The Coaches Site

How do we work with players away from the puck? During 2022, Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach Dan Muse stressed that coaches need to teach players to support the puck with purpose.

TCS Vault: Dan Muse on The Importance of the Second Playe... How do we work with players away from the puck? Dan Muse was named Coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in June of 2025 after serving as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers and Nashville Predators. Prior to that, he spent three seasons as hea...

Need a high-tempo compete drill? Join Calgary Flames Assistant Coach Cail MacLean for “Turn & Burn” - a creative attacking/defending drill that builds offensive instincts, tight gaps, tracking habits.

Chalk Talk: Turn and Burn Join Calgary Flames Assistant Coach Cail MacLean for a defending/attacking drill called the Turn and Burn, designed to push offensive creativity (bit of a hidden bagger too!). Description Forwards start at each blue line, D start in the middle, o...

A strong top hand is essential for stick handling, puck control, and quick moves. Training its range of motion improves strength, leading to better control in tight plays and fast transitions.

Building Off-Season Programs with Top Hand Strength and R... The strength of the top hand is fundamental for effective stick handling, puck control, and executing quick maneuvers. By developing the muscles involved in stick control through the top-hand range of motion, adds strength that allows for better c...

Turn one simple tip drill into a full‑ice 3v2 teaching moment. Create pressure, encourage reads, and build real‑game decision‑making one rep at a time. Article by Coach .

How We Turned a Simple 2v1 Tip Drill Into a Full Ice 3v2 ... Click to download the PDF   One thing we’ve struggled with at times this season is connecting practice habits to game situations. We’ve had stretches where we had trouble exiting our zone cleanly, getting pucks off the wall, and c...

Championship teams aren’t built on talent alone. They’re built on leadership. In Captain: The Athlete’s Guide to Being an Exceptional Team Leader, learn what separates great leaders from the rest. Congrats to John O'Sullivan on the new book!

Captain: The Athlete's Guide to Being an Exceptional Team... “The intangibles I built a 13-year career on—the glue guy stuff that never made the box score—are exactly what Jerry and John teach in Captain. Setting standards. Reading the room. Doing the thankless work between the coach and t...

You can be the smartest coach in the world, but it does you no good if your players don’t understand you. This is how players feel when coaches use cliches, phrases, or words they don't understand. Words get in the way of a coach’s message.

70 Examples of Coach Slang and What They Mean Feel free to copy and paste this for your own use. You can be the smartest coach in the world, but it does you no good if your players don’t understand you.  Go down this mental experience with me. Imagine you are a player on a team wit...