3 on 2 Breakout

Drill:

1. Player 1 skates behind the net and picks up a puck
2. Once Player 1 makes a decision of which way to go, player 2 and 3 move into position
3. D1 and 2 will start skating backward once Player 1 picks up the puck
4. O players focus on moving the puck down the rink
5. Play until goal, puck frozen or D clears the puck

Focus:
1. Setting up a play out of their own end
2. Player position – If Player 1 goes to the right, then Player on far boards moves to the middle
3. D should focus on filling their gaps and moving into good D position once puck is moved into zone

Notes:
Whistle play dead at any point you need to make corrections of show correct positions. Tell players to freeze on whistle.

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Shoot and Break

Drill:

1. Player 1 will skate around the circle and then look for a pass from Player 2
2. After the shot, Player one breaks up the rink looking for a pass from Player 3
3. Player 1 picks up the pass and takes it on a breakaway
4. Next player starts after first player receives long pass

Focus:
1. Good passes, both the short quick pass and then the long lead pass
2. Player breaking up rink must skate with head turned looking for a pass

Notes:
Have kids rotate thru positions so they can perform all skills.

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Stickhandle and Decide

Drill:

1. Have coaches stand between the circles
2. Player starts in the middle and skates thru the cones with a puck
3. Coach will move stick to one side and the player must adjust and go around the other way

Focus:
1. Head up skating to see which side the player should go to
2. Stickhandling is a big focus here

Notes:
Can be done with or without a goalie. Focus is really on stickhandling and having their head up to make the right decision.

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3 Shot Drill

Drill:

1. Have coaches with pucks on either side of the net
2. Player starts in the middle and skates in and shoots (wrist or slapshot) from between circles
3. They they take a pass from one side of the net and then the other

Focus:
1. These are quick shots to make the goalie work on movement up and down and left and right
2. Goalie also needs to focus on pucks coming from behind the net
3. O player should focus on quick release. If the puck comes on his forehand side, shot it quickly. Same with the backhand side. Get it on the backhand and shot

Notes:
Great drill to focus on quick shots from both forehand and backhand. Make sure on their backhand side they are shooting backhand shots.

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4 Corners – D vs. O

Drill:

1. Place O in each corner with a puck
2. D starts in front of net and skates toward one of the O
3. When he stops and transitions, the O drives the net and they play 1 on 1 until a score, puck freeze or D clears the puck
4. D then picks another O and repeats until all 4 O have played

Focus:
1. 1 on 1 work both for O and D
2. Backward skating and Defensive play
3. Stickwork and beating D

Notes:
This drill is good Defensive work and will help them develop their backward skating and 1 on 1 play.

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Tight turns out of the corner

Drill:

1. Line players in 2 lines
2. Coach throws a puck to the corner and player on that side chase the puck
3. Make a quick/tight turn out of the corner and back to the net looking for a shot/pass
4. After player gets rid of puck, they go to the front of the net looking for a pass/rebound from next player

Focus:
1. Quick turns back to the net
2. Look for shot (if goalie is not hugging post) or pass to guy in front

Notes:

Thanks to Coach Dan DeDionisio for this drill.

Related Drills:
1 on 1 Corner Dump
2 on 1 Corner Dump

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Breakaway to 2-1 Drill

Drill:

1. Start off as a simple breakaway drill with one Offensive player
2. Next, add a Defensive player about 4-5 steps behind the shooter
3. Last, add in a trailing Offensive player crashing the net looking for rebounds
4. If no goal scored or save made, play 2-1 until a goal, puck is frozen or cleared by D

Focus:
1. Player with the puck should focus on good stick work to beat the goalie and protect the puck from the D
2. Adding the D will focus on their backchecking skills
3. The D will also force the O to skate faster
4. Adding the trailing O player will force the D to clear the puck if there is a rebound. Trailing O should look for rebounds

Notes:
Good for focusing on Fast play on breakaways and good backchecking

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Side of the Net Tip-ins

Drill:

1. Position 1 player to each side of the net
2. Coach stands between the circles with a pile of pucks and passes to either side of the net
3. Players work on redirecting the puck into the goal
4. Goalie must react to the puck

Focus:
1. Good position beside the net
2. Players must be leaning hard on stick and ‘pushing’ it toward the net
3. Reinforce this is not a shot but a redirect/push of the puck
4. Goalie must work on side to side movement
5. If goalie starts to cheat one way, shoot for open net, reminding them their first responsibility is the shooter

Notes:
You can have a player making passes in front of the net to help with making decisions of what to do with the puck.

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1 Timer-Slapshot drill

Drill:

1. Position 2 players at a comfortable distance, each with a pile of pucks
2. Player 1 passes to Player 2 who takes a 1 timer
3. Player 2 now passes to Player 1 who takes a 1 timer
4. This is a fast paced drill. Pass-shoot, pass-shoot, etc.

Focus:
1. Good solid passes to the players shot area
2. Focus by the shooter to take the 1 timer
3. Quick puck movement
4. Goalie movement side to side as this should be a fast paced drill.

Notes:
This drill is great for Defensive players as you are working on another area of the rink with the Offense.
Variation 1: Add in a forward in front of the net for deflections and rebounds.
Variation 2: Make the players  make 3 passes before shooting to encourage puck movement.

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Pass it low and go

Drill:

1. Player 1 starts backward skating to blue line with puck
2. Stops at cone and passes to Player 2 in line
3. Player 1 crashes the net looking for a return pass from Player 2
4. Player 2 starts their backward skating after they make the pass

Focus:
1. Skating backward while carrying the puck
2. Good hard passes to the corner
3. Crashing the net looking for a pass, deflection or tip

Notes:
Run from each side to keep the drill going quicker

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3-0 Pass, Shoot and Crash Game

Drill:

1. This is a battle between the 2 teams
2. Players 1-3 will be skaters, Player 4 is the passer
3. Player 1 will skate past closest cone and look for pass. Shoot and then crash net
4. Player 2 will then skate past middle cone and look for pass. Shoot and then crash net
5. Player 3 will follow-up by skating past furthest cone and shoot.

Game Rules:
1. Any shot that goes in is a point for the team
2. Players in front may tip/deflect the shot
3. Players in front may NOT shoot in rebounds
4. Game goes 4 rounds
5. Variation: Add Goalie Saves in as a point for the Goalie and let him compete.

Focus:
1. Good passes by the last player in the group
2. Head up while shooting to find an opening or pass to open player
3. Work on deflections/tips for the players in front

Notes:
This is a fun game for the kids and it focuses on many good skills

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1 on 1 Stick Handling Battle

Drill:

1. Place puck in middle of the circle, Players start on opposite side of the circle
2. On whistle, players race to puck
3. First player to puck must try to keep possession
4. 2nd player must work to get possession of the puck
5. Players battle until one keeps puck for a 10 count

Focus:
1. Players must stay within the circle
2. Player with puck needs to focus on stick work and keeping the puck
3. Player without puck must work on defensive skills to get puck off Offensive player

Notes:
Use multiple circles and make it a competition
You can extend the count longer or shorter depending on your players

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