Hockey Drills DVDs Hockey Drills DVD from Championship Productions
Breakout Drills
Breakouts are necessary to create the dangerous 2-on-1 plays. Mark Carlson, the USHL’s Coach of the Year in 2004-05, covers the key breakout ingredients – quick, move the puck, timing, talking, read pressure and maintain puck support – in these hockey drills.
Details include getting to the puck quickly, check
Here are a few pre-practice skating drills I like to use to get the players and goaltenders warmed up. Each drill has the goaltenders doing goaltender specific skating drills instead of skating with the team. As we all know goaltenders very rarely need to skate the length of the ice or do transition moves, so I keep them out of the team skating drills and give them specific goaltender skating drills to work on.
The entire set of four skating drills should take five to seven minutes at the top of your practice ice time and give the players a good warm-up. The fourth skating drill is a high speed drill and the goaltenders can use that time to get ready for shooting drills that are likely to come next.
Hope these help and give you ideas to work around. Remember, there are thousands of skating drills you can use, these are just a few I have had success with over the years.
2 Pattern Pre-Practice Warm-Up
Backward to Forward with Stops
Backward to Forward Crossover
BC Box Skate
Focus:
Drill:
1. Setup 4 pucks out in front of the net in the slot
2. Players must approach and shoot on Backhand
3. Goalie must make save and recover quickly
Focus:
1. Backhand shots – approaching the puck and shooting comfortably instead of trying to roll it over to the forehand
2. Getting the shot off quickly with no stickhandling
3. Goalie movement and recovery
Notes:
This is a great small area drill and can be done with a few players while others are focusing on something else.
“My Favorite Drill”
By Bob Cunningham
Nov 5, 2001, 19:21
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| The rim-it drill |
Back and forth, to and fro, up and back. The Los Angeles Kings are near the end of practice, so it’s time for hockey’s equivalent of wind sprints. Players become a blur as they skate speedily — first to their own blue line and back to the goal, then to center ice and back, then to the opposite blue line and back…then aaaalllll the way to the opposite goal and back.
Whew!
Wait a minute. An NHL player’s life is always glorious, right? If they’re not cruising down the ice, arms raised after yet another impressive goal, or filming an ESPN promo, they’re pulling away from the arena in a Porsche 944. Right? Ah, to have it so rough.
Twweeeeett!
Not so fast, all-stars in the making. In order to become the best of the best, every NHL coach and most NHL players realize that there can never be too much practice. There’s always room for improvement, even on the basics of the game.
So, with that in mind, Hockey Player decided to speak with a few coaches about their favorite drills. The following four routines were mapped out for us by coaches in Anaheim, Vancouver and Calgary. You’ll see that no player goes un-tested. Goaltenders are spun every which way, and pucks come at skaters from every conceivable direction — not necessarily one at a time.
Play-it-or-Set-it
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| Play-it-or-set-it |
Communication,” says Hislop, “is absolutely vital. Miscommunication usually translates into turnovers.” Hislop has another routine that focuses on decision-making, but actually puts a higher priority on communication:
With a goalie in position and a player out on the wing in his own end, a coach at center ice begins clearing pucks into the zone around the boards. With quickness and certainty, the defenseman must communicate to the goaltender whether he should “Play it” — by sending the puck out to a teammate or slapping it along one of the wings — or “Set it” — which simply means stop the puck, and leave it behind the net for a teammate to take control of. l
Goaltender Assault
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| Goaltender assault |
The ultimate durability test for a goaltender is relayed by Vancouver assistant coach Glen Hanlon. By the time the drill is completed — after about 10 minutes — a goalie will have been tested from sharp angles, with stiff slap shots and by net stuffers. The object is basic enough.
“Don’t allow goals,” says Hanlon. “Anticipate, take away chances, or at least minimize the opposing shooter’s chance for success.”
With a coach and his trusty bucket of pucks positioned at the center of the blue line, a forward rotates to different spots around the goal (X1 to X2 to X3, etc.). Upon arriving at each spot, the coach simply passes to the forward who controls the pass, turns, and shoots. The action is non-stop.
