Nolan’s Athlete Card

Nolan is a 12-year-old travel forward for the Ice Hawks with the two things that turn heads at a young age: he can really skate, and he's got soft hands with the puck. The gap this season has been the scoreboard — turning all that skill into goals. His shot release is slow and telegraphed, so goalies read it and are set before it leaves his stick; he shoots from the perimeter and bad angles instead of getting to the front of the net; and away from the puck he tends to glide and watch instead of getting open. The season's work went straight at those three, and the goals have started coming.

• ▸Genuinely skilled skater with an edge and a burst — the hardest thing to teach, and he has it.
• ▸Soft hands and real puck control in tight — the dangles are there.
• ▸Competitive and coachable; he wants to score and he'll do the reps to fix it.
• ▸Starting to get his shot off quicker and from better ice, which is turning chances into goals.

Nolan is working to turn his skill into scoring. Specifically: a quicker, more deceptive shot release so goalies can't set and read it, better shot selection so he's shooting from the middle of the ice and the net-front instead of the perimeter, and off-puck habits — supporting the play, getting open, driving the net — so he's a threat even when he doesn't have the puck. The skating and the hands are already there; this season is about the parts of the game that actually put the puck in the net.