Buffalo Sabres NHL Defense Drill

This drill focuses on defenssive zone coverage and backchecking. The drill starts with a 1 on 1 battle in front of the net ( F1 vs. D1).  F1 is looking for a pass from D2 who has a puck behind the net.  D2 makes as many passes as possible to F1 before the whistle blows.  On the whistle, D2 caries a puck around the net and makes a breakout pass to F2.  F2 and D1 then attack D3.  F1 backchecks making it a 2 on 2 situation.  Once the play is made, D3 becomes the player behind the net making passes to F2 in front of the net until the whistle blows.  F2 then becomes the backchecking forward as D3 passes to F3.  F3 and D3 then attack the other direction.  The sequence continues back and forth.

Hockey Breakout Drill

Standard Hockey Breakout

There are tons of different breakout patterns and systems your team can use to quickly and safely move the puck out of your own end. Unfortunately our team doesn't practice, so we tend to keep things pretty simple on the ice. Typically we just use the standard breakout.

Every player should be aware of the standard breakout regardless of the position you play. Defense, Centre and Wing all play a role.

Here is How the Standard Breakout Works:

• The defenseman has the puck behind his own net, and sees a winger open along the boards.
  
  
• He passes the puck to the winger or rings it around the boards.
  
  
• Meanwhile the Centre comes back into his own end from the blueline, turns, and curls up ice making himself available for a pass from the winger.
  
  
• The winger can then either pass is to the centre, or chip it up the boards and out of the zone.

The Centre

The key to this play is timing. The centre should be passing by the winger as the winger receives the puck. The winger can then make a short, quick pass to the centre, who now has some speed, and is able to take the puck out of your own end.

The Winger

The winger must be ready for any type of pass from the defenceman. It's rarely going to be right on your stick. If the puck has been flung along the boards into the corner, it can be tricky.

The best way to control this type of pass is to line up facing the high slot with your butt against the boards, stick on the ice, and the heel of your front foot (the foot closest to the blueline) right against the boards. If you tilt your front foot outwards at an angle, and keep your stick in front of you, the puck should bounce off your skate blade towards your stick as it comes in behind your trailing leg.

The puck can take a weird bounce at any time, so this method doesn't always work perfectly. Even if the puck gets caught up between your skates, you still have a good chance of getting it under control.



The worst way to receive this type of pass is to face the boards and try to use only your stick to stop the puck. If the puck is coming fast and hops over your stick, it will go right to the opposing defenceman. A deadly giveaway.

Here's a variation where Chicago's Left D-Man (Keith #2) passes the puck behind the goal line to the Right D (Seabrook #7), who then quickly moves the puck up to the winger (Havlat #24), who then passes it to the centre (Toews #19.) Toews has just completed his U-turn from deep in his own end.



This is a great play as it gives the centre two chances to receive a breakout pass. First from the Defenceman, then a second opportunity from the winger. It also leads to a goal!

Hockey Slapshot tips for Hockey

 Slap Shot

 

Slap Shot	Slap Shot One Timer

 

The slap shot is the most powerful and exciting shot in hockey. However, most of the time, the slap shot ends up hitting the boards. If you are to use the slap shot, you need to develop accuracy.

 

SLAP SHOT - One of the most effective slap shot is the low slap shot. Try to keep the slap shot a few inches from the ice. At that height, your teammates have a good chance of deflecting the puck in the net and the goalie is easily screened by his own defenceman. The low slap shot is a great weapon especially when used at the point by a defenceman.

  

 

With your eye on your target, draw your stick back between your waist and your shoulder height. In this wind up (slingshot) position, your weight should be on your back leg. Drive your stick down stepping and leaning into the shot transferring your weight forward onto your stick through your lower hand. Your stick should strike the shooting surface 2 to 3 inches before the puck. The contact with the puck should be made in the middle of the blade or a bit off centered toward the heel. The bending and whipping return of the shaft and the forward motion of the downswing is what creates the powerful force. As the puck rises off the shooting surface, snap your wrists. Continue with a low follow through pointing at the target and resume a balanced position with your weight fully transferred on your front leg.