“The shooter is not trying to blast it every time. We want the drill to be fast-paced, so you have to ease off somewhat to give the goalie a realistic chance to make the save and position himself for the next shot,” Hanlon explains. After several shots from one spot, the forward moves to another position and the drill continues.
An added dimension comes when another forward (F1) positioned behind the net and to the side, passes to another forward on the flank rather than attempting to move into position for his own shot (not shown). In this instance, the goaltender must play the first forward as if he will try a stuff, and then slide quickly across the crease in time to answer the second forward’s shot.
In all, six different pass-and-shoot scenarios are played out, three on each side. “Sometimes a coach can watch how the goaltender plays certain shots and help him work on improving those areas,” says Hanlon. “Even though it’s a basic drill, we use it all year. Actually, that’s why — because it’s so basic.”
Players and coaches alike agree that the best “drills” are live game action, or at the very least, an organized scrimmage.
“Situations crop up all the time during games that are hard to duplicate in practice.” Army says. “But we have a pretty good idea of what areas need the most work.”
And often winning can dictated by that basic…practice.
The Rim-it Drill
The Calgary Flames tend to do most things briskly, so the following drill explained to us by Flames assistant coach Jamie Hislop is certainly relevant.
The exercise is basic, but goes to the ever-present requirement in hockey to make accurate snap decisions.
A player lines up as a forward, alongside his center. An opposing defender is present. A coach, with dozens of pucks at the ready, is stationed behind the net. He begins firing pucks around the boards. or “rimming it,” up the ice to the wing (F). It’s the forward’s job to either; 1) get the puck to the center in a safe and timely manner without allowing the defenseman to gain possession, or 2) skate the puck up the ice himself.
The most common maneuver for the wing is to slap the puck behind him off the boards, intending the rebound to reach the center before he crosses center ice (as shown in diagram). But the defenseman in the drill is instructed to do different things. Sometimes, he will play the wing tight, forcing him to pass immediately. Other times, he will back off and try to intercept a poorly-conceived pass through the middle.
“The player has to know where everyone around him is — his teammates and the opposition,” says Hislop. “If it’s done right, you can get some man advantages out of it down the ice. But you can also end up turning the puck over in your own zone, which in this league usually ends up in a goal scored against you.”
The criss-cross,
4-way play
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Assistant Coach Tim Army explains his favorite drill this way.
“The idea is to pass to, and takes passes from, several different angles within a short period of time. It’s a drill for making quick, clean passes and finding the open man quickly. It’s basic, but we’ve found it to be useful.”
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| The criss cross, 4-way play |
Starting with the lower right line of players (X1), a player skates a few feet diagonally and receives a pass from the lower left line (X2), then fires a pass to the opposite corner. He then takes a pass from that same corner and skates to the left, across the blue line between the two lines of players (X3) and fires a pass to the first player in the upper right (opposite angle from where he’s now positioned). The player then races through center ice, (to the right) takes a pass from upper right (X4), moves in toward the goalie, and fires a shot (X5). Each player rotates to the next line in a counterclockwise fashion.
“The ability to see the ice and pick out things while in traffic is important,” Army says. “That’s the main thinking behind this drill.” l
This first appeared in the 06/1994 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®
Half-ice, full-impact drills
By Bob Destocki
Oct 31, 2001, 16:47
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As an instructor and lecturer at hockey schools and seminars, the thing most people want to talk to me about—and learn—are drills. It seems that coaches and players at all levels are always interested in new drills.
Sometimes on long airplane flights, I find myself doodling around with a drill. Breaking it down and putting it back together, seeing if I can find a different way to accomplish the purpose of the drill. I remember the first Russian drill I got from the late Fred Shero—who himself picked it up from the Soviet hockey innovator Anatoli Tarasov—was drawn on a cocktail napkin!
Half-ice drills are always a hot topic among youth-hockey coaches, since they usually practice in a shared-ice situation. Here are a few drills that can be done on half-ice.
