100 players (approximately) x $250 each player = $25,000

Ice expense of approximately 25 hours at $150/hr = $5,250

Total approximate profit: $19,750 – not bad for a weekend’s work!  No matter what the dollar amount equals out to, my main hope is the players attending are being treated honestly and fairly.  Let me make it clear by saying I am NOT saying they aren’t being treated fairly/honestly.  I hope that when players attend ANY junior tryout (or any other level tryout for that matter), the coaching staff is having a completely honest conversation with the players as opposed to stringing them along to get more money out of them.  Good luck to all the skaters on the ice this weekend!

Download Harry from Kingston’s PK Handout (PDF)

Here’s a breakdown of the current top-ten shooters as of July 1st, 2010:

1) Matthew21 – 20000 shots
2) Puckman_25 – 18224 shots
3) TeamV – 16110 shots
4) rmbawcom – 15955 shots
5) d-man – 15867 shots
6) scoomes – 15752 shots
7) Matthew16 – 14195 shots
8 ) chrisv99 – 12000 shots
9) baileysommers – 11866 shots
10) dante17sugarboy – 10125 shots

Some familiar faces and some newbies in the top-10! Keep up the good work!

Minnesota Hockey’s “Coaching to Develop Players” (PDF)

Let me know what you think about this article by leaving a comment below.

I’ve created a short-but-sweet PDF file outlining a basic penalty kill forecheck.  The file also outlines each player’s basic responsibility.  I hope you find it helpful!

Basic Penalty Kill Forecheck from HockeyShare.com (PDF)

1) Learn the basics of the skill you’re performing:  become proficient (technically) in the skill you’re working on.  This is the part where you spend hours honing your craft.  Don’t overlook this phase, because poor techniques at the beginning will lead to poor techniques long-term.  Develop good habits, and practice the fundamentals.

2) Perform the skill at a pace outside your comfort zone:  increase the tempo of your performance without a puck.  Begin executing the drills at a pace where you’re outside your comfort zone.  Falling in this phase is OK – players must understand falling is part of their progression in this phase.  By spending a lot of time training at the increased tempo, players will eventually learn to control the bodies and skates to they’re able to execute the skill naturally at a higher pace.

3) Perform the skill with a puck at your new level:  adding the puck adds in additional challenges.  As players begin to become comfortable performing the techniques, adding the puck will force them to adjust other aspects of their skill to adapt to the new pace.  Emphasize to players it is OK to lose the puck or fall in this phase.

By consistently forcing players outside their comfort zone, their speed and level of play will continue to climb.  I would recommend making over-speed training part of every practice – you will be amazed at how much it will help your players improve!

The first clip is of Hartnell’s goal to tie the game in the dying minutes of the 3rd period.

[0:00] -- Flyers #22 Ville Leino has a lot of space and gets a good head of steam from his own end.  Flyers #20 Chris Pronger is picking Hawks captain Jonathan Towes by placing his stick between his legs and preventing him from getting an effective forecheck on Leino.

[0:03] -- By Pronger hodling up Towes from getting to Leino, it forces the 2nd Hawks forechecker to try to make a play head-on while standing flat-footed.  This play is extremely difficult to execute since the puck carrier has all the momentum and can easily change directions as Leino does.

[0:05] -- Since the forecheck of Chicago couldn’t slow the puck carrier down at all, this forces Seabrook and Keith to respect the speed of Leino and back in to their zone.  As you can see, the D pair are just below the Stanley Cup Finals logo in the ice after Leino crosses the blue-line.

[0:07] -- Leino does a good job protecting the puck wide, and has both Daniel Briere and Scott Hartnell going to the net.  In desperation situations, getting the puck to the net is often the best play. Leino throws the puck to the front of the net, where it bounces off of Brent Seabrook’s stick, Marian Hossa’s shin pad, and hits the waiting stick of Scott Hartnell.

The key points on this goal are:

1) Getting the puck to the net
2) Crashing the net with your stick on the ice

If Hartnell doesn’t have his stick down, this goal doesn’t go in.  The redirection isn’t really an actual shot, but almost incidental contact with the puck -- simply because his stick was on the ice.

[0:02] -- Flyer’s #5 Braydon Couburn pins Hawks Andrew Ladd (#16) in the corner, create a loose puck for Flyers #36 Darroll Powe.

[0:03] -- Quick forechecking pressure by Hawks #10 Patrick Sharp forces Powe to wrap the puck up the boards.

[0:05] -- Hawks defenseman #51 Brian Campbell keeps the puck in and opens his body and moves laterally across the blue line.  This subtle play gives Campbell options -- he can either shoot, or move the puck back down the wall.

[0:07] -- Campbell moves the puck down to #88 Patrick Kane.  Kane freezes the defending forward by making some incredible fakes and then driving wide, protecting the puck.

[0:10] -- Kane take a quick shot, just getting the puck to the net.  As mentioned earlier, in times of desperation (and in overtime) -- get the puck to the net!

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks for winning their first Stanley Cup in 49 years!

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