Hockey drill

Puck Handling, Shooting and Skating Stations

Two stations: crossovers and full stops at speed, then puck handling around cones and a sweeping shot over an obstacle. For U9, U11/U12 and U13 players.

Category: Skills and tactics
Levels: U9 · U11/U12 · U13

Hockey drill diagram: Puck Handling, Shooting and Skating Stations

half-ice
puck control
skating
shooting
station

How it runs

This is what your players need to understand before the puck moves.

Station 1: Player starts with a Quick start. Keep feet moving. Crossover around the circle. Stay outside the circle.

Skate to the red line. Make a complete stop. Explode out with 3 to 4 hard strides. Crossover around the circle on the other side. Finish with a complete stop at the goal line.

Station 2: Player starts with a puck. Stickhandle through the cones. Make a tight turn around each cone. Drop shoulder and point stick at the next cone.

After the third cone, skate toward the net. Take a wrist shot over the obstacle (stick, tire, glove, etc.). After the shot, skate to the blue line down the middle lane. Coach passes to the player. Receive the pass and carry the puck briefly. Pass to the next player in line who starts the drill.

U9 : Instead of shooting above the obstacle, the player goes around it.

Coach Steve's take

With stations, quality drops fast when the line gets long. Keep few players per station so they get more reps. Ask for explosive starts and full stops, not lazy skating. Fix one thing at a time: the stick pointing to the next cone, or the dropping shoulder. At U9, simplify without hesitation: going around the obstacle instead of shooting over it is perfect.