Hockey Glossary

Faceoffs he took (FO), how many of them he won (FOW), and the share he won (FO%). A player who took none has no share.

Also called: FO, FOW, FO%

Games in which he scored the first goal, whichever side went on to win.

Also called: FG

The goal that put his team one ahead of the other side's final score.

Also called: GWG

The games he started in net. Games played also counts the nights he came in for someone else.

Also called: GS

The league's official counts. P = G + A.

Also called: G, A, P

The number of games a player dressed for.

Also called: GP, games played

Three goals by one player in one game. At home games, fans traditionally celebrate by throwing hats onto the ice.

Also called: hat-trick

Related: Sniper

How much he plays, and how busy he is when he does. MIN is his minutes in net; SA/60 and SV/60 are the shots he faced and stopped for every 60 of them; MIN/GP is minutes per game played.

Also called: SA/60, SV/60, MIN, MIN/GP

Goals scored in overtime (shootout goals don't count).

Also called: OTG

How many penalties of each kind he took. First by class: minors, majors, misconducts (MISC) and game misconducts (GM). Then by what they were called for: fighting, roughing, tripping, hooking and so on.

Also called: MINOR, MAJOR, MISC, GM, FIGHT, ROUGH

A number scaled to 60 minutes of ice time, so players who play very different minutes can be compared fairly. Two points per 60 means two points for every full game's worth of time the player spent on the ice.

Also called: /60, per 60 minutes

The total minutes a player has spent serving penalties. A minor penalty is 2 minutes, a major is 5 and a misconduct is 10.

Also called: PIM, PIMs, penalty minutes

Related: Penalty kill (PK)

The league's plus/minus: +1 when he's on the ice for an even-strength or short-handed goal for, −1 for one against. Power-play goals don't count. Empty nets do.

Also called: +/-, plus-minus

Decisions as the league credits them. OTL counts overtime and shootout losses. WIN% = wins ÷ GP × 100; SO/GP = shutouts ÷ GP.

Also called: W, L, OTL, SO, WIN%, SO/GP

Shots on goal he faced, the ones he stopped, the ones that went in.

Also called: SA, SV, GA@G

Shots that reached the goalie or went in.

Also called: SOG, shots

A game in which a team allows no goals. The goaltender who played the whole game is credited with it.

Also called: SO

His goals on which no assist was given.

Also called: UA

Goals scored into a net the goalie had left for an extra skater. They count among a player's goals.

Also called: empty-netter, EN

Related: Shorthanded

The shorthanded team's job during the other team's power play: stop them scoring until the penalty ends. Players trusted with it are called penalty killers.

Also called: PK, penalty killing, penalty killer

Related: Shorthanded

Scored while his team had more skaters because of a penalty, as the league flags the goal.

Also called: PPG, PPA, PPP, PPG/GP, PPP/GP

Scored while his team was short a skater.

Also called: short-handed, SH

Related: Penalty kill (PK)

His shots on goal sorted into high-, medium- and low-danger chances.

Also called: high danger, HDCF

Related: Scoring chance, The slot, xG (expected goals)

Goals his team scored, and allowed, with him on the ice.

Also called: GF, GA, OGF/GP, OGA/GP

A shot or play with a real chance of becoming a goal, usually because of where it came from or how it developed. Not every shot is a scoring chance.

Also called: chance

Related: High-danger chance, xG (expected goals)

How many goals his shots would produce for an average shooter. It rates the chances he gets, apart from how he finishes them.

Also called: expected goals, xGF, xGA

Related: High-danger chance, Scoring chance

Getting the puck out of your own zone. A clean exit, a pass or a carry that keeps the puck, starts an attack; a clear off the glass only relieves pressure. Also called a breakout.

Also called: breakout, exit

Related: Puck-moving defenseman, Transition

Skating back hard toward your own net to help defend when the other team has the puck and is attacking.