 

For the short wind up slap shot the stick is drawn back at hip level. The short slap shot wind up should be used when there is little time to make a shot that requires power.

 

 

How to take a hockey snap shot

Snap Shot  

Side to Front Snap Shot

Within 15 to 20 feet from the net, an accurate snap shot is the ultimate shooting weapon. This shot has the quickest shot release with plenty of power. Mastering the snap shot is difficult and takes a lot of practice but it is well worth learning. The benefit is being able to shoot a powerful shot with almost no wind-up and no warning.

Back to Front Snap Shot	One Timer Snap Shot

 

The snap shot is quicker than a wrist shot and more accurate than a slap shot.The most important attribute of a good snap shot is the speed with which youcan release the puck. It’s probably the most widely used shot in hockey today.

SNAP SHOT - One of the most effective snap shot is the low snap shot. Try to keep the slap shot a few inches from the ice. At that height, your teammates have a good chance of deflecting the puck in the net and the goalie is easily screened by his own defenceman. The low snap shot is a great weapon especially when used at the point by a defenceman.

  

With your eye on your target, draw your stick back between your waist and your shoulder height. In this wind up (slingshot) position, your weight should be on your back leg. Drive your stick down stepping and leaning into the shot transferring your weight forward onto your stick through your lower hand. Your stick should strike the shooting surface 2 to 3 inches before the puck. The contact with the puck should be made in the middle of the blade or a bit off centered toward the heel. The bending and whipping return of the shaft and the forward motion of the downswing is what creates the powerful force. As the puck rises off the shooting surface, snap your wrists. Continue with a low follow through pointing at the target and resume a balanced position with your weight fully transferred on your front leg.

Wrist Shot for Hockey

The wrist shot is probably the most effective shot in hockey. It is the most accurate shot and it can be released fairly quickly. This is the shot that a player should learn first. While not as fast as the slap shot, with practice, proper technique and upper body strength, the wrist shot can be a very powerful shot.

 

WRIST SHOT - Use the proper stick grip and take on the proper hockey stance. For the wrist shot, move your lower hand halfway down the shaft to add power to the shot. Position your body at a 45-degree angle to the net. Bring the puck behind or even with your back leg lowering your shoulder as you reach back and down with your stick to position the puck. Keep the puck in the middle of the blade with the blade tilted over the puck (rotate your wrists). In this position, your weight should be on your back leg.

  

 

Sweep the puck forward while transferring your weight toward your front foot and rotating your body forward. As the stick blade crosses your body, transfer body weight on your stick while pushing forward with your lower hand and pulling backward with your top hand. The puck is released when it reaches your front foot and your shoulders are square to the net. At the point of release, your wrists turn causing the stick blade to turn out and lift the puck. After the puck is released, follow through pointing the toe of your stick toward the target. The height of the shot depends on how much you rotate your wrists and how high your follow-through is.

 

The short wind up wrist shot is similar to the description above except that the puck is positioned between your back leg and front leg. Starting with your weight on your back leg, you step directly into the shot transferring body weight on your stick while pushing forward with your lower hand and pulling backward with your top hand. The short wind up has a quicker release and should be used when there is little time to prepare and power is not necessarily required.

 

For the wrist shot advanced shooters will position the puck on the back third of the blade. When the shot is released, the puck rolls toward the toe of the blade causing a spin on the puck, which provides a faster and more accurate shot.

