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Ice Hockey Drills

Figure Eight Gap Up 1 on 1
1 on 1, Defense Drills, Forward Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

Great 1 on 1 drill here!  Emphasis for forwards is overspeed, feet should not stop moving throughtout this drill.  For defense the emphasis is on footwork, gap control, and holding the blue line.

Overspeed Quick Pass
Ice Hockey Drills, Neutral Zone Drills, Overspeed, Passing Drills

This seems like a simple drill but it is tougher than it looks.  It is an overspeed drill so players have to move their feet the entire time.  P1 and P2 start at the same time.  P1 carries the puck along the blue line and around the far neutral zone face off dot.  P2 skates up along the boards and through center ice along the red line and then turns up ice to take up the far lane.  P1 makes the pass to P2 just as they turn up ice.  The timing should work out so that P2 is receiving the pass just as they cross the blue line.

Defense Elements
Defense Drills, Half Ice Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

If you ever split the ice so that forwards and defense can work on specific drills, this is a great drill to do with the defense. Place the pucks behind the net and the two cones just outside the face off dots and just below the goal line.  Place one player on the boards just below the hash marks, one player at the blue line along the boards, one player in front of the net, and the rest of the players form a line behind the net.  D1 begins by skating out from behind the net with a puck and makes a pass to D2. D2 mkaes a quick pass up to D3.

Round A Round
Ice Hockey Drills, Passing Drills, Warm Up Drills

This is a good flow warm up drill with some quick passes and a long shot on net. This can be run on both sides of the ice as long as opposite corners go at the same time.  Place four lines at the blue lines along the boards each with a pile of pucks.  P1 starts by stepping out along the blue line and receiveing a pass from P2 in the other line.  P1 receives that pass and makes a quick pass right back to P2.  When P2 receives the pass they step out along the blue line to create a better passing angle to P1 as they swing up along the boards.

High Slot Shot, Turnover into 1 vs. 1
1 on 1, Defense Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

This drill is meant to challenge defense.  It is a good one to work on their full speed backward skating, transition, and shots from the high slot.  If you have enough players you can run this drill out of both ends just make sure players stay on their half of the ice on the 1 on 1 portion of the drilll.  

Goal Line Options 1 vs. 0 & 2 vs. 0
Goalie Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

This is a goalie drill that requires a minumum of two players.  Place a pile of pucks just inside the face off dots in the high slot.  One of the players should start at about the face off dot.  Place a cone or tire at the bottom of the face off circle. To start the drill the coach passes a puck to the player.  When the player receives the puck they skate around the cone.  The player then has three options.

Bumper Shooting
Goalie Drills, Ice Hockey Drills, Shooting Drills

Here is a drill for goalies that focuses on reaction time and positioning.  A coach sets up with a pile of pucks in the slot area. Two tires are placed directly in front of the goalie.  Two players are off to the side of the tires to bang home the rebounds as they bounce out of the tires.  The shooter also has the option to shoot over the tires so the goalies hav eto be ready for that as well.  

The Wheel - Shooting Drill
Goalie Drills, Half Ice Drills, Ice Hockey Drills, Shooting Drills

This drill provides a lot of shots and a lot of side to side action for goalies. It needs to be performed at a quick pace for about a minute followed by a short rest for the goalies. To set up, place the pucks in two piles just inside the offensive zone face off dots.  Place one line near each pile of pucks.  The lines should start at the pile of pucks and go to the inside as shown.  The goal for the players is to move their feet the entire time and make a good one-time shot off the pass. 

Neutral Zone Transition Skills
Defense Drills, Ice Hockey Drills, Neutral Zone, Transition Drills

Here are a couple of drills that are good when working with players individually or in small groups.  The focus of this drill is on a neutral zone turnover situation that happens numerous times in a game.  In order to do it well the players must have good footwork. 

Three Lanes, One Goalie
Ice Hockey Drills, Shooting Drills, Warm Up Drills

Here is a good warm up drill if you only have 1 goalie.  It is similar to the origial three lane shooting drill but adapted to shoot on one net.  Set up the players along the boards at the blue line.  The coach or another player  has all the pucks just inside the other blue line.

Continuous Triple Transition
Ice Hockey Drills, Neutral Zone Drills, Passing Drills, Transition Drills

It is very important for forwards to have good timing in this drill.  Timing is very important in the neutral zone and so many young players get too far ahead of the play, making the defense's job much tougher.  In this drill both forwards present themselves as outlets for the defense and they are in a position where the defense can give them a horizantal pass.

Transition, Transition, Breakout
Breakout Drills, Defense Drills, Ice Hockey Drills, Transition Drills

This drill requires defense to focus on fundamentals of skating, passing, and timing.  It is a drill that simulates a couple of situations that happen numerous times throughout a game and it is designed for more advnaced players..  The first situation is the turnover and counter attack at the blue line, the second is a turnover in the neutral zone followed by a dump in and then a breakout.