Quick Breakout with 1-on-1 Back
Just about every coach does at least one checking drill during a practice. This drill is good to use anytime, but especially if breaking out is the theme of your practice. It teaches the cornerstone of good breakout technique—the quick outlet pass—as well as attack and defend principles.
Split the forwards and defense evenly on each side of the ice. Line the forwards (1 & 2) along the boards, facing the opposite end of the rink. The first forward in each line starts at the hash-marks. Give your defensemen (3 & 4) pucks and line them up behind the goal line in each corner. You will need four pylons for this drill; two placed five feet inside the blue line (A), and the others placed five feet inside the centerline (B).
The drill starts with defenseman 3 skating around the back of his net with the puck, and making a breakout pass to forward 2. Forward 2 skates out of the zone, around pylon B, and attacks the net. After making the pass, defenseman 3 skates out and pivots around pylon A where he defends against attacking forward 2. The next sequence starts, on the coach’s whistle, exactly the same way with defenseman 4 and forward 1.
Variations
Line the forwards (1 & 2) up at the blueline, facing the attacking net. The forwards break down the boards and set up on the hash-marks or top of the circles. Defensemen (3 & 4) line up in the same way, but instead of going around the net, they stop behind the net and come back out on the same the side they started from. The sequence is now 3-vs.-1 followed by 4-vs.-2.
If you want to practice your D-to-D passes, start with one defenseman (3) passing to the other (4), then continue the drill (4-vs.-2). In this sequence defenseman 4 does not go behind the net; he passes out from his corner.
To teach the defensemen good body positioning, I sometimes run this drill with the checking defensemen playing without a stick. You must utilize both defensemen in this variation, one is the passer and the other is the checker. Defenseman 3 passes to 1, while 4 skates around the pylon without a stick and defends against 1.
Teaching Points
Name your drills so your players will remember them. All drills should be done with 100% effort (50% on initial introduction), and each sequence starts and stops on the coach’s whistle.
Forwards:
• Breakout position, one skate and lower body against the boards, stick on the ice.
• Head up when skating with the puck, read the defender when attacking the net.
• Accelerate on crossover turns around the pylons and attack with speed.
• Use the defender as a screen, if possible.
• Always get a shot off and go for the rebound.
Defensemen:
• Move the puck out quickly with crisp, short, accurate passes.
• Quick pivots around pylons.
• Face attacker, stick on the ice ready for poke check.
• Align your inside shoulder with the attacker’s outside shoulder.
• If the attacker shoots, keep him away from any rebound.
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Backward Lateral 1-on-0 Shooting Drill
This is a good shooting drill that incorporates backward lateral skating with a give-and-go pass. It helps develop puck handling while skating backward laterals (especially good for defensemen).
Divide your team into two groups (1 & 2) on each side of the ice along the boards, at the blueline, facing the net. Again, you will need 4 pylons for this drill. Position pylons A and B about 15 feet from the boards at the top of the faceoff circles, and pylons C and D on the red line at the faceoff dots. On the coach’s whistle, player 1 skates backward-lateral with puck around pylon A. After rounding the pylon he then skates forward and passes to the next man in line 1, who passes the puck back to him (give-and-go), he continues with forward lateral crossovers around pylon C and attacks the net. As player 1 rounds pylon C, the coach whistles player 2 to start the sequence from the other side, and so on.
Variations
To stress puck movement, add a third pass. Player 1 starts without the puck. As he rounds pylon A, the next player in line passes him the puck; he passes it back and receives the return pass.
After your players have mastered the three-pass variation, add a fourth pass. This sequence starts the same as the three-pass variation, except now player 2 starts at the same time as player 1 who, having received the third pass, now skates toward pylon D. Player 2 skates toward pylon C without the puck. Player 1 passes to player 2 in the center ice area. Both players 1 and 2 continue wide around pylons C and D and attack the net 2-on-0.
Teaching Points
The coach must control the drill sequences with whistle starts and stops to avoid collisions and pace the goaltender.
• Stickhandling the puck with head up while skating backward laterals.
• Always pass moving forward, not backward.
• Accelerate on crossover turns around the pylons, and attack with speed.
• During 2-on-0, stress wide attack by skating around opposite pylons.
