Blades on Evaluation Night

[SoftwareDev 8]

Hello all! 

I am a newb in hockey; this will be my first league (E) that I will be participating in. Tonight is the evaluation skate to determine skater ratings for the upcoming draft. The local ice rink has changed their hours the last two weeks and the chances for me to practice were terrible. I only got the chance to practice last on 9/8, and I was very confident then. My question to you is, I have about 3.5-4 hours on my current sharpening and I was thinking about going to practice skating here in about 3 hours, but worry I may dull my blades just enough to not have enough edge for stopping tonight... would you get a quick practice in and dull your blades further and eval skate with them tonight? or would you go dull them out, then go get them sharpened after work? OR would you just forgo the mini practice session this morning and just go to the eval skate? The eval skate is a scrimmage, mix of E/D players.

[NiCnoK 61]

I wouldn't let blade sharp-ness trump getting ice time. Maybe I'm a bit of a plug for this, but truthfully - I pretty much never notice if my skates are sharp or not.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

All depends on your preference. I've always liked my skates as sharp as (comfortably) possible before every ice session. I'm more of a power skater and really never valued my edges until I started wearing the stripes. That being the case, I've always felt more comfortable with my blades having more bite than glide. If I were you, I'd get my skates sharpened before the eval (regardless of how many skates you have prior). Of course, doing this depends if you know that you can get a consistent cut and won't be in for any surprises once you step on the ice. I've been dealing with that issue for years now and all but ready to buy a Sparx unit by year end ha. I digress though. I'm letting you know what I, BSB, would do. If you are like me and don't trust you edges when moving a moderate speed, I'd get them sharpened. If not, you could probably get them sharpened an ice session or two before and dull the edges out to the point that you glide the way you'd want to during game-speed situations. A lot of words but I try to give as much detail as a possibly can to show my perspective. Looking forward to hear/see how things go for you!

[marka 526]

Howdy,

5 hours ago, SoftwareDev said:

Hello all! 

I am a newb in hockey; this will be my first league (E) that I will be participating in. Tonight is the evaluation skate to determine skater ratings for the upcoming draft. The local ice rink has changed their hours the last two weeks and the chances for me to practice were terrible. I only got the chance to practice last on 9/8, and I was very confident then. My question to you is, I have about 3.5-4 hours on my current sharpening and I was thinking about going to practice skating here in about 3 hours, but worry I may dull my blades just enough to not have enough edge for stopping tonight... would you get a quick practice in and dull your blades further and eval skate with them tonight? or would you go dull them out, then go get them sharpened after work? OR would you just forgo the mini practice session this morning and just go to the eval skate? The eval skate is a scrimmage, mix of E/D players.

Unless you've got something weird happening (blow an edge off, walk on concrete, whatever), I don't think there's some monumental difference in another hour or two of ice time on a set of blades in terms of their performance.  More ice time is better.  Go skate and don't worry about postponing a sharpening a couple hours of ice time later than you normally would.

MHO as a 2 year player, take it for what its worth.

Mark

[SoftwareDev 8]

Well... it went probably about as bad as expected. 

I'm just not sure how to get better skating on my own because game speeds are so much faster than what I can simulate on public ice time. The transitions going from offense/defense was terrible. I can skate backwards, but I am super slow transitioning to backwards. And all the stick and puck sessions I go to, I go to alone so I'm not used to handling passes... is there something I can buy to help me with that in my garage or something? I just have got to get better ALL the way around.

The league said everyone made the divisions they tried out for, but a few people in the scrimmage were bumped to higher divisions (this eval was for E/D prospects only). 

Hard to not get discouraged, but I need some tips on at home training I can do so that I can improve faster. Would anyone recommend even practicing inline at home for puck handling? But even then, I'm going to be lacking someone passing it to me. 

[marka 526]

Howdy,

1 hour ago, SoftwareDev said:

Well... it went probably about as bad as expected. 

I'm just not sure how to get better skating on my own because game speeds are so much faster than what I can simulate on public ice time. The transitions going from offense/defense was terrible. I can skate backwards, but I am super slow transitioning to backwards. And all the stick and puck sessions I go to, I go to alone so I'm not used to handling passes... is there something I can buy to help me with that in my garage or something? I just have got to get better ALL the way around.

The league said everyone made the divisions they tried out for, but a few people in the scrimmage were bumped to higher divisions (this eval was for E/D prospects only). 

Hard to not get discouraged, but I need some tips on at home training I can do so that I can improve faster. Would anyone recommend even practicing inline at home for puck handling? But even then, I'm going to be lacking someone passing it to me. 

I've been playing about 2 years.  In that time I've gone from "can't stop on one side and usually will not receive a pass you make to me" to "Average beginning leagues or a touch higher player".  Just to give you a frame of reference for my comments...

First, hockey is hard.  Don't get discouraged when you suck, because _everyone_ sucks when they start.  As someone coming to it later in life, you don't have the luxury of not remembering when you sucked like people that grew up playing do.  :-)  Stick with it.  One of the cool things about being a beginner is that in six months you're going to go through a large transformation (and will continue to do so) and its fun to look back to not that long ago and realize how far you've come.

Second, you can certainly get a shooting pad or tiles or just use a concrete floor at home, a green biscuit, and a passer / rebounder.  It isn't going to be the same as a partner on the ice passing you the puck, but its better than nothing.  And yeah, using those with inline skates can help too, but if you don't have inlines, just use sneakers.  Any puck work you do will help.

Past that, stick times, adult classes, games, whatever. Anything you do with skates, a stick, and/or a puck will help.  Take advantage of what is out there for you.

