Quote:
Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache
I have to say… “a good first pass” is something a lot of people say to bolster their case about defenders who aren’t overly impressive otherwise
I’d love to see people who use this elaborate on it
What are some good example of that good first pass that distinguish them? What defenders really stand out with a lousy first pass?
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I actually wrote-out a long response with examples, but I think it was overkill. Let me try to respond more concisely.
I do agree that sometimes certain attributes seem sort of vague, but I never though of "good first pass" as one of them. Certainly "good hockey IQ" is one of them. I do get it, however - good first pass is perhaps too commonly used.
What I specifically mean by a defencemen having a good first pass is that the defencemen (not forwards - I think good first pass relates to defence only) is able to make tape-to-tape passes reliably under pressure. The key for me is under pressure - everyone SHOULD be able to make a good first pass when not under pressure, but not everyone does it well while under pressure.
There is a big spectrum for me here - good is where I peg Tanev at - really consistent passing ability while under pressure. That's a certainly a high bar, but then you have guys like Giordano above that, and Brodie beyond Giordano with his ability to hit guys on the tape at pace on his backhand, all while evading a forechecker or having back-pressure.
Solovyov specifically - I found he had the poise to evade a forechecker when needed to in order to give the forward that split-second to gain position and get open, and then made an accurate tape-to-tape pass. I also noticed him getting a few high-end stretch passes off in a hurry while under pressure too, which legitimately surprised me. I have to rank him as 'good' and not 'great' because I did see him rattled on a few and turn the puck over, and I remember him chipping a puck out of the zone off the boards to nobody even though there was a player open instead. However, he did find open guys and delivered quick passes accurately and consistently. With some more experience, I think can reach the Weegar/Andersson level which is great, but a clear step behind Giordano/Brodie/Hamilton and even Wideman (who I all think were better on the transition). I think Solovyov's first pass is better than Pachal's or Hanley's.
A way I think about this is actually a bit weird. I think back to: "Would this defecemen be good in Hartley's system?". Sarich was a really good physical stay-at-home type, but he didn't fit into Hartley's system at all because his passing ability was below average. Hartley's system partly relied on having a lightning-quick transition as you certainly are know. To have that quickness, Hartley had instituted a couple of rules (and I believe we discussed this some years ago) - one of which was that defencemen were no longer allowed to rim the puck along the boards backwards behind the net towards each other. The other rule was a preference for moving the puck up, rather than sideways, so defencemen-to-defencemen passing was discouraged. Sarich fell out of favour. Wideman had a career year. I think Solovyov had enough ability in that regard to fit into Hartley's system, so my baseline ranking of him would be 'good'. I don't think Solovyov will ever be as good as Brodie, Giordano or Wideman were (Wideman was underrated in that capacity).
Hope this answers your questions. Don't you dare ask me about hockey IQ or you will get a much longer response. LoL