This Is Changing The NHL As We Know It 

Limiting stretch passes back in the day made the teams really work to get the puck into the offensive zone. I wonder how much better those stars could have been if they were allowed more freedom like today's players.... we'll never know!

I can’t believe you talked about Nashville in terms of good motion and cycling. Glad to see some positive about the Preds.

Just goes to show how transformative and unique Orr was at the time , especially through the high scoring 80's and early 90's, that it took this long to break this particular record.

I haven’t been all that interested in hockey since I played it as a kid, but recently some of your videos have been put in my recommended. And just something about the way you talk about things is interesting, and has brought back some interest in the game I used to have.

good summary It goes to show how good Bobby Orr was the only defenseman to ever win the Art Ross trophy

Hockey is fun as well to watch these days, I love it. I was a goalie back in the day, I don't envy what goalies have to deal with now but it has forced them to up their game and they have gotten better as well overall. I only wish they wouldn't get blamed as much as they do, people don't understand the pressure and how much a bad defense and lack of backchecking from forwards affects the quality of chances opposing teams get to score.

Recently got into hockey because i loved it as a kid and wanted something i could bond with my dad over. This channel is teaching me a lot. Thanks for being such an informative source.

Increased scoring corresponded with rules on goalie equipment. The years leading up to those rules were some of the lowest scoring in league history.

Great video. One correction, the NHL lockout ended July 22, 2005. The 05-06 season was the first to be played afterwards.

My local OHL team is using this play pattern somewhat. Talented D rotating up in the offensive zone. The downside is that a turnover at an inopportune time is more likely to lead to an odd-man rush the other way (which further elevates the average gpg stats).

This was something I tried to phase our floorball team into ten years ago. A dynamic offense where if D got high, one of the forwards, mainly the center would back home and cover. But at our level, we mostly had some preconceived stance that a D is for defense only so we played a positional style game.

Great video!! Love me an offensive defensemen. It only shows just how truly talented the old school scoring defensemen were...like Potvin, Borque, Leetch, McInnis, Coffy, Lindstrom, etc.

Old Dude reared in the original 6 era here. All of this, every bit of this D transitioning to O was introduced into the NHL by Bobby Orr. He literally revolutionized the game starting in 66-67-68 with his play. Others followed who were good, though none were better than Bobby &.that still holds true. I'm an Orr over Gretzky or Howe guy, he was that good.

People also forget two new teams in the league has slightly diluted the talent pool. Each time expansion teams come in scoring goes up a bit because there are 20-40 guys in the league that wouldn’t have been there a couple years prior.

Cool video bud, but with the goals part yes you are correct however you have to remember they also changed goalie equipment aswell, the eqiupment for example goalies can only wear up to 38 inchs from boot to mid point, also catcher and blocker and stick and even harness aswell these factors can cause alot more goals aswell but it also makes goalie alot more faster aswell, can you do a video on goalies please?

Thank you for this! It explains why I've had more and more trouble keeping track of positions in the last few years, even though I can read plays better than when I first got into hockey 7 years ago. Great video!

It'll never happen but just imagine the skill and speed of today's NHL on the International ice size. That would be some fun hockey!

Well spoken, well explained, well edited... That moment you realize you just found your next binge.

I stumbled onto your videos, and they have opened the window for me, to understand the plays more, how it works, and what their doing. These are some great videos.

Great analysis! Thank you. I'm in Sweden right now watching Dallas Stars-Tampa Bay on TV ready to apply your analysis on this game. Gotta love hockey! 👍

This is a somewhat odd pattern I've been noticing but over the past few years it feels like both the NHL and NBA have been steadily improving in the same areas. Last playoffs for both leagues was crazy because IN BOTH LEAGUES we saw a team that only made the playoffs through the play-in go to the finals led by a scrappy, intense player and go up against an absolute power house where the powerhouse would win 4-1. We've seen the rise of scoring in both leagues, a more technical and skillful game forming in both leagues and the rise of so many superstars in both leagues. And yet, the NHL keeps kneecapping itself and not taking advantage of the game being more exciting than ever to watch by doing dumb things like the pride jersey bans while the NBA continues to grow year after year.

these videos are always super well done, love watching them

Yeah. I agree with this title. It's not only that. Any player on a forward line can score 20 goals. Thats how good not only teammates are now but the consistency isn't really a thing. Thats what I like. One season William Karlsson can be struggling in the AHL the other he's scoring 40 goals. Campbell who was considered a great starter is now considered one of the worst if not the worst NHL goalie. Thats what I like. The Norris could go to Quinn, Karlsson, Makar, Mcavoy, Hedman and more. Back then it would almost always be Orr or always be Gretzxy winning the Hart. That's also part of the reason I feel McDavid might go down as the best ever with his level of consistency at the top every season. Also great video as always HP. Feels like an actual interesting short documentry. #100ksubs.

analysis is spot on like always, keep it up!

