How To Hockey
how to deke in hockey

How to Deke in Hockey

If you are reading this article then it is likely that you play hockey. Well I’m here to help; we will get right to the point. We will first look at deking out the opposing team members. Every player should know how to deke, however many players do not deke properly. This article shows the fundamentals of deking a player or goalie.
The first rule is that you should always be moving the puck. Think of it as dribbling in basketball. Basketball players continuously dribble the ball in order to keep their opposing team members thinking about what they will do next. Hockey players should also continuously stick handle the puck so that the players on the other team cannot simply skate up and knock the puck off of your stick.
I’m sure you have watched some players walk around their opponents and you wonder “how do they do that?” well there are four steps that you must know in order to properly execute a deke.
The first step is the preparation.
You must prepare yourself before you can execute a deke. Where you put the puck is dependant upon which move you would like to make. If you are trying to just skate around your opponent then a general rule is that you should protect the puck by stick handling it on the side furthest from your opponent. However If I want to deke my opponent out then I try to trick them into thinking that they are going to be able to get the puck off of me, and dangle the puck right in front of them and wait for them to make a move.
The second step in a deke is the fake or the move.
After you have the puck and the other player right where you want them it is time to make your move. There is an unlimited number of moves that you can make at this point. You must trick the other player or fake him out with this move. Some common moves are putting the puck through the other players legs, putting the puck under the other players stick, or pulling the puck to the other side of your body. One move that I like is putting the puck right in front of the other player, and then when they try to knock the puck off of my stick, I simply pull it away and skate by them.
The third step to a deke is the separation.
After you have made your move, you must separate yourself from the other player. A general hockey rule is that you should protect the puck. After you have made your move try not to stick handle the puck near the opposing player, move it to a safe place. You can use your body to protect the puck by stick handling it on whichever side of your body is the furthest from the opposing player.
The fourth and final step to a deke is acceleration.
Once you have completed steps one through three you are ready for the fourth and final step. For this step you simply must accelerate. You must accelerate in order to get away from the person that you just deked out. Once you have deked out the last player you will be facing the goalie.
Check out my next article on how to score to find out how to put the biscuit in the basket.

Coach Jeremy

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