Mark

[strosedefence34 175]

I played roller hockey my whole life until I got to college.  Up until that point, I hadn't really ice skated as a kid.  Hear and there at birthday parties and what not.  Someone at my college on the hockey team I was playing street hockey with said I should play with him on the college team.  I was in a slightly different boat than you.  I had the hand skills and could catch passes, but I struggled with skating for the first few weeks.  The only thing that really helped me was going to public ice skating sessions 3 or 4 times a week just to learn how to stop and use my edges.  Then over Christmas break, I went to every single open hockey session I could in those 4 weeks.  I cam back to school and the first practice back my coach had asked me what happen to the other guy?

Moral of the story is you just have to get out there and play as much as you can.  Even if you are the worst person at open hockey or drop in it doesn't matter it will make you a better player.  There are hockey rebounders (http://www.icewarehouse.com/EZPuck_Onetimer_Hockey_Shooting_Trainer/descpage-EZONETIMER.html) you can get.  I think I read somewhere on here that someone made their own.  That could help, but really the best thing you can do is try to get out there as much as you can in game situations.  Don't get down on yourself.  Hockey is a great game you will get there.

[Vet88 674]

8 hours ago, SoftwareDev said:

Hard to not get discouraged, but I need some tips on at home training I can do so that I can improve faster. Would anyone recommend even practicing inline at home for puck handling? But even then, I'm going to be lacking someone passing it to me. 

I coach starting players and get asked this all the time, how do I get better? How much time do you have? First beginner rule is its not quantity you are after but quality, and quality is time with the puck. Little known fact, for every 90 minute scrimmage / team practice / game you go to, you will handle the puck for no more than 2 minutes! How the hell do you get better at 2 minutes per week? You don't. Give yourself an alternative, if you can't get ice time to practice stick and puck on your own then buy a pair of inline skates (ideally soft sided ones if you are going to spend a lot of time in them like the slalom k2 skates), remove the brake, put the hardest rating wheel on (84a or 86a), buy an abs blade and attach it to a shaft or get a hockey wraparound and put it on your current stick (I prefer abs blades), a green biscuit and then get down to your local park, carpark, playground, tennis court, front yard, wherever you can find a smooth enough surface to skate on and train your ass off. An hour a day for 3 months and it will transform your puck handling and skating. And keep telling yourself - HEAD UP, don't look at the puck. What you will do in that 3 months takes most other players (with weekly practices / skates) 2 - 3 years. EVERYTHING crosses over to ice at this stage, even the stopping. Add a tyre to pass to and catch passes from or get a rebounder. Then a net and a pad for shooting (most probably this at home). Now you are good to go. And if you can add public skating ice time to this even better, combining the 2 makes the transition between the two much easier. Then in your spare time (if you have any) watch nhl games. Where they skate, how they break out, why they made that pass, how they find and create space etc etc. Watch players and movement, not the puck. You Tube is great for finding drills / moves to practice on your own, everything different you try just adds to your skill base. look up "itrain, train the trainers", a great series of videos on how to teach and learn the basics. Get out there, train hard, it will happen.

[jmiro 55]

I agree with the above.  My son and his friend started icd less than a year ago.  Me and his father are always asked how did they get good that fast.  They put time in.  Playing roller hockey with the adults.  Going to skating lessons, public skates, stick and shoots.  Stick handling and shooting in the basement and drive way.  Rollerblading around the house.  And most importantly having fun...  practice can be anything from stick handling in front of the tv, dry land shooting, zipping down to the local store on inlines.  But if you arent having fun you wont want to practice.

[SoftwareDev 8]

On 9/21/2017 at 6:40 PM, Vet88 said:

I coach starting players and get asked this all the time, how do I get better? How much time do you have? First beginner rule is its not quantity you are after but quality, and quality is time with the puck. Little known fact, for every 90 minute scrimmage / team practice / game you go to, you will handle the puck for no more than 2 minutes! How the hell do you get better at 2 minutes per week? You don't. Give yourself an alternative, if you can't get ice time to practice stick and puck on your own then buy a pair of inline skates (ideally soft sided ones if you are going to spend a lot of time in them like the slalom k2 skates), remove the brake, put the hardest rating wheel on (84a or 86a), buy an abs blade and attach it to a shaft or get a hockey wraparound and put it on your current stick (I prefer abs blades), a green biscuit and then get down to your local park, carpark, playground, tennis court, front yard, wherever you can find a smooth enough surface to skate on and train your ass off. An hour a day for 3 months and it will transform your puck handling and skating. And keep telling yourself - HEAD UP, don't look at the puck. What you will do in that 3 months takes most other players (with weekly practices / skates) 2 - 3 years. EVERYTHING crosses over to ice at this stage, even the stopping. Add a tyre to pass to and catch passes from or get a rebounder. Then a net and a pad for shooting (most probably this at home). Now you are good to go. And if you can add public skating ice time to this even better, combining the 2 makes the transition between the two much easier. Then in your spare time (if you have any) watch nhl games. Where they skate, how they break out, why they made that pass, how they find and create space etc etc. Watch players and movement, not the puck. You Tube is great for finding drills / moves to practice on your own, everything different you try just adds to your skill base. look up "itrain, train the trainers", a great series of videos on how to teach and learn the basics. Get out there, train hard, it will happen.

Great post man, I appreciate the advice. I found myself watching the Pens Blues preseason game last night and was looking at each players foot movement on the ice with special focus on how they transition from playing puck possession to defense. 

[stick9 892]

One thing you have to keep in mind. Unless your name is Wayne Gretzky, there will always be someone better. We've all been there, don't let it get you down. Play hard and have fun!