Quickness vs. Speed; What's the Difference?
Quickness and Speed are two definitions that get used interchangeably quite often in hockey, but what is the real difference when articulating and spotting both from a developmental perspective?
When we think of players who have quickness and speed at the highest level, who do we think of? Players like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar—players who beat opponents with their feet consistently and make their physical foot speed an asset in their game that separates them.
But can players have quickness but not much speed, or have a lot of speed but not a lot of quickness?
Yes.
In simple terms, quickness is more of a mentality, and speed is more of a physical, tangible tool.
To be quick is to make decisions, recognize, and adapt to changes a step ahead of your counterparts—and to be able to get there in time.
Quickness requires a combination of the ability to process and get to a spot/make a decision ahead of the play. Quickness also tends to refer to a player’s edge work, crossovers, agility, stops/starts, and ability to change direction, as opposed to straight-line speed. Being quick does require the physical ability to make that play, and a player’s tangible skating/movement abilities are an element of this concept.
Being able to recognize, process, and react to a play at a high pace is immensely valuable to be able to play at a high level, and quickness is one of the key attributes that scouts look at to understand if the player will be able to play at the pace of a higher level or not.
Contrarily, speed requires the physical footwork and stride to be able to beat opponents to a spot on the ice, relying solely on how fast they are moving. Speed can often reference “straight line speed” which is a player’s ability to use their stride—not their edges, agility, or lateral movement—to get to a spot on the ice quicker than an opponent.
Like I said initially, quickness refers more to how quick a player is processing and getting to a spot, while speed is how fast that player is actually moving to get to a spot.
Below are some clips exemplifying both speed and quickness in different situations at the NHL level:
In the above clip, Mat Barzal (#13, Centre, New York Islanders) displays his straight-line speed to create a breakaway by beating his check with his feet.
Once he pokes the puck past his opponent in the defensive zone, he explodes out into the neutral zone with possession. Then he sets up a give-and-go, where he’s able to skate past his check and find himself in alone on the goalie.
Barzal is one of the quicker straight-line skaters in the NHL today, and is a player that is able to use his his speed gap effectively to create scoring chances.
Dylan Larkin (#71, Centre, Detroit Red Wings) has one of the fastest strides in the NHL, we often see him compete in the Fastest Skater competition that is held at the NHL All-Star game, and this clip exemplifies his ability to beat an opponent with his speed and turn it into a breakaway situation.
Here, Larkin explodes out of the defensive zone and gets his feet going right away. He is able to beat the opposing defender to the puck along the wall, poke it through and slip by the check, and beat him to the loose puck once again to get himself in alone on a breakaway.
This goal is a result of pure straight-line speed and explosivity from Larkin, where his speed alone is able to create a high danger scoring opportunity—which he capitalizes on.
In contrast, this clip of Mitch Marner—from the 2022-2023 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs—exemplifies quickness quite well.
Initially, Marner is patient, positioning himself high in the offensive zone in case his team loses the puck battle along the wall. When he recognizes the opposing team gains possession toward their own end, Marner jumps up, quickly closes the passing lane and intercepts the D-to-D pass to create a scoring chance.
This interception exemplifies quick recognition, anticipation, and the physical act of being able to get to that spot before his opponent’s can read that he is going to cover the passing lane—defining the concept of quickness.
For my final exemplary clip, Kirill Kaprizov (#97, Left Wing, Minnesota Wild) uses a few quickness tactics in this clip to create a goal by using his teammates.
On the initial play, he is positioned along the wall with not a lot of momentum, and by recognizing space through the middle, he opens up his edges while protecting the puck to get there. This helps create an offensive zone entry where he dishes to a teammate across the blue line. When he gets the puck back, his head is already on a swivel and he is aware of where his linemates are. From here, he cuts back swiftly and dishes to a teammate in the high slot.
The puck eventually goes in the net, but Kaprizov creates this goal with his quickness through his edges, awareness, and anticipation of where the space on the ice is, and where his teammates are at all times.
So what is more important, speed or quickness?
Through all four of these clips, speed and quickness are being used to generate high quality scoring chances—proving the importance of both attributes.
I would say that in today’s game, quickness is more important than speed. In today’s game, every player at high levels can shoot, pass, skate, etc. But can every player think and react at the highest pace? Not necessarily.
Elite players have elite quickness, even though they may not be the speediest player on the ice at all times, they are reading, anticipating, and getting to the right spots quicker than others. Think of players like Nikita Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl, they aren’t the fastest straight-line players in the league, but they process, anticipate, and get to spots quicker than others because they are quick—both mentally and physically.