"This would be a station practice for your power play. You get a lot of reps working on technical skills of the power play.”

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov makes insane plays look easy. He does it so regularly, crazy plays have become part of his repertoire.

Deception is the word that comes to mind when describing Kucherov for former NHLer Kris Beech, who gave an on-ice presentation during TCS Live 2022.

Beech, the Founder of AIM Mindfulness and now Co-Founder of Slip Skill Tech, was selected 7th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1999 NHL entry draft. He played seven seasons in the NHL and AHL for the Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Vancouver Canucks. Beech also played eight seasons in Europe.

Beech’s 25-minute presentation is about teaching deception in three main areas: feet, stick and head, using drills he runs with U15 players all the way up to the pros.

“I’ve got four main drills, one is a warm-up drill, the other three are run in station progressions, breaking down the skills involved with deception and passing on the power play. This would be a station practice for your power play, they’re all high plays, and you get a lot of reps working on technical skills of the power play.”

Watching this presentation will give you an instant practice plan to implement and improve your power play immediately.

More on Beech:

The 41-year-old from Salmon Arm, BC, is a Certified Mindfulness Instructor and earned a Master’s of Science in Sports Management from Ulster University in 2016. Beech is now the DHA Mental Performance Coach & Skating Coach, as well as the U15 Prep Green Head Coach, with Delta Hockey Academy.