Part two in a look at the pratice habits of Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet

Running a practice at the National Hockey League level is a juggling act.

Do you actually practice or give your team a day off? If you do hit the ice, what are you going to focus on? And the debate a coach faces at any level B次元官网网址� how do you balance teaching points versus having a practice with good tempo?

Those are the questions surrounding Tocchet and his staff as they try to navigate through an 82-game season in the NHL.

When the schedule comes out in the summer, Tocchet will examine it and map out days in which he hopes his hockey club will be able to practice. But once the season comes along, Tocchet will read the energy level of his team, communicate with his leadership group to see where the team is at, and then plan accordingly.

After a recent home game against Carolina, Tocchet cancelled practice the day before his teamB次元官网网址檚 next game against Tampa Bay. The move paid dividends as the Canucks defeated the Lightning 4-1. On this occasion it was the right call, but as Tocchet will admit, there are no guarantees.

B次元官网网址淚 think that (reading your team) is huge and I think that comes from experience. IB次元官网网址檝e learned from other coaches when to push or when to back off. There are some times when the team doesnB次元官网网址檛 want to be pushed because theyB次元官网网址檙e tired but you have to be the bad guy and say B次元官网网址榥o, weB次元官网网址檙e practicing todayB次元官网网址� and weB次元官网网址檙e going to go 25 minutes and youB次元官网网址檙e going to have to push through because I believe in the long run this practice will teach us to push through in certain situations. You have to find the sweet spot as a coach and thatB次元官网网址檚 experience. Hopefully nine out of ten times itB次元官网网址檚 the right call but sometimes you make a mistake,B次元官网网址� explained Tocchet.

Another weapon at TocchetB次元官网网址檚 disposal is to keep practices fresh by changing up drills and routines but sometimes such moves are met with resistance.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 funny because some times I want to add new drills and the players want the same stuff, so itB次元官网网址檚 give-and-take. I still think in the dog days you have to come up with some freshness in practice to get some fun drills with competition. Players like competition and IB次元官网网址檓 a big believer in competition,B次元官网网址� said Tocchet, who adds he sometimes will throw in a reward as incentive.

As we mentioned in part one of this story that can be found here, practices in todayB次元官网网址檚 era are shorter than when Tocchet played.

Tempo is a key to any successful practice but a practice can come to a standstill when coaches have to stop a drill to correct mistakes or explain things. After all, you donB次元官网网址檛 want your players developing bad habits.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 like going to the (dry) board very often. Maybe once a practice, maybe twice. But to me, when you have drills and you keep going to the board and talking to players, you lose your tempo. You have to find that balance,B次元官网网址� Tocchet noted.

One thing that tempo does help with is players being forced to communicate with one another. Much like a game situation, players will make the necessary corrections by communicating with themselves.

B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檝e got a really good leadership group, guys will correct their mistakes on the bench as the drill is going on. So a guy makes a mistake. As heB次元官网网址檚 on the bench for those 30 seconds before he goes out again - whether itB次元官网网址檚 a coach or player -theyB次元官网网址檒l talk and correct the mistake. Whereas when we stop the drill and go to the board, you lose the tempo,B次元官网网址� said Tocchet.

Another key for Tocchet and his staff is to not only teach players their individual responsibilities within the teamB次元官网网址檚 structure but to understand the overall concept of what is going on.

B次元官网网址淚 think when you teach, you just donB次元官网网址檛 tell the winger to go here and thatB次元官网网址檚 your job. No B次元官网网址� we want to teach you the whole concept. The winger has to know why we want the center here and why we want our defense here,B次元官网网址� said Tocchet. B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檙e in a meeting, the winger canB次元官网网址檛 shut his brain off because we are talking about the defensemen. He should know whatB次元官网网址檚 going on because he might be in that position at some point. It might not happen all the time but there might be a time when he is in that position.

B次元官网网址淪o in those meetings or practices where he was paying attention, it will make a big difference.B次元官网网址�

OVERTIME:

* The Canucks ended their four-game road trip with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday night, securing six out of a possible eight points on the trip. Vancouver got goals from Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua. For Joshua, he continued his strong play as of late with his fourth goal in his last five games.

* Vancouver went 0 for 3 on the power play and finished the road trip 1 for 15 with the man advantage.

B次元官网网址淥ur energy wasnB次元官网网址檛 there. When you donB次元官网网址檛 have energy on the power play, itB次元官网网址檚 tough but we had a couple of looks. Power plays are ebbs and flows. It won us a lot of hockey games early and got us to where we are at. IB次元官网网址檓 not worried B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檙e still getting some good looks,B次元官网网址� Tocchet said post-game when the subject was broached.

* The point earned against the Stars pulled the Canucks into a tie with Vegas for first place in the NHLB次元官网网址檚 overall standings with both teams accumulating 47 points in 34 games.

* Forward Andrei Kuzmenko was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game.

* The Canucks now return home for a game against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night prior to the Christmas break. San Jose limps into Vancouver having lost four straight games.

Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob B次元官网网址渢he MojB次元官网网址� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.

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