Top 10 Most Viewed Drills from 2013

I thought it would be interesting to see what the top viewed drills were in 2013 and share that with everyone. I was surprised a little by one or two, but the others seem to make sense. Many can be run on half ice, which so many organizations are doing now to get more teams on the ice each week. Here is the list of the top 10 in order of most views.

1. Breakout Options
2. Right Up Breakout
3. 4 Corners Warm-Up
4. 3 Pass Breakout Drill
5. Forwards v Defensemen Game
6. Drive Drill
7. 2 Man Drive Passing
8. Behind The Net Forecheck 2 on 1
9. 4 Dot Skate And Shoot
10. NZ Regroup Dump And Chase

Click to Download the Drills

@DerekSchooley Shares With Us a Defensive Zone Coverage Drill

Robert Morris University head ice hockey coach Derek Schooley sent over a defensive zone coverage drill that works on 1×1, 2×2 and 5×5 skills. This drill is excellent for use on half ice practices as well as full ice practice slots. Every coach needs to work on his teams defensive zone coverage throughout the year and this drill gives us a way to accomplish that goal while working on other defensive skills and keeping the tempo high.

Defensive Zone Coverage Drill

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ACHA Select Team Practice Part II

The other day I posted a few drills the select team used in the warm-up phase of their practice. Here are a few of the drills they used during the skill assessment portion of the practice over the three days. As I said in the earlier post, the coaches also ran a number of 3×3 small area games and standard 2×1 or 3×2 type of drills that I will not include because they are similar to drills already included on the site. I did get the chance to run a few of these at my practice on Monday night and they work really well.

ACHA-Continuous 1v1 With Support Or Backcheck

ACHA-Continuous 2v0

ACHA-Continuous 2v1 And 3v2

ACHA-Four Part Transition

ACHA-Strongside Turn-Up

ACHA-Transition Strongside Weakside

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ACHA Select Team Practice

On December 26th and 27th I had the opportunity to watch the ACHA Select team practice in Albany, NY in preparation for their trip to Europe to play in the ACHA Challenge. My 22 year old son was fortunate enough to be selected to be a part of this team as one of the defensemen and I had to drive him to the facility in NY and decided to stay the night and watch all three practices. The team is coached by Mike Forbes a former NHL player and currently the head coach at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. Coach Forbes has won a national championship and been selected as Coach of the year in his five seasons at GVSU. I was really interested to see how he would structure his practice sessions since he had just three sessions to get the team on the same page before they went off to Europe to begin play on December 29th.

The first session was mostly standard practice drills to get the team skating and to give him a chance to see what his team looked like. He also spent time walking through the defensive systems he would use. The second and third practice sessions had more detailed drills for specific areas of the team as well as 3 on 3 play. The practices were up-tempo and he kept things moving along at a very nice pace. The team looked good even as they were trying to find their way as a team.

In this first installment I’ll post the drills that were used in the warm-up section of the three practices. Drills that just had the team skating and getting the goaltenders ready. In part two I’ll post the other drills that I saw him run to develop specific portions of the team game. In all I picked up ten drills to post on the site and I also watched him run drills that are pretty standard type of 2v1 or 3v2 structured drills that I won’t post. Normally I don’t post anything that I haven’t run with my team first but since I was able to watch the Select team run through these drills I have a good feel for them and think they are solid drills for any of us to run with our teams.

ACHA Continuous Line Passing

ACHA-Cross-Ice With 7 Passes And Shot

ACHA-Drive The Net WarmUp

ACHA-Goaltender WarmUp

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1 v 1 Drill Section Added to Site

From time to time you need to run 1v1 drills to work on those skills. Every player needs to know how to defend the 1v1 and how to create offense during the 1v1. Here is a selection of drills that I use throughout the course of the year to work on the 1v1 skills. As I stated in a prior post, I don’t allow my forwards to use the move where they put the puck between a defenders legs and try to go around him to pick it up again. In these drills I want my forwards to work on power moves to either the inside or the outside and to also use the defender as a screen and shoot through their legs. I also insist that they continue to work hard to the front of the net and look for rebounds. For the defensemen I want them to try and keep the rush to the outside whenever possible and to concentrate on the chest of the offensive player. My philosophy on defending the 1v1 is that the defensive player’s job is to ride the offensive player to the outside or off the puck and the backchecker should be there to pick up any loose pucks. Too often you see the defender look down at the puck to try and make a play and the offensive player goes right around him because of that look down. Keep your eyes on the chest and feel for the puck with your stick.

The one downside to running 1v1 drills is it causes a lot of standing around because only two players are working at the same time or four if you go in both directions, so be sure to make the drills run quickly and have the players clear the front of the net as soon as they are finished. I hope you find these drills helpful.

