Developing that Scoring Touch

[deadmanjolt 1]

I'm starting my 2nd season of hockey (beer league). I can skate really well, play some D, find the open man in the neutral zone, but I have very poor game in the offensive zone. It seems like I cannot make myself a lane to receive or make a pass, much less shoot.

How do y'all develop a scoring touch?

[Medic 0]

Practice. Repeat.

Watch the better guys on your team too.

[technophile 0]

Visualize. Outside of games (before, for instance, once you've got your pads on and are just waiting for the zam to finish), try to envision offensive situations and how you should respond to them. Having thought it out before hand can help you react more quickly when that situation comes up in a game.

Watch NHL games -- not necessarily the puck, watch the way other players move, how forwards get into open space, where they try to go with the puck. If you have a DVR, that's even better, as you can step back from a good play and see exactly how it developed, until you understand.

If you can, practice with your linemates. Go to a stick and puck together and practice passing plays, breakout plays, etc.

Talk to your linemates, all the time. Let them know where you are, if you're open, if there's a good play to be made ("Drop it!" or "Around the boards!" or "Cross!" in particular). The more you talk, the more information they have. Along the same lines, listen. If you hear a linemate yell for a pass, try to get it to them.

Learn to keep your head up. If you have an extra second or two of time, instead of putting your head down and trying to make a move by yourself, look around and see if you can put a pass into open ice for a teammate. Practice puckhandling at home while watching TV or something, so you can practice focusing on something else while keeping the puck where you want it.

These are all applicable to both defense and offense, by the way; they'll make you all-around better.

For pure offense, practice shooting a lot. Find a way to mock up a goal at home and shoot at it lots, and make sure to practice shooting one-footed, off-balance, etc. You almost never have time in a game to make sure you're perfectly balanced before shooting, so don't practice that way either.

[Fury of One 6]

If you're crazy enough, you can always do what Gretzky did and sit in front of the TV with a notepad and trace everywhere the puck went.

[LkptTiger 1]

In my experience, it really just has to do with what kind of player you are and what natural gifts you have for the game. Some guys seem (and feel - for example, I am supremely confident when in any position that could be considered to be even remotely dangerous) that they can bury it whenever the opportunity arises. For most other guys, though, it's at best a 50/50 chance they will finish when presented with a good oportunity. It's something you're either born with or you're not.

That said, if you have it, it is a skill you can further develop. My suggestion to you is that you go shoot the puck until you can't lift your arms anymore, rest a little while, then shoot even more. Most "pure" goal scorers, along with being strong skaters and smart players (again, things some players just have and things some players just don't), have rediculously quick releases and great one-timers. My father used to come out onto the backyard rink with me and just feed me pass after pass after pass for hours and hours on end. I broke a lot of sticks that way, but I learned how to get away a good, hard, accurate shot when I'm not given much, if any, time. I can't even begin to count the number of goals that I have scored since then that I can directly atribute to the countless thousands of shots I took when I was ten years old.

[djinferno 2]

Practice skating and mobility and practice shooting quick, if you have a shot, take it...

[chikinpotpie 137]

Get a bucket of pucks, a friend, and a traffic cone. Practice moving around the zone passing back and forth avoiding the cones with your skating and passing. Also work on getting a quick release for your shot. The least amount of time that the puck is on your stick before you shoot, the less time that the goalie has to react. And always remember to keep your head up and look where you are shooting and passing.

[chk hrd 164]

I'm starting my 2nd season of hockey (beer league). I can skate really well, play some D, find the open man in the neutral zone, but I have very poor game in the offensive zone. It seems like I cannot make myself a lane to receive or make a pass, much less shoot.

How do y'all develop a scoring touch?

experience! With only 2 seasons under your belt you still don't have a feel for the game. The more you play the more you start realizing the finer points of where to move when you don't have the puck or what to do when you get it. Alot of new players stand still to much, in hockey you should always be moving. When your driving the net experience gives you a good idea about what the D should be doing and how the goalie will play you. Alot of new guys also look to much at where the goalie is and not where he isn't. If your looking at the goalie chances are you will hit him with the shot. I tell the kids to look where the goalie isn't when they shoot. Experience keeps you from thinking to much during the game. If you want to analyze plays do it before or after when you have alot of time. Hockey is so fast that you don't have time to think, you just go on auto pilot. As soon as you try to figure things out you have alreadt had to slow down or everyone has caught up.

And last...you may think you can skate really well, but with only 2 seasons you probably are not as good as you think (unless you did alot of rec or figure skating). Being a good skater enables you to get open for passes, drive the net and do alot of things with alot more confidence and less energy.

[mack 44]

I did stuff people have mentioned, then I'd also have friends put sticks in the way in various positions to figure out how to shoot and move in clutter. If no one else was around I'd dump back-ups on the ice and situate them on whatever I could.

[Muzza_77 0]

Has does tracing where the puck goes like Gretzky did help you?

[Quintin 16]

Just don't think too much about it and have fun playing the game. Helps most people out.

[hockechamp14 0]

Has does tracing where the puck goes like Gretzky did help you?

He was able to predict where the puck would go. Then he'd skate where the puck was going to go and score.

[kobcc 0]

Keep your stick on the ice to start with, you don't know how much junk there is in front of the net that you can get your hands on. The garbage goals aren't pretty but they do count.

[yvan12 0]

Kobcc is right. Keep your stick on the ice, keep your head up, keep your feet mobile, and watch the play develop. Then go to 'where they ain't' and your teamates will find you. Talk to your linemates (with more experience) and ask where you should be. It seems you have developed quite a bit in a short time. Stick with it, maybe get a couple of books on how to play hockey, and have a great time.

[xMenace 0]

Get yourselves one of these.

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Pure gold!