Controlling the puck means you’re controlling the game. Use these hockey practice drills to improve your puck control.
The last few articles I have written have discussed getting the puck out of the defensive zone, through the neutral zone, and then into the offensive zone.
But once you’re in the offensive zone, you don’t want to just take any shot you can and risk losing possession of the puck. I tell my players that controlling the puck means you’re controlling the game. So, when we enter a zone, we need to keep the puck, find those passing lanes or identify those shooting lanes and make the most of our chances.
On top of that, we need to ensure everyone knows how to find open ice to create such lanes.
Drills created with Hockey Coach Vision.
The first drill we start with to teach these basics is a small area game we call the goal line battle. The players create two lines, one offence and one defence. On the dump in from the coach, three offensive players and two defensive players begin the drill. Offence needs to gain control of the puck and generate a complete pass from behind the goal line to activate and be able to shoot on the net.
If defence gains possession at any time, offence must reset and bring the puck behind the goal line again before being able to shoot. If the puck is covered or cleared to the coach by defence, or a goal is scored, the drill starts over.
A progression on this drill is to have a third defender wait up next to the coach and if defence can gain possession and make a pass to the waiting player, the game then becomes a 3-on-3 and either team that is able to get the puck behind the goal line and out with a pass becomes offence.
The focus here for the offensive is finding the open spots on the ice to get that pass from the player behind the net. It’s in a small area so your choices are limited and you’re hoping defence makes a mistake.
The mistake you’re looking for, and as a coach will want to correct, is the defender going behind the net and leaving a forward wide open.
The best example of this recently is the Tampa Bay Lightning winning game 2 against the Florida Panthers with fewer than five seconds left because when the puck went behind the net, both defenders attacked the puck and the player, who was able to make an outlet pass to an incoming teammate, who was left all alone.
Yet, in this drill, you want your forwards to be aware these mistakes happen and to spot them and take advantage. But in the case these mistakes don’t happen, finding open ice is critical.
The next drill begins to add more point utilization and teaches centres and wings where to go and what to do when the point has the puck, but also how to gain possession and utilize the point when left open.
The coach should dump the puck into the zone choosing a different location each time, with two forwards from each team in the zone, and one defender at the point from each time, the teams battle for possession.
The defenders at the point are not allowed to move. You can even draw them a box to stand in, or as your progress on the drill can offer them more space to move around.
Once a team has possession, they must get the puck to the point and become the active forwards where the defender will either shoot, dump the puck back in, or make a pass to an open player.
A few key lessons here are looking up to make sure your point isn’t being covered. If your pass is intercepted, the other team just needs to make a quick pass to their point person and they have taken over the offensive role.
Second to that, you want your player making the pass with the puck, and the other player to know what to do once the pass is made.
With younger age groups or new players, you likely have both open players rush to the net. They believe the shot will come in and they have the best ability to score from there.
However, if your point person doesn’t have a shot on net, they may look for a pass back where it came from. We teach our forwards to make the pass up to the point, but then stay in that immediate area, open and ready for a quick pass back.
The open player at that point can focus on finding open ice near the net or creating a screen or deflection opportunity.
If the defender chooses to dump the puck in, someone needs to also read that play and be there to grab possession so that it doesn’t immediately result in a turnover.
Finally, we end with a fun game-based drill to close out the practice keeping with the theme of open ice and possession.
We call this one, 3-on-the-boards.
This is a 3-on-3 drill, with an additional three players from the defending team waiting on the board to be activated as the offensive players. The object is for offence to score, or for defence to get possession and pass it to their three forwards waiting on the boards. If they complete the pass, the three players on the boards become offence, the current defence skates off, and the three previous forwards now play defence. At that time, three new players from the now defending team come down the boards and wait for the defence to make a pass to them.
Like the above drills, this one focuses on finding time and space. 3-on-3 with half-ice leaves a lot of room, but you’ll be surprised how quickly the players will bunch up, believing that being closer to the net means better scoring chances.
Rather, correct them and encourage them to instead create scoring chances by finding that ice and drawing defending players away from the net and away from offensive players who you can move the puck to.
After these drills, the next best thing is a 5-on-5 scrimmage in a half zone setting to force those offensive players to put all these drills into use. Find the space, find the lanes, and put those pucks on net for maximum scoring chances with minimal turnovers.
3D Animated Drills are powered by the Hockey Coach Vision App. Test the FREE HCV APP and access 100+ Animated Drills: https://hockeycoachvision.com/
