Use the Screen
Traffic is good!
This week's video takes a look at Erik Karlsson's hat trick from last night. All three goals are a direct result of his willingness and ability to USE THE SCREEN when shooting the puck. This is a primary offensive skill in high-level hockey, which makes it a transferable skill for young players to develop in order to continue to successfully produce offense as they progress through the ranks. It's a skill recruiters will identify as a predictor of offensive production at the next level for a reason. If a goalie can't see/track the puck from the release, the odds of them saving go way down...which is great for shooters! Unfortunately, many players are unwilling to use or unable to recognize that a contested shot with traffic is actually an ideal opportunity to shoot the puck rather than waiting for a clear, uncontested look. Using the screen = scoring more goals.
NOTE:
As part of one of our hockey projects, we analyzed every single goal that took place during the 1st round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season to categorize the primary skill used that caused the goal to be scored. Of 334 goals scored in the 1st round, 39 goals (roughly 12% of all goals) were scored by using the screen. This is the 4th highest category on the list. Can you guess the top 3?
