Passing on the move and saucer passes

Setup

1. Full equipment for everyone: helmet with full cage, mouthguard, neck guard, gloves, pads and skates.
2. Two lines at one goal line, one each side of the net, about two-thirds of the way out to the boards. The first player in the top line has a puck.
3. Two cones (or a spare stick laid flat) in the middle lane mark what the saucer pass has to clear.
4. Stick blades stay below the shoulders: saucer passes float a few centimetres off the ice, never at head height.

How it runs

1. The pair skate up the ice side by side, about the width of the faceoff circles apart.
2. Pass number one is flat along the ice, leading the partner so they never have to slow down.
3. Every pass across the cones is a saucer: it lifts over the obstacle and lands flat on the partner's blade.
4. They keep passing until the far goal line, then glide back down the boards and swap lines so each player passes on the forehand and the backhand.
5. The next pair goes once the pair ahead reach the red line. Water every few trips.

Coaching points

• Pass to where the partner's stick will be, not where it is.
• Saucer: start the puck on the heel, roll it off the toe with an open blade, follow through low to the target.
• The puck should spin flat like a plate so it lands flat.
• Receiver: give a target with the blade on the ice and cushion the puck as it lands.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the puck too high or letting it wobble on its edge.
• Passing behind the receiver so they have to reach back and slow down.
• Stopping the feet to make the pass.