Help your dmen close the gap and teach backchecking tactics with these two new drills ?

In this week’s edition of On the Board with Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks GM and head coach shares a 2 on 2 drill that focuses on defencemen closing the gap, and a drill that helps to teach backchecking tactics.

Every week, we’ll be releasing two drills, as Johnston provides insight on how to best implement them into your practice.

Drill 13: 2 on 2 Speed Cross

“On the whistle, X1 and X2 cross overtop of the coach. D1 and D2 start from the circle and gap-up as the whistle sounds…”

Drill 14: Switchback Drill

“This is a great drill to teach your backcheck. Although a little bit slower, there are a couple things you can add as your team gets used to the drill…”