1 v 1 Drills Section

Robert Morris Head Coach Derek Schooley Brings Us Another Drill

Last week Coach Schooley gave us the Raider Passing drill and today he offers us Canadians Reverse 1 on 1. Last night at practice I ran this drill along with a few others that are designed to work on 1 on 1 skills. This drill works on communication between the defensemen as well as defending the 1 on 1 rush. It works best with six defensemen but can work just as well with four or five also. Make sure D2 is talking to D1 and calling for the reverse. Don’t allow the D to just make the pass without the communication aspect of the drill. The D need to get used to talking to each other in practice so they can do it properly in a game. With the forwards make sure you make them use different attack options during the rush. I don’t allow my players to try the move where they put the puck between the defenders legs and try to get around them during this drill. I want the forwards to work on a power move down the wall if the D has a tight gap, or if the D has a loose gap use him as a screen and fire a shot through his legs at the goaltender. I think it’s important for a forward to have a few moves they can use so forcing them to practice specific moves during this drill will help to make them a more well rounded player. We all know that come game time they are very likely to just try and put the puck between the legs of the defender but if they practice a few other moves maybe they will attempt it during a game.

I hope you find this drill useful, I know it worked well for my team.

Here are two other drills that work on 1 on 1 situations.

Brownie Quick-Up 1×1

123 Flow

Canadians Reverse 1on1

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Head Coach Derek Schooley Brings us This Simple but Effective Passing Drill

Yesterday I received this simple but very effective passing drill from Derek Schooley ( @DerekSchooley Twitter handle ) head coach at Robert Morris University. Coach Schooley was the very first D I coach to offer to help with this site when I first started it three years ago so it was really great to get some unsolicited drills from him again yesterday. I took it to practice last night and used it with my team and was very pleased with how it flows. You don’t need goaltenders for this drill so my guys were working with the goalie coach while the team executed the drill. If you don’t have a goalie coach to occupy your goaltenders just have them do some crease movement drills or run it the last few minutes of practice and let the goalies go off the ice early. Make sure the players execute the drill with a high tempo and be sure to make them keep their sticks on the ice so the passes can be quick one-touch type of passes.

Raider Passing Drill

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Horacek 5 Pass 2 on 1 Drive Drill

I am always on the lookout for good team oriented drills and last night I watched former NHL player Tony Horacek run this drill with his Midget 16 team. Timing is very important with this drill and it may take a few rotations to get it right but once you do the drill will flow really nicely and force your players to make good passes and work on timing their approach to the receiving zones. This drill is best performed by the more advanced teams.

If you like you can add an additional regroup in the neutral zone to make the players think and create more confusion.

5 Pass 2 on 1 Drive

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Half Ice Checking and Support Drill

I picked this one up from Ken Pauly who is a very well respected coach in Minnesota high school hockey.

I like to use this drill a few times each year to just get the players to understand working hard along the walls and in the corners. This drill isn’t the typical gauntlet drill where you have each player try to crush the incoming skater. What we want to do with this drill along the wall is have the players create resistance by chipping the skater, not try to put him through the glass.

You can separate the players however you want to but I like having the centers up high and using them to act as support in front of the net. Once you get the timing down this drill flows real nice and works a number of important areas of the ice.

Red Knight Compete

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Bantam Hockey Drills

If you are a Bantam coach looking to give your players a good skate, challenge them, and also run a few fun hockey drills then you are in luck. I have found a number of great hockey drills put together by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. These are all available in PDF (download link at bottom of post) but I have also broken them down to be viewed online.

Drill Time	Drill Description
8 minute	Reverse A-B-C-D Drill
O1 skates to centre ice O2 leads O1 with timing pass O1 Accelerates onto puck, drives around pylon or coach applying pressure to shoot O1 continues in front of net to opposite line O2 now skates to get pass from O1 To encourage players to chase rebounds and drive net after shooting you can have them continue driving to net and tapping the post with their stick after each shot.
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a simple overspeed drill that will help the players push their comfort limit and work on their edge control.

Drill Time	Drill Description
6	Crossover Snake
Crossovers around pylons Continuous Crossovers, no forward striding Add pucks and repeat the pattern A good way to challenge the players is to tell them they are not getting pucks until they skate the pylons with proper technique. This means continuous crossovers, no straight lines (all crossovers), controlling the stick around pylons, two hands on stick, lead with head and stick around the pylon, don’t let the stick go over top of the pylon, use both feet in the turn for maximum control (no dragging the feet), etc
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a good drill to help defense work on slapshots from the point and reinforce forwards to drive the net. Use this drill to teach the forwards to activate their defense. Coaches can apply some pressure in the passing lanes to the slot to show when forwards should be using defense and give the players some pressure when driving the net.

