Ice Hockey Coaching Blog

Increase Speed, Explosiveness and Endurance with the Fartlek Workout! Fartlek is Swedish for "Speed Play." It is an interval workout that mixes moderate and hard efforts with a recovery period. The variable intensity of the Fartlek Workout trains the aerobic and anaerobic systems which will help increase speed, power and endurance. This dryland workout is excellent for all hockey...

The 1-3-1 power play formation has become the go to power play system for most high level teams.  Almost every NHL team is using the 1-3-1, so there must be a reason. The reason? The 1-3-1 has the ability to spread players out inside the zone, keep a player in front of the net at all times, and place shooters in key positions so they can shoot off the pass.  Power play systems...

The availability of free online resources for hockey coaches has become somewhat overwhelming in the past few years.  The amount of knowledge and effort for which anyone can post drill diagrams or publish videos has become so easy that the internet is flooded with more content than any coach could dream of using.  Ice Hockey Systems alone has over 500 animated hockey drills and...

Ice Hockey Systems has put together a list of free and paid resources that will help advance hockey coaches, players and directors for the upcoming season. Leverage these resources to improve your coaching, your players will thank you for it. 1. Free Hockey Resources Page This page is the perfect tool for any coach that is on the go and needs instant access to drills, systems, practice...

It doesn’t get much better than scoring an overtime winner in the Stanley Cup finals.  That’s exactly what Conor Sheary did last night.  The goal was scored off a set face-off play that was executed perfectly.  There are a lot of moving pieces and timing is critical, but below is a breakdown of exactly how the Penguins executed the play and took a 2-0 series lead. Crosby (Center...

We had a great time today sitting down with Hall of Famer Denis Savard. In the webinar Denis not only shows off the latest Stanley Cup ring, he also discusses keys to breakouts and power play breakouts.  In addition to discussing the systems he also offers up some great drills to compliment these systems. Chris Howard (Ice Hockey Systems President) gives a quick overview of IHS and some...

Below we dive into 5 drills that are great for evaluating your players at tryouts. This segment will focus on 5 hockey drills that will allow you to look for crucial elements in both the skill and compete level of each player. Remember that a scrimmage is an absolute must for any higher level tryout and that the drills in this post should be used to evaluate specific skills, compete level and...

With ten active players on the ice, a regulation ice sheet of 200’ x 85’ and with just four or five shifts per period that last less than a minute, where do players find extra time and space when playing? In this blog I will discuss skills and tactics players use to gain strategic advantage by managing or developing time and finding and creating space. Extra time and space on the ice...

“Yup, he’s lost the room! ...they just aren’t listening to him anymore...”. As students of the game we have all heard these phrases describing a situation where a coach and his struggling team are failing to communicate. Often these coaches, who once held their player’s attention and focus with every word, no longer appear to understand one another. Performance is lost and as Mr. Trump says... “...