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Over and Under 1-on-1
This is a very good agility drill to teach quick feet, and using your edges. The players must be fairly good skaters to do this drill, because it involves lots of turns and pivots.
Split the forwards and defensemen evenly on each side of the ice. Line the forwards (1 & 2) up behind the goal line in each corner, facing the opposite end of the rink. Position your defensemen (3 & 4) along each board at center ice, facing their own net. You will need 2 pylons for this drill, placed on the blueline at the faceoff dots. The drill begins on the coach’s whistle with forward 2 and defenseman 3 starting simultaneously. Forward 2, with the puck, skates over the faceoff circle closest to him and under the opposite faceoff circle. Heading up ice, he turns around pylon A and attacks the net. Defenseman 3 skates forward toward pylon A, as he rounds it he pivots backwards and skates backwards across the ice toward pylon B. As he rounds pylon B he pivots again to forward skating and defends against forward 2, who is attacking the net. The next sequence starts on the coach’s whistle exactly the same way, with forward 1 and defenseman 4.
Variations
To stress puck movement, forward passes to next defenseman in line and receives return pass (give-and-go). Another variation: defenseman 3 starts with puck, forward 2 without. As defenseman rounds pylon B he passes to the forward rounding pylon A and defends 1-on-1.
Teaching Points
Coach must control the drill sequences with whistle starts and stops.
Forwards:
• Must skate over and under circles with constant crossovers.
• Always keep head up and maintain control of the puck while skating over and unders.
• Accelerate on crossover turns around the pylons and attack with speed.
• Use defender as screen, if possible.
• Always get a shot off and drive for rebound.
Defensemen:
• Move feet quickly.
• While pivoting, maintain good body control.
• Face attacker, stick on the ice, ready for pokecheck.
• Align your inside shoulder with the attacker’s outside shoulder.
• If the attacker shoots, keep him away from any rebound.
A final point: Drills must always have a purpose, and should not be done just to fill time. They should relate to each other and be connected to the overall goal of your practice. Players don’t like to waste time; coaches shouldn’t either.
Bob Destocki is a partner of the Huntington Blizzard Hockey Club of the ECHL.
This first appeared in the 09/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
© Copyright 1991-2001 Hockey Player® and Hockey Player Magazine®
1. X1 picks up puck behind net and decides which way to go with the puck
2. X3 (a defenseman) must get to the front of the net
3. X2 & X4 must read X1 and adjust their location accordingly
4. X1 moves the puck up and all players breakout of the zone
Focus:
1. Players keeping in their lanes and maintaining position
2. Head up skating to know where the puck and/or open player is
3. Moving the puck out of the zone
Notes:
You can add in a forechecker to put pressure on the puck carrier
Related Drills:
3 on 2 Breakout
Behind the Net Breakout
Drill:
1. On whistle, Defense starts skating backward and Offense carries the puck in the zone
2. Offense tries to beat the D down the wall
3. Defense tries to cut off O and steal the puck
Focus:
1. Defense needs to realize when to make move and push player outside
2. Offense needs to read defense and make play accordingly.
– If D goes toward the wall, cut it inside.
– If D leaves outside open, use speed to get around.
Notes:
This is a good drill to help the Defense better understand when they are going to get beat and transition from backward to forward quickly enough to not allow the player to go around them.
Related Drills:
1 on1 Sprints (Half Rink)
1 on 1 Half Rink
Drill:
1. Line up 2 player against a Coach
2. Player dumps puck to corner and chases
3. Player 1 chases puck and Player 2 follows
4. Player 1 picks up puck and skate up the wall
5. As player 1 comes up the boards, they drop the pass back to Player 2
6. Player 1 continues around the circle and cuts to the net and gets a return pass and shoots on goal
7. Coach should simply help drive the player outside to help them understand how to get position
8. Run from each side
Focus:
1. Players work on skating to win a corner battle
2. Picking up a loose puck and then driving the net
3. Players work on passing and getting to the open spot for a return pass
Notes:
Related Drills:
1 on 1 Corner Dump
Tight Turns out of the Corner
