The spray paint was black, which likely added to the point. It was also in stark contrast to the ice at Rutherford Arena, where it was used by our coach to draw a massive happy face. In the slot. During the second intermission of a CIAU league game. In front of a crowd of supportive, but likely befuddled, University of Saskatchewan fans. It was shocking, hilarious, and, without question, completely effective. After all, Dave King does nothing without a plan.
Let me backtrack a bit. Dave had been coaching the University of Saskatchewan hockey program for a couple of years. We had a history with the University of Alberta, and not much of it was all that great. But for the past week, he’d had our team working on a new system that had one of us stay in the slot. To demonstrate, he’d drawn a happy face on our practice ice the day before the game and demanded one of us stay inside it while we were in the offensive zone. Fast forward to the actual game, where we found ourselves losing 3-2. Clearly, Dave decided we needed a little visual reminder. Thus the ice art. It worked, and we quickly scored three goals. We also won the game, which, at the end of the day, justifies a good old-fashioned happy face. Probably.
A strategy is kind of like a good recipe: It’s only deemed worthy if somebody else is willing to repeat it. I’m not sure how many coaches are packing paint in their hockey bags these days, but that story proves that if you have a solid idea and players willing to carry it out, good things happen.
I firmly believe that the key to having a successful team and a successful season is getting everyone on the same page. Hockey Plays and Strategies really does a masterful job of breaking down a complex game into a simple and easy-to-execute system. So what makes strategies so important? First and foremost, they allow a group of individuals to play as a complete team. A team with good structure and great habits can often overachieve and defeat superior talent. But you can’t develop proper habits without structure. That is often the difference between an average coach and a winning one. Good structure can cover up weaknesses on the individual level. For example, it can allow slow skaters to get to their positions a step quicker, simply because they know where to go. And if a skater can get to his position, his chances of succeeding rise dramatically. Structure can give an average player a great career. At the very least, it provides confidence, and confidence is critical for success.
However, there has to be a buy-in on both ends, meaning that coaches and players have to be on the same page. I once ran a video session in which I pointed out the errors one particular player was making.
Me: So, that’s not where you’re supposed to be.
Number 14: That’s not me.
Me: That’s not you? But you’re number 14, right?
Number 14: Definitely.
Me: Rewind. But you can clearly see on the video number 14 making the mistake?
Number 14: Uh huh.
Me: But that’s not you?
Number 14: Nope.
Me: Then who is it?
Number 14: Good question.
This is where this book comes in handy. It breaks each system down, including what roles individual players are responsible for. And more importantly for number 14, it demonstrates the proper feedback for these players. That will lead to a much better understanding of the overall goal and, ultimately, the game.
I talked a little bit about what I think makes a good coach, but one of the biggest skills is the ability to make adjustments. Years ago when I was just starting out, I coached against the great Clare Drake. His University of Alberta teams were almost unbeatable—almost—and that included his power play. He ran a power-play breakout I had never seen, and, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out a way to stop it. So the next time our teams met, I ran the exact same power play against him. If I couldn’t stop it, maybe he could. He did, of course, and, in so doing, taught me how. This book is a much less confrontational way of achieving the same ends, but in a more sophisticated way. In fact, many of the strategies (and their counters) used by Team Canada and our opposition during the Olympics are carefully explained here.
It almost goes without saying (but apparently not, since I’m about to say it): Great hockey really comes down to decisions made by the players. Those on-ice reads absolutely come from the basic structure they’ve learned at practice or from the bench. Sometimes it’s cause and effect. Growing up in a small town in Saskatchewan, we cobbled together teams made up of players of all ages. One guy who was about 20 years older than me absolutely hated backchecking, and he devised a simple strategy: Richie would simply lie on the ice behind the opposition net and wait for the puck to show up. No skating, no hitting, no problem. There was some logic involved (except for the offside), because there’s no arguing that it was an energy conserver. This book has some better ideas. I’m not sure they’ll convince Richie, but you can’t win them all.
One thing all great players (including Richie) possess is their unending quest to get better. From veterans like the Sedins to established talents like Jamie Benn or up-and-comers like Bo Horvat, they simply cannot abide being average. This book will give players of all abilities an improved understanding of how to get better. It also gives incredibly valuable insight into what other players on the ice think and how that knowledge can lead to championships. It’s really all about instilling confidence. For coaches, these pages contain a road map. For players, the tips and explanations will enable them to play their best games and show off their skills.
Speaking of skills, I’ve been fortunate to know both authors for a very long time, and both possess enough skill in their chosen professions to last multiple lifetimes. They’re both pretty good at spotting it too. In fact, the very first time I met Mike at the University of Calgary, he invited me to join him in an adult rec league volleyball game. For fun. I was pretty sure he emphasized “fun.” I quickly agreed. He then asked how long I’d played. I said, “Well, not since about grade 5.” He said he’d call with the details about when and where. I’m still waiting.
Enjoy the book!
—Will Desjardins