Another on fire breakdown of today's game. Keep up the great content. Love it!

What's funny is that none of these modern motion offenses went deep in the playoffs.

You’re one of the best dude. Been here since 20k. Love your stuff. Keep it up!

Excellent hockey topic, your work is well appreciated!

i was just thinking the other day about Orr we were so impressed by his style of play. and after watching Makar and Hughes in BC., can't believe it has taken this long to realize the importance of this type of player. it may cause man on man to completely go away in the D-zone. Still Thow got to have big unmovable mean ass dudes like in Vegas or Carolina

Another great video. Finding that that fact is becoming a reliable one with your vids! Sad that the Pens are only mentioned on this topic for the flip side, on how to defend the new tactics as an older, slower team. Wished there was some Letang and Karlsson highlights in there haha.

Roller hockey been doing this forever. Almost never know who the D man is except for the faceoff constant rotation and confusion for them in the offensive zone. With so many NhL players joining roller tournaments it’s not surprising to see if way more in The league especially all the insane dangles.

I stopped paying attention to hockey in the mid '90s, and only this past year have been getting back into it... Holy crap it is such a different game now! Your videos are very well made and have been very helpful in outlining all the changes that have made modern hockey what it is today, for better and for worse. Thanks and keep up the great work!

Your video was so good our teacher for my hockey academy class used it for his lesson! Keep making these high quality videos❤

Absolutely brilliant video. A solid 10. Keep up the good work, you deserve waaaaay more subscribers.

All thanks to Erik Karlsson. Transformed the position like no one else has since Bobby Orr.

Nice summary of the uptick in offense in the NHL. However, this is exactly how the Oilers of the 1980's won so many Stanley Cups. When they gained control of the puck, five players went up the ice, including, of course #99, but also Paul Coffey, Glen Anderson, Mark Messier, Jari Kurrie, etc. That was unheard of at the time. Hockey coaches always emphasized two-way hockey: offense and defense. But not Glen Sather. He was 100% attacked minded. But the key to making this style of play effective was a GK who could stop alot of breakaways. Fortunately, the Oilers had Grant Fuhr, who was easily the most underrated GK in NHL history. The Oilers could have never achieved their success and implemented their style without Grant between the pipes (#99 admits this too). Often, he was the only player on the ice playing defense for the Oilers. The result is that he gave up 4 goals a game, but they scored 5 goals a game. And they did it with the two-line pass rule. Just imagine how many goals #99 would have scored if him and his teammates were allowed to make passes across two lines. Wayne might have scored over 1000 goals. But again, it's a nice summary of where the game is now. And will likely go in the future.

Great video. Really digging your content, recently.

something that has stuck with me was Tucka Rask on Spittin Chicklets saying that its harder to read the puck as a Goalie.

This was a REAL good video. Very interesting. Excellent work.

Another rule change that contributed to the modern defenseman is the blue lines getting pushed out to 75 feet in 05/06. Created way more room to cycle high zone.

Great thought provoking analysis! Keep it coming HP!

Very well explained! This really opened my eyes to how the game has evolved. Gone are the days of defencemen dropping anchor at the blue line! Talent has really evolved over the last 60 yrs watching and playing hockey! I remember an interview with Denis Potvin about Gretzky. He was asked if there is an unwritten rule that it’s hands off Gretzky because of his talent. Potvin laughed and said “absolutely not! You think you have him all lined up for a solid check into the boards and wind up there all by yourself! His ability to read every player and suddenly disappear is amazing!”

Your videos are always worth watching, even though they have nearly identical vague titles. If I ever want to find your video about the offensive defenceman, it won't be easy. I get that it's about the "impressions" algorithms, but ya know?

Can’t wait to see how Axel Sandin-Pelikka develops for the wings

Very good. I learned a few things. Thanks 👌🏼

Yet by some mystery RHD Axel Sandin Pellikka was mostly overlooked in the top 15 of the 2023 draft. He fits this narrative all too well, plus he has a dangerous mid range shot from the circles for an added area of expertise. Some say he is raw but really stepped it up in the SHL this season, way past expectattions. In 30 less games already 10 points from Victor Hedman's SHL season record of 22 points for a defenseman.

