is not just about fairness but about strategic play that benefits the team.
The Selfishness in Passing: The conversation takes an interesting turn as Mike points out that passing more can be seen as a selfish strategy for players who want to score more. By distributing the puck, players can open up space for themselves and others, making the team's offense more dynamic and unpredictable.
Christie on Teamwork: Christie shares a heartwarming perspective on passing, relating it to the joy of seeing teammates, especially those who haven't scored yet, get an opportunity to shine. She highlights the importance of being a great teammate and the satisfaction that comes from assisting others.
The Hall Club and Team Dynamics: Lee mentions Christie's book "The Hall Club," which tackles the issues arising from not passing the puck. The book serves as a metaphor for the importance of teamwork and the negative effects of hogging the puck on team morale and success.
Closing Thoughts: The episode wraps up with a powerful message about the essence of hockey being a team sport. The hosts encourage young players to embrace passing as a fundamental part of their development, emphasizing that assists are as crucial as goals in building a successful hockey career.
Conclusion: This episode of "The Ride To The Rink" sheds light on the underrated skill of passing, urging players to recognize its significance in crafting a winning team. By focusing on being excellent playmakers, players can contribute more to their team's success and enjoy the beautiful game of hockey to its fullest.
Call to Action: Listeners are encouraged to practice their passing skills, both on and off the ice, and to always remember the value of teamwork and selflessness in hockey.
Speaker 1:
Hey everybody, this episode of the Ride to the Rink is brought to you by our title sponsor, nhl Sense Arena, and a lot of you know what that is. It's a virtual reality training game that brings the rink into your home and allows you to take off ice training literally to a new reality. Now look, you guys know this. If you listen to this show, we know you're working on your physical skill sets, your toe drag, your shots, your passing, your skating. This allows you to work on your mental skill set, your hockey IQ, which we say to you all the time as one of the most underdeveloped aspects of youth hockey players. Nhl Sense Arena, with their 100 plus drills, their training plans from top coaches, all USA Hockey approved for players and goalies, is going to give you that edge that you need off the ice, that you can train so you can bring it to the ice Again. As coaches, we don't always have the time to work on some of these drills that NHL Sense Arena has made available in our team practices and, unless you have a private instructor, this is a great alternative for you to do that. So, listen, you're going to have to go to your parents. We're probably listening to this with you, but we're giving $50 off an annual plan. We use our code HockeyNeverStops at checkout and again, you're going to need their permission to do this and we want you to ask them. You can tell them to listen to this, if they're not already. Go to hockeysensearenacom and use the code HockeyNeverStops. You and your family can save $50 off on an annual plan for NHL Sense Arena. And again, we know that instruction can be expensive. Ice time is expensive. When you do this for less than $30 a month, you're going to get a whole new way to practice and earn that time in your house from you and your families so you can enjoy the game. So this is Lee.
Speaker 1:
We're diving into the ride to the rink right now. Enjoy this episode and remember to check out Sense Arena and use HockeyNeverStops to check out for your $50 off. Take care, hello hockey skaters and goalies around the world, welcome back to another edition of the ride to the rink, the show specifically created for you, the player. And remember we are powered by NHL Sense Arena at over to NHLsensearenacom for your $50 discount on NHL Sense Arena subscriptions. But today we got to talk to you all about the importance of passing, playmaking, assist, making apples, johnny Appleseed, being someone who can pass the puck an extremely valuable aspect of the game that a lot of you don't really practice as much as you should. So we wanted to come on for a few minutes today and talk about why learning to be a playmaker is so important in the game and I'm going to actually pass the puck you know, metaphorically over to my friend Mike Benelli now to talk about this a little bit. Mike, talk to me about pass.
Speaker 2:
Well. So I think at any level, especially the youth level, the whole question here is do you want to score more goals? Well, if you want to score more goals, you've got to move the puck more. And I think, as you elevate your game and get higher levels, like the goal is, if you want to be a real selfish goal scorer and I say this to the kids all the time you really want to be the guy scoring all the goals, then pass more, because the more you pass and the more players have to go, gravitate towards the puck, the more open ice you will get.
Speaker 2:
There's nothing more frustrating, especially if you're a hockey player or a lacrosse player. You know even soccer. You know what I'm speaking about. If you hold on to that ball puck, you know soccer ball the longer you have it, the more pressure that's on you, the less success you're going to have. Unless you're, you know God of Bredard, which a lot of us aren't you've got, and even him moves the puck to create space and get open.
