Passing 1 - Basic Passing
Passing, and in particular receiving passes, is one of the most important skills to learn for beginning hockey players (and one that experienced players should be VERY keen on getting right). A good pass should be hard, accurate, and flat (not flipping edge over edge), whether the pass is simply sliding along the ice, or flying in the air to clear some obstacle ("saucer pass").
To setup for a basic forehand pass, start in the normal hockey stance. Bring the puck behind the rear leg, shifting your body weight to that leg. The puck should be sitting in the middle section of your stick blade. Your stick blade should be at a right angle to your target. You should be looking at your target. From this position you are ready to make the pass to your target. If you target becomes unavailable, you are also ready to take a shot - in fact there is really very little difference between a pass and a shot, except maybe that your shot should be harder (you would put use your body weight shift more in a shot).
To actually make the pass, from the setup position above, pull with your top hand whilst simultaneously pushing with your bottom hand, moving the puck towards your target. As you move the puck forwards, shift your body weight forwards, from your rear leg to your front leg. The pushing and pulling with your hands must be coordinated in a way that does not let your stick blade "open" - in other words your stick blade should remaing at a right angle to your target from the starting position, right through until the blade gets to your front foot. After the blade reaches this position, the face of the blade will start to "close", which means that the end of the blade begins to point towards your target. This occurrs naturally as the top hand reaches a point when it can no longer pull, but the bottom hand keeps pushing. It is this closing of the face of the blade that provides the spin which keeps the pass (or shot) flat.
Receiving the pass is actually quite similar to making the pass - only in reverse. Watching the incoming puck, you should have your stick blade as far forward as possible BEFORE the point when the blade face starts to close. Keep the blade at a right angle to the incoming puck. As the puck arrives move your weight from the front foot to the rear foot, and move the blade backwards towards the setup position for making a pass. Moving back with the puck in this way gives players the ability to absorb the force of a hard pass, whilst maintaining control. It is very unlikely that a player will be able to stop a hard pass without providing at least some "give" as the puck arrives.
It is very important to realise that it is far easier
to give a hard pass than it is to receive one, and that receiving such
passes is one of they key things that differentiates an average player
from a good one.