player tips

The NHL season started last week which means the countdown is on for the first puck drop in youth hockey rinks around the country! As the seaon gets underway and the sounds of skates carving ice, pucks clattering off boards, and teammates reconnecting after the off-season echo throughout the rink, it’s a time filled with anticipation, energy, and excitement. With each new season comes an opportunity for every player to set meaningful goals that go beyond the scoreboard.

While team success and personal stats often grab the headlines, the true focus of youth hockey lies in individual development. Each practice, shift, and drill presents a chance to get better—whether it’s improving skating, developing quicker hands, learning better defensive, or simply building hockey sense. Focusing on these fundamental skills helps players grow their confidence, consistency, and creativity on the ice.

Setting clear, attainable goals at the start of the season gives players direction and purpose. For younger skaters, it might mean mastering a backhand shot or improving edge work. For older players, goals might include earning a spot on the power play or penalty kill, becoming a stronger leader, or developing a more disciplined mental game. The best goals are measurable and focused on effort rather than outcome—things like “give 100% in every drill” or “communicate more on the ice.” These are the habits that lead to long-term success.

Of course, team wins and statistics have their place. But at the youth level, strong individual effort and steady skill growth should be the focus. When players focus on getting a little better each day, the wins often follow.

As the season gets underway, the most rewarding accomplishments will come not just from the numbers on a scoresheet, but from the confidence that comes from progress. Set goals and then hit the ice every day to accomplish them!

A new season is more than a return to hockey, it’s a renewed chance to learn and improve!

Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing you at the rink soon!

There’s an old saying in sports about hitting home runs in baseball, scoring touchdowns in football or scoring goals in hockey: “Nobody asks how, they just ask how many.”

As you start your youth hockey season that will include ups and downs, it’s important to stay focused and keep your eye on the prize. 

In youth hockey, that prize should be development, improving fundamental skills and ending the season a better hockey. Of course championships are great as well, and typically if players are improving throughout the season, championships will follow!

And this is where they ask how many, not how. But the how is a key to how many. And the how is:
• The how is hard work.
• The how is the 10,000 pucks shot in the driveway, basement or training facility.
• The how is the extra strength training and powerskating.
• The how is teamwork, selflessness, discipline, character and focus.

As you start your own youth hockey season, work on the how, and ultimately it will lead to how many!

Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing you at the rink soon! 

When it comes to applying your hard work from hockey camp this summer, what is your goal to make it matter?

Each summer at our hockey schools we teach a wide variety of hockey skills including shooting, passing, power skating, speed, agility and of course, scoring! We enjoy watching hockey players develop and improve fundamental skills, as well as helping them understand what it really takes to become a better hockey player.

There are no secrets in the ingredients for success, and it all  starts with a big helping of hard work. What the best players understand is that while the ingredients may be similar for any players path to achieving their goals, it’s the recipe that differs from player to player. And the top players understand that the recipe, just like a favorite food, requires discipline.

Summer hockey school is a great time to fine tune your game and work on developing your personal goals. Everything that you worked on this past summer will play an important role in your success this season. And to really make it matter this season, an emphasis needs to be placed on continuing to improve on the skills learned over the summer.

It’s easy to get lost in the excitement of the start of the season and get caught up in some early season success. By mid-season however, it’s not uncommon to fall back into bad habits or taking short cuts. Players need to take the instruction learned over the summer and apply it each and every practice. Think of this in terms of building the foundation to a home. Each layer of bricks will continue to support the structure of the house, and every layer must be as strong or stronger than the previous.

In the same way, hockey players must advance through their development consistently striving to improve skills, and adding to a strong foundation that will lead them to becoming a great hockey player and achieving their goals.

So with the hockey season upon us, and to really make it matter this season, write down your greatest strengths and also areas of your game that require improvement.  Think back to what you learned at summer hockey school and how you can apply that knowledge at every practice and every game.

Continue to work hard and tweak the ingredients in your recipe for success. When things are going great continue to stay focused, and when you find a challenging time, think back to your foundation and the skills that you have developed.

And most of all this season, make it matter!

A friend in Minnesota, the Great State of Hockey, loves fishing during the summer months. While early season fish are abundant, when the calendar turns to mid-July and August – the dog days of summer – fishing slows down. But these are the summer months when he gets the most excited!

Why? Because it’s the time of year when skill wins.

Many fisherman during these months don’t put in the time to try new presentations to catch fish. They are sort of stuck in the same old way of doing things, and the result is very few fish finding their way into the frying pan. However, if time is invested in skill development and in this case, exploring new ways to catch fish, the results speak for themselves.

For hockey players, this fish story is no different than the hockey season. There will be the ‘grind’, when you are physically and mentally tired. You have already played a lot of games and you still have a lot to go, plus playoffs!

The question is, what are you doing now, during the off-season, to prepare for the grind, or the dog days of the season. Are you preparing yourself so that when the team needs you most, you can answer the call and score that big goal.

Players who prepare now, trying new moves, perfecting their stride, shooting pucks on a regular basis, they are the players who will outperform the opponents during the season. It takes dedication and commitment during the off-season to not just hit the ice this fall in great shape, but perhaps more importantly, to carry your team through the tough stretches of the season.

Work hard this summer, train with a purpose and you will be ready for the mid-season grind when, like many fishermen, many hockey players go through a slump. Train hard and be ready to take advantage of the opportunity, because when everyone else slows down, the best players speed up.

Good luck and we look forward to seeing you at the rink soon!

Click here for a full list of our remaining summer hockey schools.