Elite Hockey HQ

Six stick trainer drills

How to use them

Every drill below uses one to three stick trainers and a spare stick each. They run on ice, on a shooting pad, or on a driveway. Together they cover the four things a stationary defender is good for: protecting the puck through a turn, placing a shot around an obstruction, releasing through a screen, and beating a stick in the lane. Run two or three per session rather than all six.

  1. Tight-turn gauntlet

    • Edges + puck protection
    • 6 minutes

    Setup: Three trainers in a line, roughly six feet apart, sticks angled toward you.

    1. Attack the first stick at half speed with the puck on your forehand.
    2. Cut hard around it, keeping the puck on the far side of your body from the stick.
    3. Repeat through all three without letting the puck cross in front of a blade.
    4. Run it back the other direction so both edges get the work.

    Coaching point: The puck should finish every turn further from the stick than your body is. If it does not, you turned around the puck instead of protecting it.

  2. Lane-denial shooting

    • Shot placement
    • 8 minutes

    Setup: One trainer eight feet in front of the net, blade angled to cover the near half.

    1. Start from the top of the circle with the puck.
    2. Read which side of the stick is open before you begin your release.
    3. Shoot to the open half without slowing down to look.
    4. Alternate the angle of the trainer blade every five reps so the read changes.

    Coaching point: Count the reps that hit the open half, not the reps that hit the net. Accuracy against an obstruction is the whole exercise.

  3. Screen and release

    • Shooting through traffic
    • 6 minutes

    Setup: Two trainers side by side, twelve feet out, creating a partial screen.

    1. Set up at the top of the slot with the screen between you and the net.
    2. Walk the puck laterally until you find the lane between the two sticks.
    3. Release the moment the lane opens — do not wait for a clean look.
    4. Reset and repeat from the opposite side.

    Coaching point: The goal is a quick release into a small window. A perfect shot taken half a second late is a blocked shot.

  4. Toe-drag entry

    • Puck handling under pressure
    • 5 minutes

    Setup: One trainer at the blue line, blade pointed directly at you.

    1. Approach at speed with the puck on your forehand.
    2. Present the puck to the outside as if you are going wide.
    3. Pull it back across the blade with a toe drag and attack the inside.
    4. Finish with a shot or a controlled carry to the net.

    Coaching point: Sell the outside first. If the drag starts before your shoulders commit, a real defender never bites.

  5. Figure-eight handling

    • Hands + head up
    • 5 minutes

    Setup: Two trainers eight feet apart.

    1. Skate a figure eight around both trainers, puck on your stick the whole way.
    2. Keep your eyes up — pick a fixed point on the boards and hold it.
    3. Add a full stop-and-start at the top of each loop once the pattern is comfortable.

    Coaching point: If you have to look down to find the puck, slow the drill until you do not. Speed with your head down is a habit you will have to unlearn.

  6. Off-ice pad session

    • Off-season volume
    • 15 minutes

    Setup: One trainer on a shooting pad in a garage or driveway, net six feet behind it.

    1. Run 25 wrist shots that must clear the stick blade on the way through.
    2. Run 25 snap shots from a stationary position with the same constraint.
    3. Finish with 25 quick releases off a pass to yourself off the boards or a wall.

    Coaching point: Off-ice reps are about volume and repeatability. Track the number that beat the obstruction, and try to beat that number next session.

The trainer

Elite Hockey Stick Trainer

Everything on this page runs on it. $24.99, ships in 1–2 business days.

View the trainerHow stick trainers work