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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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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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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Wing Pass 2-0

Drill:

1. Player 1 starts skating and breaks up rink
2. Player 2 skates and then makes the long across rink pass to open things up
3. Player 1 carries the puck in toward the net while Player 2 goes for the net looking for pass/rebound

Focus:
1. Passing is key here to open up the rink
2. Player 1 should focus on the shot or looking to get the pass back to Player 2

Notes:
Add a coach or Defensive player in here after a few rounds to make them work against a player.

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Goalie Warm-up

Drill:

1. Line players in front of goalie in semi-circle
2. Alternate shots on goal
3. After everyone shoots, rotate players down the line

Focus:
1. Shooter – Pick a spot and shoot
2. Goalie – Work angles
3. Goalie – Quick recovery for next shot

Notes:
This is intense for the Goalies as they should be up and down, sliding left to right.
You can fire down the line or skip every other one or any variation.

Related Drills:
3 Shot Drill Variation
3 Shot Drill

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Down-Low Give and Go

Drill:

1. Player 1 (O1) starts on one side with the puck
2. They make a quick pass below the goal line and skate
3. Coach (X1 & 2) below the line returns the puck to Player 1
4. Shoots on net and continues across
5. Player 1 stops at far wall and picks up a puck repeating process across.

Focus:
1. Quick passes back and forth
2. Pass the puck low and skate toward the net looking for a return pass
3. Key for downlow player is a good quick pass back to the player

Notes:
Replace Coaches with players to make the pass

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O-Zone Decoy

Drill:

1. Defenseman makes a pass to Center in neutral zone. Both Defensemen setup in the zone for the offensive rush. Their job is to breakup the play and clear the zone.
2. Once Center has puck, C,LW & RW start to enter the zone.
3. Center makes the first pass to either Winger, then the Center bursts directly to the front of the net.
4. The Winger that received the pass should skate further into the zone on his side and 1.) curl up at the middle of the circle and look to pass to the Off-Winger in the high middle slot, then cut to the net or 2.) If he has a lane to the net to skate hard an shoot.
5. The Off-Winger, should setup in the high middle slot looking for a pass from the other winger.
6. The Off-Winger should take the shot and all should look for a tip-in or rebound.

Focus:
1. Defensemen: This practices position discipline. It exercises making decisions on either playing the pass or taking the man.
2. Offensemen: This practices position discipline and teamwork with passes.
This strategy could be implemented during game play.

Notes:
This drill should happen quickly, passes and shots should be quick. This requires good positional knowledge.
It's important that the players without the puck get to the net. This pulls the defensemen away from the player in the high middle slot, given him a clear passing lane or shooting lane.
Mix up the drill by having the Defensive pass go to one of the Wingers. This causes each player to rethink their role in the drill.

As a variation, add a second line in the corner to play a Defensive role. This role should focus on watching the player in front of the net.

Thanks to Ducky Restauri for submitting this drill.

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Pointman Movement

Drill:

1. Have Defensemen line up at the Blueline. Offensemen line up in corner with Pucks
2. OFF passes to DEF
3. DEF passes back to OFF
4. OFF carries puck behind the net. DEF shifts to the high middle slot
5. OFF passes to DEF and gets in front of net
6. DEF takes shot from high slot
7. OFF looks for tip-in/rebound

Focus:
1. Active passing with DEF in the high zone
2. Puck movement
3. Hard, outside shots
4. Presence in front of the net
5. Tip-ins/rebound reaction

Notes:
Drill should be run quickly - Game Speed
Shots should be SlapShots and kept low for tips.

As a variation, add a second line in the corner to play a Defensive role. This role should focus on watching the player in front of the net.

Special thanks to Ducky Restauri for submitting this drill.

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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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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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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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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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Drop and Go

Drill:

1. Players work in groups of 2
2. Player 1 skates down the wall to the goal line and drops the puck to player 2 who is trailing him
3. Player 1 goes to the Net and looks for a pass, deflection or rebound
4. Player 1 then skates up around the opposite circle to the pucks
5. Player 2 now gets to the front of the net looking for a pass, deflection or rebound from Player 1

Focus:
1. Working together as line mates
2. Good passing/shooting
3. Deflections or rebounds in front of the net
4. Getting good position in front of the goalie

Notes:
This helps the players understand positions and working together with their linemates

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Skate and Tip

Drill:
1. Players start at blue line and skate toward puck
2. Once they get to the puck and the take a slap slot (SS)
3. Next they skate to the front of the net looking and get position
4. Look for a deflection or rebound of shot from the Coach (C)

Focus:
1. Taking a slap shot while skating up to a puck
2. Getting position and working on deflection and rebounds
3. Goalie works on lateral movement
4. Goalie works on getting clear view of puck from player standing in front

Notes:
Run the drill from one side and then the other so they get used to shooting and moving from both sides.
Also, you have player move out to point and take shot on goal (after they have tried deflection/rebound.)

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Using the Wall

Drill:
1. Player 1 skates toward Defender (Coach (C)) on the blue line
2. Player 2 in the middle skates toward the middle
3. Player 1 passes the puck off the wall and steps around the coach
4. After getting control of the puck, Player 1 looks for Player 2 heading down the middle

Focus:
1. Getting around defenders
2. Using the boards/glass to make a play
3. Getting control of the puck and looking for the player breaking down the middle

Notes:
You could add 2 trailing players. 1st would establish position in front of the net while 2nd would float top of the circles. This would give Player with the puck another option.

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Skate, Pass, Shoot

Drill:
1. Players start at blue line and skate laterally toward the wall
2. Next, they skate down the wall and pick up a puck and skate around the cone
3. Once around the cone, make a pass to the blue line to the Coach (C)

Next variation:
1. After #3, skate around the cone and look for a return pass
2. Shoot on net
3. Replace coach as the passer

Focus:
1. Lateral skating
2. Picking up a loose puck and skating/moving it along
3. Making good clearing passes
4. Shooting on net

Notes:
You can have them carry pucks behind the net and then make passes to the opposite wall. This will make them focus on having their head up as the cross behind the net.

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Slap and Go

Drill:
1. Players start at goal line and skate backward with a puck
2. Once they get to the cone, they make a hard pass to the next player in line
3. Next they skate to the double cones where a puck is waiting for them.
The Coach (C) will place a puck between the cones
4. Players skates up and takes a slap slot (SS)
5. Next they skate to the opposite cone, around and toward the net looking for a pass from the other Coach (C)
6. Player shoots and goes back in line.

Focus:
1. Backward skating while stick handling
2. Making a hard pass
3. Taking a slap shot while skating up to a puck
4. Accepting a pass from another player
5. Goalie works on sliding from side to side and they are taking rapid shots from both sides and multiple players

Notes:
Run the drill from one side and then the other so they get used to shooting and moving from both sides.

Thanks to Jake Bartos for drawing this one up.

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