Hockey Drills: Box Drill

Hockey Drills: The Box Drill

The Box Drill is a great hockey drill to improve your passing that reinforces the important skill of skating immediately after you pass the puck. It's call the box drill because it simulates the box formed be players in each corner of the offensive zone - as in a power play.

Hockey players love to watch there own passes. There's nothing wrong with a quick look to see if your pass was complete, but you can easily check on your pass AND move to a better position at the same time.

Start the drill with:

• One player in each point
• One player in front of the net
• One in the far corner

All the remaining players and all the pucks in the corner you plan to start the drill.

Start the drill by passing the puck to the player at the near point.

The player that made the initial pass then quickly skates to the point, following his own pass.

The near point player that received the first pass passes the puck to the far point.

The near point player then follows the pass he just made and takes the far point position and waits for his next pass.

The far point player passes the the puck to the far corner.

The next player in line can then start a new pass with a second puck to the player at the near point.

The player at the far corner then passes the puck to the center.

The far point player takes the position in the far corner

The near point player passes to the far point.

The player that made the the pass from the starting corning follows his pass.




The center then takes a shot on net, and gets back in the line up. The cycle continues with each player passing to the next, then quickly following their pass.

This is a great habit to get in to. Make a pass, then skate to open ice and watch for a pass coming to you.


Breakout Drills

Breakouts are necessary to create the dangerous 2-on-1 plays. Mark Carlson, the USHL's Coach of the Year in 2004-05, covers the key breakout ingredients - quick, move the puck, timing, talking, read pressure and maintain puck support - in these hockey drills.
Details include getting to the puck quickly, check shoulder, not handling the puck, forwards in position and support of the puck. The defense drill uses only the defensemen in a 2-on-2 alignment.
The next drill involves one defenseman and one forward and can be run out of both ends. The Mohawk Turn is a skill used in this drill where the player's chest is facing middle rink, ready to receive a pass.
Breakout options include adding two defensemen with two forwards at both ends. Other drills focus on support and positioning, reading pressure in the neutral zone and reading pressure in breakouts. These hockey drills are fundamental in nature and rely on many small details to assure execution.