Below we share 10 face-off plays from our new clip library. We start with some simple face-off plays and move to more complex ones. We grouped them together with some progressions from similar set ups. A lot of these will be too advanced for some of the younger levels, so be sure to check out some more of our face-off plays here. Many thanks to Topher Scott and Kyle MacLennan for putting these clips together for IHS.
You will notice a common theme in all of these plays:
- Communication - everyone is on the same page and understands their responsibilities.
- Movement - unpredictable movement after the draw causes chaos on the defensive side of the puck.
- Effort - in each face-off everyone is working to get to their spot and they explode off the draw. Effort is critical in each player starting with the center.
- Opening Passing & Shooting Lanes -all of these plays are designed to achieve open shooting and passing lanes very quickly.
Tips for running face-off plays on your youth team
- Don’t have too many - pick a few that work for your age and skill level and stick to those. Maybe 1 or 2 good plays in each zone and you can swap one in or out
- Name them - everyone needs to be on the same page. It doesn’t matter what you name them, but make them memorable. Even better, you can have your players come up with a name for them.
- Practice them - drawing them up on the whiteboard at the end of the game should be for reinforcement, not for your team seeing them for the first time.
1. Backhand to Forehand OZ Faceoff Play by Vegas
This is a simple, yet effective play that that you can run in your offensive zone that also works into some other options (see next play). The player taking the faceoff will be trying to win the faceoff to the board side using their backhand. Having the center winning the draw to their strong side (righties on right side, lefties on left side). An off-hand player will line up on the board side hash and immediately skate behind the center when the puck is dropped. The center is trying to win the draw so that the winger can skate into the puck and get off a quick release shot or take space if it's there. View Full Details
2. Vegas OZ Faceoff - Winger Through & WSD Down
This faceoff play is a progression off the last face-off play. It's the same setup, but in this play the weak-side defenseman works his way down to become an option. The winger who picks up the puck off the draw will take the attention away from the weak side winger coverage opening up the pass to the weak side d-man. If the shooting lane for the winger is there he can take the shot rather than pass it. View Full Details
3. Vancouver OZ Faceoff - Inside Winger High; C & Board Side Winger Through
This faceoff play has the inside winger coming in to support the draw and make a play. You will see the inside winger comes through to take the puck and climbs to higher ice. The strong side defenseman slides across the blue line into a shooting lane and gives a nice target for the pass. The center and board side winger get to the net causing some chaos and traffic in-front. View Full Details
4. Pittsburgh OZ Faceoff D to D Short
This is another faceoff setup that you can progress nicely off of. In this set-up Pittsburgh has their strong side D lower in the zone along the boards. The center needs to win it clean. The weak side d-man lines himself up with the faceoff dot for a better shooting lane and quicker shot. The weak side defenseman should be the proper hand so he/she can take a one-timer. The forwards get to the net to provide traffic. View Full Details
5. Penguins OZ Faceoff - Board Side Winger To Weakside Hash
You can see Pittsburgh uses the same set-up as the last face-off play with their strong side D low along the boards and their weak side d in line with the faceoff cirlce. For this play, the strong side winger goes over the top of the circle to the weak side hash mark to open ice and opens up for a one-timer. The strong side defenseman passes through the pressure to the weak side winger. View Full Details
6. Hurricanes OZ Faceoff Play - Inside Winger Pops High
Getting one of your wingers to high ice after a face-off is a great strategy to create open ice and scoring lanes. Defensemen rarely follow them up high and it creates confusion for the defensive wingers. In this play, Carolina sends the inside winger to middle high ice which opens up an easy passing lane in the middle of the ice. The center and board side winger get to the net to create traffic. The next two plays will show other options on utilizing high ice for your wingers off of faceoff wins. View Full Details
7. St. Louis OZ Faceoff Play - D Down W High
In this play you will notice that the board side winger climbs high to middle ice and opens up to provide a nice passing option. This is happening as the strong side defenseman skates into the zone to draw coverage. This opens up a nice lane with another middle ice shot. The strong side defenseman continues to get low to the net. This once again creates coverage confusion on the defensive side. View Full Details
8. Colorado Offensive Zone Face Off Win Stretch with Hook
Here is another play that gets the winger high into middle ice off a faceoff win. You will notice the weak side defenseman stretches wide to draw coverage which opens up the middle of the ice for the winger. The inside winger takes swings high with a hook route and times his route to receive the puck in motion. The quick passes are critical to make this play work. View Full Details
9. Boston OZ Faceoff Play Around the Pile
This is an example of how movement off the draw can create chaos and confusion for the defending team. In this play, the wingers line up on opposite sides. The center leaves the puck for the inside winger who explodes off the hash to pickup speed. The strong side winger cuts to the net and opens up in front of the net. With speed the inside winger is able to get arounfd the pile of players and find the open winger in front. Just an incredible play here. View Full Details
10. Boston OZ Faceoff Over Under
On this play Boston once again lines the wingers up on opposite sides. This time, the inside winger swings low to provide an outlet for the strong side defenseman. The board side winger starts by driving toward the net, but then separates off to high ice and opens up for a quick shot. Once again another great play and an example of the details of the game that separate teams. There is a reason that Boston is at the top of the league year in and year out. View Full Details
Other Faceoff Resources
These 10 faceoffs are just a small sample of some of the possibilities you can do in the offensive zone. Get creative, have fun and use faceoffs as a way to improve the communication between your players. If you are looking for more faceoff plays (not just offensive zone) you can view 28 Faceoff Plays on our Coaching Clips Page and another 34 Faceoff Plays in our systems section.
Categorized Clips
IHS has secured a license, allowing us to enhance our platform with hundreds of coaching clips. These coaching clips will allow our members to find teachable moments that are performed at the games’ highest level and share them with their players. We have also taken the time to tag each clip with related material on IHS so that you can find drills and SAG’s to work on the skills and concepts within the clips. NHL Footage on IHS is Courtesy of The National Hockey League.