People who love to play hockey grow up thinking it’s just a matter of time before they join the ranks of the world’s best hockey players. Many of them even expect to score lots of goals in their youth and feel frustrated that they don’t reach that expected level of performance. In some cases, they even blame their teammates or the coach for their lack of progress, thinking that they’re doing everything right but still not being able to reach the top goal scorer status.
If you’re one of these players, then this article is for you. We’re going to teach you how to develop your hockey sense so that you can score more often and improve your game overall. Specifically, we’re going to cover the following five topics:
Table of Contents
1. Watch Your Teammates
One of the first things you need to do to develop your hockey sense is to watch your teammates closely and learn from them. You can start by analyzing where they’re scoring their goals from and how they’re executing their plays. You can also study how they’re moving without the puck and determine where you should be trying to be in the offensive zone when the play starts.
One of the best things about having multiple viewing angles is that you can study your teammates’ tendencies while also checking the other team’s defenders. This will help you stay motivated when you watch film because you’ll know that if you improve your own game, then you’ll be helping your team win.
2. Watch The Other Team
Just because your team is ahead by a couple of goals doesn’t mean that they’re not going to throw any curveballs your way. One of the best things you can do for your team is to learn how to analyze the opposing team and discover their tendencies before they even know you’re there. This is much easier said than done, but once you get into the habit of watching your team’s opponents closely, you’ll be able to anticipate their moves and make the right reads on the ice.
One big key to becoming a good hockey player is mental preparation. Seeing as how you’re reading this article and you’re interested in improving your game, we assume that you’ve already developed the necessary physical skills to be able to play at a high level. The only thing you need now is mental preparation, which is why you need to be studying the tendencies of your opponents. By understanding their strategies and how they’re going to react to your team’s game plan, you’ll be able to outsmart them and score some awesome goals along the way.
3. Play More Natural Hockey
One of the main reasons why kids don’t enjoy playing hockey as much as adults is because they think it’s too slow. When you play natural hockey, you basically just chase the puck around the ice trying to keep it close to the boards so that your teammates can jump on it. There’s no constant flow of play like in football or basketball, so it can be rather monotonous at times.
While this style of play may be effective when you’re the only player on the ice, it doesn’t do much for a team. If you want to succeed in hockey, then you need to start developing the skills that allow you to play an offensive game. This means getting the puck into the right areas, making crisp passes, and looking for the weak spots in the opposing defense.
4. Play To Your Strengths
One of the best ways to succeed in any sport is to play to your strengths. In hockey, this is usually accomplished by using your speed. If you’re a fast skater, then you should look for ways to use your speed. One of the best ways to do this is by working on your slalom, especially since it focuses on using your speed to elude your opponents rather than trying to push the puck past them.
If you’re not a fast skater but you’re strong and effective in puck possession, then you should look for ways to use your physicality. One of the best ways to do this is by focusing on developing your slapshot, which is your primary scoring tool. Once you can accurately shoot the puck, then you can start looking for ways to use your body to protect the puck and create havoc on the opposition.
5. Use Technology
The majority of today’s NHL players rely heavily on the stick and pad to move the puck around the ice. However, there are still some great players who rely on old-school methods of playing hockey. If you want to become one of these great players, then you need to start developing your hockey sense now. This means that you need to be using technology to your advantage. Specifically, you need to be looking at film records and replays to find any tendencies or patterns that could help you succeed in your game.
If you want to improve your overall game, then you need to be looking at all facets of your game. You don’t need to focus on any one thing too much, but you should be focusing on the little details to make the biggest difference. With practice, this will start to become second nature and you’ll start to rely on your hockey sense instead of just your reflexes. Once you can do that, then you can start looking at playing at the highest level possible.
Overall, the best thing you can do for your game is to watch yourself play. This means getting into the habit of watching your own games closely and learning from them. If you can do this, then it won’t matter if your teammates don’t believe in you or your coach puts you in the hardest position possible. You’ll be able to prove them all wrong because you’ll be able to learn from your own mistakes and do the right thing more often than not. Good luck out there.