Also called: backchecking

Related: Forecheck, Two-way player

The two blue lines split the rink into three zones. The puck has to cross into the attacking zone before the attackers do (see offside). Defensemen are often called blueliners, because in the attacking zone they play near that line.

Also called: blueline, blueliner

Related: Offside, Neutral zone

Keeping the puck in the attacking zone by moving it along the boards from player to player, usually low in the zone, to tire the defenders and wait for an opening.

Also called: cycling, cycle game

Related: Forecheck, Power forward

Shooting the puck into the attacking zone and chasing after it, instead of carrying it in. It gives up the puck for a moment but avoids losing it at the blue line.

Also called: dump-in

Related: Forecheck

Pressuring the other team in its own zone to win the puck back before it can start an attack.

Also called: forechecking, forechecker

Related: Backcheck, Dump and chase, Grinder (energy player)

Shooting the puck from your own half of the ice all the way past the other team's goal line without anyone touching it. Play stops and the faceoff moves back to the offending team's end. A team that is shorthanded is allowed to ice the puck.

Related: Offside, Penalty kill (PK)

Standing in front of the other team's net to block the goaltender's view, tip shots and score on rebounds. It takes size and a willingness to be pushed around.

Also called: net front

Related: The slot, Power forward

The middle zone of the rink, between the two blue lines.

Related: Blue line

An attacking player may not cross into the attacking zone ahead of the puck. If one does, play stops and restarts with a faceoff outside the zone.

Related: Blue line, Icing

Shooting a pass straight away, without stopping the puck first. It is quick and hard for the goaltender to follow.

Also called: one timer

Related: Release

The area in front of the net, between the faceoff circles, where most goals are scored. The high slot is the part farther from the net.

Also called: high slot, low slot

Related: High-danger chance, Net-front presence

The moments when the puck changes hands and play turns the other way. A player who is good in transition turns defense into attack quickly, with a pass or by carrying the puck up the ice.

Also called: transition game

Related: Zone exit (breakout), Puck-moving defenseman

How hard a player works and battles, especially for loose pucks and in the hard areas along the boards and in front of the net.

Also called: compete

Related: Motor, Grinder (energy player)

How well a skater uses the inside and outside edges of the skate blade to turn, stop, pivot and change direction. Good edges let a player escape pressure without losing speed.

Also called: edgework, edge work

Related: Stride

How well a defender manages the distance to an attacker skating at them. A tight gap leaves the attacker little time and space; a loose one lets them build speed.

Also called: gap

Related: Stay-at-home defenseman, Edges (edge work)

A player's understanding of the game: reading plays before they happen, being in the right place, and making the right decision quickly. Also called hockey sense.

Also called: hockey sense

Related: Playmaker, Two-way player

A player's energy and work rate over a whole shift and a whole game. A player with a high motor rarely stops moving.

Related: Compete level, Forecheck

How quickly and deceptively a player gets a shot away. A quick release gives the goaltender less time to get set.

Also called: quick release

Related: One-timer, Sniper

Fine control of the puck with the stick: taking hard passes cleanly, handling the puck in tight spaces and finishing gently around the net.

Also called: puck skills, quick hands

Related: Playmaker, Sniper

A skater's basic push-and-glide motion. Scouts look at its length, power and efficiency; a long, powerful stride covers more ice with less effort.

Also called: skating stride

Related: Edges (edge work)

A player in a supporting role, in the bottom six forwards or the third defense pair, who fills a spot rather than drives the team.

Also called: depth forward, depth defenseman

Related: Top six and bottom six, Grinder (energy player)

A hard-working, physical player in a supporting role who forechecks, blocks shots and wins battles more than they score. Also called an energy player.

Also called: energy player, checker

Related: Top six and bottom six, Forecheck, Depth player

A player whose main strength is setting up teammates with passing and vision, rather than scoring.

Also called: playmaking

Related: Sniper, Hockey IQ (hockey sense)

A big, strong forward who scores and creates chances by driving to the net, winning battles and playing physically.

