Film Room: Antonio Stranges and the art of the heel-to-heel

It’s rare for a CHL player, especially a mid-round draft pick, to achieve mainstream hockey attention.

But that’s precisely what Dallas Stars’ 2020 fourth-rounder Antonio Stranges has done. Since he stepped into the OHL in 2018, he’s manufactured highlight after highlight. Stranges’ latest work includes a pair of incredible coast-to-coast goals just a week apart, both of which went viral.  

The common thread between all those clips is Stranges’ skating style. Notably, the heel-to-heel. In many of his rushes, the number of heel-to-heel push-offs is greater than the number of strides and crossovers combined. It’s ingrained into his skating, much like a stride or crossover is ingrained into other players.

Here’s how it works.