General Habits

Good Hockey Habits by Guy Gadowsky
December 22, 2005 -- Good habits make good hockey players. University of Alaska Fairbanks head hockey coach Guy Gadowsky says that the following are hockey habits he emphasizes at the Division I college level. Most of these habits apply to all the levels. The sooner a player develops these habits the deeper they will root and the more consistent they will be. When college and pro scouts and coaches evaluate players they evaluate the consistency of many of these habits.

General Habits

These hockey habits apply generally for all aspects of play:

1) Take What is Given. Be aware of and take advantage of opportunities given to you. If you are given a shot, passing lane, time or open ice, then take it. Do not miss the opportunities that are given to you. They are free. See that they are there and take them.

2) Head Up. Keep your head up. You must see the play and read it. You must see the opportunities given to you so that you can take what is given. Keep your head up or you will be hit and hurt.

3) Talk. Talk to your teammates. Hockey is a team sport. Players must talk if they are going to work together. Talk on both offense and defense.

4) Hard off. Skate hard when coming off for a change up. Quick hard changes keep offensive and defensive pressure on the opposition. Coming off hard is an easy way to set and keep the tempo high.

5) Never Retaliate. Retaliation will cost the team a penalty. Referees often see the retaliation but often miss the first penalty. Do not let the opposition see that they have gotten to you. Keep your emotions under control.

6) Only Captains Talk To Referee. Unless you are a captain carrying out your duties do not talk to the referee. Nothing good will come of it. Direct all communications through the coach and captain. This will buy time and show that the team is intelligent and disciplined. Keep your emotions under control.

7) Show Positive Emotion. Emotion is good and should be shown when it is positive. Emotion is powerful. Positive emotion will generate positive results. Negative emotions will generate negative results. Be emotional but keep it positive.

Defensive Habits Playing the Puck Carrier

Defensive Habits Away from the Puck Carrier

Offensive Habits with the Puck

Offensive Habits Playing without the Puck

Defensemen Retrieving Dump-ins

Bench Management

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