Lifelete Niche

Wouldn't it be great if our teammates gave us perfect passes every time they passed the puck? But that's rarley going to happen. As a matter of fact, it rarely happens at the higher levels either, even though it may look that way. But most of the time, the player recieving the puck is actually making minor adjustments to catch the puck perfectly. It's both players making minor adjustments to make a perfect pass.

As the reciever of the puck, one thing you can do to adjust to a puck that is slightly off-target is shift your body. If the puck is coming closer to your feet, you can do a Crosby turn, moving your body away from the path of the puck, allowing your arms and stick to get in line with the puck to catch it comfortably without your body getting in the way.

Wouldn't it be great if our teammates gave us perfect passes every time they passed the puck? But that's rarley going to happen. As a matter of fact, it rarely happens at the higher levels either, even though it may look that way. But most of the time, the player recieving the puck is actually making minor adjustments to catch the puck perfectly. It's both players making minor adjustments to make a perfect pass.

As the reciever of the puck, one thing you can do to adjust to a puck that is slightly off target is shift your arms. If the puck is coming closer to your feet, simply shift your upper body and your arms laterally. By shifting your arms, you'll be able to keep the blade of your stick on the ground so you can catch the puck more easily and be ready to make a play immediately.

Check out a future video where I discuss moving your body to catch an off-target pass!

This drill works on a lot of different skills but the focus here is picking up the puck while in a pivot from forward to backward. Make sure to roll your hands to turn the blade of your stick low on the puck to cup it as you pick it up. The pivot should only require one cross under, then open your hips and point your lead leg the way you want to go and push off the back leg in that direction.

It may seem counterintuitive to let the puck go away from the blade of your stick when you are trying to keep control of the puck. But there are times you will want to release the puck from your stick briefly in order to make a manuever to protect the puck or go around a defender.

Here is a drill that will help players new to this concept. Put a few cones out and go around the cones but instead of taking the puck around the cones with you, pass the puck to yourself before the cone and catch it on the otherside of the cone. Make sure you move the puck laterally in front of the cone so you can catch it in the same spot on the other side of the cone. If you pass it on your forehand, catch it on your forehand and same on your backhand side.

Make catching a pass easier!

Keep the blade of your stick in the same frame as the puck. If you can see the puck AND the blade of your stick in the same view, it'll make connecting the two together much easier!

It can be good to teach multiple ways of performing various hockey skills. There's a difference in teaching elite or even higher-level hockey players versus teaching beginner hockey players. A beginner or novice hockey player may struggle to execute on certain plays and may need a more accessible technique to make a play while they work on their skills over time.
It's not just about right or wrong in what we're teaching - it's about players using different skills at the right time, in the right situation, based on skill level and what's going on in the game at that moment. There's a lot of factors that go into it. The more tools players have in their toolbox, the more opportunities they have to make the best play for the game situation they're in.

Once you are able to do your crossovers in a straight line and are properly leaning your ankle onto the outside edge of the skate, you are ready for the final step: crossovers on a circle. This will be very similar to crossovers in a straight line but since we are moving circularly now, we will want to turn our stick, arm, shoulders, and head toward the middle of the circle to assist in keeping us moving around the circle.
Key Tips:
*Get just a little motion / momentum using small c-cuts.
*Let the ankle ""fall"" over as you start to bring your crossover foot into the air
*Try to take a BIG step with the foot that is crossing over - you should be able to at least fit your glove between your feet
*When you land the crossover foot, bend the knee as much as possible and keep that ankle straight
*NEW! Place your stick to your side on the inside of the circle and turn your shoulders and head toward the middle of the circle as well.