Habits, Effort, Culture – The Hockey Think Tank

January 14, 2019

Stick Battles

COACHES: How engaged are you in teaching 1v1 stick battles?? With physicality in the game going down, the emphasis on stick battles is going up, especially in tight spaces. Check out Jeff Skinner on these two goals. Two stick battles won and then two beauties!

January 13, 2019

Stretch Run Sacrifice

It’s that time of year. The time of year where things start to pick up and start to get a little more serious. Especially in the 82-game grind of an NHL season…this is the time of year where details begin to matter a little bit more, physical and mental toughness begin to matter a little...

Effort-Culture, Little Things, Videos

January 11, 2019

Hitting the Net

Hitting the net is one of the most effective, yet totally undervalued aspects of scoring goals. And it’s one of the most frustrating aspects of the game for coaches when it isn’t accomplished. Plainly, if the puck doesn’t hit the net…it ain’t going in! There’s a bit of a guideline that coaches like to use...

January 11, 2019

Using Eyes for Deception

“Deception” is a huge buzzword in hockey circles today. “Providing misinformation” to the defender while you have the puck or when you’re going to retrieve a puck is a habit that is becoming a staple in the hockey development world. And for good reason, as it can be very beneficial during a game! When most...

Habits, Little Things, Videos

January 1, 2019

Using Crossovers

COACHES: How much are you emphasizing the use of crossovers in practice? Check out these goals from Draisaitl & Barzal last night. Zero strides as they rush up the ice…only crossovers. Crossovers can help you to gain speed & manipulate the D’s feet!

November 13, 2018

Area Pass

COACHES: This is a great clip to show your kids of an “Area Pass.” Sometimes you can’t go tape-to-tape and you have to put the puck where your teammate is going to be. This example from BOS ends up in a goal. Great job!!

November 5, 2018

“Two-Touch” Shot

COACHES: A lot of development coaches are teaching players the “two-touch” shot off a pass. Upon receiving the pass, Virtanen stops the puck…and then rips it off his stick fast. The quick “two-touches” allows for a quick release and power on the shot! Great example here!!

November 5, 2018

Playing Fast?

PACE. GOING NORTH QUICK. PLAYING FAST. These are a few of the biggest buzzwords in hockey today. EVERYBODY is seemingly talking about them. And from what I can tell by being in rinks and browsing social media, everybody is trying to teach their kids to play this way. Well, I’m here to debate this way...

October 30, 2018

Playing Two-Way Hockey

Why is it important to be a “two-way” player? There are a lot of players (most that are the best on their team) that don’t think they have to care about playing well defensively because they are putting up points. I have a story for them: While I was playing at Cornell, a kid named...