Related: Net-front presence, Cycle

A defenseman whose strength is moving the puck up the ice, with passes or by skating it out of the zone.

Also called: puck mover, offensive defenseman

Related: Stay-at-home defenseman, Zone exit (breakout), Transition

A player whose main strength is shooting and scoring goals.

Also called: shooter, goal scorer

Related: Playmaker, Release

A defenseman whose game is built on defending: positioning, blocking shots and clearing the front of the net, with little attacking.

Also called: defensive defenseman

Related: Puck-moving defenseman, Gap control

A team's top four are its first two pairs of defensemen, who play the most minutes. The top pair is the best two.

Also called: top 4, top pair, first pair

Related: Top six and bottom six

The top six are a team's first two lines of forwards, who get the most ice time and are expected to score. The bottom six are the third and fourth lines, usually in checking and energy roles. A 'top-six projection' means a prospect looks like a future first- or second-line forward.

Also called: top 6, bottom six, middle six

Related: Top four and top pair, Depth player, Projection (projectable)

A forward or defenseman who is reliable in their own end as well as productive in attack. A '200-foot game' means the same thing: useful in all three zones of a rink that is 200 feet long.

Also called: 200-foot game, two-way forward, two-way centre

Related: Backcheck, Hockey IQ (hockey sense)

A ranking of draft prospects from best to worst in one evaluator's view, without regard to which team needs what.

Also called: rankings, draft board

Related: Mock draft, Consensus ranking

A prospect with a wide range of possible outcomes: they could become a star, or might not make the NHL.

Related: Ceiling and floor

A prospect's ceiling is the best realistic outcome; the floor is what you would expect if development stalls. A high-floor prospect is a safer pick; a high-ceiling one offers more upside along with more risk.

Also called: high ceiling, high floor

Related: Upside, Boom or bust, Projection (projectable)

A player's promise to play college hockey for a particular NCAA school in a future season. It is a plan, not a signed contract, and it can change.

Also called: committed

Related: NCAA

A draft pick traded with a condition attached. For example, it might upgrade to a higher round if a traded player reaches a set number of games, or move to the next year if it lands in a protected range.

Also called: conditional

Related: First-round pick, Draft rights

A ranking that combines several outlets' lists, to show where a player generally sits rather than where one person has them.

Also called: consensus

Related: Big board

A weighted draw among the teams that missed the playoffs that decides who picks first. Teams with worse records get better odds, and there is a limit on how far a team can move up.

Also called: lottery

Related: First-round pick

When a club drafts a player, it gets the sole right to sign them to an NHL contract for a set period, which depends on where the player is playing. If the club does not sign them in time, the player can enter the draft again or become a free agent, depending on age.

Also called: rights, unsigned pick

Related: ELC (entry-level contract), Overager, Prospect pool (pipeline)

Where a season sits against his first NHL draft. DY is the season that ends in the year he's first eligible, DY-1 the one before, DY+1 the one after.

Also called: DY, DY+1, DY-1

Related: Draft-eligible, Overager

A player can first be picked in the NHL Draft in the year they turn 18, as long as their birthday falls on or before September 15. A player born after September 15 waits one more year.

Also called: draft eligible, eligible

Related: Draft year (DY, DY+1), Overager

A pick in the first of the NHL Draft's seven rounds. Each round has 32 picks, one per club, unless picks have been traded.

Also called: first-rounder, 1st round

Related: Draft lottery, Conditional pick

A player his league counts as a rookie that season. It is the league's own mark, not an age: an import in his first year is a rookie at 19.

A prediction of which player each team will pick, in order, taking team needs and the draft order into account. Unlike a big board, it tries to guess what teams will do.

Also called: mock

Related: Big board

The NHL's own scouting department. During the season it publishes rankings of draft-eligible players, with separate lists for North American and international skaters and goaltenders.

Also called: Central Scouting, CSS

Related: NHL Scouting Combine, Big board

An event held shortly before the draft where top prospects take fitness tests and are interviewed by NHL teams.

