A warm-up drill that can be performed in any zone with the entire team. Coaches can customize this warm-up activity with different skills based on the age and ability level of the team.
Setup
- Each player has a puck.
- Whistle # 1 - players skate at 50% speed and their feet do not leave the ice.
- Skates are in the ice at all times and players move by driving their weight off of their inside edges. Players stickhandle the puck side to side with wide lateral movements as they shift their weight looking for open ice.
- Whistle # 2 - players skate at 75% speed and their feet can leave the ice.
- Be creative! Players can pick their feet up from the ice and they are moving at about 75% while being creative with tight control turns, sharp lateral movements, and still looking for open ice.
- Whistle # 3 - players skate at 100% speed.
- Be explosive and move their feet outside of your comfort zone. Jump to open areas of ice. Goalies skate backwards.
Coaching Points
- Players must keep head up and look for open ice during all 3 speeds.
