Mitch Marner: Pump Fake with Forehand
We talked about Patrick Kane manipulating via the five hole yesterday, and today Mitch Marner is the topic of discussion. Arguably similar to Kane in terms of puck skill, how he overhandles pucks in tight, how he maneuvers in small areas, and leveraging deception to beat defenders and goalies, Marner maintains puck control exceptionally well in tight spaces of the ice.
I’ve mentioned before how overhandle can be a weapon in a player’s puck skills, especially when they’re trying to handle pucks in tight quarters. Overhandle can allow players to get out of pressure before coverage collapses on them quickly, and Marner exemplified that on his OT winning goal vs Boston.
This was a 2 goal game from Marner, where his first was an important part of the Leafs’ comeback initially in regulation, and his second goal obviously winning the game for Toronto. Something I really enjoy when watching Marner is how he leverages his top hand and wide stance to maintain center of gravity.
I think this makes Marner really unique, because he can really get low to the ice and maintain puck control from a larger radius of space. Marner is effective at being able to manage the puck from widening his base and making his lower body larger, giving him the illusion of looking bigger than he actually is.
Look at the awesome use of hand skill, free top elbow extension away from the body, widened feet and lower body, and the slight pump fake from backhand-forehand to create space on Jeremy Swayman and open the net up. Marner’s pump fake in tight was the key here, since that allowed him to get Swayman down and fall to the ice, and that opens up the top part of the net for Marner to shoot at.
Marner reads that quickly, and keeps the puck in front of his body to add to that deceptive element when handling the puck as well. Marner maintains puck control easily, and then maneuvers around Swayman in route for the game winner for Toronto.