The Hook Pass - Hockey Skill Breakdown

There are many ways to make a pass to our teammates. We can use the forehand, backhand, saucer and much more. In this blog, we will break down the “hook pass”, which is becoming increasingly common in today's game. You'll often see it when two players are attacking the defence and they are trying to make a pass underneath the stick, although it can be used in many areas on the ice.

In most of the drills that coaches are doing in practice, players will make passes, and I mean, a lot of passes. But do you practice anything else other than forehand to forehand passes? Adding deception can improve your passing percentage. The hook pass involves moving your blade (changing the angle) and having the puck in front of you. Extending your arms forward and making a subtle hook with your blade to guide the pass underneath the opponent's stick.

There are many ways to work this technique. By yourself or with a partner, with or without pressure, with obstacles on the ice or without. There are no excuses as to why your players cannot work on this alternative passing technique. Some other names you might have heard for this technique are slip pass, deceptive passing, or passing on the rush.

When teaching this technique, make sure that the players feel comfortable extending their arms and maintaining possession of the puck.

Here are my five key teaching points to master the hook pass:

1. Bringing the puck ahead of you
2. Rotation of your wrist
3. Extending the stick into the passing lane (between the stick and the skates of the opponent)
4. Using eyes to create deception, not telegraphing the pass
5. Timing the pass, waiting for there to be separation between the defender's stick and the ice

Below, I’ve outlined a five-drill progression that you can use to help your players work on the “hook pass.” All drills can be found in the CoachThem Marketplace so you can easily add them to your personal playbook.

1. Hook Pass - Puck Preparation

• 2 players working at the same time, all over the ice.
• The objective is to get the players comfortable passing the puck with the hook pass.
• The player with the puck will start handling the puck. At the whistle, the player with the puck will make a hook pass to their partner.
• The partner will start handling the puck and, at the whistle, they will give the puck back using a hook pass.

2. Hook Pass - Activation

• 3 players working together at the same time.
• 1 player will skate backwards while the other two make hook passes.
• For this drill, slow is the key. Take your time to feel the puck and execute the pass correctly.
• If you don't have both a left- and right-handed player (which is often the case), rotate clockwise so everyone can complete the drill.

3. Hook Pass - Full Ice Passing

• 3 players working together at the same time, just like in the previous drill.
• 1 player skates backwards while the other two make hook passes. The difference in this drill is the increased pace, making it more game-like.
• After one full lap, rotate positions so everyone gets a chance to perform each role.

4. Hook Pass - In Motion 2 vs 1

• 2 vs. 1 on the zone entry.
• The drill starts when the puck carrier makes a hook pass under the defender's stick. You can use the middle forward to initiate the drill instead of always starting with the winger on the wall. From there, it becomes a standard 2 vs. 1.
• Challenge your forwards to incorporate another hook pass later in the sequence.

5. Hook Pass - 3 vs 3 SAG

• 3 vs. 3 small-area game.
• Scoring: Goal = 1 point. Hook pass = 3 points.
• This is a great way to challenge your players to apply a skill they have been working on in practice.

Blog by CoachThem Contributor, Mitch Giguere

Mitch Giguere, ChPC, is an assistant coach with the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL), affiliates of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Mitch has earned Hockey Canada's High Performance 2 certification, completed the Advanced Coaching Diploma through the Canadian Sport Institute, and is currently finishing the Learning Accelerator program at the Canadian Sport Institute. You can follow his popular video breakdowns on social media for more excellent hockey content.

Written by the CoachThem Team

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