An additional hit of the year: the head coach of the Detriot Red Wings  just revealed some terrible news regarding his…

An additional hit of the year: the head coach of the Detriot Red Wings just revealed some terrible news regarding his…

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde spoke at The Coaches’ Site’s annual TCS Live conference in Ann Arbor towards the end of last month. His topic was titled “The Simple Habits of an Effective Power Play.”

Lalonde stated that the concepts he covered in the talk were the same ones he promotes with the Red Wings and that the video clips he utilized to demonstrate them were the same ones he showed Team USA, for whom he oversaw the power play, at the Men’s Worlds in May.

Derek Lalonde presents “Simple PP Habits” at TCS Live from the Power Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Michigan. Author-taken photo.

Lalonde issued a challenge under the guise of a warning before getting right into the meat of his topic. He stated, “First and foremost, the power play can be somewhat frightening and extremely complex.” And occasionally, people flee from it. I can say that with confidence because I have done that on a few occasions during my career. It’s simple to brush it off and move on from there because I was the PK guy in Tampa before becoming the head coach.”

Lalonde gave credit to assistants Jay Varady and Alex Tanguay for their contributions in making the Detroit power play move up from 26th to 17th in the NHL the previous season. Despite his polite introduction, he would later, with a sheepish smile, point out that, even though Team Canada won gold at the Worlds, the Canadian unit Tanguay supervised converted much less frequently than Lalonde’s American power play (21.74% to 29.17%).

Though managing a power play unit can be difficult, Lalonde reminded the coaches gathered in front of him that taking on the challenge can give a new coach the “tool” they need to “climb the ladder.” He used two former colleagues, Jeff Halpern and Brett McLean, as examples.

As an assistant with Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, Halpern embraced the power play and used his skills to earn a spot on Jon Cooper’s staff with the big club. Since then, he has been brought up in relation to multiple NHL head coaching openings. Due to McClean’s skill in the power play, which he used to earn a spot on the Minnesota bench before returning to Iowa as head coach last season, Lalonde brought McClean onto his Iowa Wild staff.

After providing some motivation, Lalonde reiterates that simplicity is his top priority. He states, “I want it to be simple, very simple.” “On our power play, we have players who are 18 years old and 19 years old. And among us are 35-year-old NHL veterans. Lalonde doesn’t require or desire tactical nuance, particularly in the setting of an international competition.

Rather, he lists three key priorities: in-zone habits, breakout execution, and a face-off approach.

The three essential habits of Derek Lalonde for success with PP. Author-taken photo.

Regarding the first of these, Lalonde emphasizes that his group needs to be prepared to “face off” as soon as the puck is dropped. This is his way of saying that even if the team loses the face-off, he still thinks they will be able to win control of the puck because everyone save the center gets a good jump on the drop to take control of every possible location for the puck. The center then “bulls” his opponent, effectively interfering legally to keep the opposing pivot from escaping his defensive responsibilities.

Lalonde continues, “One important area where the staff’s pre-scout comes into play is during face-offs.” Lalonde wants his power play to have a strategy to take advantage of the opponent’s weaknesses off the draw in addition to being “face-off-ready.”

Lalonde mentions two “non-negotiables” when discussing breakout execution: finishing routes (also together) and breaking out together.

For the head coach, the offensive blue line is where it all starts with breaking out together. During a power play entry, the four players without the puck have to “hit the line together” quickly. This strategy will push back the penalty killers and give the puck carrier a little more room. Lalonde emphasizes that from this vantage point, every player away from the puck “finishes their routes,” spreading out across the offensive zone to give the puck carrier options.