Hockey Skating Drills

Ice skating drills for hockey players should address the diverse scenarios in which skaters find themselves on the ice. Players are constantly stopping, starting, changing directions, and repeatedly reversing ice—hockey skating drills should reinforce those maneuvers and skills.

Starts and Stops Skating Drills

It may seem obvious, but hockey players must master the stop and start. And while this seems easy enough, skating drills aimed at mastering the stop and start will also help a skater learn other ice skating techniques.

Power Skating Drill

The first skating drill is the straight-ahead start, in which you turn one skate perpendicular to the other and push off. A powerful push-off allows you to go from a dead stop to a sprint quickly. Get low, dig the inside edge of your push-off skate into the ice, and spring forward. Follow that by digging the other skate’s edge into the ice and pushing with the other leg until you’re at top speed. Combine these starts with quick hockey stops, and reverse direction to double the impact of this power skating drill.

Crossover Start Skating Drill

A crossover start to accelerate laterally rather than straight ahead is an ice skating technique you can improve with skating drills. You’re not always facing the direction you need to go on the ice, and rather than turning and then accelerating, simply crossover and go. Take two or three hard strides, then stop, crossover, and head the opposite direction to skate back.

Accelerate While Moving Skating Drill

Most of the time in hockey, a player is already moving when they need to break into a sprint up the ice. Getting a good start while already in motion is another important skill for players to master. Practice gliding on the ice and then dropping low to explode into a sprint. Practice this drill in different directions. Glide and then sprint the opposite direction, or crossover and sprint laterally. Another option is to glide one direction and then hockey stop and sprint the opposite direction, or crossover laterally. These drills simulate on-ice situations in which you’ll find yourself regularly.

Hockey Fitness Drills

Include drills in your hockey training that reinforce a variety of hockey skills. Hockey fitness drills should be among them, but doing conditioning exercises for hockey doesn’t mean going for a long jog. Hockey fitness is the ability to go full bore for a few minutes at a time, recover quickly, and be ready to do it again and again until the final horn sounds.

Skating drills should include plenty of speed, and starts and stops are an excellent conditioning workout to build fitness. Try skating lines: skate as hard as possible from the goal line to the blue line and back to the goal line, followed by the center line and back to the goal line, to the far blue line and back, and then to the other goal line and back. Be sure to focus on form and not just speed. Don’t build bad skills by skating to exhaustion and standing up; maintain your skating form throughout. If your fitness level doesn’t allow this, then shorten the drill.

Agility Skating Drills

Skating speed is determined by a variety of factors—including skating technique, leg power, length of stride, and quickness of stride—and improving in one or two of these areas can result in a measurable increase in your ability to break away from the pack. Skating technique itself can be broken down into several components, from how you position your blades for the all-important first few steps, to how you control your legs and body through the process. These three drills provide an excellent base you can build upon throughout your career:

On-Ice Mountain Climber

One of the keys to getting a good push-off when you accelerate is having your skate blades at an angle that will propel you forward efficiently. We’ve all seen children try to move forward by ‘walking’ on the ice, with both blades pointing straight ahead, and not really going anywhere. To get a good push-off to start accelerating, your blades should be at 45-degree angles. An on-ice mountain climber drill helps you to get a feel for that angle, and it forces you to use the front of the skate blade, which is most efficient. Here’s how it works:

Start on your knees behind the goal line, facing the other end of the rink, and grasp the shaft of your stick with both hands, about shoulder-width apart.
Lean forward and put your knuckles on the ice.
Dig the toe edges of your skates into the ice, and raise your butt, so only your knuckles and skate blades are on the ice. Your knees should be bent.
Maintaining this position, push off and propel yourself forward as hard as you can—making sure you extend your leg on each stroke—until you get to the nearest blue line, where you can relax.

You’ll note that this is a lot like the ‘mountain climber’ gym exercise, with the difference being that you’re actually moving forward instead of staying in one place. This drill forces you to push off the front ends of your skate blades, keeping the blades in that optimal 45-degree position. It also teaches you to bend and extend your legs to generate power, and to keep your body weight forward as you accelerate.

Slap Shot Accuracy Is Better Than Power

While everybody talks about the screaming slap shots that hit triple digits on the radar gun, they won't talk about them for long if they never hit the net. It's better to keep your slap shot on target until you learn to control it. Back off the power a little bit until you find the sweet spot that allows you to control the puck. Practice shooting for a corner of the goal and work on hitting corners until you can do so with a high level of success. Once you have mastered putting the puck in the net, then work on adding power to your shot. One slap shot technique that improves accuracy is the follow through, which helps keep the shot on target and determines the height of the shot. A low follow through helps keep the shot low, while following through high gets more air under the puck.

Work on your slap shot consistently to add velocity to your shot, but remember that a slap shot that isn't on target doesn't have as much value as a shot that produces rebounds and scoring opportunities. It makes sense to spend time on all the types of shots you're more likely to take in the game, because most pucks that find the net are actually wristers cleaning up the garbage off a blocked slap shot, and other short opportunities.

Push-Up Sprints

Once you’ve mastered the mountain climber, it’s time to apply the same principles to the push-up sprint. Now that you’re not forced to keep your knuckles on the ice, it’s up to you to focus on using the right blade angle, extending your legs for power on each stroke, and keeping your weight forward. Not only are you working on technique, but you’re also building strength and conditioning.

Lie down prone on the ice behind the goal line, with your feet toward the boards and your head toward the other end of the rink. Put your knuckles on the ice, as if you are about to do a push-up.
Push yourself up with your arms, bring one foot forward, and start to accelerate to your top speed.
Once you are in a full sprint, maintain it through the far blue line.

You’ll soon realize that, in order to get a good start, you’ll have to maintain the same blade angle and leg extension that were keys to the previous drill. The start keeps your weight in front of your skates, and you should maintain that position through the sprint. If you get too upright, you stop directing your energy straight toward the far end of the rink. You can start doing this drill without a stick in your hands, but you should eventually incorporate the stick to simulate in-game conditions.

Resistance Sprints

Once you’ve worked on your starts, acceleration, and sprinting, it’s time to build the specific muscle groups you’ve been training. Resistance sprints are a standard workout for any sport that includes sprinting, and the concept is simple: the resistance forces you to work harder, which builds muscle.

This is a two-person drill, and you’ll need some sort of resistant band. There are products made specifically for resistance springs, but you can do it with any bands that are long enough.

The resistance band goes around your waist, and your partner holds both ends of the band.
Starting at the goal line, accelerate to a sprint, as your partner provides resistance for you to work against. Your goal is to skate as fast as you can, really working those muscles.
At the first blue line, your partner should let go of one end of the band, allowing it to slip off your waist.
Continue to sprint to the far blue line.

Work on maintaining proper form as you sprint, and the resistance will cause you to lean forward. Once the resistance is removed, be careful not to get too upright as you continue through the sprint.

Continue to improve your skating with a variety of hockey skating drills and prepare yourself for all situations on the ice.