Love you channel man good stuff, you'd make a great hockey coach.

Great video. Thanks for the lesson

In my 12 year olds writing class they are learning how to write intros. That was a terrific intro. Great hook. You don’t see that kind of good writing with RU-vid channels these days.

As a hockey fan who loves to watch the game but doesn't fully understand the intricacies - these videos are pure gold! 💯

Nice I barely take time to watch hockey but mostly waiting for the Sabres to be good. I had no idea the game has changed this much. This is really well done and eye opening to a casual. Thanks !

Wow, great explanation. I didn't realize the D was going so low so frequently

Dude honestly I love your videos. By far the best hockey RU-vid out there.

I really like these type of thoughtful hockey videos

Originally, passing across two lines was allowed. It was only during the WWII years that the two line pass was made illegal. That was because the young and able age players were off fighting the war and older players were playing instead. They brought in the rule to slow the game down and make skating up and down the ice easier on the older guys.

those 2 are thou exceptionell. Karlsson also being there...

Finally someone who doesn´t talk 100/mph like most youtubers, cheers!

The motion offense is mostly reserved for the power play though. It's very rarely used outside of that. And while it's effective in creating more legitimate scoring chances on the power play it's also very effective in creating scoring chances for the other team. The vast majority of scoring chances these days are odd man breaks when the offense gives the puck away, and a huge portion of those happen because there are forwards on the point when those giveaways happen.

You can thank Anatoly Tarasov for this style of shifting offence. He used chess as an example for the Red Army hockey team on how to cycle and confuse the opposition. Tarasov was DECADES ahead of his time but sadly fell victim to the corruption of the kremlin.

This is one of your best videos. Well done!

This is such a well-done video, it could be mistaken as a in-game segment like HNIC's Coach's Corner.

I had a weird prospective I played all through the mid 90’s and hung it up in 2004 after injuries. Well I didn’t handle that well and couldn’t even watch hockey. So I took a decade off and when I came back to watch NHL I could barely understand what I was watching. The puck can be shot so fast off the stick the players are so much faster I mean everything was different. It was kinda of a unique situation skipping 10 years ahead in the game and just mind blowing.

I'm 52, been watching the NHL for most of my life. For the first 40(ish) it wasn't great tbh. So it's nice to see the skill be elevated to where it should be! Also how is Makar making less money than Nurse lol?! #GoLeafsGo

Thanks for this video this is actually super interesting

I was thinking about this today. Not only we've seen a crop of great talent shape the NHL in the past few years, specially on defense and everybody's skating abilities, but also teams are looking to roll 4 lines instead of putting everyone in the first 2 lines and have maybe a shutdown 3rd line and an useless/fighting 4th line. Everyone has to be much better to play a 4th line role and every line has a little way of looking to score. This has started before the wave of talent that you talk about, and is the responsible for making enforcers obsolete. I think it's the best thing that's happened to hockey and is essentially what allowed skilled players to be more deployed in all positions.

Nice analysis. Subscriber earned!

Recommendation! You should do a video on the crazy touch icing rule that is now gone. I miss seeing players go absolutely FULL SPEED when trying to touch the puck. It was brutal sometimes

You had me at Boston and Colorado but you lost me at Toronto and Buffalo... Jk, very much enjoyed this video :)

Good analysis, one thing I want to mention is that this is, interestingly enough, an older tactic in it's own right. It was developed and perfected by the Russian international team way back when as a way to overcome the much much more physical playstyle by the much bigger Canadians. Later, it was used by the Red Wings of the 90s during their "Russian 5" era. The concept, IIRC, has been referred to as "Total Hockey". It ended up not catching on so much in the NHL, because the 2 line pass rule inhibited it, and unless you were had an all all-star team like the Red Wings dynasty, you just didn't have enough talent to do it consistently. Now, with the line pass being nothing but a relic and there being more talent than ever, it's been awesome watching it become the dominant playstyle in the NHL. And the game has never been better for it!