Power Turn Passing
Ice Hockey Drills, Passing Drills, Warm Up Drills

This drill is a quick warm up that gets the players blood flowing and allows them to get a feel for the puck.  Have players get into groups of 3.  Two players should be place about even with the face off dots, the third player will start with the puck next to either one of the other players as shown on the diagram. On the whistle, P3 skates towards P1 with the puck and makes a pass to P1.  P1 makes a one-time pass back to P3 and P3 then makes a power turn around P1 and skates back towards P2 to do the same thing.

Stop and Start 1 vs. 1
1 on 1, Conditioning Drills, Forward Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

This is a good 1 on 1 battle drill.  Think about using this drill towards the end of practice for conditioning as players tend to push themselves more when competition is introduced.  To set up place four lines on the blue line as shown in the diagram. Place a coach in the center of the ice on each blue line with a bunch of pucks.

Tire Swing Drill
Half Ice Drills, Ice Hockey Drills, Passing Drills, Warm Up Drills

This drill is a good drill the works on skating, puck control, passing, and ends with a 2 on 0.  Set up the players in four lines along the boards at the blue line. Two coaches have pucks on each side at center ice.  On the Whistle P1 and P2 skate along the blue line and criss cross. P2 pivots and opens up to receive a pass across the ice from the coach.  P2 receives the pass and skates around the tire throught the slot and gives a drop pass to P1.  P2 continues to drive to the post for a pass from P1 or a rebound.

Rubber Neck Goalie Drill
Goalie Drills, Ice Hockey Drills, Shooting Drills
Break Out Timing #1
Breakout Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

The most important thing to a sucessful breakout is the first pass and the timing.  Young players have a tendency to get too far ahead of the play and therefore make the first pass for the defense difficult.  This series of breakout drills focus on the first pass and the timing of the forwards.

Break Out Timing #2
Breakout Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

This breakout timing drill incorporates two forwards.  Again the timing for the forwards is critical.  The forwards need to time their release so they are receiving flat passes.  When forwards get too far ahead then they have to receive vertical passes which get dangerous and inconsistent.  In this drill especially, the centers tend to get up ice too quick which leaves him vulnerable when receiving a verticle pass from the wing.  Once the play is finished, the defense receive

Break Out Timing #3
Breakout Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

This another break out drill that focuses on timing.  It is not a set break out by any means, but a situtation that often is presented no matter what type of breakout you prefer.  The key is to help the forwards understand that their timing is important.  90% of kids will get too far ahead of the play and leave their defense stranded without a good option to pass the puck.

Break Out Timing #4
Breakout Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

In this timing drill, two defense players are invloved with a simple pass off the boards.  The player that receives the pass needs to handle it quickly and make a pass to either the center or winger.  The center and winger need to time their swings so that they are both available for a flat pass from the defense.  The forwards continue down the ice 2 on 0 and they can perform a number of drills as they enter the offensive zone.  Once the defense make the pass they go out to the bl

Heads Up Breakout Drill
2 on 0, Breakout Drills, Forward Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

Three players are used in this drill, a defense, a center, and a wing.  The players start the drill in their defensive zone positions. On the whistle, the coach or assistant wraps the puck around the boards.  The winger has to get in position to catch the puck and read what the defense is doing.

Continuous Breakouts - #1
Breakout Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

This is a good drill for warm ups on a day where you plan on working on breakouts.  It allows defense to work on their passes and their pivots.  The forwards are able to work on their timing creating a flat pass as the defense carry the puck around the net.

Continuous Breakouts - #2
Breakout Drills, Ice Hockey Drills

This drill starts the same as the first Continuous Breakout Drill, however, the wings are now making a pass to what would be the opposite wing coming through the neutral zone.

Center Flow Breakout Drill
Breakout Drills, Ice Hockey Drills, Passing Drills

To start, get all defense in the corner with a group of pucks.  There should also be a line for LW, C, and RW.  Also place a bunch of pucks behind the net.  To start, D1 skates behind the net, picks up a puck and makes a breakout pass to RW.  The Center times their loop so they are available for a pass from the RW.  The RW makes a quick pass to C and then breaks to receive a pass back from the Center.  The Center and D1 then regroup.

2 on 2 in Corner
2 on 2, Games, Ice Hockey Drills

This is 2 on 2 game played in tight quarters.  It is actually a great game for working on defensive coverage in front of your own net.  The only rules are that players must stay within the boundaries which are approximately shown in the diagrams and there must be at least one pass made between teamates before scoring. The puck is in play until the puck exits the boundary or is in the net.  Both teams are trying to score.

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