Ice Breaker: Mastering the Basics of Hockey
In this Edition
- What is Hockey?
- What are the Fundamental Hockey Skills?
- What are the Origins of Hockey?
- What is the National Hockey League (NHL)?
- What are Key Terms and Positions in Hockey?
What is Hockey?
Hockey is a fast-paced and exciting sport played on ice. It features two teams battling it out to score goals against each other, and the team with the most goals wins the game and earns points. The team with the most points win the season and eventually the coveted Stanley Cup.
To get a goal, the objective is straightforward: get a small rubber puck into the opponent's net.
While it may appear straightforward, getting the puck into your opponent's net is not easy. Hockey demands skill, teamwork, and strategy – and in many cases luck. And there are many different variables that impact the ability for a team to score on any given shift, which makes hockey an extremely dynamic sport.
What are the Fundamental Hockey Skills?
When first learning hockey, four main skills are typically taught:
- Skating - e.g., starting and stopping, forwards and backwards skating, cross-cuts, etc.
- Puck Handling - e.g., in front of you, to your side, pushing the puck ahead and skating into it, etc.
- Passing - e.g., on-ice passes, give-and-go, passing off the boards, etc.
- Shooting - wrist shot, slap shot, snap shot, backhand, etc.
These are the fundamental skills, which you can build on to become a much more proficient in hockey. When you get older, typically in your early teens, you learn how to hit (as hitting is not allowed in the more junior hockey leagues). The key to becoming a great hockey player is combining these skills in different ways to outplay your opponent.
When teams are playing at regular strength (aka even strength), you have five skaters and one goalie. The skaters are divided into three forwards and two defense. The goalie is the sixth man on the ice. When watching teams play, you see how both individual skills and team plays and strategies come together.
There are many strategies to hockey, and how the strategy is executed depends on the situation. For example, to get the puck out of your own zone, you can execute a "breakout," and to get the puck into your opponent's zone, you can execute a "dump and rush" sometimes called the "dump and chase." These strategies are also known as plays, and as hockey players you learn fundamental, simple plays when you're younger to more complex plays when you get to the minor or professional leagues. By the time you get to the professional league, you've learned a myriad of plays for all parts of the game – e.g., power plays, shorthanded plays, breakout plays, forecheck plays, etc. – or plays that are designed for specific game-time scenarios.
What are the Origins of Hockey?
Hockey has a rich history that dates back centuries. It is believed to have originated in Canada in the early 19th century, evolving from various stick-and-ball games played in Europe. The first indoor game was recorded in Montreal in the late 1800s. Below is a picture from "The Origins of Hockey," an article in the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Since then, hockey has grown to become a global sensation, captivating fans worldwide. As an example, here's a recent view that show where the hockey players in the NHL originated from.
What is the National Hockey League (NHL)?
When we would play on the frozen lakes in the winter, we would often pretend that we were in the show. The show is the NHL, and the NHL is the premier professional ice hockey league in the world. All hockey players around the world aspire to play in the NHL when they're growing up.
The NHL was founded in 1917 with the first games being played on December 19, 1917. It has grown and now consists of 32 teams from both the United States and Canada. The NHL showcases the most talented players from around the globe, competing for the ultimate prize—the Stanley Cup. The league offers electrifying action, intense rivalries, and incredible skill on display.
The NHL has gotten increasingly popular, growing in international fans and in revenue. For example, below is a snapshot of the NHL revenue from 2005-2022 (note the revenue drops in red due to the NHL Lockout and COVID).
For more information on the NHL schedule, teams, players, news, stats and more, visit the NHL web site.
What are the Key Terms and Positions in Hockey?
To better understand the game, let's dig a bit deeper into some essential terms and positions in hockey.
When a team is playing at even strength (i.e., there are no penalties), each team has five skaters and one goaltender on the ice. As we mentioned earlier, the main positions in hockey are as follows:
- Forwards: These players primarily focus on offensive play, attempting to score goals and create scoring opportunities. There are two wingers and one center on the ice at any given time, so three forwards are playing when at even strength.
- Defensemen: Their primary responsibility is to defend their own zone, thwarting the opponent's offense, and initiating plays from the defensive zone. There are two defensemen playing on the ice at any given time.
- Goaltender: The last line of defense, the goalie guards the net and tries to prevent the opposing team from scoring.
The numbers of lines and players varies depending on the team. Also, at certain times in a game the coach may "shorten the bench," which is when the best one or two lines will play or change the combination of players to maximize the strengths those players bring to the ice.
The NHL imposes a maximum of 23 players per team (and a minimum of 20). Line changes are quick (often a minute or less), and each coach strives to have a balanced set of lines that play well together – either offensively or defensively.
If you're new to hockey, here are a few key terms you'll want to know:
- Puck: The hard rubber disc that players maneuver and shoot into the net.
- Stickhandling: The skill of controlling and moving the puck with a player's stick.
- Slapshot: A powerful shot executed by winding up and forcefully striking the puck. It is the hardest of all types of shots in hockey.
- Wrist Shot: A shot that is executed primarily from using your wrists in a whipping motion. The wind up for this shot is more smooth and roughly half as much as the slap shot.
- Snap Shot: A shot that is executed through a snapping motion. It has a very quick release and the wind-up motion varies, making this a dangerous shot.
- Backhand Shot: A shot that comes off of the back of the stick. The wind-up varies with this shot, and the back hand is often used when the player is off hand (e.g., skating down the left wing when they are right-handed). It is also used in tight situations around the net.
- Power Play: When a team has a numerical advantage due to an opponent's penalty, they enjoy a power play, increasing their chances of scoring.
- Short Handed: The opposite of power play, when the team who has taken a penalty must play with fewer skaters for the duration of the penalty.
- Hat Trick: When a player scores three goals in a single game, it's called a hat trick, often celebrated by fans throwing hats onto the ice.
It's helpful to know that the rules dictate only one puck on the ice in play during a game. Also, different positions will handle the puck in different ways. For example, forwards may deke and stickhandle more often – moving the puck in the offensive corners to the front of the net, to the defensemen or to maneuver to a position for a shot, and defensemen will more often block shots and strive to get the puck out of the defensive zone up to their forwards.
In terms of shots, each comes with its own pros and cons and can often be situational. Also, each shot comes with a higher or lower statistical probability when it comes to scoring. This makes the game incredibly exciting, as hockey players can often use different types of shots in different situations – sometimes using a shot the goalie is least expecting to try and score.
Remember, understanding the fundamentals of hockey enhances your ability to analyze the sport in a deeper and more intelligent way, whether you're aspiring to be an Hockey Analyst, Sports Journalist, Sports/Data Scientist, Armchair Analyst, or just understand the statistics behind the game. Understanding these fundamentals will give you an inside track to what is behind the stats of the sport. Check out our other posts in the Puck 101 series, where we explore all things hockey!
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