Wayne Gretzky Passing Tips

Gretzky make 1963 assists in has career,
more than anyone else by far. I think he
knows a little something about passing.

Tips on Passing From the Great One in Hockey for Dummies:

If the player you are passing to is standing still:

Make a firm, solid pass.

If he's moving fast:

Make a light, feather pass.
Make sure you get it out ahead of him so he can skate into it.

Practice your backhand pass as much as your forehand.

Use plenty of tape on the blade of your stick.

"It gives you more control on your passes and shots, and it enables you to pass the puck flatter (along the ice) "

More Tips on Passing:

Don't Watch Your Pass
How to Make a Saucer Pass

Hockey Books for Christmas Gifts

Here's some great Hockey Book ideas that will make great Christmas gifts for any Hockey player. The reviews are from Amazon. Click on each book to read more reviews.

Sports Illustrated has put together the definitive book about the sport of ice hockey, drawing on its article archives and its photo library. This is a marvelous book, with huge, gorgeous color photographs. If you are a hockey fan, this tome is a valuable edition to your library. It also makes a great gift. The book is best when it draws on its vintage files of the hockey greats. The best of the book, in this fan's opinion, are the stories and photos that covered the golden age of the NHL, immediately after World War II, when the NHL consisted of only six teams.

The minuscule number of teams (Montreal Canadians, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks and the New York Rangers) meant that only the cream of the crop in hockey made the big leagues.




The Ovechkin Project
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Hockeys Most Dangerous Player

The book chronicles Ovechkin’s life in Russia, his time with Moscow Dynamo and days in the World Juniors. It details the many factors – including the signing of Jaromir Jagr and the timing of Ovechkin’s birthday – that needed to happen in order to get him to Washington. It narrates many familiar moments, such as the nationally televised game on Super Bowl Sunday. It talks about the disappointments last season in the Olympics and playoffs, the suspensions, and the NHL awards ceremony in Las Vegas. Readers also get a look into related stories, such as the rise of Bruce Boudreau and how that benefited Mike Green and David Steckel in particular.



Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge - Bob Probert
If you were a hockey fan during Bob Probert's career on the ice you will find this book an interesting read. It is one of the better written sports autobiographies, making it an easy read; a credit to Kirstie MacLellan Day. Where other hockey story books give you disjointed stories in time, Probert's book provides a coherent continuous timeline. Be prepared for graphic description of a rough and tumble life outside of the arena. His book sure gives you insight into other players, team management and some politic of the league. 







Hockey's Most Wanted

67 different Top 10 lists are included ranging from best players (by position); draft bargains and busts; biggest, smallest, oldest, and youngest players; and even the craziest fans. I bought this for my husband, who is a hockey broadcaster and trivia buff. He knew some of the stuff, but still laughs at the stuff he didn't know or forgot he knew. I like the explanations of players nicknames and stories about crazy owners. It's fun to pick up and read a list or two. It is indexed if you are looking for a certain player. Lots of fun for the fan!





The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told: The Finest Writers on Ice.

This mini-anthology has a wide range of hockey stories from one written by the American, Pulitzer-winning author William Faulkner (this story was junk, though well written if you like Faulkner) to life on the road as a minor league player hoping to be called up (poignantly and rawly written like the life itself), to a homily to Toe Blake, to a portrait of The Great One (Gretzky) by Peter Gzowski, to how to make your own backyard rink.

The quality of writing is generally very good and virtually every story offers an interesting perspective on the game. Stories are short so you can read one on the subway or before you go to bed at night. All in all, a decent hard cover to have on your bookshelf.


The Biggest Book of Hockey Trivia

I was looking for a book that wasn't a dummies book that had all the info I was looking for, this is a great book but not exactly what I was looking for. Instead of info and facts it gave me a quis and a million questions, the answers are on the back but in the end it doesn't tell you what you need to know to understand the game.








For the Love of Hockey: Hockey Stars' Personal Stories

This book is necessary for all true hockey fans. The book tells the stories of some of the great stars of the game from today and yesterday. The best part of the book is that it is written in their own words.

Complete Conditioning for Hockey

Excellent 200 page Book with DVD by Peter Twist, former strength and conditioning coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

The original version of this book was published in 1995. The 2007 version comes with a DVD that helps illustrate over 150 on-ice and off-ice hockey-specific training exercises.

Twist's comprehensive training approach is Based on the 5 Pillars of Conditioning:

• Balance
• Agility
• Strength and Power
• Speed and Quickness
• Agility

"The Best Athletes are the best hockey players."

Twist provides an effective balance of both the technical theory along with practical explanations in straightforward language.
While aerobic conditioning helps your body recover from fatigue, and gives you the endurance you need for longer shifts, Twist's Hockey-Specific exercises focus on anaerobic conditioning to provide the explosive energy needed to play hockey.

"If all you do to train for Hockey is aerobic conditioning, you're basically training your body to go slow. Racing for the puck is purely anaerobic."

If you incorporate just a fraction of the exercises in this book, you're sure to notice an improvement in your game.

For example, Twist is not a big fan of stretching before a game. Instead he recommends a dynamic warm up. These are exercises like swinging your leg, or rotating your upper body with your stick across your shoulders while skating around the ice.

This type of warm up raises the temperature of your muscles and loosens them up. Your taking a big chance of a tear or a strain by going full-out on your first shift before your muscles are warmed up. Save your stretching for after the game to increase your flexibility and improve your range of motion.

Highly Recommended!

Here's Peter's website: Twist Conditioning