V. Skills & Strategy

Here is a basic list of skills you can work on while warming up, during public skating, or any other time on your own. Below we have also listed some basic strategies, although you can certainly find more advanced discussions on strategy elsewhere on the internet.

Stretches

Stretches are important to avoid getting hurt because you're not warmed out. These are the most avoidable injuries. You should do at least a couple of stretches just after you come on the ice. You'll find a great list at:

http://www.sportandspine.mb.ca/stretch/str_1.shtml

Basic Skills

Skating Skills

Most of these you can work on at public skating, though some are better done when the rink is pretty empty. Work first on balance, going forwards with good posture (bent knees, leaning forward a little, weight kept on the balls of your feet) and stopping. Those are the three most important things to know.

Then hockey stops, skating faster, crossovers, and skating backwards. There are several really good skating drills you can do that combine some or all of these things that help you improve and make everything as natural as walking or running (you have to be able to do the elements first, though :-).

Stick Skills

• Hold the stick correctly: watch how the more experienced players or players in professional hockey hold it.
• Passing while standing still: pass to their stick, not their skates.
• Passing while skating: lead your receiver (pass to the place their stick will be by the time the puck gets to them).
• Don't lean on your stick: someone may try to lift it to keep you from receiving a pass or just to knock you off balance.
• Keep your stick on the ice: give the person passing to you a target! it's hard enough to send a good pass to a moving target, let the passer know where you want (and expect) it to land.

Basic Strategy

What should you be trying to accomplish in your time on the ice? This is all basic, and we don't expect you to remember it, but it will give you an idea of what to try to do the first few times you play. Then you can get to the finer points.

General

• Skate around, never stand still on the ice. This keeps up your momentum, so that you're more likely to get to the right place in time.
• Go for team play: pass the puck, even when you're not sure the person will catch the pass.
• Use the boards for passing: don't forget this perfectly good strategy for passing. When trying to get past someone, or when you're trying to make a pass, use the boards. This gives the person trying to block the pass more things to block, and decreases their chances of actually managing to stop whatever you're trying to accomplish.
• Lift their sticks! There are few things more frustrating than being set to receive a beautiful pass and having some jerk lift your stick just as it reaches you. Which, of course, makes lifting your opponent's stick a great thing to do. Especially if you're on defense and some opponent thinks they can just park themselves in front of the net it's hard to put the puck in the net if it just goes sailing by.
• Corollary to the last item, don't lean on your stick! Leaning on it to catch your balance is one thing, using it to make a tripod is another. If you're leaning on it when someone lifts it, you'll fall and be out of play for much longer than if you can just fight to get it back down in time.
• A good habit to be in, but one that few if any of us do, is yelling to the person you're about to send a pass to. Yes, it lets the other team know what's up, but they're unlikely to be able to make use of the information and your teammate is more likely to catch it if they have some warning. Especially if it's coming up behind them!
• Switching positions on the ice. This comes in several varieties, the most common of which is probably switching left to right. If you notice that you and your partner (wing or D) are both playing on the same side, switch to the other side. You can straighten it out when there's no pressure from your opponents. There are many reasons to switch sides (more on D than offense), so don't fight it if it happens. Just cover the hole until you get a chance to swap back. The reasons to swap forward and D are more clear - if a forward has lost momentum (had to stop on the blue line, or just let themselves get caught with little or no momentum) and their D has the puck and momentum, it's often better to let the D keep going until challenged, and the forward drop back to cover the hole. As soon as the D gets a chance to drop back again, you switch back. Don't worry too much about this, we mainly point it out so that if someone appears to be playing your position, you don't worry or panic. Just find the hole they must've left and fill it.

Defensive Players

• Positions (to be added!)
• Responsibilities when your team is on the defensive:
  • Keeping the opponents from getting a goal from a rebound
  • Keeping opponents in front of goal from being able to accept a pass (preferrably, keeping opponents from being in front of goal at all!)
  • Getting control of the puck and passing it to someone who can skate it out of the defensive zone (or skating it out yourself).
• Things to remember in the defensive zone:
  • Only 1 person behind the net at a time!
  • Don't pass the puck in front of the goal.
  • Don't screen the goalie (block their view of the puck).
  • The opponents will be trying to stay near the front of the goal, so that when someone gets the puck to them they get an easy shot - don't let them get away with this. Lift their sticks, stay between them and the puck to block their view (and the pass). If the puck comes near, knock it into a corner, not anywhere in front of the goal.
  • When the puck goes back into your defensive zone all by itself, the first D to get there should go straight for the puck, no matter which side the puck is on or the D is playing. The other D should skate for the slot, to defend against any opponents who arrive and start to set up for a goal. If this results in the D switching sides, you can switch back at the earliest opportunity.
• Responsibilities when your team is on the offensive:
  • Keeping the puck in the offensive zone
  • If the forwards pass it back to the blue line, either shoot or get the puck to someone who has a better chance at a scoring opportunity. This doesn't happen that often in our scrimmages, but it's a good way to get the puck back to someone who has a better viewing angle and can make a better decision about where to put it to maximize scoring potential.

Forwards

• Positions (to be added!)
• Responsibilities when your team is on the defensive:
  • Be ready for a pass from your D when they get control of it. Start skating when you see that they've obtained control, so that you'll have momentum.
  • Try to keep the opponents D from doing anything productive (block any passes that come their way, try to skate the puck out past them or dump it past them so that they can't keep it in the zone). Often if you just dump it past their D, they can reach it before you can. You'll have a better chance of scoring if you can skate with it and maintain control rather than turning it into a race.
• Responsibilities when your team is on the offensive:
  • If the puck isn't on your side of the ice (L / R), get to the front of the net and try to stay open for a pass.
  • Try to get the puck in front of the goal -- hopefully one of your teammates is there waiting to scoop it up and score!
  • If the defense gets it away from you, try to get it back. Don't just wait for your D to recover it, try to get it back before the opponents get very far with it.