Ice Hockey Drills Now over 280 animated hockey drills!

Here is a good hockey skating drill to do in warm up or at the end of practice.  Set up two lines at each blue line along the boards.  Players will go in groups of two for the sake of competing.  The first player tries to not let the second player catch them.  Have the players focus on moving their feet the entire time at an uncomfortable pace.  Once the players get to the end of the other line the next two players from that line can go.

There are two parts to this ice hockey drill resulting in two shots.  To set up the drill place two lines along the  boards at the blue lines so they are facing the offensive zone.  P1 will start along the half wall with pucks, P2 is the first player in line at the blue line, P3 is on the blue line in the center of the ice, and P4 is on the half wall without puck opposite of P1.  P1 will start the drill by making a pass to P2.  P2 will walk off the boards with the puck for a coupld of strides and make a pass to P3.

This hockey drill is a small area game with an emphasis on passing and moving without the puck.  Defensively is works on stopping starting and active sticks.  Set up a rectangle with four cones using the face off dots in the  offensive zone and neutral zone.  Players are split up into teams of two.  In each game one team is the defenders inside the box and the other two teams are on the outside with teammates on opposite sides of the box (as shown in the diagram).

Here are two hockey drills that work on footwork, passing, and shooting.  It is good for half ice situations or stations. In one drill the cones are set up parrallel to the goal line and in the other one they are set up perpendicular.  In both drills the players start outside the zone and inline with the face off dots.  There is one player that starts in the corner with the pucks.  On one side the players do a figure eight while receiving passes from the corner and shooting.

This is station hockey drill to use in shared ice situations.  The set up requires two tires (or cones) and 1 net.  Place the net along the goal line and the tires just inside the hash marks (as shown).  The first player starts the drill by skating towards the net and then around one of the tires where they pick up a puck.  The player controls the puck around the tire back in front of the net for a shot.  After the shot the player continues around the tire, picks up another puck, maintains control, then fires another shot on net.

The retriever defense drill reminds me of throwing the ball for my dog.  A little bit more skill is required here though.  This is a great hockey drill to work on if you have some open ice or at a stick and puck session.  It is a great skill for defense to master especially as they get older and play at higher levels.  To start the drill have a coach or another player with the puck just outside the blue line in the middle of the ice.  The player should start at about the top of the circle in line with the face off dots.

This is a half ice hockey drill that incorporates a lot of footwork while constantly moving the puck.  To set up the drill place one line of players in the corner with the pucks and designate 3 passers.  The first player in line skates up the boards with a puck to the top of the circles,  curls back towards the net and gives a pass to P1.  After the pass F1 transitions back towards the boards so they are always facing P1 and calls to the pass.  When they receive the pass back from P1 they skate up the boards and give a pass to P2.

Here is a half ice 2 on 1 hockey drill. It is a good drill to teach your defense the basics of playing a 2 on 1.  The coach should gather the pucks at center ice.  The two lines of forwards should also be at center ice as shown in the diagram.  The coach starts the drill with a whistle and both forward sprint out around the cones.  The coach will make a pass to one of the forwards.  The defense needs to step out and transition to the opposite side away from the pass and as they defend they should take away the pass.

This is an offensive zone hockey drill that gets the defense involved in the play.  It can be useful as a power play drill as well.  Set up four lines along the blue line, the defense should be against the boards, and the two forward lines should be in line with the face off dots.  The coach is set up in the middle with the pucks.  The coach starts the drill by dumping the puck into one of the corners.  The strong side forward (F1) will sprint into the corner to get the puck and make a tight control turn up the boards.

This hockey drill is a great drill that focuses on puck control and passing in the neutral zone.  It is intended for players at higher levels of hockey.  The drill requires at least three participants and only one puck.  To set up the drill place two cones about 10 feet apart in the middle of the ice at about the midpoint between the red line and blue line (see diagram).  To start, the player skates backwards from center ice in between the two cones and receives a pass from one of the players along the boards.

This drill works on pivoting and can be useful as a half-ice warm up.  Set up the drill with two lines in the high slot as shown in the diagram.  A coach or dedicated passer should have all the pucks between the two lines in the high slot as well. You can use two cones placed on the neutral zone face off dots or just use the face off dots as visual markers. The first player takes a few quick, hard strides out to the cone and pivots backwards around the cone so they are always facing the passer.

The intent of this ice hockey drill is to ge the players feet moving in situtations similar to what they experience while cycling down low in the offensive zone. It can also be used as a conditioning drills as long as players are going every 60 to 90 seconds.  There is also something about competition that ignites a little extra effort. Make sure to view the diagrm and animation to see how to set up the drill.  Players need to focus on movingt their feet the whole time.  The player that gets to the puck first will get a scoring chance.