 

How to take a good wrist shot

How to Take a Wrist shot

 For another great in depth article on the wrist shot check out this how to take a wrist shot article
The wristshot is one of the most commonly used shot in hockey, this means that it is critical for any one who is serious about hockey to perfect their wrist shots. When learning to take a wrist shot there are 3 things you need to work on

1. Wristshot power / speed
2. Wristshot accuracy
3. Wristshot release time

I have made a quick 1 minute video showing how to take a wrist shot


You need to work on your wrist shot power / speed because as you get better at hockey, so do the goalies. The slower your shot is the more time the goalie has to react and stop you. This is why it is important to work on your wristshot powerThe accuracy of your shot is very important, in fact accuracy is more important than power (but having both is a lethal combination) If you look at the net, and you see the goalie has left a 4 inch by 4 inch opening, and you can shoot the puck right into that opening, you will be able to score a lot more goals. Practice your accuracy first so you can shoot out the corners when you need to. Once you can snipe the corners, then practice building your wrist shot power
The last thing you need for a perfect wrist shot is how fast you can get the shot off. Some players take a long time to set up their shot, they pull the puck back, break their stride, look for a spot to shoot and then shoot. All of this preparation gives the goalie a lot of time to set up and predict where you are going to shoot. Practice coming in at full speed and shooting without breaking your stride.
An unpredictable release, coupled with deadly accuracy and blistering speed will guarantee you a tonne of goals in hockey.

Green Biscuit Puck Review

This is a post by Jeremy Rupke who has his own hockey tips blog. You can visit his page if you want to buy the Green Biscuit and you can also read his full Green Biscuit Review (and see the cool pictures and videos!)

This is a review of the Green Biscuit training puck. The GB is designed to slide smoothly without flipping over, just like a regular hockey puck does on the ice. The problem with most off ice pucks is they do not slide smoothly, most off ice pucks will flip over due to vibrations and friction.
Design
The unique design of the Green Biscuit reduces vibration which helps stop the puck from flipping over when sliding, and during stickhandling. The next issue that needed to be addressed was friction that would reduce the distant a puck can slide. The GB uses a special type of plastic, and also a unique design to reduce contact points, allowing it to slide much further than most off ice pucks.
Size and Weight
The biscuit is made to be the exact same size as a regular hockey puck, however it is not the exact weight of a hockey puck. Hockey pucks weigh between 5.5 oz and 6 oz but the Green Biscuit only weighs 4.4 oz. The reason that it was made light is because of friction. The added friction of rough surfaces makes off ice pucks feel heavier, so in order to closely match the feel of stickhandling on ice the GB was made a bit lighter
Stickhandling
We took the Green Biscuit out to an outdoor hockey rink and tested a lot of different moves. We did normal stickhandling, quick dekes, toe drags and some fancy moves as well, we were able to perform all of these moves just as we would on the ice with a normal puck
Passing
We tested quick passes, hard passes, one touch passes, backhand passes, and even saucer passes! We were really impressed with how the GB held up, you can see our Green Biscuit video to see what I am talking about
Overall Thoughts We were really impressed with the Green Biscuit. We loved how easily (and how far) it slid on the pavement and really loved stickhandling and passing. The great thing is that we were able to perform all of the dekes and passes that we normal do with a puck on the ice, off the ice.

Green Biscuit Hockey Puck

Jeremy has played hockey his entire life and loves to teach. You can visit his hockey blog for some great hockey tips. For more information and where to buy the GB you can visit our Green Biscuit page. You can also read our Green Biscuit Review to see a detailed review and a cool Green Biscuit video!



The Green Biscuit is a hockey training puck that is designed to slide just like a regular hockey puck does, but on rough surfaces like pavement and asphalt. The GB has a very unique design that helps it slide on rough surfaces without flipping over. The puck is made up of two pieces of green plastic that are separated by three bolts. The bolts have rubber spacers that help reduce vibrations.
Benefits of the Green Biscuit

• Slides smoothly across rough surfaces
• Does not flip up often like other hockey training pucks
• Feels and handles a lot like a regular hockey puck
• Great for stickhandling and passing
• Gives a puck like feel off the ice

We tested the GB out at an outdoor hockey rink and we were pleasantly surprised! We practiced stickhandling and passing and it felt a lot like a regular puck does on the ice. It slides nicely, and reacts a lot like a hockey puck on the ice. We practiced toe drags, every type of pass, and even saucer passes. After putting it through a series of tests we definitely recommend it! We took a bunch of pictures and a video to include in our review and had a lot of fun practicing.
There are a lot of products that try to simulate the feel of a real puck off ice, however many have fallen short. Other popular training products are stickhandling balls and different types of training pucks. For the purpose of stickhandling and passing I think the Green Biscuit is the best product out there.