Also called: the Combine

Related: NHL Central Scouting, Draft-eligible

A player in his 20-year-old season, the last a junior may play: born twenty years before the year the season starts (a 2006 birth year in 2026-27). A club may dress only a few.

Also called: over-ager, re-entry, second-year eligible

Related: Draft-eligible, Draft rights

The role a scout expects a prospect to grow into, for example a top-six forward. A projectable player has tools, such as size, skating or skill, that should keep developing with age and strength.

Also called: projectable, projects as

Related: Ceiling and floor, Upside, Top six and bottom six

All the young players a club holds the rights to who are not yet regulars on its NHL roster. Also called the pipeline.

Also called: pipeline, prospect pipeline

Related: Draft rights

The year, round and pick he was taken in his league's draft, "Import draft" for the CHL import draft, or "Undrafted" when the league signed or listed him without a pick.

Talented but unpolished: the tools are there, but technique, decisions or consistency still need work.

Related: Upside, Projection (projectable)

Picking a player much earlier than most rankings suggested.

Related: Steal, Consensus ranking

The season a line belongs to, named by the two years it spans: 2025-26 began in the autumn of 2025. Team is his club that season.

Also called: Season, Team

A prospect ranked lower than they may deserve, who could turn out better than where they are picked.

Related: Steal, Reach

A player picked much later than their talent suggested, or one who turns out far better than where they were drafted.

Related: Reach, Sleeper

How much better a prospect could become than they are today.

Related: Ceiling and floor, Projection (projectable)

The top minor league in North America. Each NHL club has an AHL affiliate where it develops young players.

Also called: American Hockey League

Related: ECHL, Waivers

The umbrella body for Canada's three major junior leagues: the OHL, the WHL and the QMJHL. Most players are 16 to 20 years old.

Also called: Canadian Hockey League, major junior

Related: OHL (Ontario Hockey League), WHL (Western Hockey League), QMJHL, Memorial Cup

The CHL's yearly draft of players from outside North America. Each team may carry only a small number of these import players.

Also called: Import Draft

Related: CHL (Canadian Hockey League)

The professional level below the AHL in North America. Some NHL clubs place prospects there to get them more playing time.

Related: AHL (American Hockey League)

A summer international tournament for players under 18. For many players it is the first big scouting event of their draft season.

Also called: Hlinka

Related: U18 and U20, World Juniors (WJC)

Sweden's second professional tier, below the SHL.

Also called: Allsvenskan

Related: SHL (Swedish Hockey League), J20 Nationell

Sweden's top national junior league for players under 20.

Also called: J20

Related: SHL (Swedish Hockey League), HockeyAllsvenskan

Canadian junior leagues outside the CHL, such as the BCHL in British Columbia, the AJHL in Alberta, and the OJHL and CCHL in Ontario. They have long been a route to NCAA college hockey.

Also called: BCHL, AJHL, OJHL, CCHL

Related: CHL (Canadian Hockey League), NCAA

The top professional league in Russia, which also has teams in some neighboring countries.

Also called: Kontinental Hockey League

Related: VHL, MHL

Finland's top professional league.

Related: SHL (Swedish Hockey League)

The CHL's championship tournament, played each spring between the OHL, WHL and QMJHL champions and a host team.

Related: CHL (Canadian Hockey League)

Russia's top junior league, for players up to 20.

Related: KHL (Kontinental Hockey League), VHL

The National Collegiate Athletic Association, which runs U.S. college sports. NCAA Division I hockey is a major route to the NHL: players study while playing a season against opponents who are often several years older.

Also called: college hockey, Division I

Related: College commitment, USHL (United States Hockey League)

One of the three CHL leagues, with teams in Ontario and in the U.S. states of Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Also called: Ontario Hockey League

Related: CHL (Canadian Hockey League), WHL (Western Hockey League), QMJHL

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, known in French as the LHJMQ: the CHL league for Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

Also called: LHJMQ, Q

Related: CHL (Canadian Hockey League), OHL (Ontario Hockey League), WHL (Western Hockey League)

Sweden's top professional league. A teenager playing there is competing against adults, which scouts weigh when reading their numbers.

