The Playmaker Report 🚨
Hey {{firstname|Playmaker}},
Gavin McKenna scored his first NHL goal, but there’s more to the play than the finish. I broke down three details many people overlooked.
📈 Learn: How to create a better scoring chance after winning an offensive-zone faceoff.
🌟 Watch: An in-stride snipe, a versatile hat trick, and a bar-down finish from the trailer.
📊 Vote: Which part of offensive-zone play would you most like us to break down?
📈 Featured Coaching
Create a Better Look Off the Draw
Kevin Zajac | Video Coach & Co-Founder of The Sports IQ Lab
Winning an offensive-zone faceoff gives you possession. What you do next determines the chance you create.
Kevin Zajac breaks down a set play out of the QMJHL built to move coverage away from the first shooting look. The puck stays within a triangle between the point, half wall, and center, while the extra touch and movement at the point hold the defenders’ and goalie’s attention.
The center posts up in the slot, giving the defense another player to account for. Meanwhile, the weak-side winger moves toward the back door.
The lesson: use possession to shift attention and create another option while keeping a body near the net.
🌟 Member Spotlights
Arthur Hatt →
Turns a partial break down the left side into a bar-and-in finish, picking his corner while shooting in stride.
Jaxone Valone →
Scores three different ways: a backhand finish in tight, a point-shot deflection, and a quick catch-and-release shot high glove.
Mannix Demers →
Arrives as the trailer, catches the pass, and buries a bar-down shot.
📊 Poll
Which part of offensive-zone play would you most like us to break down?
Last week’s poll: What’s your biggest shooting challenge?
67% of last week’s poll participants said power
ICYMI: Emerson Etem Interview
Earning a spot is only the start. In our latest Becoming a Playmaker interview, former NHL forward and Ducks broadcaster Emerson Etem answers five questions about making the jump, creating space, and competing for your spot.
🎯 Your Turn.
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