Speaker 2:
So I think it's not just about you know, being fair and we all talk about that. Oh, you know, everybody's got to be involved and you've got to move the puck, but it's not about being fair. Think about it as being selfish. You want more goals. Move the puck so you can get open, and hopefully your teammates, because I think moving the puck and passing the puck is contagious and when people start to do that, especially the better players that can do it, the more other players want to do it. Because there is just there's nothing better than watching a hockey game and seeing the puck moving and players trying to chase it around and finishing it off with a little tic-tac-toe play. So move the puck if you want to score more goals.
Speaker 3:
I agree, and don't forget assists count just as much as goals. When you're a player with just as many assists and goals, you're an exceptional player. You're going to stand out from all the rest, and nothing made me proud. I love watching my kids score Absolutely score goals, but my heart would just melt when I saw my kids pass to a player, especially one who hadn't scored yet. There's that opportunity there, right next to the net, and you know your teammate hasn't scored yet this season, but you can give them the opportunity to do that. You are going to have a feeling that you just cannot replace. It's just such an uplifting feeling, not just for the kid who scored, but for you too, because you made that happen.
Speaker 1:
What a great teammate, and you're going to be known as that not just a great player, but a great teammate and I got to mention Christy you've literally written a book about this topic called the Hulklug, which a lot of you out there maybe have read, but you should check that out, you want to talk about that for a quick second.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, and one of the reasons why I wrote that book is because when my kids were playing, there was a kid on the team who was incredible. I mean, he had the skills. They were eight years old. He had the skills of a 12, 13 year old. He was tall, he had long legs. It didn't take him much at all to go across the ice and score. It was so easy for him. He was a natural, an absolute natural.
Speaker 3:
But it cost a lot of animosity on the team because the kid never passed. He thought he was doing the right thing because he was helping the kids and the team win. But no one else had a chance to touch the puck and experience that Gloria has scored. So while he in his mind, he's thinking he's the hero of the team, the rest of the kids thought he was a loser just because he would never pass and wouldn't share. It wasn't fun for them. And hockey at your age you should be having fun. You shouldn't just be all about goal scoring and winning, but you got to learn about taking care of each other and looking out for each other and being something really special. And here's one way to do it Pass.
Speaker 1:
And I'll give some actionable items for you, the player listening to this episode. I'm going to echo what Mike said If you give more passes, you will get more passes. That's number one. Number two if you really want to stick out to a coach, don't get me wrong scoring goals is great, but when I was recruiting and looking, the kids that could pass and make plays were the kids that I really wanted, because I knew if I could get three or four kids that could be great at playmaking. We're going to score a lot more goals as a team, and that is going to bring me to my final point.
Speaker 1:
It's never just about you as the player. You can't get lost in your own little story here. It is about the team and the team winning together, and the teams that we try and create are teams that are happy when anyone on the bench scores. It's not just about getting points or a number of points or a number of goals. It's about us winning together. So if you want to be part of a great team, playmaking is not just a part of it, it is essential.
Speaker 1:
And your ability to know that. I need to practice this. I need to get better at this, just like your shot, just like your skating. If you're old enough to be checking that to hockey IQ, all of it it's important to know how to do this and the younger you start I'm talking to you, mites and squirts the better you'll be at it when your Bantams midgets and beyond. So pass, pass, pass, pass the puck sauce. The puck, get those apples. Be Johnny apple seed. I call them apples when I was playing. We still. I'm glad that that's still around because apples are delicious. Anything else for you guys before I close this out?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, be hungry for the puck, but don't be so hungry that you're forgetting about the rest of the people at your table.
Speaker 1:
Okay, that was much better than what I said. That was much better than what I said.
Speaker 3:
I was inspired by the apple.
Speaker 1:
I love it. I love it. All right, that's going to do it for this edition of the ride to the rink. Remember to check out NHL Sense Arena. That's a great way to practice passing off the ice. For those of you don't know of that VR technology, they have several drills in there that allow you to practice this in a virtual environment and it's a lot of fun. Obviously, go ask your parents to get involved with that NHL Sense Arena. Use our code HockeyNeverStops for $50 off your subscription. Before Kristi Kasyan burns a Mike Vannelli, I'm Leo Lias. We'll see you on the next edition of the ride to the rink. Skate on and have a wonderful week, my friends.