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Like Slaf, not all players need to rely on Hockey IQ to develop
Jonathan Di Gregorio
Like Slaf, not all players need to rely on Hockey IQ to develop
Credit: Getty Images
Why do some prospects adapt better to the professional ranks than others?

It’s a question on the minds of most NHL organizations and their scouts.

In two articles published in the Journal de Montréal, Jessica Lapinski looks at the question of hockey IQ, or hockey sense, in the development of young players.

In her first article, Lapinski examines hockey IQ as such, asking whether it is an innate or acquired talent.

She offers a translation of McGill University professor Daniel Fortin-Guichard’s definition of hockey IQ:

The ability to frequently find appropriate playing options [with and without puck possession] without compromising puck possession for oneself or one’s teammate.

In the second text, the journalist explains that a lack of hockey IQ could be at the root of some flops, while other players need more time to get used to the next step when they arrive in the AHL or NHL.

In both texts, Lapinski cites Juraj Slafkovsky as an example of a player who lacks hockey sense, as opposed to a player like Nick Suzuki on the Canadiens, for whom game sense is one of his main strengths.

Indeed, these are two very different players with very different hockey IQs.

Suzuki uses his vision to stand out on the ice, while Slafkovsky has to use his physique, strength and talent, especially his shot, if he wants to score regularly.

That’s how Slaf is going to be able to become one of the league’s good power forwards.

At the NHL level, playing this style requires effort and commitment night after night, and that’s probably what makes it harder for many young players to adapt to the professional circuit.

Many prospects have been able to rely on their talent and individual skills to stand out from the crowd, even at junior level, whereas in the pros, just skills aren’t enough.

Could a better sense of hockey have facilitated the development of this type of player? Quite possibly.

However, at the professional level, is it still possible to develop the hockey sense of young players? That’s much less certain.

That’s why Slaf needs to build on his strengths.


Overtime

– A first for Joseph Woll.

– Quebec well represented.

– Curtain-raiser victory for the Alliance.

– First defeat for the Roses.

– Max Verstappen wins.

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