Puck Retrieval - Breakout setup

Drill:

1. X1 picks up puck behind net and decides which way to go with the puck
2. X3 (a defenseman) must get to the front of the net
3. X2 & X4 must read X1 and adjust their location accordingly
4. X1 moves the puck up and all players breakout of the zone

Focus:
1. Players keeping in their lanes and maintaining position
2. Head up skating to know where the puck and/or open player is
3. Moving the puck out of the zone

Notes:
You can add in a forechecker to put pressure on the puck carrier

Related Drills:
3 on 2 Breakout 
Behind the Net Breakout 

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1-1 Sprints (Half Rink)

Drill:
1. On whistle, Defense starts skating backward and Offense carries the puck in the zone
2. Offense tries to beat the D down the wall
3. Defense tries to cut off O and steal the puck

Focus:
1. Defense needs to realize when to make move and push player outside
2. Offense needs to read defense and make play accordingly.
- If D goes toward the wall, cut it inside.
- If D leaves outside open, use speed to get around.

Notes:
This is a good drill to help the Defense better understand when they are going to get beat and transition from backward to forward quickly enough to not allow the player to go around them.

Related Drills:
1 on1 Sprints (Half Rink) 
1 on 1 Half Rink 

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2 on 1 Corner Dump

Drill:

1. Line up 2 player against a Coach
2. Player dumps puck to corner and chases
3. Player 1 chases puck and Player 2 follows
4. Player 1 picks up puck and skate up the wall
5. As player 1 comes up the boards, they drop the pass back to Player 2
6. Player 1 continues around the circle and cuts to the net and gets a return pass and shoots on goal
7. Coach should simply help drive the player outside to help them understand how to get position
8. Run from each side

Focus:
1. Players work on skating to win a corner battle
2. Picking up a loose puck and then driving the net
3. Players work on passing and getting to the open spot for a return pass

Notes:

Related Drills:
1 on 1 Corner Dump
Tight Turns out of the Corner 

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1 on 1 Corner Dump

Drill:

1. Line up 1 player against a Coach
2. Player dumps puck to corner and chases
3. Pick up puck and skate around the cone and drive the net
4. Coach should simply help drive the player outside to help them understand how to get position
5. Run from each side

Focus:
1. Players work on skating to win a corner battle
2. Picking up a loose puck and then driving the net

Notes:

Related Drills:
2 on 1 Corner Dump

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1 on 1 Sprints

Drill:

1. Line up 1 D at the blue line
2. Line up 1 F at the top of the circle
3. On the whistle, D breaks backwards, F skates forward with the puck trying to beat the D

Focus:
1. Forwards concentrate on beating the D
2. Defense works on quick backward starts and then transitioning when the time is right so they don’t get beat

Notes:
Good full length drill to get the kids skating.

Related Drills:
Windmills
Russian Suicides II (The Admiral II)

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4 on 2 Forecheck

Drill:

1. Line up 4 players at the blue line
2. Line up 2 coaches near the goal line
3. Have one of the Forwards dump the puck into the corner and each forward covers a Coach
4. Coaches work to get the puck out of the zone
5. Forecheckers work to get the puck and then set up a play in the Offensive zone.

Focus:
1. Forwards concentrate on getting to the pucks and working along the boards to gain position
2. Defense works on holding the point and keeping the puck in

Notes:
Start with coaches so they focus is on gaining puck control and then setting up the play.
Add players at a later time so they can focus on working the puck up the boards.
Have them make XX number of passes before shooting.

Related Drills:
Dump and chase

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Windmills

Drill:

1. Line players up in opposite corners
2. Place a coach at each wall on the blue lines (4 coaches)
3. Players start by making a pass to the opposite side of the blue and the skate the middle
4. Player receives return pass and passes to the next blue line (again opposite side from where they started)
5. Player receives pass and then skates in on net

Focus:
1. Hard passes
2. Head up play as there is another player coming the other way
3. Receiving and making good passes

Notes:
Replace coaches with players so they can work on their give and go passes.
Thanks to Nino Febbraro for this drill.

