Player evaluations and team practices should match the level of players and be caerfully thought out to insure that the icetime is valuable and evaluations are accurate. I recently evaluated for U14 and U15 high performance groups and the drills that the players did not create any seperation other than skating ability. Suggestions to the coaches were brushed off. 

The older group did a couple very complicated drills which took the skaters time to figure out and the drills did not really showcase the talents of the players. Each session was 90 minutes long with the last 30 minutes 5v5 change on the fly no officials etc. By the start of that the players were tired. 

In youth hockey - U16 and below how many drills are enough? Showing up with new drills every practice doesnt necessarily mean development. 

Think about what you are trying to accomplish and plan accordingly 

1.Skating skills with and without the the puck

2. Soft skills you cannot teach- cross ice games with constraints 

3. 2-1 from the corners, half wall and blue line half wall 

4. Cycling and scissors plays 

5. Scoring- Move  the goalie by crossing the royal road once or twice and follow the shot- Get puck to the middle of the O zone before shooting 

6. PASSING and Receiving- track completed passes in games. For U15- the goal is 150 completed passes. Work on passing/receiving in practice. Teach support players how to support and be available for a pass. 

Depending on how much practice ice you get this should be your foundation. 

Hockey is a team game which requires all players to participate and move to support and advance the puck up ice, together. Recently the youth and high school games have turned into 1v5 or 2v5 with the thrird and 4th lines on the bench watching. 

If the players do not learn these skills by the time they are 16 years old, it is to late except for the gifted players who will be successful at every level. But will their teams be successful? Not likely if the rest of the players are not fully engaged and participating.