Behind-the-Net Hub Offense

Objective: Run the offense from Gretzky's office: the playmaker holds the puck behind the net, where no defender can check him without opening a door. Setup: Best playmaker sets up behind the net with the puck; a bumper in the slot, a backdoor forward at the weak post, two D at the points. Execution: The hub holds behind the net and reads the panic: every second he waits, the coverage's structure decays — patience IS the play. Trigger: a defender commits to the hub = the door he came from is open — bumper one-timer in the slot, or the backdoor tap at the far post. Nobody watches: the bumper relocates constantly to stay in a passing lane, the D creep down for the third-wave shot with a double screen. Coaching points: Use it when: you have one elite passer — the net protects him better than any screen, and every out is a Grade-A chance. What beats it: coverage that refuses to chase behind the net and zones the four passing lanes — then the hub walks out and shoots himself; he must be a threat, not just a distributor. The wraparound is the fifth option, and it's always there when the goalie cheats to the pass side — take it without ceremony.