Receiving passes in stride

Setup

1. Full equipment for everyone: helmet with full cage, mouthguard, neck guard, gloves, pads and skates.
2. Skaters line up without pucks at the bottom boards beside their own blue line.
3. One passer (P2) stands near the far neutral-zone dot at the top with a pile of pucks. A cone just inside the far blue line, near the middle, is the finishing spot.

How it runs

1. The first skater curls up through the middle of the neutral zone, building speed.
2. As they turn up ice they show a target with the blade. The passer leads them with a firm pass into the space in front.
3. The skater takes the puck in stride, cushions it and carries over the blue line to the cone.
4. They stop at the cone and become the passer for the next skater; the old passer joins the back of the line.
5. Short, quick reps: go again as soon as the passer is ready. Switch sides halfway so players receive on the forehand and the backhand.

Coaching points

• Keep the feet moving through the catch; never glide to wait for the puck.
• Blade on the ice, square to the puck, as a clear target.
• Soft hands: let the blade give a little as the puck arrives, like catching an egg.
• Look at the passer before the catch, then eyes up the ice straight after.

Common mistakes

• Slowing down or stopping to take the pass.
• Stiff blade so the puck bounces off.
• Passer aiming at the skater's body instead of the space ahead.