05Mar 2014 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments
Offensive-Minded D-Zone Face-Offs

Offensive-Minded D-Zone Face-Offs

Coaches' Corner, Defensive Zone, Philosophy, Team Systems
Offensive-Minded D-Zone Face-Offs I'm a huge fan of offensive-minded face-offs in the defensive zone; especially on the penalty kill! Most teams expect you to play defense in your defensive zone, and when you attack aggressively you can really catch them off guard, particularly on face-offs. In this clip, Tyler Bozak loses a shorthanded draw against the Montreal Canadiens, then gets out quickly to the opposing defenseman, causing a turnover. From there he's able to chip the puck through, and win the footrace on the breakaway. A well-structured face-off set-up should give you offensive options whether your team wins or loses the draw. Give it a go, and start generating some offense from your defensive-zone face-offs! Enjoy!
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15Feb 2014 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments
Attack Triangle in Action

Attack Triangle in Action

Coaches' Corner, Offensive Zone, Philosophy, Team Systems
https://player.vimeo.com/video/87249384 Attack Triangle in Action Team USA is playing some great hockey right now in the 2014 Winter Olympics. A lot of their systems look just like the stuff we've laid out in the Coaches' Training Course, especially their offensive attack structure. In this play you see a textbook Attack Triangle, with F1 driving wide, and pulling the opposing defenseman deep; F2 driving wide to the far post, pulling his defenseman deep, and F3 filling in the vacated space in the high slot. From there, it's a drop pass, and a one-time snipe. Beautiful setup, beautiful goal! Enjoy!
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04Feb 2014 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments
Improve Your Coaching Through Technology

Improve Your Coaching Through Technology

Coaches' Corner, Philosophy, Team Systems, Useful Products
Using Technology to Improve Your Coaching One of my goals at Weiss Tech Hockey is to help coaches improve their game through technology. I believe that technology can help coaches communicate more effectively with their players, increase their knowledge base, network with other coaches, and find opportunities to be mentored… the sky is the limit! Recently, Apple has revamped their iBooks app, which has created a neat platform that is perfect for producing and consuming educational material. The first time I saw what the new platform was capable of, I immediately thought of our playbook! So I set to work reconfiguring the playbook to take advantage of this new platform. In the iBooks version of the Weiss Tech Playbook, we’ve taken our written playbook, with text and diagrams, and we’ve…
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01Feb 2014 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments
How to Set Up a “Kronwallian” Hit

How to Set Up a “Kronwallian” Hit

Neutral Zone, Team Systems
How to Set Up a “Kronwallian” Hit Have you ever noticed how often Kronwall lines himself up to lay a big hit? Have you ever wondered how he does it? Setting up a big hit takes more skill than many folks realize; it takes skating ability, timing, size, and strength. But in Kronwall’s case, there’s even more to it than that. Believe it or not, Detroit’s systems are actually playing a huge role in setting up these “Kronwallian” hits, as we call them. In the video above, you’ll notice that Detroit often runs a 1-2-2 forecheck. The way they set it up creates what I call a “kill zone.” I talked a bit about the Kill Zone in my NZ Trap Clarification post. Basically, the first forward in pressures, then…
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17Jul 2013 by Jeremy Weiss No Comments
Post-Up Regroup in Action

Post-Up Regroup in Action

Neutral Zone, Team Systems
Post-Up Regroup in Action Hey... this systems stuff actually works! We talk a lot of theory here on the blog, but I also like to show what our systems look like in action from time to time, and the Leafs had a text-book execution of our Post-Up Regroup, which led to a goal by Kadri. Let's take a look at some of the key points of the Post-Up Regroup: Post-Up Regroup 1. Defensemen pick up the puck in the NZ and drag skate to open ice 2. Both wingers position themselves on the boards at the far blue line for an outlet pass 3. Center reads the puck movement, and provides middle support to whichever winger receives the pass 4. If the opposing Defenseman "bites" on the winger, he can…
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