Keep Your Stick On The Ice:

It is imperative that a hockey player keeps his stick on the ice at all times, except for trying to deflect a puck.  Players should never be skating down the ice with their stick in the air.  They cannot receive a pass, or shoot a puck to score while their stick is waving around off the ice.  It is also a much safer environment when players keep their sticks on the ice.

Learn To Jam

Formerly a rare power play strategy, "jam" plays are now commonplace. Attacking teams rush in front of the net from all angels while attempting to keep the puck moving to rotating pivot men, hoping to free up an open man one-on-one against the goaltender. The strategy is risky because there is often no one back in time to prevent a short handed rush if the puck squirts away from the corners or behind the net.

Play Without The Puck

A good player's actions and movements away from the puck are just as important as and sometimes more important than - his play with the puck. 

If you're playing with a Gretzky, or some other clever director, it's imperative to play smart without the puck. "That's why he's accomplished what he has, because of anticipation, "Colin Campbell says of The Great One. "And if you're going to play on the same line as him, you better know where to be and when to be there"

Dish Or Dump?

Former defenseman ESPN commentator Brian Engblom on carrying the puck out of the zone: "If the defenseman has been able to get the puck under control and gather speed coming out of his zone, he must be very careful to make the right play in the neutral zone. If it's congested, often the right play is not to pass it at all, but instead, get to the red line and dump the puck into the opposition's zone. If he makes a bad pass in the neutral zone and it is intercepted, he is caught traveling in the wrong direction and is susceptible to a breakaway, or outnumbered attack on his partner (who's backing him up)."

Be Indirect

A popular misconception is that most goals are scored on  direct shots. "They're not", says Nelson Emerson. "Especially on power plays. Most of the time, you score on tips (redirections) or rebounds off missed shots."

One Hand Can Help

"Try to keep one hand on the stick as much as possible," says Steve Duchesne. "I like to use my stick a lot in tight situations to take the puck from the forward or intercept a pass. Freeing one hand from the stick also really helps my balance and my speed because I can extend both my legs and arms when I am skating. Also, like most other defense, I like to use the crossover a lot when going backwards. But crossing over too much can get you burned because a smart forward will watch your feet and when you crossover one way he goes the other direction and it can be very hard to untangle your feet. So when the forward is near it is better to go straight backwards and let him make the first move."

Excellence Is Not A Single Act; It Is A Habit

If you want to become a great hockey player developing good practice habits is extremely important. Don’t ever kid yourself into believing you can “step-it-up” in a game, and you don’t have to practice hard. The greatest athletes in all sports share a common characteristic…they practice as hard as they play.

As you develop through practice, you will find some skills come easier than others.   In order to develop into a well-rounded player, approach practice by working especially hard on your weaknesses, while you continue to refine the skills you are strong in.

Become A Better Hockey Player By Becoming A Better Athlete

Although it is vitally important to have good hockey skills such as skating, puck control, passing/receiving and shooting, athleticism developed off the ice is just as important. Things to work on: strength, speed, balance, coordination, agility and explosiveness. There is no doubt about it…when you become a better athlete, you become a better hockey player.

Most of the general athletic improvements necessary to become a better player can begin off ice, and some areas, like general strength, are enhanced more when training off-ice in a well supervised strength-training program. A couple of key off ice training reminders: 1) Prior to any practice session or training session, always warm-up before beginning the activity. 2) Make sure any work/training is done gradually and in increments your body can handle. Develop your off-ice program with the help of your coach and a certified strength and conditioning specialist. 3) Finally, at the end of each session always include a proper cool down. This is important to adequately recover from the training.

As hockey players, we all love the feeling of getting to the rink and out on the ice. But remember, to truly improve as a hockey athlete there is a lot to do off the ice.

Grip Your Stick For Greatness

One example of developing the right habits of excellence in practice is paying attention to how you hold your stick. While many players might take this for granted, how you grip your stick is very important. You want your stick to be an extension of you, to feel like it’s a natural extension of your body. How do you get to this point?

The key things to remember are:

1. Hold hands in a comfortable position 6 to 10 inches apart
2. Grip the stick with your fingers, not your entire hand, for a better feel; form a V with the thumb and forefinger

Puck Control And Protection

A good way to teach young kids how to protect the puck is to use a ringette like the ones used in Canadian ring hockey games. This is a rubber donut ring that has about a 7 inch diameter. Have the kids turn their sticks upside down and place the butt end inside the ring's hole and drag the ring with one hand as they use the other had to hold off the defender. This makes it easier for the kids to get the feel as they are less likely to lose control of the ring.

Proper Body Checking

Proper body checking requires sound, well-developed skills, concentration, agility and anticipation. The player checking must concentrate on the puck carrier, not the puck. The checker should keep both hands on the stick, with the blade on or near the ice, using timing, steering and angling to limit the puck carrier’s space, and influence their direction and speed. The checker must avoid lunging at the puck carrier, placing his glove in the face of the puck carrier, or making excessive contact with the stick. All of these infractions must be discouraged or they will result in penalties during games.

Checking is an important part of hockey, and if done well can be an important part of your game. But remember, you should never use illegal or dangerous checking if you want to be an honorable hockey player.

Defending The 1 On 1 Attack

  Adjust your speed to your opponent, stay between your opponent and your net, keep your feet moving and stay under control, keep one hand on the stick, arm half extended...stick in front of you, force and steer your opponent to the outside, always protect the center/middle corridor.

• In cutting the angle down some tips to a goalie must remember: Do not stay deep in your net, do not give too much room on one side…keep square with the puck, be set when the shot is taken…
• Focusing for Goalies: Focusing must be adjustable, like a zoom lens on a camera. When the puck/play is developing in the neutral zone, your focus will be broad. If you are facing a long shot, you will focus narrowly on the puck
• Shooting a wrist shot: hands apart, body is turned sideways to the target, puck begins at the side of your body, sweep puck forward while transferring your weight, puck will spin from heel to toe, your follow through is low and pointed at your target
• Puck carrier in the offensive zone should remember some of your options: Drive to the net and shoot, pass back to the trailer, pass to the far wing driving to the net, or cut back, and stall for time

Shooting With Balls....

Take 5 ice hockey balls or tennis balls and have shooters shoot hard shots from the off side dots and center of the blue line at the goaltenders. The advantage to using balls and not pucks is that the balls are not as hard as a puck and will be significantly faster. Advise the goaltenders that the speed of the ball will be much faster than the puck but not as hard. This will help them to react faster to the puck in real situations.