The Jets 2 V 2 Drill from TJ Manastersky was shared with the IHS Community while he was an Assistant Coach at Union College. TJ is the Current Head Coach at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.
The Jets 2 V 2 is a rush drill that puts a lot of pressure on the defenseman because they will be trying to gap up properly as they try to handle a lot of speed from the forwards.
Setup
- Start with 2 defenseman at the top of the circles. The rest of the defenseman are along the boards at center ice.
- Forwards are on all 4 blue lines with pucks.
- On the first whistle, the far forwards exchange lanes (and can exchange a puck) before they attack. They must attack from outside of the neutral zone face off dots.
- The defenders jump up the to neutral zone and attempt to gap up properly and handle the excess speed.
- The 2 v 2 plays out until the coach blows a second whistle.
- On the second whistle, the first set of forwards is done, the second set of forwards on the near blue line start and race around the far face-off dots before they begin their attack on the defenders.
- The defenders that just finished the original 2 v 2 race to gap up against the second set of forwards.
Coaching Points
- Defenders need to be aware of the speed from the forwards and need to work to create a proper gap while matching their speed.
- Coaches can have defenders work on their angling skills on the second 2 v 2 rep.
- Forwards should practice fundaments that they would use on a 2 on 2 rush. They might consider driving the net, utilizing cut backs or change of speed to create additional space on the rush.
Connect with TJ by visiting his IHS Contributor Page, where you can subscribe to his newsletter, podcast, and see other drills he has shared.
