Systems · Defense · Center · Wing · Goalie
Breakout system shape
How do five players share responsibility on a zone exit?
Your state
Open the lesson steps below to move forward.
Why it matters
Concepts earn their place by changing a decision on the ice.
This is the shared system that connects defensemen's retrievals, centers' support, wingers' wall reads and the goalie's rebound direction.
Coaching note · Developing
Learn the three lanes and hold them.
Teaching lens · Teen (13–17)
Pair every read with the decision it changes, then rep it against real resistance.
Cue: “What was your second option on that play?”
Session dose · 15–25 minutes, with one game-speed progression.
The reads
- Which forecheck are we facing?
- Is the strong-side wall occupied?
- Do we need speed or possession?
Three lanes, five roles
- Strong-side wall, middle, and weak side must all exist.
- Every role has an option and a responsibility.
- The shape is a starting point; the read decides.
Key points on the ice
- Strong-side wall, middle, and weak side must all exist.
- Every role has an option and a responsibility.
- The shape is a starting point; the read decides.
Common mistakes
Each mistake is paired with the fix a coach would actually say.
Wingers standing on the wall flat-footed.
Time your arrival, don't wait.
Center below the puck too long.
Support, then leave with speed.
Decision scenario
Read the conditions first — the right answer is the best one under these conditions, not a universal rule.
Your team keeps exiting with chips into traffic. What is the likeliest cause?
Practice this on purpose
Only reps that are feasible in your practice reality (any setting · 20 min) are shown. A logged rep is evidence for one named learning outcome only — never for another position's concept.
Support triangle timing
Arrive as an option a half-second before the carrier needs one.
- 1Three players keep a triangle while the puck moves in a corner.
- 2The non-puck players must always show one wall and one middle option.
- 3Rotate roles after each possession.
Progression
- · Add one defender.
- · Add a two-touch limit.
- · Play 3v2 with a required middle-lane pass before shooting.
Needs: ice · 5 others (Coach, Teammates) · non-contact, coach-supervised · progressions add: step 3 adds live defenders.
Pick the outcome this rep was for. Atlas never assumes what a rep proved.
First-pass window ladder
Deliver the first pass to the correct window rather than the closest teammate.
- 1Three receivers set: strong-side wall, middle support, weak-side D.
- 2Coach calls a forecheck shape after the retrieval starts.
- 3Pass to the window that the forecheck just opened.
Progression
- · Silent reps: no calls, only reads.
- · Add one forechecker taking away the wall.
- · Live 2v2 exit with a 6-second exit clock.
Needs: ice · 5 others (Coach, Teammates) · non-contact, coach-supervised.
Pick the outcome this rep was for. Atlas never assumes what a rep proved.
Self-report override
The guided path to Understood is the decision scenario, and to Practiced is logging a rep. These buttons are your own honest self-report — Atlas does not verify them, and views or clicks never count as mastery.
Where this connects
Nothing in Atlas is a dead end.
Prerequisites
Related
Team systems
Breakout
Three lanes, five timed roles, adapted to the forecheck in front of you.
Next concept
One clear step, taken from your defense path.
Next in your Defense path
Defensive-zone coverage
Coverage is about the most dangerous ice first and clean handoffs second.
ContinueRepresentative teaching content authored for this prototype. Marking Applied is your own honest report from a game — Atlas does not verify it.