Also called: Swedish Hockey League

Related: HockeyAllsvenskan, J20 Nationell, Liiga

Age-group levels: U18 means under 18, U20 under 20. The IIHF U18 World Championship each spring is a major scouting event for draft-eligible players; the U20 tournament is the World Juniors.

Also called: U-18, U-20, under-18, under-20

Related: World Juniors (WJC), Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Draft-eligible

The top junior league in the United States. Many of its players go on to play NCAA college hockey.

Also called: United States Hockey League

Related: NCAA, USNTDP (U.S. National Team Development Program), College commitment

USA Hockey's development program in Michigan. It brings top American players aged 16 and 17 together in two teams, which play in the USHL and against college and international opponents.

Also called: NTDP, U.S. NTDP, National Team Development Program

Related: USHL (United States Hockey League), U18 and U20

Russia's second professional tier, below the KHL.

Related: KHL (Kontinental Hockey League), MHL

The CHL league for Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Also called: Western Hockey League

Related: CHL (Canadian Hockey League), OHL (Ontario Hockey League), QMJHL

The IIHF World Junior Championship, the under-20 international tournament played every year around Christmas and New Year. It is one of the biggest stages for prospects.

Also called: WJC, World Junior Championship

Related: U18 and U20, Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Ending a contract early by paying the player part of what is left, spread over twice the remaining years. Some of it still counts against the cap.

Also called: bought out

Related: Salary cap, Cap hit (AAV)

How much a contract counts against the salary cap each season: its total value divided by its number of years. Also called the AAV, the average annual value.

Also called: AAV, average annual value

Related: Salary cap, LTIR (long-term injured reserve)

The agreement between the NHL and its players' union that sets the rules for contracts, the salary cap, free agency and the draft.

Also called: collective bargaining agreement

Related: Salary cap, ELC (entry-level contract), RFA (restricted free agent)

The first NHL contract a young player signs. Its length and top salary are set by the collective bargaining agreement; players who sign young usually get three-year deals.

Also called: entry-level contract, entry-level deal

Related: Draft rights, RFA (restricted free agent), CBA (collective bargaining agreement)

When a player is expected to miss a long stretch, at least 10 games and 24 days, the club can go over the salary cap, up to that player's cap hit, to replace them.

Also called: long-term injured reserve

Related: Salary cap, Cap hit (AAV)

A contract offer one club makes to another club's restricted free agent. The player's club can match it and keep the player, or let them go and receive draft picks in return.

Related: RFA (restricted free agent)

A player whose contract has ended but who has not yet reached the age or years of service for full free agency. The club keeps the player's rights by making a qualifying offer. Another club can sign them only through an offer sheet, which the original club can match.

Also called: restricted free agent

Related: UFA (unrestricted free agent), Offer sheet, ELC (entry-level contract)

The limit on how much a club can spend on player contracts in a season. Cap space is how much room a club has left under it.

Also called: cap space, cap room, the cap

Related: Cap hit (AAV), LTIR (long-term injured reserve), CBA (collective bargaining agreement)

The last day in the NHL season on which clubs can make trades. It usually falls in early March, and trading opens again after the season.

Also called: deadline

Related: Conditional pick

A player whose contract has ended and who can sign with any club. In the NHL this usually comes at age 27 or after seven seasons of service.

Also called: unrestricted free agent, free agent

Related: RFA (restricted free agent), Salary cap

Before a club can send certain players to the minors, every other club gets a chance to claim them. Young players early in their contracts are often waiver-exempt, so they can move between the NHL and the AHL freely.

Also called: waiver-exempt, on waivers

Related: AHL (American Hockey League), ELC (entry-level contract)