The faceoff is an often-overlooked element of hockey that can give your team the edge by gaining puck control at the start, or resumption of play. However, despite its importance, when many centres approach a faceoff situation they have no real idea of what to do and end up improvising the draw. If you want your team to gain an advantage, it’s important to study faceoff techniques and procedure.

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To give you an idea of how good elite players can be at the dot; the best player in hockey at faceoffs last year (with more than 400 faceoffs taken) was Antoine Vermette of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks whose faceoff win percentage was 63.8%. This is proof that players who know what they’re doing at faceoffs can win the draw often. Without further delay, we offer the following tips so you can become better at faceoffs and further help your team to victory.

Know the Faceoff Rules

You’ve probably seen centres thrown out of the faceoff circle when watching an NHL game. This happens when they break a faceoff rule. The rules for NHL faceoffs are laid down in the official NHL rule book. Often, centres are thrown out for not having their stick on the ice (in this case, they’re probably trying to cheat the draw by moving early) but they can also be thrown out for not taking their proper position in time. Remember to get into position quickly and keep your stick on the ice until the linesman drops the puck. Then you can move your stick.

Another important rule to know is when a faceoff takes place in a team’s defensive zone, the centreman on defense gets to decide where to put his stick down first. Keep in mind the puck must be dropped between the two sticks, so the centre’s sticks must be on opposite sides of the faceoff circle. This is important to know because in the case of a faceoff to the right or left of the goalie, the defensive player will usually want to place their stick so they can swipe the puck away from the net off the draw. If you see your opponent abusing this rule by putting their stick down first, let the linesman with the puck know.

Have a plan going in to the faceoff

Hockey’s a fast game with plenty of improvised movements, but that doesn’t mean your team can’t strategize and set up plays before games and between periods. When your team goes into a faceoff draw, everyone should know the preferred outcome. If you have a defenseman behind you who is particularly good at snapping a quick shot off the draw, they should know you are going to try and win the faceoff to them.

A second element to planning the faceoff is to have a strategy if the draw is not won cleanly. Usually, you would like either your left or right winger to swoop in and claim the puck if they see the centre is tied up, but not both. The other should be looking to get in front of the net on offense or moving to a more defensive position if the draw is in your team’s zone.

Faceoff Matchups

For important game situations, sometimes its good to play faceoff matchups. Study the opponents to determine who’s strong and weak at draws and understand the same about your team. If you see your opponents fourth line out there and it’s a critical faceoff you may want to send out your skill players to give you a better chance of winning the draw.

Of course, knowing the strategy is nothing without plenty of practice. Repetition, taking draws repeatedly, will make you skilled at faceoffs and an asset to your team.

We hope these tips will make you a better player at the faceoff dot. For more tips, drills and hockey advice, register for a Rick Heinz hockey camp in Canada or the United States. For more information contact us at in a city or town near you!