Just bought a book on hockey systems so I can pick up what you’re dropping. Never even heard of a motion offense

Great content man.

arguably ice hockey doing what inline hockey has been doing for many years (I'm being a bit silly, it was done before all over the place, but it wasn't widelye recognised). Movement and puck possession being the standard words, rather than "dump and chase" and "wingers, centres, D, stay on your lane/blue line". I think an argument could be made for greater exposure to "big ice" game, more like Europe. That motion offense has been a staple of Czech hockey (for example) for over 20 years - it is beautiful to watch, and devastating to play against.

lot of similarity's to football (soccer) rules allowing smaller more technical players to thrive with protection.. Football changed with the pass back rule meaning defenders had to be more comfortable on the ball then in previous generations, like with hockey the defensive players are utilised in build up play and as offensive threats from deeper positions. My takeaway is mainly rules are designed mainly for offensive players and almost always favour goal scoring over anything else. So it makes logical sense that defenders move from static single focused role of defending and passing the ball/puck to dynamic players with far more responsibility with regards to helping the team score.

Great video dude

At the end of the day, we’re trading goals for hits. I played all my life and I would’ve stayed Pro a lot longer if I was playing against 18-year-old kids. Nobody can do anything physical nobody can scare anybody because nothings gonna happen. There’s gotta be some middle ground.

Great video very dense not too long love it

The Soviet teams did this years ago...I remember watching them play Canada in the 70's and it was the first thing I noticed was that they all seemed to be basically interchangeable in terms of position...Canada struggled with it in the 72 summit series...they had never seen anything like it.

Before the rule change and since the introduction of the forward pass, a pass could originate from behind the blue line and be collected across the centre line as long as the recipient crossed the centre line after the puck did.

Love your channel.

Personally I always preferred the much more physical and intense pre-lockout NHL, but the worst hockey invention of that time gotta be the trapezoid. This took away such a fine apsect from the game completely.

Look at the history of the game. This happens every 10 years or so. Sooner or later someone will figure out a defensive system. Or an influx of goalies that are amazing will join the league. It swings back and forth.

Motion offensive has been around in lacrosse forever, about time hockey started using it

Excellent video!

Thank you for breaking down the game.

Great analysis. This seems like an offense cycling progression partially related to the Soviet teams with all 5 in motion to keep possession rather than dumping to create zone pressure and 3 man cycling. Players and coaches need to have more situational awareness to adjust between systems, as needed. D men generally have to have better puck handling skills and mobility. Can you do one of these for the developments in hitting?

I remember like 10 years ago I had a few coaches that were really pushing this idea. As a very defensive dman I wasn't to keen on the change, but the amount of plays it opened up was unbelievable. Imo, its simply better than traditional 3 down 2 up 'cycle' and it's pretty sweet seeing it a lo more in the pros

I wonder how this is affecting goalie training or even numbers in terms of new tendies. I got the sense that, I don't know, it's a bit rough out there for them given the changes in the game? Regular 7-8--goal games matches lately. I think, given the number of matches and goals per season, nearly two-tenths of a degree is notable from 2019. And power play chances (down) and power play conversion (uo) especially. Thank you for the interesting video! Keep them coming! On the side, there's this music piece right at the beginning that sounded really nice. Are ya'll able to share it?

Hockey is in such a good place, but I do wish there were a little bit more enforcers 😅I still love the game right now and it’s the best game in sports.

The USSR hockey team was really ahead of its time with their use of all 5 skaters to breakout and create offense.

These vids are fantastic

One can contend that it took a particular talent to work four zones effectively, as well.

Good information. Watching hockey my whole life, and had even forgotten about the 2 line off sides. On the other hand, watching current hockey I get mystified and then annoyed when the defensmen are not getting physical in the slot. My early hockey memories from the 80's were: it was a war zone. Refs let anything go, because it was the slot. It was plainly unfair and injurious, but it was also hockey tradition. Ya don't like the heat, stay outta the kitchen, eh?

I’ve noticed this every team is good now a days. Goalies are crazy good we have backup goalies stealing games making incredible saves. The term goalied is a thing now a days it gets a little frustrating especially if your teams struggling a bit and a backup goalie destroys you.

what's the background music?

I think Ghost has really helped Detroit’s D this year. He seems to be one of those smooth skating offensive defensemen.

You make me a smarter hockey enjoyer, thank you

The end of the Two-line pass has resulted in less end-to-end rushes by defenseman. Brian Leetch, Sergei Zubov, Paul Coffey, and others contributed to some great hockey moments with this rush. It does not matter when a skilled hockey player played. They are skilled and the rules, or lack of, do not make a player skilled.

Kinda like the lacrosse style of rotation with the Attack and midfielders

I can't wait to see in 5 years to see how goalies adapt to this style.

Best hockey blog!