Tobias Johansson, former Head Coach of Norway’s National Team and current GM of IF Troja-Ljungby, brought his innovative approach to the ice at TCS Live in 2025, challenging coaches to rethink how they build relationships between players and the puck.

Johansson doesn’t believe in the phrase “play simple.” Instead, his drills and philosophy encourage players to be ambitious with the puck: to dare to handle it, to dare to make plays.

Building Comfort Through Creativity

He began with a warm-up drill: five skaters, two pucks, no goalies. Players passed in motion, moving freely around the ice without predetermined patterns. The purpose was clear: develop touch, comfort, and confidence with the puck in a setting that feels less like a traditional flow drill and more like the chaos of a real game.

“In a game, nothing is static. There are no predetermined routes, everything is dynamic.”