In addition to the animations, we are now including diagrams created with DrillDraw. Members have the ability to download the drills into their own DrillDraw bank.
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This is the first drill in a series of drills designed to work on creating some offense out of a neutral zone transition. The drill starts with the coach at center ice and two defense several feet off the red line. On the whistle, the coach plays a puck softly to the blue line along the boards. The defense come up to the red line and pivot backwards. RD then opens up to go get the puck. When RD gets the puck he needs to face up ice while in control of the puck. In this drill RD makes a pass to their partner, LD, who is in the support position. As this is happening, F1 is timing their break so they are not too far ahead of the play. The tendency for players is to get too far ahead and make it a difficult pass for LD. Ideally F1 will receive the pass just before the red line at full speed. In this sequence, the forward drives hard around the face off dot and can either take the shot or make a pass to F2, who is driving hard to the far post.
This can be a good warm up drill that will get the goalies lots of shots and forwards a chance to work on opening up and making themselves available in the neutral zone. F1 & F4 start the drill by making a pass to the line across from them (F2 & F3) they then skate out across center ice and open up so they are always facing the puck. They then receive a pass back from either F3 or F2 and go in for a shot. Once the shots are taken, F2 and F3 do the same thing.
This drill simulates the path that wingers will often take in the neutral zone. F1 starts with a puck and passes to a coach or defensive player at about the top of the circles. F1 skates at the coach and pivots backwards so they are always facing the puck as they swing to the boards. They will receive a pass just as they start to head up ice. Once they receive the pass, they perform a give and go with F2 (the next player in line) and go in for a long shot on net. The focus of this drill is to get forwards in the habit of always facing the puck in the neutral zone as they open up and make themselves available for a pass from the defense.
This ice hockey drill is designed to work on the transition from offense to defense, communication between the defense and the backchecking forward, and the ability for the defense to recognize the presence of a backchecker, and therefore shift over to play a 2 on 2. It is important for the defensmen to shift over to create a 2 on 2 and stand the forwards up at the blue line when they read that the backchecker is in position.
To make this ice hockey drill fair, the forwards cannot leave until they have received the first pass from the defensmen. Once they have received the pass they are free to create havoc on the defensemen.
An ice hockey drill that requires timing. This is the first drill in a series of drills that focuses on passing and timing. The defensmen starts the drill by skating forwards to the cone at center ice. The Player goes around the cone as if transitioning on to defense and skates backwards to about the face-off dots where he/she then opens up and receives a pass from a coach. When the defensmen receives the puck the first forward times his break so he is good position to recieve a pass. When the forward receives the pass, the second forward makes their break. This forward receives the puck and skates inside out as they attack the zone and shoots with their feet moving. The first forward then takes the second forward's position along the boards and becomes the attacking forward on the next repetition.
This Ice Hockey Drill will challenge your defensmen and forwards to work together as timing is the most important element of this drill. DO NOT let the forwards get to far ahead of the play and make it difficult on the defensemen to give them a good pass. Timing is everything in this drill so that the forwards receive the puck with speed as they attack the offensive zone.
To start the drill, the defensmen skate forward to the cone and transition to backwards as they round the cone skating backwards towards their own zone. Once the puck has been dumped in just inside the blue line by the coach, the defensmen open up, receive the puck, and pass the puck as shoen in the animation.
As the forwards attakc they focus on attacking with speed and keep their feet moving. The forward in the middle drives hard to the net and gives another option to the puck carrier.
This ice hockey drill is a simple neutral zone regroup. Emphasis should be on passing as the first pass from the defensemen to the forwards will set the tempo for the drill. Without a first good pass you may as well start this over as there will be no flow and timing will be thrown off. Another point of emphasis should be on the forwards attacking with speed after the second pass from the defensmen. The defesmen who are receiving the 3 v 2 should concentrate on maintaining a tight gap by getting up on the play as soon as possible and transitioning back on to defense.
The focus of this drill is the defensmen's gaps. Recognizing that it is a 2 on 2, the defensmen need to make sure they control their gaps and not give up their blue line too easily. The sooner they can make contact with the attacking forwads the better.
The coash can add a variation to this drill by sometimes sending a third forward on the attack. This forces the defensemen to read the play. If it there are 3 attackers, then they need to stay back a little more, but it they read a 2 on 2 then they need to stay up.
This drill simulates the path that wingers will often take in the neutral zone. F1 starts with a puck and passes to a coach or defensive player at about the top of the circles. F1 skates at the coach and pivots backwards so they are always facing the puck as they swing to the boards. They will receive a pass just as they start to head up ice. Once they receive the pass, they perform a give and go with F2 (the next player in line) and go in for a long shot on net. The focus of this drill is to get forwards in the habit of always facing the puck in the neutral zone as they open up and make themselves available for a pass from the defense.
This ice hockey drill is designed to work on the transition from offense to defense, communication between the defense and the backchecking forward, and the ability for the defense to recognize the presence of a backchecker, and therefore shift over to play a 2 on 2. It is important for the defensmen to shift over to create a 2 on 2 and stand the forwards up at the blue line when they read that the backchecker is in position.