A simple, yet highly effective drill that helps players understand the concepts of puck protection along the boards.
Setup:
- Puck and players on the corner faceoff dot.
- Optional: coaches can add barriers to keep the players low and to navigate around.
- Goalies are optional.
Drill Details:
- Coach or player chips the puck into the corner.
- Player 1 jumps into the corner and scans the ice (looking over their shoulder).
- The player collects the puck and skates towards the net along the boards.
- Then the player performs a tight turn heading away from the net and keeps the puck along the boards (to protect it).
- The player skates back up ice away from the net and performs one more tight turn along the boards and drives to the net to get a shot on the goal.
Drill Progressions:
- Add Pressure: Add a "shadow" coach or defenceman (like it is shown in the video) to reinforce the skill.
- Game: After the players get comfortable with this setup you can create a 1v1 game in the same area where forward tries to protect the puck and drive the net to score a goal, while the defense tries to defend, take the puck and skate it out of the "game area."
Coaching Points:
- Scan the Ice: Encourage players to look over their shoulders to scan the ice and collect information so they can make a decision before they get the puck. Looking over your shoulder is a great habit to form!
- Puck Along Boards: Players should practice keeping the puck along the boards so that they can use their body to protect the puck from a defender.
- Strong Hockey Stance & Tight Turns: Make sure players have their knees bent and shoulder with apart so they are strong on their skates. Watch the coaching videos below to learn more about proper corner turn & jam turn techniques.