Slapshot Tips For Defense

This is a video from our Hockey tips website that shows how to take a slapshot and a few good slapshot tips for the defencemen. If you want more info about the slapshot read our article How to take a slapshot

Hockey Backhand Instructional Video

I found a really cool video on youtube that shows how to take a backhand shot so I thought I would share it with everyone. I think it is important to practice getting your backhand shot up quick so that you can score goals when you are in close.If you like the video you should also check out this website that has some really good tips on hockey and there is an article that goes with this video that gives great backhand tips. Check the video out below to see how to backhand in hockey

How to Improve goal scoring in Hockey

5 tips to improve scoring in Hockey

By Jeremy Rupke

This article sums up a few hockey tips that will help you score more goals.
• Shoot the Puck: If you look at the stats for the top all time scorers in the NHL you will see 10 out of 10 of the players with the most shots, also ALL have more than 600 goals. Too quote the great Wayne Gretzky, the highest goal scorer of all time. "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" so do not give up a chance of scoring a goal in an attempt to score a "prettier" goal. Shoot the puck, and maybe one of your team mate will pop in the rebound if you miss.
• Be Creative: You do not always have to go top shelf, try shooting low, faking a shot, shoot five hole or deking. If you shoot for the same spot every time the goalie will stop you every time!
• Know the Goalie: If you can watch the goalie in the warm up then you can get a good idea of where the goalies weaknesses are. Once you find the goaltenders weak spots (places he has trouble stopping the puck) then you will know where to shoot and score more goals. You can even tell everyone on your team so they can score easier.
• Read Your Players: Knowing your fellow line mates is a great way to score more goals. If you know how your team mates play, you will know where to be on the ice to get a pass, when to rush the net and when to hang back. This will help you and your team mates set up more plays and score more goals.
• Do not Telegraph Your Shot: Goalies are well-trained, highly tuned puck stopping machines. Any hint you give them that you are going to shoot will give them that much more time to react and stop your shot. Some hints that you are going to shoot include stickhandling with the puck in front of you, and then moving it to your shooting side when you are going to shoot, looking right where you are going to shoot (it is good to take a peak, but do not make it really obvious) and breaking your stride.
Of course there are more tips like Go to the net, practice a quick release, and get open. These tips and more are covered in my next article. I hope these tips will help you score more goals in hockey. Keep an eye out for my next article called - 5 Traits Every Pure Goal Scorer Possesses.
If you would like to get more articles like this when I post them you can enter your email address in the box to the left of my Hockey Tips blog. You will get tips like this sent right to your inbox whenever they are posted on my site.

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How to Maintain your hockey equipment

Maintain Your Ice Hockey Equipment

By Pukett Van

When someone thinks about caring ice skates, the process is not at all time consuming. In fact this whole process requires a lot of concentration and attention. If someone gives a little proper care to their ice skates, they can last for a longer period of time. If you just by chance miss your maintenance program, then so called expensive pair of ice skates can actually get ruined within a period of seven to fourteen days itself.

When off the ice but still wearing skates, always and without fail wear plastic or rubber skate guards over ice skate blades. Skate guards protect the blades from hard surfaces and grit that can very quickly ruin a well-sharpened blade. Keep skate guards at the edge of the ice and place them on your skate blades even if you only plan to be off the ice for a few steps.

