The goal of this drill is to work on retrieving the puck down low along the wall and then quickly getting their head up and ready to make a pass to the front of the net. It is a forward specific drill that is good to work on when working with just the forwards. Place two coaches with pucks just inside the blue line along the wall as shown in the diagram. One forward starts on each dot.
On the whistle, the forward on the opposite side of the ice sprints down behind the net to retrieve the puck that was rimmed along the wall by the coach. The player needs to work on retrieving the puck along the wall and using their body to protect it at the same time. Have players turn so they are working with the direction of the puck, which allows them to use their stick to trap the puck along the wall. Emphasize they get the puck in passing position and their head up to make a quick pass into the slot. F2 needs to stay on the dot and give F1 a good target. When F1 passes the puck to them they should take a quick shot on net. F1 then goes hard to the front of the net to play out a rebound. On the second whistle the other coach rims a puck down the wall. F1 then retrieves the puck off the wall from the other side of the net. They use the same technique and then make a pass to F3, who is now on the dot where F1 started. F1 then plays out the second shot to enforce good habits of going to the net.
As players do this make sure they get in the habit of passing and moving towards the net as opposed to passing and watching the shot. It is also important to encourage players to make the passes quick and accurate as time and space are usually limited in this area of the ice. If needed you can also add a coach down low to play passive defense so that players have to use their body to protect the puck while retrieving it off the wall.
See this skill in action!
Here is a good clip that shows these players doing a nice job of retrieving the puck off the wall while protecting the puck. The last player gets the puck in position to make a pass and finds the open tape in front of the net