Related Drills:
Russian Sucides II (The Admiral II)
Russian Suicides (The Admiral)

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Goalie – 3 Shot Drill

Drill:

1. Player skates down from wing and shoots
2. Player on opposite side gives the goalie a chance to recover then skates in and shoots
3. Coach lets the goalie recover then tries to stuff a puck in the net

Focus:
1. Players should focus on skating hard to the net and shooting. Shots should wrist or slapshots
2. Focus on Goalie movement from side to side, playing angles and recovering
3. Players should not try to make dekes or trick shots

Notes:
You can sub a player for the coach so they can work on their close range shots
You want a quick pace for the goalies. Give them enough time to recover but not a lot. This drill helps with their quickness and stamina.

Related Drills:
3 Shot Drill Variation
Goalie Warm Up

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Russian Suicides II (The Admiral II)

Drill:

1. Player 1 skates to the other end around the cone
2. Player 2 in other corner passes to Player 1 and then backchecks
3. After Player 1 shoots, Player 2 skates around the other cone and drill continues

Focus:
1. Hard skating
2. Stickhandling and shooting
3. Quick transition from Offense to Defense
4. Chasing down a player from behind

Notes:
This is a great drill to get the kids going on a slow night. It really focuses on skating, stickhandling and shooting as quickly as possible.

Related Drills:
Russian Suicides
Windmills

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2 on 1 - Pass to D (Half rink)

Drill:

1. On the whistle D1 at the Blue line skates backward toward mid rink and looks for a pass from Forward 1
2. Forward 1 skates with a puck above the circle and passes out to D1 and then continues outside the blue line looking for a return pass
3. D2 skates toward the blue line and will transition and play D when F1 gets the return pass
4. F1 gets the puck and tries to beat D2 one on one
5. F1 has the option to drop the pass to D1 (who should be trailing the play)

Focus:
1. Forward should make a good pass to the Defense
2. Defense works to make a good pass to the Forward entering the zone
3. Defense 2 should work on good positioning and pushing the Forward outside and away from the net

Notes:
You could also run this drill from Center but I like the skating and movement of the drill. There will be times when the only option is to move the puck to a D and then re-enter the zone. This will teach them to keep moving and get open for the return pass.

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Behind the Net Breakout

Drill:

1. Players work together as a team to bring the puck out of the zone
2. 1 Defensemen gets the puck behind the net to start the play
3. The other Defenseman has to hold his ground in front of the net
4. The 2 Forward will come down along the boards to the tops of the circles and cut back up.
5. Forward takes pass and they move it out
6. D in front of net joins the rush and the other is the last guy in the zone

Focus:
1. If they have time, the D can stop and set up the play
2. If they don’t they have to skate with the puck and make a good outlet pass
3. Forwards have to focus on where they need to be. If they do not get the pass, they should move toward the middle of the rink to cut the next pass length down

Notes:
This drill really focuses on getting the puck out of their own end. Players learn to make decisions on whether to carry the puck or pass.
Add a coach in as a fore-checker after they get used to it.
You could also start to add your own forwards into the play as well to work on their fore-checking skills.

Related Drills:
3 on 2 breakout
2 on 0 breakout

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2 Man Long Outlet Pass

Drill:

1. On whistle Forward closest to the wall skate out toward the blue line and then across the rink
2. Player with the puck starts skating toward the blue line and looks for the Forward skating along the far blue line and makes pass
3. Player then follows the pass and drives toward the net

Focus:
1. Long outlet passes to the far blue line
2. Lateral movement along the blue line looking for pass
3. Entrance into the zone

Notes:
You can mix this up and add a Defenseman to defend against the long pass

Related Drills:
2 on 1 pass and go 
Shoot and break 

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3-0 Drop and Crash

Drill:

1. Forward 1 carries puck into the zone, Forward 2 drives the net, Defenseman 1 is trailing the play
2. Forward 1 drops the puck to D1 and Forward 1 continues toward the net
3. D1 has 2 options:
    - Shoot on net with a low shot looking for a deflection from Forward 1 or 2
    - Pass to Forward 2 who should be coming in the back side of the goalie
4. Forwards look for rebound or chase loose pucks to the corner

Focus:
1. Get Defense involved
2. Drive the net and look for rebounds/deflections

Notes:
After you have run this several times, introduce 1 or 2 Defense to play against the 3 man team. You can also add a 4th player to the Offensive team.

