2.3 - Foundational Reads - Conditions
What Are Conditions?
Conditions are the state, or quality, of puck possession the offensive team has.
“Good” conditions are those that favor the offensive team. This could be when the puck carrier has lots of time & space, has lots of speed or is able to scan the ice for extended periods of time. The more of these you can string together, the better the conditions of the puck.
“Poor” conditions are those that are likely to result in a turnover or change of possession. This could be the puck carrier having their head down and back turned to their teammates because they are under pressure. It could also be a situation where the puck carrier doesn't have complete control of the puck or where the puck carrier is outnumbered. When this happens, the odds favor the defensive team.
We want to play differently depending on the conditions of the puck.
If you are on offense, for example, and your teammate has the puck but they are being outnumbered in the corner of your defensive zone 2v1 with their head down, the chances of them completing a long-ice stretch pass to spring you for a breakaway are basically zero. So we want to get close and support the puck carrier with easy outs and options in this scenario.
But if the puck carrier has some room to move and space to scan the ice, now we can get aggressive on offense. They will have a much easier time making a high-danger play with the puck, whether it is a good stretch pass or a quality shot on goal.
The Three S’s
To simplify this read, just look for the three S’s - space, speed, & ability to scan. If the puck carrier has some of these, those are generally good conditions. If the puck carrier has none of these, those are generally poor conditions.
Color-Coding Conditions
I will assign a color to each condition. Good puck conditions will be labeled as green pucks. Poor conditions will be labeled as red pucks.
The same color applies whether we are on offense or defense. This is because while we will play very differently on offensive green pucks (attack middle-ice) and defensive green pucks (protect middle-ice), we will play very similarly on offensive red pucks and defensive red pucks (compress space, swarm and close support).
This gives us four total conditions we need to be able to read:
Offense - Green Puck - When we have time/space with the puck, we want to be aggressive and quickly attack up-ice and/or attack middle-ice. This is our time to stretch, crash the net and screen.
Offense - Red Puck - When we have the puck but the conditions are poor, we want to get close to the puck. We want to outnumber our opponents around the puck quickly. It is a race for numbers at this point. We need to provide as much close support as possible.
Defense - Red Puck - When the opponents have the puck but the conditions are poor, or the puck is loose, we want to be aggressive in our pursuit. We want to outnumber our opponents around the puck quickly. It is a race for numbers at this point. We need to swarm as a unit and overload the area the puck is in.
Defense - Green Puck - When the opponents have time/space with the puck, we want to be conservative and protect middle-ice. This means working hard to backcheck through the middle and staying patient / disciplined when defending. Let them play along the outside, they are not threats when they are outside the dots.
Recap
Green Puck = Good Conditions - the puck carrier has space to move, a speed advantage and/or their head up. If we are on offense, we want to attack the middle (or up-ice) quickly. If we are on defense, we want to protect the middle.
Red Puck = Poor Conditions - the puck carrier is under pressure, has no speed and/or has their head down / back turned. Or the puck is loose and up for grabs. We want to get numbers around the puck quickly by supporting or swarming.