Graves on retrieval bumps puck while taking the hit

By: Ice Hockey Systems

Sometimes the defense need to be willing to take a hit in order to "bump" a puck to space for their teammates. Ryan Graves does a nice job of it in this clip as the Rangers' F1 is forechecking hard.

What to Watch

• The first thing Graves does when going back to retrieve the puck is check over his should to gather information, twice.
• He realizes F1 is applying a lot of pressure and he has help along the strong side.
• He allows the Rangers' F1 to come make the hit while at the same time he "bumps" the puck into space for his teammate.
• This takes F1 out of the play for a moment and give them a little more time to breakout the puck.