It is very important to note that when you are not wearing skates, it is advised that one should never leave the skate guard on the blades. One must understand that the guards are used only for walking purpose and left only for a small period of time. They have the capability that they trap moisture when the skates are near the ice.

Since they get consistently exposed to moisture when people use them for skating, it is very important they are maintained carefully and even proper maintenance is taken too. When the skate blade starts rusting, they further move into a territory where they can't be repaired. Prevention is the only way through which you can save your skates.

Experts are of the opinion that these Skate blades are dried after they have been used. If they are dried manually, after skating, they can surely achieve the results. The best way of saving your skates is that you make use of very absorbent golf size cloth towels. These towels have the capability that they wipe down all the moisture from the metal plate, from the blades, and possibly even from the boot. It is very vital that the special particular attention is paid to the metal parts of the skate. One should never think that they can leave the skates for later wipedown, it is next to impossible to later clean.

When it becomes visible that there is no presence of moisture on the skates, then one can possibly cover the blades with the help of blade cover made out of fabric. It is advised that one should always avoid using plastic or even rubber guards for storage purpose. These materials are not at all successful in removing the moisture from the skates and in fact trap further moisture from atmosphere. This way, your skates will rust pre maturely. When you prefer to buy quality skate cover, they have an absorbent lining that absorbs almost all moisture and also takes away moisture from the blades as well. They will also provide cushions to the skates when you carry them in the skate bag.

When you are not using ice skates or when at home, make sure that they are not stored in travel bag. It is advised that they remain in the best state when they are removed from bag. It is also better that you loosen the laces and pull the tounge out so that the drying process takes place quickly. One can also lay the skates in a dry towel so that the drying takes place uninterrupted. It is best when they are air dried in a place where there is immense sun light. But, it is very important to know that they are as far as from the heat sources.

For any help on Ice hockey sticks, check out the info available online; these will help you learn to find the Ice hockey skates!

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How to Save Money when Buying Hockey Sticks

How Hockey Players and Parents Can Save Money Buying the Right Type of Hockey Sticks

By Joakim Eriksson

I don't think this opinion of mine comes as a surprise to anyone, but the best way for hockey players and their parents to save money is to choose cheap wooden lumber, instead of the highly expensive composite sticks. But it looks like almost every kid today have chosen the much more expensive composite hockey stick. It is either the one-piece composite or the shaft and blade type of stick.

But why?

The one-piece or shaft and blade stick is a great hockey stick, there is no doubt about that! But it looks like hockey parents have a very big bank account, why else should they buy these kind of equipment to there children. Would You jeopardize your economy for a $200 gear.

Of course not! When your hockey budget is tight you have to think more than once before you make your decision. This is where parents have to support there children, and convince them that a one-piece composite or shaft and blade wont make them Sidney Crosby.

No! You should turn your thoughts to the less expensive Wooden Sticks instead, If you care about your well earned money! And of course You do!

Because here is where You can save some big money looking for new hockey sticks.

Why not look at this!

The Wooden Hockey Stick is a bargain if you compare it with the composite version. Almost every hockey equipment manufacture have wooden sticks. And they cost a fraction of a composite.

You can get a Youth. Hockey Stick for $13. And a Junior Stick for $14. The most expensive wooden sticks is the Sr. They cost between $15-45.

At hockey stores you have the opportunity to get a six-pack of senior sticks for less than $200. If you are looking for junior sticks you can have the same six-pack for less than $150.

If you have a tight budget running your hockey operation! The answer when it comes to choosing your hockey stick should not be difficult.

Hello!

My Name Is Joakim Eriksson and I am a former youth hockey coach from Sweden.

I manage my own hockey information page: http://www.hockey-game-information.com

The page is foremost about equipment but also features hockey fitness, hockey history and youth hockey

My article is placed on http://www.hockey-game-information.com/woodenhockeysticks.html

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Hockey skills

This blog will post hockey skills and some great hockey tips. Keep an eye out for tips on playing hockey and to develop your hockey skills