LEARNING THE BREACKOUT

Breakout from defensive zone

The breakout can be the hardest way for starting a rush into your opponents zone. To start a breakout from your own zone it is normal for a defender to be setup behind his own net as the centerman builds speed by circling around the net, he then have 2 choices. He can either pick up the pick from the defender or he can leave the puck for the defender to move the puck up the ice.

Usaly the defender decide to keep it because he can see up the ice better than the center can. The defense can choose to pass to his defence partner which should be positioned around the goal line in the corner of his position or he can pass it up to one of the wingers which should be around the hashmarks getting ready for a breakout pass.

If the defender does not see a play then he can either skate it up the ice or he can leave it for the center to pick up behind the net.

The center can then pass to the winger depending what side he is coming out from behind the net or he can use his speed and skate up the ice and dump it deep or carry it in and get setup in the offensive zone.

Breakout from the neutral zone

The breckout from the neutral zone usaly accure after a turnover or after any bad brake or bad bounce. It is important for the player to know what to do when that accure.

The main thing to understand is the 3rd man most stay back. Exemple if the breackout fall in the end of the right winger, there is automaticly gonna be a breackout starting from there. Then the other skater the closes of the puck carrier rush in the offencif zone, the right winger could dumb it in the zone or past to the open man for a breack in.

The most important player here is the 3rd man. He got to be able to know that he is the 3rd man and realize to stay more low in case of a quick rush from the other team.

Sometime a defence player will take the breackout from the neutral zone. Then for a short time he become a forward and he execute the play like view below. Then a forward must take is position for the breack in and switch back kater on.

Every situation are different and the players must adapte to every situation. But this show the big picture os the breackout and is definetly the etape to follow.