Do this drill a million times.
I’ve had a lot of conversations over the years about which position gives a hockey player the best chance to make a team.
Some people say defense.
A really good defenseman is incredibly valuable, while forwards can sometimes feel like a dime a dozen.
Others say goalie is the hardest path because there’s only one goalie on the ice for each team at a time.
Then there’s the argument for forwards.
A team might carry only three or four centers.
But wingers?
There can be six, seven, eight of them in a lineup.
So I’ve heard people say that if you want the most opportunities to find a role on a hockey team, learn how to become a dependable winger.
I was a rugged winger.
And I loved playing wing.
There’s something about the position that is incredibly simple…
and incredibly complex.
As you move up through hockey, coaches start drilling certain sayings into your head.
One that stuck with me was:
Get the puck out.
Get the puck in.
Win the blue lines.
At your defensive blue line, get the puck OUT.
At the offensive blue line, get the puck IN.
It sounds simple.
Until there’s a defenseman pinching down on you, you’re standing against the wall, the puck is coming around the boards at 70 miles per hour, and you have about half a second to make the right decision.
That’s why, starting in junior hockey when I really began dialing in my role as a winger, we worked on one drill over and over and over again.
The rim drill.
Two players.
One on each side of the rink around the hash marks.
A pile of pucks on each side.
One player fires the puck hard around the boards.
The other winger has to retrieve it.
Then you switch.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Backhand.
Forehand.
In your skates.
Off the wall.
Turning forward.
Turning backward.
Moving up ice.
Moving toward your own net.
With imaginary pressure coming down on you.
You learn to get that puck under control and immediately do two things:
Get your feet moving.
Get your head up.
Where’s the pressure?
Where’s your center?
Where’s your defenseman?
Can you chip it out?
Can you make a clean pass?
Do you have time to skate it?
That tiny little play along the wall can be the difference between your team breaking out cleanly…
or spending another 30 seconds trapped in your own zone.
So if you’re a winger, here’s my pro tip:
Do the rim drill a million times.
Do it after practice.
Do it until you’re sick of it.
Then do it some more.
Get so sick of doing it that eventually you start to love it.
And become a Hoover vacuum cleaner along the boards.
Anything that gets rimmed your way?
YOURS.
Forehand?
Yours.
Backhand?
Yours.
In your feet?
Yours.
Bad bounce?
Yours.
Pressure coming?
Doesn’t matter.
Pick it up.
Get your feet moving.
Make the play.
Because as you climb through hockey, being dependable becomes incredibly valuable.
Coaches need players they can trust.
And there’s always room on a hockey team for a rugged winger who wins battles, gets pucks out, gets pucks in, and makes the right play.
Now, if you’re not a winger, sorry.
I’ll get you next time.
But the bigger lesson still applies.
Find the boring skill your position requires and become ridiculously good at it.
Centers?
Take faceoffs until you can take them in your sleep.
Defensemen?
Work on getting pucks through traffic from the blue line. Pick pucks off the wall and get them toward the net.
Goalies?
Well…
I’ve never completely understood the mind of a goalie.
You guys are a different breed.
But work those angles.
The point is this:
The players who move up aren't always the ones practicing the flashiest things.
They're often the ones who become reliable at the little things coaches desperately need.
And reliability comes from repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
Repetition.
That's true on the ice.
And it's true off the ice.
That’s where the Wraparound + Puckaround training combo comes in.
Protect your stick with the Wraparound, grab your Puckaround, and get your touches anywhere.
Driveway.
Garage.
Basement.
Before practice.
After practice.
The Puckaround is built to give you the feel of a real puck while training off the ice, so you can keep working on your hands when ice isn't available.
Because the extra work doesn't have to stop when you leave the rink.
[Grab the Wraparound + Puckaround combo and put in the extra reps →]
Find your drill.
Do it until you hate it.
Then do it until you love it.
Then become so good at it that your coach can't imagine the lineup without you.
Have a great weekend.
Knuckles up,
Bobby Robins, 500+ pro games, one mission...inspire you to make your hockey dream happen.