Player Development: Entering the OZ with Control of the Puck (Part 1)
Analyzing the key technical components that drive successful zone entries
Earlier this year, we published a player development project (SARAH) which helped us quantify the habits of WHKY players. The premise of our SARAH project was to link technical habits to the different events that occur on the ice.
To achieve that, we built 2 sets of random forest models to:
Find relevant habit-event pairs thanks to the built-in feature selection tool within RFs
Leverage these relevant habit-event pairs to quantify the success probability of habits
Our research, so far, has been focused on SARAH model 2 regarding the success probability of habits.
But turning our focus to SARAH model 1, an interesting research application could be to gain a better understanding of which habits and events are related to each other. That’s exactly what we will be doing in the coming weeks by cracking open the “black box” of SARAH model 1 to identify relevant habit-event relationships.
Following controlled exits last week, we will be looking at controlled entries this week.
Types of Controlled Entries
Controlled entries occur in rush sequences when the team with the puck is able to enter the OZ with 100% possession. Similar to controlled exits, they generally occur in one of 2 ways: via pass or via stickhandling (carry).
In the event data used as part of SARAH model 1, the tracking differentiated both types of controlled entries.
Common & Specific Relevant Habits
When looking at the relevant habit-event relationships for the 2 types of controlled entries, we note an overlap in the case of 4 habits: shouldering speed, stride extension, loading the puck to the hip pocket and deception with the puck.
We also note 8 additional relevant habits, half of which are specific to entries via stickhandling, while the other half pertain to entries via pass:
Entries via stickhandling
When carrying the puck through the NZ and into the OZ, elite players leverage linear crossovers to build speed. Lateral crossovers can also be used for lane changes.
The ability of players to play between checks (i.e., initiate contact) also drives entries via stickhandling. Blended with a good attack position (i.e., loading the puck to the hip pocket), it can allow puck carriers to successfully protect and carry the puck through the high value area - the middle - of the NZ.
Entries via pass
As for pass entries, underhandling the puck is crucial to quickly moving it up the ice and into the OZ. The best players in the world also use slip passes (by going under the stick of opponents) as pop or area passes to create space/time off OZ entries, for themselves and their teammates.
The following video summarizes the key relevant habits pertaining to rush offense:
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