Related Drills:
2 on 0 give and go
Cross overs enter zone

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2 on 1 Breakout

Drill:

1. On whistle, the Forwards in the each corner skate for the opposite dot, turn and cut back in the middle. Defense starts to skate backward out of the zone.
2. Goalie (or a Coach) looks to make an outlet pass to one of the players after they turn the dot
3. 2 Forwards now work out of the zone and Defense works to control their movement

Focus:
1. Lateral movement by the Forwards to get open
2. Puck movement by the Goalie. Goalie should focus on passes out toward the circles and not in the middle

Notes:
This drill is move for skating and lateral movement and is not recommended as a breakout option. Skating back and forth is wasted movement and moving the puck in front of the net is never a good thing.  What I'm trying to teach them is the side to side movement to get open.  Most young players want to head straight up the rink.

Related Drills:
3 on 2 breakout
Behind net breakout

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Skate 8 and Deflect

Drill:

1. Line 3 Defenseman up at the points (D location is based on skill level of players and how far they can shoot.
2. Forward passes puck to point man and skates around first circle and then stops in front of net looking for a deflection from the D shooting from the top of the circle he just skated around.
3. Forward now skates toward the corner, picks up a puck and passes it to the point man. He continues around the circle to the front of the net again looking for a deflection
4. Last he moves toward the middle of the net looking for a deflection from the last Defenseman.

Focus:
1. Puck movement to the Point man.
2. Getting to the front of the net and looking for deflections/rebounds.

Notes:
I found a variation of this drill on another site and will give credit if I can locate it again.

Related Drills:
Drop and go
Skate and tip

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Skate, Stop and Pass

Drill:

1. Put players in groups of 2 starting at the goal line
2. Player 1 skates 4 strides, stops and looks for a pass from Player 2
3. Player 2 passes back to Player 2, then skates stops and looks for a pass
4. Continue this to the Blue line
5. Repeat all the way back to the goal line
6. Player 1 & 2 Switch positions and repeat drill

Focus:
1. Good quick starts
2. Good Stops and head up looking for a pass
3. Good passes back to their teammate

Notes:
A lot of variations on this drill by changing up the number of strides or placing markers where they need to stop.

Related Drills:
Passing Forward/backward Tandems
Give and Go

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2-1 Pass and Go

Drill:

1. Place a group of players at each end and Defensive players in the middle
2. First player leaves and skate hard to the other end and turns around the Cone
3. At the turn, Player in the corner passes and jumps into the run for the 2-0 break.
4. Defense in middle circle works to break up the play
5. 2nd Player in line leaves after the first and skates down to other end and around the cone (they do not join rush, but are setting up the next break-out)
6. Repeat Step 2 and follow through the drill again
Focus:
1. Teach Offensive players to come back to help out and receive pass from man in the corner.
2. Good passing in 2-1
3. Player without puck needs to hustle up to get into the play

Notes:

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2-0 Pass and Go

Drill:

1. Place a group of players at each end
2. First player leaves and skate hard to the other end and turns around the Cone
3. At the turn, Player in the corner passes and jumps into the run for the 2-0 break.
4. 2nd Player in line leaves after the first and skates down to other end and around the cone (they do not join rush, but are setting up the next break-out)
5. Repeat Step 2 and follow thru the drill again
Focus:
1. Teach Offensive players to come back to help out and receive pass from man in the corner.
2. Good passing in 2-0
3. Player without puck needs to hustle up to get into the play

Notes:

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Pass and Go – 1 on 1 Defense

Drill:

1. Line up 2 players at opposite sides of the blue lines.
2. Player 1 starts skating with a puck and hits Player 2 with a pass who returns it to Player 1
3. Defensive player starts skating up toward middle of rink
4. Player 1 then skates across blue line passing to Player 3 who returns the pass
5. Defense player transitions into backward skating
6. Player 1 and Defense are now in a 1 on 1

Focus:
1. Give and Go passes
2. Defense works on skating and positioning

Drill:
You can adjust to full rink if you have it and run the drill down the wall starting the D at the opposite ends.

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2 on 1 Passing Attack

Drill:

1. Offense 1 and 2 start at mid rink and work on passing the puck back and forth
2. Defense 1 skates up and transitions to backward skating and good positioning
3. Offense works to score
4. Defense works to get puck out of zone

Focus:
1. Solid passing to create space
2. Good positioning to get open once in the Offensive Zone
3. Defense must choose one player to Defend once in the zone

Notes:
Stress how this can/should be used in a game for quick passes to create space and scoring opportunities.

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