Historically, ice hockey players waited all year long for winter to play some puck.
Without ice, the only way to play, or even practice, was knocking a ball around.
While ball hockey and roller hockey are fun, too, shooting a puck on ice after handling a ball on the pavement was always a difficult transition.
Cradling a pass with a tennis ball or an orange street hockey ball is nothing like receiving a puck, and taking a wrister or slap shot is something different altogether.
Modern innovations in training gear from top companies like HockeyShot allow players of all skill levels to work on essential hockey skills during the off-season that they’ll take with them to the ice.
Let’s check out how it works.
Wrist Shots
Having a fast accurate wrister can be devastating for opposing goalies.
It’s all about developing a quick release, so you go bar-down before the goalie even sees the puck on your stick.
That’s hard to do without a lot of practice and feel.
After becoming accustomed to the weight and sensitivity of a ball on your stick, re-adjusting to a heavier, flat puck on the slick ice can be challenging.
Now, you can install synthetic ice revolution tiles anywhere to get the ice-like feel when cradling the puck before letting ‘er rip.
Set up a net with some targets, and you can shoot real pucks all 12 months of the year.
Passing and One-Timers
Once you’ve got artificial ice, you’ll want to take your shot training and passing skills to another level.
Speed is an important facet of hockey, and developing fast hands requires practice and repetition.
As coaches are fond of saying, no matter how fast you skate, nothing moves faster than the puck.
Accurate passing is essential: you have to put it right on the tape if you see a teammate on a breakaway.
Likewise, there’s nothing worse than when the puck escapes the offensive zone on a power play because you shanked a pass to the defencemen on the point.
“Passers” are a training tool that can return the pass to you at the same speed you sent it.
Made from a durable bungee cord, just send the puck along the Roll-Up Shooting Pad, and if you hit the Passer, it’ll fire right back to your stick.
Such a tool is perfect for developing the soft hands to receive passes, the skills to put it right on your teammate’s tape and to get that quick-release to blast your shots off.
Even if you’re by yourself, perhaps while staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, you can remain active and keep your skills sharp while doing your part to flatten the curve.
It’s not easy to get ice for training — renting ice is expensive in winter, and it may not be available in your region during all seasons.
If you’re a hardcore hockey player, you’ll want to dangle in the driveway or basement and hear that ping off the post 12 months a year.
Get the right training gear, and the off-season never has to end.