In this article, we take a look at a punch jam, the baby brother of the jam turn. It’s a bit of a made-up, slang term, but it’s a move players can use to create time and space.
A jam turn is a tight turn where a player drives their front foot out, almost like a side stop, but instead of fully stopping, the player glides around and crosses over to get away from traffic. A punch jam is half of a jam turn.
If we look at the video, as players come in, we’re going to try to be evasive. And the more evasive a player can be, the better that player is going to be all around in every area of the rink.
When a player is attacking an opponent, they’re going to come in and they’re going to fake like they’re going to the left or the right. If they’re coming in towards an opponent they’re going to turn the toes of their skates to the right side and then quickly jam their left foot in order to carry around the left side of that opponent and drive the net. The more evasive a player can become the more opportunity they’re going to create for themselves.
If we look at a punch jam when we’re attacking a player, If I’m going to fake to the left side, I’m going to drive my toe caps to the left side, making that player think I’m going to the left, and quickly, I’m going to jam my right foot into the ice and cut to the right side of that player.
Using Your Stick and the Puck to Sell the Fake
It’s very important that we use that puck and our stick properly. We want to sell that we’re going to the left side by carrying the puck on the left side of our body. As soon as I jam my right foot, I’m going to pull my puck to the right side of my body away from that player and drive around on the right side of that player.
The punch jam is a very effective move. But we also have to keep in mind that our stick and puck have to move just as quickly.
So I’m attacking a player and I’m going to the right side, my toe caps are going to the right side of that player’s body, and as soon as I get my left foot out front and jam that foot down, I need to pull that puck across to the left side of my body quickly in order to keep it away from that player’s body and stick to get around them on the left side.
When and Where to Use Punch Jams on the Ice
Players can be evasive in any area of the rink. If I’m a defenseman, and I have a player backchecking me and I’m coming in to retrieve and puck, I can always fake like I’m going to go to the left and then punch jam quick and get out on the right. If I’m a defenceman coming back on retrieval, and I have pressure, I can always fake like I’m going to go to the right side and then quickly jam and turn to the left in order to escape, create time and space, and make a play to get out of our zone.
We often see players use a punch jam when they’re attacking a defender. They’re entering the zone, pushing the defenceman back, coming down the right side of the ice as a left-handed shot. Pretending like they’re going to drive deep and then quickly they jam their left foot cut to the middle and release a shot. Right-handed players would do the same thing coming down the left side of the rink, attacking that defender and pretending like they’re going to go deep and quickly jamming that right foot and cutting across and releasing the puck.
The more players practice and begin to perfect the punch jam, the more evasive they’re going to become all over the ice. The punch jam gives players the ability to become evasive and unpredictable to opponents. As they’re attacking or they’re retrieving a puck, they can change directions quickly, under control, by adding speed and ultimately creating space in order to make plays in the offensive zone or in the defensive zone, anywhere on the ice.
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