Happy Friday! I hope you’re gearing up for a great hockey weekend — let’s get into this week’s Playbook.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job — getting to watch a lot of top-level hockey and the best players in the world — is spotting the skills being pioneered at the top of our sport that I think will have the biggest impact on the game moving forward.

Both at the top level, and then over time, what will filter down into youth and club hockey and start to shape how the game is played more broadly.

Watching a few clips and highlights this week, one skill stood out.

I think we’re going to see a lot more of it in the coming years — and attacking hockey will be even more exciting as a result.

That skill is the “on-the-run aerial pass.”

Of course, the proliferation of aerial passes in the game is nothing new — and not really worth covering on its own in one of these emails.

But standard aerial passes are very different from what I’m talking about here.

The traditional aerial is played from a largely static position — usually with a step into the ball before lifting it.  As conditioning and technique have improved, distances have increased significantly — changing the game in well-documented ways.

The on-the-run aerial pass, however, is significantly different — both in technique and in its impact on the game.

Let’s look at a couple of examples, both from AH & BC Amsterdam players:

Mustapha Cassiem vs Hamburger

Marijn Veen vs HGC

In both cases, these passes create excellent goal-scoring opportunities. Ironically, both chances are missed — but that doesn’t take away from the quality of the opportunities created.

Players with this ability can fundamentally change how a team approaches counter-attacking and transition hockey.

Traditional coaching wisdom says that when you win possession — through a tackle or interception — the smart decision is to play a quick lateral pass.

This makes sense. In a turnover moment, you’re likely surrounded by opposition players — and playing forward immediately carries a high risk of losing the ball again.

So coaches often teach players to play sideways first, find space, and then build forward.

This approach has been effective - but it comes with a drawback:

That lateral pass gives the defending team time to recover, reorganize, and rebuild their structure.

And that takes away the biggest advantage of a counter-attack — exploiting space before the opposition is set.

This is where the on-the-run aerial pass becomes such a powerful weapon.

It allows you to go forward immediately — bypassing pressure not by playing around it, but by going over it.

You can attack with maximum speed and intent, without taking on unnecessary risk in dangerous areas of the pitch.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more and more of these types of counter-attacks at the highest level in the coming years.

Let’s look at the technique

While the outcome is similar, the two examples show different technical approaches — each with its own advantages.

Starting with Marijn Veen:

She carries the ball slightly in front of her as she runs, and it stays there throughout the execution. She uses excellent stick-head control and angle to ensure the edge of the stick makes contact with the bottom of the ball.

She times the action so she pushes up and forward with her arms as her right leg comes through in her stride.

It’s not too dissimilar to a right-foot push pass — just with a different stick angle.

Advantage:

You can execute this at close to full running speed, using your forward momentum to generate distance.

Limitation:

There’s little to no body rotation — which is a major source of power in most passing techniques — so distance is more limited. Typically, you’re breaking one line rather than two.

Now looking at Mustapha Cassiem:

His approach is slightly different. While still moving forward, he slows his feet just enough to let the ball come slightly behind him and allow his body to turn side-on.

This takes a fraction longer, but it allows him to rotate through the ball — transferring weight from right to left — which generates significantly more power.

That’s why you see the greater distance on his pass.

I’m not making any judgment on which technique is better — both are outstanding.

But it’s interesting to see how each approach offers different capabilities depending on the situation.

However you execute it, if you can learn to throw on the run, it opens up new attacking possibilities for your team.

More importantly, it allows you to take advantage of moments in the game that would normally pass you by — turning transitions into genuine opportunities, rather than just phases of possession.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of this in the coming years — and the goals that come from it.

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