As coaches, we should be reexamining our own practice planning so that our teams can get the most out of their on-ice sessions. This should be a regular habit. Don’t set it and forget it.

Below are two simple elements we can incorporate into our small-group practices to help players experience game-like conditions, which will lead to better game play. You play how you practice, after all.

1. Start with a push-in escape

Per a study done during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs by skills coach Sebastien Lemay, 80% of initial puck touches happen outside of the dot lanes. Even in the best league in the world, many offensive sequences die along the wall before they can materialize into a middle attack.

At the top levels of the game, skilled players and grinders alike often get their first touch near the boards. The difference is that the latter typically opt to bunt the puck to someone else, while the former have the touch and poise to gather a bad puck, get off the wall and make a play.

To help young players become comfortable with making a wall play inside body contact, we can start a team practice or small-group skills session with a simple push-in escape progression.

A player or coach makes a short pass to a stationary player on the half-wall, then skates in to gently push the puck carrier into the boards akin a defenceman playing defensive zone coverage. The puck carrier needs to accept the body contact, roll off, then attack the net.

Things to watch out for:

• Is the player nervous about receiving even token pressure?
  • If so slow the drill down, encourage the player to execute the drill one step at a time (catch puck, look at pressure, initiate contact, roll off, accelerate to net) and give him/her plenty of room for error.
• Are the player’s feet getting stuck on the escape?
  • To roll off efficiently a player will need to get into an opposite weight shift posture to protect the puck, then use crossovers to build speed toward the middle of the ice.
• Is the player able to roll off on both sides?
  • Make sure players are able to escape in both directions, then challenge them to add deception (fake left, then spin right, or vice-versa).

2. End with a loose puck

In the clip below, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to score in the final minute of play to force overtime and stay alive against the Columbus Blue Jackets. With their goaltender out for an extra attacker, their only path to success is to win every single offensive-zone puck battle.

It’s almost impossible for us to replicate a tight, must-win game’s intensity in the context of a small-group skills session. However we could organically influence our players to execute with intensity by simply adding an extra loose-puck race after a drill.

There are no predetermined offensive or defensive teams — whoever is on the puck first is free to attack the net and score. After the initial play, the coach throws a new puck into the fray, forcing players to identify the opportunity, track hard and attempt to win the puck.

In the clip above my players are physically and mentally fatigued after a long session. However the second puck in this net-front drill forces both players to give their best effort, and allows us to simulate late-game conditions, where will must meet skill.

Things to watch out for:

• Does the player’s technique break down when physically fatigued?
• Does the player attack with enthusiasm on the initial play, but lay off when he/she is second on a loose puck?
• Is the player quick to recognize the new puck, or is he/she consistently late adjusting to a change in possession?