Drill Time	Drill Description
6	Bantam Goalie Drill – Telescoping
O1 Passes to O2 O2 drags to the middle, taking a slapshot on goal O1 moves to the net for a rebound After the play, O1 and O2 race to the opposite lines, alternate sides
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a fun drill that can be used to work on certain situations. The coach can reinforce coverage in front of the net, battling in corners, puck support, watching the slot, communication between defense, etc

Drill Time	Drill Description
7	Zone Games
Coach spots a puck and calls 2, 3, or 4 players Players from each team enter for 45 second game Coach whistles to clear the zone; next group is ready to go
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a good high intensity drill to work on back checking, break outs and offensive zone entry

Drill Time	Drill Description
8 minutes	Hound back 3 on 0
O1, O2, O3 hound back to defensive zone O4, O5, O6 pass to O1, O2, O3 O1, O2, O3 breakout 3 on 0 with speed and variety Variety of team tactics through neutral zone Attack G1 using Principles of Attack
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is basically a shootout with consequences, the consequence is not quite clear in the description, you can make your own.

Drill Time	Drill Description
8	4 corner Place your bet
1 vs 0 Scoring team receives a point Non scoring team skates over Alternate sides for shooting
Hockey Drill Diagram

This one is a bit complex, but a great drill to work on shooting, skating, and timing the passes. Once the players get it they will move well in this drill

Drill Time	Drill Description
8 minutes	Swing Drill
O1 begins the first repetition only, with a shot on goal After the shooter releases, retrieve a loose puck from the corner and pass to O2 swinging below the circle O2 take 2 or 3 steps and then passes to O3 who swings from mid ice to the outside lane Players advance to the next line
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a nice drill for offensive zone entry and breakouts. The diagram is not too clear so you will have to use your imagination a bit when thinking up the drill.

Drill Time	Drill Description
8 minutes	3 on 3 / 3 on 1 / 3 on 2
O1, O2, O3 attack 3 on 0 After play, O’s regroup with pass from O2 and go back 3 on 1 vs ▲1 After the play O’s regroup with pass from O4 and attack 3 on 2 vs ▲2 and ▲3 O1, O2, O3 go next
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a nice passing and shooting drill for the defense and forwards

Drill Time	Drill Description
8	1 on 1 Transition
▲1 receives pass from O1 Drags to middle and shoots O1 skates to net for screen or deflection Coach spots puck in the neutral zone ▲1 retrieves loose puck, passes to O1 for shot on goal Alternate sides at start, then both sides together Add a 2nd ▲ to play 1 on 1 low and 1 on 1 attack
Hockey Drill Diagram

I like stations to keep a lot of players active at once. You will need enough coaches to run each station

Drill Time	Drill Description
8	Powerplay Skills Stations
O2 give and go with O1 O2 Passes to O1, attack net 02 executes give and go with 01, 03 passes to 01 for low forward walk out △1 drags puck to middle and shoots △1 retrieves puck, passes to △2, shoots on net
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a simple drill that players like. Each player gets to work on their shot, while the goalie can work on angling.

Drill Time	Drill Description
7 minutes	Goalie drill – 5 shots
01 and 02 execute low walk-outs 03 and 04 take slap shots 05 executes in tight breakaway keep rotating positions Reinforce hitting the net from the blue line, and quick release from in close
Hockey Drill Diagram

Players like this drill and it will help them be stronger on their feet and use their weight more

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	Sumo Agility
Without sticks, players battle 1 on 1 in a circle with arms crossed A winner is declared when an opponent leaves the circle, falls, or touches the ice with a hand or knee Teach power stance and contact preparation. Coach should monitor safety, can be done in a tournament format
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is another fun shooting drill with some defensive pressure mixed in.

Drill Time	Drill Description
10 Minutes	1 on 1 from corner with help
△1 drags puck to center, shoots on goal O1 skates to the corner and retrieves a loose puck O1 plays 1 on 1 against △1 If O1 cannot penetrate to the net, O1 returns puck to the corner and calls for “help” O2 joins for 2 on 1 play
Hockey Drill Diagram

A good high tempo drill for defense and forwards. Forwards can drive the net, or go for the wraparound

Drill Time	Drill Description
7 Minutes	Net Drive 1 on 1
O1 Carries the puck around both pylons and drives to the net △1 leaves at the same time and must go between the pylons and then skate backwards O1 must drive to the outside Teach quick feet, crossovers, transition skating and puck protection
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a great drill for the defense to work on coverage and support in the defensive zone.

Drill Time	Drill Description
8 Minutes	2 on 2
△1, △2 start and return to front of net for each play O’s pair up in 3 different locations Coach passes to any pair of O’s, attack 2 on 2 vs △’s △1 and △2 play all three 2 on 2′s G2 plays wrap around and point shots with other players
Hockey Drill Diagram

I hope you can work some of these drills into your next practice. If you are looking for more drills and coaching resources take a look at my ultimate coaches resource guide.

If you want more than just a few drills I highly recommend the Weiss Tech Hockey drillbook and Systems book. There is a lot of great information in the e-books about systems, and the drillbook has lots of drills to enforce the systems.